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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2004-04-21, Page 66 Exeter Times -Advocate Wednesday,April 21, 2004 Opinion Forum News Seniors' perspective Possible closure of Continued from page 5 A Priest, a rabbi, a doctor and a lawyer are gath- ered at a mutual friend's graveside to mourn his passing. The priest says to the others, "I think our good friend would have liked to take something with him to his next life." He pulls out a $100 bill from his wallet and drops it on the casket. The rabbi agrees, "That's a fine idea," and drops his own $100 bill on the casket. The doctor not to be out done does the same. The lawyer murmurs, "What a wonderful thought," as he gazes down at their friend's grave. Whipping out his pen, he quickly writes a cheque for $400, drops it into grave and takes the three $100 as change. Farmer Joe was suing a trucking company for injuries sustained in an accident. In court, the com- pany's fancy lawyer was questioning Farmer Joe. "Didn't you say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine'?" asked the lawyer. Farmer Joe responded, "Well, I'll tell you what hap- pened. I had just loaded my favourite mule, Bessie, into the ... " "I didn't ask for any details," the lawyer interrupt- ed. "Just answer the question. Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine'?" Farmer Joe continued, "Well, I had just got Bessie into the trailer and I was driving down the road ..." The lawyer interrupted again and said, "Judge, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the Highway Patrolman that he was just fine. Now, several months after the acci- dent, he is suing my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to simply answer the question." But the judge was interested in Farmer Joe's story and said to the lawyer, I'd like to hear what he has to say about his mule, Bessie. Joe thanked the judge and proceeded. "Well, as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my favorite mule, into the trailer and was driving her down the highway when this huge semi -truck and trailer ran the stop sign and smacked my truck right in the side. "I was thrown into one ditch and Bessie was thrown into the other. I was hurting real bad and didn't want to move. However, I could hear ole Bessie moaning and groaning. I knew she was in terrible shape just by her groans. "Shortly after the accident, a highway patrolman came on the scene. He could hear Bessie moaning and groaning so he went over to her. After he looked at her, he took out his gun and shot her between the eyes. Then the patrolman came across the road with his gun in his hand and looked at me. "He said, 'Your mule was in such bad shape I had to shoot her. How are you feeling?'" What Scouting Has Taught Me.... To borrow a phrase - Everything I need to know I learned in Scouting. From "Sharing, Sharing, Sharing" to "Be Prepared", these are mottos that we could all learn to live by and this is what Scouting has taught dozens of youth and adults in this area. 1st Exeter Scouts has been and is a strong and visi- ble youth development group in our community. These are youth who are learning by example to help build a better world. This is only one part of a larger program in which leaders work to pass on skills through meeting nights, camps and outdoor activities. The adventure of Scouting is one of the main reasons youth are drawn to it. Our challenge comes in finding adults to provide this leadership for our programs. We are in immedi- ate need for community volunteers who can help with the Group Committee which administers the activities of the Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Venturers sections. How can we inspire you to be a part of this move- ment? We all realize time is a valuable commodity: are you willing to share some of your time for this valuable youth program? If you are, your decision may result in young people being offered opportunities that can last a lifetime. For information on how to become involved please write us at exeterscouts@hotmail.com or call 235- 2811 and ask for Bob. PETER DARBISHIRE, Treasurer First Exeter Scouts Group Committee Granton Motocross Dear Editor: In regards to your story you had on page 3 last week about the Granton Motocross raceway: An appeal had been made to the Ontario Municipal Board on the temporary zoning bylaw for the Granton motorcross. The appeal had been launched by eight neighbouring households. The first race of the season was to be held at this racetrack on April 18 but because of the petition of eight neighbours, the race and maybe many more will be cancelled. Races are held approximately a couple of Sundays each month at this track and I realize that noise is probably a factor in these complaints but the races are completed before nightfall. If these neighbours want something to complain about, how about having a newly -built pig barn near your residence. Yes— there's nothing like the fragrant aroma of pig manure 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I myself would gladly give up the pig -manure smell for the noise that dirt -bikes make. Our 15 -year-old son is one of these dirt -bike racers who for the second year will be racing with the Thames Valley Racers. He loves the sport and looks forward to racing as soon as spring arrives. I'm sure alot of parents agree that they'd rather have their sons and daughters into motorcross racing rather than their energies dispensed into something violent and illegal. I'm also sure that our police forces, our courts, our detention centers, etc., etc., etc., also are glad of this. I hope the eight neighbours will recon - The Stanley Cup band wagon It seems that at this time of the year nearly everyone in Canada is a hockey fan. I myself admit to now watching the occasional playoff game, even though I doubt I spent more than five minutes watching during the regular season. Of course, for the most part this sudden rise in