Zurich Citizens News, 1977-02-23, Page 4Page 4
Citizens News, February 23, 1977
The
key Cathy McKinley
"This car already has one."
Need full study
The question of whether to repair the
existing arena or build a new one has been
properly asnwered by the Hensall council
and parks board.
In view of the deteriorating condition
of the facility, it would have been a case of
throwing good money after bad to under-
take the mammoth expenditure required to
bring the structure up to today's standards.
It would have cost at least half the price of
a new facility and still left the community
with an old building on which the
maintenance costs would far exceed those
of a new one.
However, was that really the fun-
damental question that council and the
parks board should have answered? More
basic than that, appears to be the question
of what type of facility the community
needs and can afford.
There is every indication that the
availability of sizeable government grants
has prompted some communities to over-
estimate their needs and ability to pay and
have created "white elephants". Many
have found the enthusiasm and support
necessary to raise the capital costs, but are
now finding the operating costs are a drain
on local taxes.
Hensall's drawing area for capital,
operating and participatory support is com-
paratively small in view of existing
facilities in Exeter, Zurich, Vanastra and
Seaforth, as well as the privately owned
Pineridge Chalet and Hully Gully.
This is not to suggest it would be
foolhardy for Hensall to undertake a new
arena -hall project. Far from it! They've
done it before, and they can do it again.
However, it would be foolhardy to un-
dertake such a project merely on the basis
that the present structure is worn out,
without undertaking a thorough study to en-
sure that the needs and abilities of the com-
munity today are considered in planning a
replacement. It's akin to replacing a piece
of farm machinery. No sensible farmer
rushes out and buys the same type of
machine without investigating whether
there is something on the market that may
be more profitable and advantageous due
to his change in farming since buying the
original piece of equipment.
For instance, we have yet to hear of
people ensuring that a community hall is of
a shape and has a suitable floor to allow
roller skating, yet that is a pastime more
popular with teenagers than ice skating.
Few communities have considered a hall
that could be properly divided to permit the
operation of a day care centre and yet that
too is a growing need in today's society.
Perhaps Hensall would be wiser to con-
sider an outdoor swimming pool in conjunc-
tion with the arena and forego a hall? That
would possibly add to the support for the
overall project.
Needs have changed considerably in
the past 25 years and will do so over the
next quarter century and Hensall should
consider that carefully rather than just
replace a facility that was erected to meet
the needs of a quarter century ago.
FIRST WITH LOCAL NEWS
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Member:
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News Editor - Cathy McKinley
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-AIM.- ..v....,l0111111._
It's that time!
Tax time is coming up fast. Most of us have already
received our income tax forms in the mail and the T-4 slips
are starting to roll in.
Income tax time is either a joyous or a heart -rendering
occasion. You can either spend hours making sure you get
all the deductions you possibly can only to discover you owe
the government money, or you can spend money to have
someone else spend hours figuring out you owe the govern-
ment money. Either way, the end result is not usually a
very satisfactory one.
There are always plenty of "tax tidbits" floating around
this time of year as the government tries to make sure the
forms are forever on our minds.
For instance, did you know the residents of Sept-Iles,
Quebec have the highest average income in the country,
$12,592? Why anyone would want to know that is beyond me,
unless of course you lived in Sept-Iles, Quebec, but the
federal government was nice enough to send me that tidbit
of information so I thought the least I could do was pass it
on to you.
Or how about this one, now this tax tidbit is vey impor-
tant. Did you know, that France imposed the first tax in
Canadian history? It was an excise tax of .50 percent on
beaver pelts and 10 percent on moose hides. Or that a
provincial tax was levied on canaries and foxes at the begin-
ning of this century?
I sincerely hope these little tax tidbits help you unders-
tand your income tax form because for the life of me I can't
figure out why they are so important unless the government
is trying to inject a little humor into a rather humorless
time of the year.
Rabies is a scarey thing, but in past years there has not
been too much talk about the possibility of an epidemic
among pets. This year could prove to be different.
In Grand Bend the village has issued warnings to the
residents to keep away from squirrels and foxes whether
they are dead or alive and to keep their pets tied. It seems
the rabid foxes which have been found in the area around
the village are starting to come right in the village limits.
One 'resident shot a fox outside his home within the village
last week. Apparently the fox tried to attack his dog.
Grand Bend is not so far away that those in this area can
ignore such warnings. The shots necessary for rabies are
both painful and long-lasting.
I urge all parents in the area to be use sure and urge their
children to stay away from any wild animals such as
squirrels or foxes they may see, even if the animal is dead.
It would also be wise to keep track of your pets for a while
and make sure your pet has had its rabies shot.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and in
this case, it is also a lot less painful.
The Garden City tournament is on again this weekend
(Feb. 19 - 20, I am writing this column on Thursday of last
week) and it is a busy two days for all those participating. I
hope it receives as much support from the community as it
did last year.
In case you are wondering why I did not wait until after
the tournament to comment on it, the answer is a simple
one. By the time you read this I will be on holidays in the
sunny south for two weeks.
If you have anything you want reported in the paper while
I am gone make sure to call the Zurich office on Monday,
Tuesday or Friday or the Exeter office on Wednesday and
Thursday and hopefully someone will take care of it. Just
don't try and get a hold of me because I will definitely be
unavailable—with my luck I'll be shovelling snow in
Florida.