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Home My WebLink AboutThe Times Advocate, 2004-09-01, Page 44 Exeter Times—Advocate Wednesday, September 1, 2004 zkxna =CNA 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 World Cup just • in time The World Cup of hockey couldn't come at a better time for Canadians still reeling from a disappointing Summer Olympics in Greece. It has been said a million times, but nothing unites this country like an exciting hockey victory. And does this country's self-esteem ever need a boost after win- ning only 12 medals at the Olympics. While Canada wasn't predicted to have a strong Olympics, our performance was even worse than projected. Time and time again, medal favourites came up short when competing against the world's best. Why is this happening? Funding isn't the only prob- lem. Athletes like Alexandre Despatie, Perdita Felicien and the men's rowing team were world champions and heavy favourites to take home the gold. How come they came up short? Why were they unable to raise their performance to another level when so many other athletes could? A change in attitude might be needed. Too often, from athletes and from Canadians watching at home, the message was that winning isn't everything and it's the spirit of the games and fair play that's impor- tant. True, winning gold isn't the only purpose the Olympics have, but the medals are given out for a reason. If winning didn't matter, there would be no medals. Canadians have an easygoing, friendly attitude towards sports, except when it comes to hockey, the only sport we truly excel at. In hockey, anything less than a gold medal is seen as a crushing defeat. Perhaps if we had this attitude towards other sports, we'd do better at events such as the Olympics. "I'm just happy to be here" shouldn't cut it. Of course, it wasn't all bad news. Surprise gold medals from cyclist Lori -Ann Muenzer, gymnast Kyle Shewfelt and Adam van Koeverden (who also won a bronze) were great stories of athletes exceeding expectations and coming up big when it mattered most. But too often, our athletes fell well below their potential. This country either needs to change its approach to the Olympics or expect more disappointment in the future. Twelve medals, only three of them gold, is unacceptable for a country of Canada's size. Which brings us to our hockey players. The over- whelming favourites in the World Cup, hockey in Canada is on a high, coming off two consecutive World Championship golds and a gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics. As is usual with Canadian national hockey teams, there will probably be a bump or two along the way to fill Canucks with self-doubt. But in the end, anything short of a World Cup victory would be seen as a heartbreaking defeat. And we don't need any more of that. About the Times -Advocate Editorial Opinion 2004 distributed by faro dun Artists 53rdiml Wonders of a modern society In the end, the system didn't fail Jim Sulkers, it worked just as it was supposed to. Sulkers wasn't the latest victim of Euro -ethics judging in a made up sport but someone a lot closer to home. He was found mum- mified in bed in his Winnipeg apartment last week after being dead for almost two years without anyone noticing. Sulkers, who had multiple sclerosis, lived what some might call an ordered, even perfect life, simply and neatly, keeping his bills paid and contact with others to a minimum, to the point he was described as "very reclusive" by Winnipeg police. But it was his well -kept life which was how his death went unnoticed for so long. A newspaper found in the apartment was dated Nov. 21, 2002, possibly Sulkers' last contact with the world. For the slobs of the world, it may come as relief that Sulkers' well -kept apartment was another factor in no one noticing he was gone for his hot, dry and clean environment meant the body did not decompose but simply dried up. It also gave his neighbours no reason to complain about odd smells around the apartment, and they explained the failure to notice his disappearance by saying they thought he had gone travelling. Technology allowed Sulkers' affairs to maintain a perfect balance long after he wasn't around to look after them. Automatic deposits from his pension from a caring government flowed into his account with per- fect regularity and were matched by Sulkers' orderly method of automatic bill payments. When his mail piled up to the point no more could be stuffed in his mail box, Sulkers' helpful let- ter -carrier returned it to the post office, where it could be returned to sender and the process of filling up the mailbox of a dead man could begin again. But after two years, a relative finally took notice of Sulkers' disappearance, not enough apparently, to check personally but at least to ask police to investigate. For pop culture at large, Sulkers' death was a 15 second clip, not even worthy of the usual 30 seconds. A man who lived his life as quietly as possible became a late night talk show joke and something to be filed under 'news of the weird' in newspapers. In the end, Sulkers died as he wanted to live, alone, after selling his car and his motorized scooter and no longer accepting visitors or phone calls. In a world with endless methods of communication, no one could communicate with Jim Sulkers when it mattered. PAT BACK 4 VIEW BOLEN 0 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, 20(c for each addition- al word+ GST. 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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