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Home My WebLink AboutThe Times Advocate, 2004-01-21, Page 44 Exeter Times–Advocate Wednesday, January 21, 2004 zkxna =CNA Editorial Opinion TIMES ADVOCATE PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing costs. Jim Beckett Publisher and Editor Deb Lord Production Manager &Published by Metroland Printing, rt Publishing & Distributing Ltd. Metroland 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850 Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • (519) 235-1331 EDITORIALS Thumbs up to medical centre I rfhe opening of the new South Huron medical centre is a positive step in trying to attract more doctors to the area. As reported elsewhere in the Times -Advocate, in addition to being a walk-in clinic, the new medical centre will house family doctors Philip Chan and Nicola McLean, as well as another doctor in June 2005. The hospital continues to strive to attract more doctors to the area, as South Huron has been official- ly deemed underserviced. The new medical centre is a step in the right direc- tion to meeting that goal. Those who know say new medical graduates aren't interested in setting up their own practice in their own building; they'd rather work out of a medical centre. South Huron now has that. Working in conjunction with Southwestern Ontario Rural Regional Medicine, it's now up to the hospital to show new doctors the benefits of working in a small community like Exeter. An open house in March at the medical centre will include medical stu- dents and it is hoped they will be impressed enough with what they see to want to work there upon grad- uation. The medical centre is another feather in Exeter's cap. It's another way of building towards the future and increasing the quality of life for residents. The building's location, right across the street from the hospital, is another plus. Not all positive While there have been many positive developments in the area of late, including new childcare and youth centres in Exeter and a new arena in Zurich, not everything in the area is positive. Banks have been in the news lately, and not in a positive light. Before Christmas there was the announcement the Bank of Montreal would be closing its Zurich branch; last summer there was the closure of Hensall's CIBC branch. In cities, such closures are not a big deal because customers can simply go to another bank; in smaller communities such as Zurich and Hensall, bank clo- sures are a big deal and an unnecessary inconve- nience for customers. The banks, of course, don't care — if they did, they wouldn't be closing their branches in the first place. In a society where most people are skeptical about banks, the recent closures in Zurich and Hensall do nothing to help matters and instead leave customers feeling betrayed and angry. About the Times -Advocate The great weather conspiracy I have to finally admit I'm getting old — increasingly, every year, I hate winter more and more with a pas- sion. These past couple of weeks have only confirmed my hatred of our frigid temperatures. It's not the snow I hate; I rather enjoy the fluffy white stuff, although I can do without scraping the car every morning or hoping my car doesn't slide into that oncoming transport truck. No, what I hate is constantly being cold for two or three months straight. The heater in my ancient car doesn't really have enough time to warm up during short trips around town and, while the heat is appar- ently on at the Times -Advocate, you'd never know it. The furnace works, but not in an obvious way. It's just warm enough in here to keep the ici- cles off my computer screen, but not warm enough so we can actually be comfortable in here. When you're considering typing with gloves on, there's a problem. If it weren't for watching hockey nearly every night on TV, winter for me would be unbearable. I mean, really, what else does winter offer us besides a few nice days off for Christmas and New Year's? It's obvious not everyone agrees with me. Some people actually like the winter. These people go outside, play in the snow, ski, skate outdoors and enjoy the wonderful Canadian winter. These people are obviously crazy, although I'm not one to point fingers or put labels on people. Winter is not for getting exercise outside, it is for walking briskly from the house to the car and then into the office. The outdoors must be avoided at all costs. Winter would be a whole lot easier if we also weren't constantly lied to from the weather forecasters. You know that five-day forecast you see on the news every night or in the papers? It's total hogwash. The forecast for the fifth day is a complete fabrication and if you pay attention, you'll notice the weather on the fifth day is supposed to be better than the first four. Of course, that's never the way things turn out; by the time you get to the fifth day, the weather hasn't improved at all. The weathermen don't think we notice these things, but we do. At least I do. The forecast usually goes something like this: "Well, the next four days are going to be complete hell with 10 feet of snow, but we expect the sun to come out and warmer temperatures in five days." That never comes true. The weather people have no better idea of what will happen in five days than you or I do. Ask a weather forecaster the next time you meet one if they can predict the weather in five days — they can't. It's simply a conspiracy — they want to make us think things will be warmer and sunnier in five days so we don't lose our minds over the prospect of an unforgiving, never ending win- ter. Weather forecasters actually have secret meetings to figure out how they will continue to control the public by lying to us. It's a form of mind control. George Orwell would have writ- ten about it had he lived long enough. Doubt my weather conspiracy theory at your own peril; it's solid, well researched and built on years of paranoia. The few people I've let in on my little secret mostly think I've lost my marbles, but to accuse someone of losing their marbles is to suggest they had marbles to begin with. Come on peo- ple — open your eyes and refuse to be manipulated by these scheming weathermen who toy with our emo- tions and speak of "better weather next week." Yeah, right. So I'm indoors for the next few months, ignoring the weather forecast, watching my Habs return to respectability and waiting for the summer, which lately has been getting too damn hot. SCOTT NIXO AND ANO THING N THER Address & Office Hours Times -Advocate, 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850, Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6. Our office is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Closed on Holidays. Contact Us By Phone or Fax Classified ad & subscription sales (519) 235-1331 24-hour automated attendant (519) 235-1336 Fax number for all departments (519) 235-0766 Subscription Rates One year rate for addresses in Canada: $37+GST Two year rate for addresses in Canada: $68+GST One year rate for addresses outside Canada: $104 Call (519) 235-1331 to order a subscription. Classified Rates Word ads: $10.00 for 20 words, 20c for each addition- al word+ GST. Notices (births, deaths, announcements, coming events, memoriams, cards of thanks): $15.00 + GST for up to 50 words, All ads must be pre -paid. The classified ad deadline is Monday at 10 a.m. Display Advertising To place a display ad, (519) 235-1331 weekdays 8:30 to 4:30 p.m. or evenings (519) 235-1336 (leave mes- sage) or toll-free at 1-888-270-1602. Deadline: Fri. 4 m. -mail Us Website: www.southhuron.com TA e-mail addresses consist of the person's first initial and last name followed by @southhuron.com. For example, Jim Beckett's e-mail address is <jbeck- ett@southhuron.com> Our general e-mail address is ads@southhuron.com. The Times -Advocate Team Publisher/Editor Jim Beckett ext. 109 Advertising Barb Consitt ext. 110 Reporters Scott Nixon ext. 105 Pat Bolen ext. 113 Mary Simmons ext. 107 Customer Service Sue Rollings ext. 101 Carol Powe ext. 102 Composition Department Manager Deb Lord ext. 114/103 Sharlene Young ext. 103 Jacky Westlake ext. 103 Accounting Staff Anita McDonald ext. 104 Cassie Dalrymple ext. 108 Ruth Slaght ext. 106 Carol Windsor ext. 111