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Home My WebLink AboutThe Times Advocate, 2004-08-18, Page 44 Exeter Times—Advocate Wednesday, August 18, 2004 =CNA Editorial Opinion n = MISIM 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 casts. 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 Good news from Huron Park Last week's announcement that industries in Huron Park will now be allowed to buy their land tead of leasing is great news for the businesses and for the future of the park. As both Huron -Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell and South Huron Mayor Rob Morley explained to the Times -Advocate last week, the park had been hurt in recent years due to the uncertainty of the park's future. Why would a Huron Park business invest in its building or expand when it didn't know what lay ahead for the government-owned park? By privatizing, businesses in Huron Park have more control over their destiny. Hopefully this recent development not only encourages industries to stay in Huron Park, but to buy property and expand. The sale of the industrial side of the park should also make it easier to attract companies to move to Huron Park. While credit should go to Mitchell for making the long-awaited sale of Huron Park a provincial priority, it's Morley, who has been determined for years to privatize the park, who should receive the big thumbs up for seeing it through. He showed perseverance when some thought the deal wouldn't happen. Now negotiations will start with the industries interested in buying property. Some residents in Huron Park may be disap- pointed the residential side isn't yet being sold, but Morley and Mitchell say talks will continue on that issue. However, if you live in Huron Park and want to buy your home, don't expect it to happen any time soon. Racial slurs disgusting You'd think humankind would have evolved past racial slurs and name-calling by now, but that's apparently not the case. As reported in last week's Times -Advocate, Exeter's Tammy Brown has been the victim of racial slurs, threats and vandalism. The perpetrators of this garbage should be ashamed of themselves. Now comes word that Kirkton residents have experienced escalated acts of vandalism and crime in their community. This kind of cruelty needs to stop. About the Times -Advocate NEWS ITEM oKrARIo MuNiuPAUnEs GEl' GO-AHEAD To iNSfALL RED LIGHT CAMERAS,,, Land of the bumper stickers It goes without saying there are one or two differences between Huron County and the southern United States. I had the chance a couple of weeks ago to see some of those differences first hand. Generously given a free timeshare at a resort in North Carolina, my wife and I and my brother and his wife crossed the Windsor -Detroit border in a borrowed van, hopped on 1-75 and drove south for about 12 hours through Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and final- ly, North Carolina. You can learn a lot about a country by driving through it and, while Michigan and Ohio don't seem that much different from Ontario, once you hit Kentucky you know you're a stranger in a strange land. One of the first things you see in Kentucky is a giant water tower with the word "Y'all" printed on it in massive bold letters. Other sites include 100 -foot high crosses along the express- way and a truly massive statue of Jesus. Welcome to God's country. We'll leave the issue of guns in the U.S. for another time, but what fascinated me during our recent trip was that Americans seem to be in love with fire- works. Everywhere you go in Kentucky and Tennessee, the landscape is dotted with giant fireworks superstores. Having fireworks once or twice a year is understandable, but everyday? Who's buying all these fireworks and why? Why are people obsessed with things that make loud noises? I noted several interesting landmarks along the way, such as a sign for Hazard County. I never did see Bo and Luke Duke (or Daisy, unfortunately), but I did see numerous Confederate flags. One thing that stuck out for all of us on the trip was that nearly everyone in the U.S. has bumper stickers plastered all over their cars — "Bush -Cheney," "Kerry - SCOTT NIXON AND ANOTHER THING 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. Edwards," and "Support Our Troops" were among the most common, next to the U.S. flag, which was every- where. None of us could understand why someone would spend $30,000 - $40,000 on a new car and then deface it with some lame politician's name or for some hopeless cause that will be long -forgotten in two years. The most annoying stickers say something like "Proud parents of an honour student at (fill in the blank) ele- mentary school." Hey, I'm all for being proud of your children, but celebrating their elementary school grades on the back of your SUV is taking it a step too far. Just because little Joey can spell his own name and recite the alphabet, it doesn't mean you have to announce it to the world. As with most things, I expect this horrible trend to make its way north soon. News about Canada, of course, was non-existant. In fact, I don't even think I heard the word "Canada" mentioned for an entire week. And a week without any hockey news was almost unbearable. Politics are huge in the U.S., and when you visit there, you discover how truly divided the nation is between liberal and conservative views. In North Carolina, one tour guide even told us out of the blue which local city was liberal and which was conserva- tive. Without fail, everyone we met was friendly and polite, except for the Customs guy in Detroit, but that's to be expected. Most of the differences between Canada and the U.S. are amusing and minor in nature (besides that whole global domination thing). And, as everyone in the U.S. is a celebrity and Hollywood rules the American cultural landscape, it was no surprise we stayed in the same locations in North Carolina where "Dirty Dancing," "Last of the Mohicans" and "Hannibal" were filmed. "Deliverance" was also filmed close to where we stayed, although the locals would like to keep that a secret. Classified Rates Word ads: $10.00 for 20 words, 20(c 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 Diana Hardy ext. 103 ACCOUNTING STAFF Anita McDonald ext. 104 Ruth Slaght ext. 106 Patty Case .ext. 111 Christina Scott ext. 108 Marg Pertschy ext 208