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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2005-02-16, Page 66 Exeter Times -Advocate Wednesday, February 16, 2005 Opinion Forum News Seniors' perspective Continued from page 5 ments. A voice in the wilderness at first, he was recognized in 1996 with the Outstanding Service Award from the Ontario Agricultural College. The OAC became interested in agro-forestry following a tour of his walnut trees in 1985, one of 150 tours he hosted over the years. In 1999 he was nationally recognized with the Forest Stewardship award for his tireless efforts to promote forest management. A former student, Ron Kenny said, he can remember Mr. Dixon as one of his teachers saying, "A man is not a man unless he is carrying a jack-knife." The farm belonging to his son Jim and daughter-in-law Mary -Lou was sold in 2002. Andrew Dixon is sur- vived by his son Jim Dixon and daughter-in-law Mary Lou of Exeter, daughter Betty Birrell and son- in-law Don of London, grandchildren Julie Kos and husband Derek, Sandra Baker and her husband Lee and great-grandchildren. Credit: The Rural Voice Magazine. Health Section: Be Active. Eat Well. Prevent and Control Type 2 Diabetes. Active Living: There is no barrier to a healthy, active lifestyle. Regular physical activity improves your general health and well-being it also helps prevent and control type 2 diabetes. First Steps: (1) Make physical activities a part of your daily routine. (2) Do activities you are doing now, just more of them. (3) Walk whenever you can. (4) Start Slowly, build up gradually. Short bouts of activity, 10 minutes each, all add up. (5) Most days of the week, aim at 30 to 60 minutes of moderate physical activity such as walking. (6) Treat your feet. Get a good pair of shoes for walk- ing. Physical Activity Can... (a) Lower blood sugar (b) Lower blood pressure (c) Relieve tension and stress (d) Strengthen heart muscles (e) Increase lung capacity (f) Improve circulation (g) Improve sleep (h) Help maintain a healthy weight (i) Improve sex- ual interest and more. It's Never Too Late: Lots of people have trouble getting started. Here are common reasons, and ideas to help you. I don't have much energy: Start slowly. Become physically active should give you energy, not take it away. It costs too much: Exercise at home. Try garden- ing, walking, or something else inexpensive or free. I don't feel motivated: Find a buddy. Walk with a friend. If you can't find a buddy, go to your local recreation centre. I don't feel confident: Try something that is easy and comfortable for you. I need support or partners: Join a club or class. Ask a neighbor or friend to join in. I have knee and hip problems: Mild exercise can help. Follow your physician's advice and get help designing a program. Did You Know? (1) Older adults with type 2 dia- betes can be healthier than those without diabetes who don't eat well and are not physically active. (2) Many people have diabetes for years before diagno- sis. (3) People who are physically active age at a slower rate. Walking Start: Walking is fun and easy. You can set your own pace. It's a great activity if you are busy or don't enjoy structured exercise. All you need are walking shoes and clothing to suit the weather. Streets, parks, malls, and trails are all great places to walk. Happy walking! Legion News Dance at the Legion: Sat., Feb. 19. Hours are from 8 p.m. until 12 a.m. Music is provided by Silhouette. Lunch is provided and cost is $10 per person. Plug -In Air freshener and Fires Thought this was worth passing on: FIRE DAN- GER. This was received from a friend in the home insurance business. It is well worth reading. This is one of those e-mails that if you didn't send it, rest assured someone on your list will suffer for not reading it. A lady wrote whose brother and his wife learned a hard lesson this past week. Their house burned down....nothing left but ashes. They have good insurance so the home will be replaced and most of the contents. That is the good news. However, they were sick when they found out the cause of the fire. The insurance investigator sifted through the ashes for several hours. He had the cause of the fire traced to the master bathroom. He asked her sister-in-law what she had plugged in the bathroom. She listed the normal things....curling iron, blow dryer. He kept saying to her, "No, this would be some- thing that would disintegrate at high tempera- tures". Then her sister-in-law remembered she had a plug-in in the bathroom. The investigator had one of those "Aha" moments. He said that was the cause of the fire. He said he has seen more home fires started with the plug-in type room fresheners than anything else. He said the plastic they are made from is a THIN plastic. He also said that in every case there was nothing left to prove that it even existed. When the investigator looked in the wall plug, the two prongs left from the plug-in were still in there. Her sister-in-law had one of the plug - ins that had a small night -light built in it. She said she had noticed that the light would dim and then finally go out. She would walk in to the bathroom a few hours later, and the light would be back on again. The investigator said that the unit was get- ting too hot, and would dim and go out rather than just blow the light bulb. Once it cooled down it would come on. That is a warning sign. The investi- gator said he personally wouldn't have any type of plug in fragrance device anywhere in his house. He has seen too many homes that have been burnt down due to them. Thank you from Huron United Way On behalf of the Huron United Way board of direc- tors and staff, we would like to express our grati- tude to the hundreds of donors as well as the many volunteers who worked diligently to help raise $209,000 for our community. The United Way presently funds 13 agencies throughout our county. These agencies are doing incredible work on behalf of our citizens. Your generosity and personal commitment to the United