the interest of hockey has to do with national pride, and the hopes that maybe, just maybe, one of Canada's cities will take home the cup. I'll say it right now, I'm not a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, never have been, and probably never will be. I am a band wagon playoff spectator, but when it comes to support for the TML's during playoffs, everyone else seems to jump on that band wagon, and I have to be dif- ferent somewhere. There's no way you'd hear as many people say "Go Leafs Go" during a regular season. But that's okay, I tend to have bad luck in my pickings for teams, so if they're lucky maybe Toronto might actually take home the cup this year. Stranger things have happened I'm sure. I caught the third period of last Thursday night's Montreal vs. Boston. You would think that with Boston having home ice advantage that their fans would be in the stands cheering them on despite their eventu- al 5-1 loss to the Canadiens. However, even with several minutes left in the game you could clearly see that the stands were nearly empty. It's like an unwritten law here in Canada that states it's illegal to leave a hockey game early, whether you're team is winning or not. A lot can happen in only a few short minutes left in play — that was seen in game four of the Montreal/Boston series when Montreal was in the lead until a few bad moves in the final moments allowed Boston to tie it up and then take the win in overtime. I believe that playing infront of large crowds that show a lot of energy really has a lot of effect on both the home and away teams. As a home team player, there's nothing like making a crowd cheer at the top of their lungs when you take the lead. Likewise, as an away team player it's always amusing to see and hear the reactions of the home crowd when you're ahead. Either way, whether you're the fan who eats, sleeps, and breathes the sport of hockey all year long, or a playoff bandwagon spectator such as myself, let's show the Americans, with whatever team you're cheering for, that you're there to show you're support for your team, not that the team is there to make sure you get your time or money's worth. DEBRA TOONK sider and not have the Granton track closed down. Many families participate in this growing, popular sport and it would be such a disappointment to the kids to have it end. P. WEBBER. Education Matters Randy Wagler,Trustee, Huron Area 4 - South AVON MAITLAND DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD Are students safe in our schools? I have asked myself this question a number of times this past week. I attended a community forum at South Huron District High School enti- tled "Teens under the influence", where experts spoke on a variety of influences on our young people including drugs and alcohol, peers, sexu- al activity, and bullying. As I listened to Cindy Wesley, whose daughter committed suicide after being bullied by her peers, I reflected on what we are doing and what more we could do to ensure that schools are safe places for our stu- dents. In terms of what we are doing at the Board level, the Avon Maitland District School Board has in place a Code of Conduct that is described in a booklet entitled "Together for Safe Schools" which is distributed annually to every student in our district. The purpose of the Code of Conduct is to help all members of the school community understand what are appropriate behaviours as well as the consequences for inappropriate behaviours. The Code of Conduct is rooted in the belief that "all students, parents/guardians, teachers and staff have the right to be safe, and to feel safe, in their school community", and that "school learning environments must be safe, orderly, positive and respect- ful." The Code of Conduct indi cates that respect, civility, and responsible citizenship are to be demonstrated by all mem- bers of the school community, including students, staff, par- ents and volunteers, and numerous examples of this behaviour are given. In addition to the Code of Conduct, one the Board's four goals is: "To promote the devel- opment of positive citizenship qualities in our students", which further empha- sizes the importance placed on ensuring that our schools are safe places for our students. At the school level, numerous activities take place to ensure that our students are safe. From a physical standpoint, health and safety issues are dealt with in a timely manner, and our schools are maintained to a high standard. From an emotional and social standpoint, schools have various anti -bullying programs, peer counseling and mentoring programs, and programs that teach the importance of positive citizenship qualities among our students. Teachers and staff also work to make schools safer by treating students and each other with respect, and encouraging students to speak out when they feel threatened, bullied, or otherwise unsafe. Finally, each of us has a responsibility to ensure that students feel safe in our schools. As parents and guardians, we need to have open dialogues with our children about the impor- tance of sharing when they feel unsafe or threatened. We need to model respect and tol- erance to our children through our attitudes and actions toward them and other members of our community. As community members, we also need to model the same kind of respect and tol- erance toward others that we expect of our stu- dents. I believe that our schools are safe, but there is more we can do. Community forums like the one held last week at South Huron District High School are important so we understand that this is an issue for which we all must take responsi- bility. All of us as partners in education need to continue to work together to maintain and encourage a positive, safe environment where our students can achieve to their highest poten- tial. If you have questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at 235-4445, or email me at rwagler@fc. amdsb. c a. RANDY WAGLER EDUCATION MATTERS