Way has made a significant difference and has helped us as an organization to turn a corner. We believe this campaign is the first of many future successful campaigns. At this time volunteers are reviewing our member agencies funding requests and will recommend how to best invest the campaign dollars for maximum impact. These donations will change the lives of many families and individuals in the communities we serve. Thank you for a very successful 2004 campaign. Without you, there truly would have been no way. many other societies. Democracies rightly restrict the ability of individuals to propagate bigotry and hate. Even the right of democratic participation - the foundation of democracy - is restricted when hate is at issue; for example, the Nazi party is not permitted to field candidates in German elections. Right now we should all be vigilant concerning hate expressed toward Muslims. Of late some have tarred all Muslims with the same brush as violent extremists who claim to belong to that religion. This prejudice against Muslims makes as little sense as considering all Catholics and Protestants violent based on the history of Northern Ireland, or all Canadians terrorists based on the acts of the FLQ. It is ironic that Steckle pointed to the Canadian Constitution to support his views. Perhaps the MP has never read the heart and soul of the document, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Charter ensures freedom of religion in Canada, and enshrines equality rights outlawing discrimination based on race or religion. Every one of Steckle's constituents and indeed every Canadian should demand that the politician take steps to atone properly, or resign. Sincerely, PAUL CIUFo, Grand Bend Fundraising methods questionable Dear Editor, In the past several months I have been receiving inquiries from the public about telephone solicita- tion from the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC). They are conducting a Spring Fund Drive with donations going towards advanced fire preven- tion and community safety issues and initiatives that enhance search and rescue capabilities. They have hired a telemarketing firm called Millenium Teleservices of Canada to contact the public. When they call they are looking for your pledge for a spe- cific amount of money and follow up by sending a package by mail within the next four or five days. Some of the more recent complaints that I have received deal with telemarketing techniques. The person is being told that if they do not support this fundraiser, the fire prevention and fire response may be cut in our communi- ty. This is simply not true! These complaints have been received in almost every municipali- ty throughout Huron County. In addition, we found that the actual amount that the CAFC receives from this fundraiser is just a "minimum 15%" of the amount collected. Because of this the Huron County Chiefs' Association is denouncing this type of fundraising by the CAFC. We feel that this bully technique is a disgrace to the local fundraising efforts of our local volunteer firefighters. A strong letter has been sent to them reflecting our feelings. I am compiling a list of complaints to send to the CAFC about their choice of fundraising efforts and would like to personally hear from anyone who felt that they were harassed by the telemarketers or felt pressured into making a donation. Please call me at 235-1981. Your help is required to put a stop to this form of fundraising. Way LARRY LANGAN, board chairperson, Huron United KIMBERLEY PAYNE, executive director, Huron United Way Steckle's comments are reprehensible Dear Editor, I would like to express my outrage over recent comments made by Member of Parliament Paul Steckle. While speaking to a group of church minis- ters in late January, Steckle made disparaging if not outright racist comments about Arabs and Muslims. Charlie Love, minister of the Bayfield United Church, recounted Steckle's comments and was quoted in the Lakeshore Advance newspaper on Feb. 2. Love said that referring to the Biblical pas- sage about Ishmael and the birth of the Arab peo- ple, Steckle said, "look where that's got us!" Speaking about the Canadian Constitution, Steckle stated that the document refers to "God, not Allah!" When asked about the comments, Steckle said he had not meant to cause offence or slander anyone. Steckle neither denied making the comments nor apologized. Although democracies prize freedom of thought and expression, limits are placed on the latter right. If made in public, hateful comments about groups of people are not tolerated. Such remarks can con- stitute a breach of the Criminal Code of Canada. Just as Canada does not permit Ernst Zundel to spread hateful views about Jews, Steckle's com- ments should not be endured. Although Steckle's comments were not nearly as extreme, due to his position of power as a MP he must be held to a very high standard. At issue is the destructive and dangerous nature of Steckle's words. Expressing hate for a group of people can lead down a horrible path, as we saw in Nazi Germany, the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and JOHN MORGAN, Fire Chief -South Huron Panther Profile EXETER — Two beneficial events are coming up at South Huron! First is the 30 Hour Famine. Students should start thinking about whether or not they are going to participate in this year's famine. Past years at South Huron have been very successful for the famine, raising thousands of dollars for World Vision to support starving children around the world. If you want to donate to the famine, just speak with any student from South Huron and they will be more than willing to take the donation. The second event coming up is the Relay for Life. Last year was South Huron's first year with this event, and it's run mostly by student. This event is open to the community, so if you would like to be involved, see a student from South Huron and they should be able to point you in the right direc- tion. AMANDA ZEHR PANTHER PROFILE