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The Times Advocate, 2005-04-06, Page 44 Exeter Times—Advocate Wednesday, April 6, 2005 =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 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 EDITORIAL Water project great news Those who attended a public meeting last week on a major $350 million water project heard some great ideas on the future of drinking water. If the complete project goes ahead, 14 municipali- ties between Lake Huron and Lake Erie will be assured of clean, safe drinking water. And after Walkerton, rural Ontarians know how important that is. The details of the project are explained elsewhere in this week's Times -Advocate, but there are a couple of interesting components of the project that require further discussion. One project involves something the Canadian gov- ernment needs to invest more money into — green energy. One windmill will be erected at the Lake Huron water treatment plant at Port Blake, as well as the Elgin plant and a London landfill site. The windmills will generate enough electricity to power the plants, meaning they won't be putting a drain on the electricity grid and they will be more environmentally -friendly. This makes economic and environmental sense. This is great news and something we'd like to see more of. A report from the United Nations last week states quite simply that we are destroying our planet rapidly. The four-year study, involving 1,360 scien- tists from 95 countries, found 15 of 24 global ecosys- tems in decline. Countries around the world (including our energy - wasting, water -consuming country) need to take posi- tive steps to slow down or stop the gradual decline of the Earth's health. There are those (mostly pollution -spewing corpora- tions and the politicians who rely on them) who claim there is nothing wrong with the environment and global warming and other concerns are nothing more than hysteria created by tree huggers. Those people in denial need to get their heads out of the sand. Just try to breathe in the smog on a hot summer day and you'll realize there is a problem. Erecting one windmill at the Lake Huron treatment plant may be a small gesture, but at least it's a start. The other interesting part of the project is a pro- posed world-class research centre at the Lake Huron site that would look at the improvement and develop- ment of water treatment and technology. Should that project go ahead, it would be the first of its kind in North America. Such a centre would be an economic boom to the county. While several corporate and educational agencies have already expressed interest in the research cen- tre, big dollars are needed from the federal and provincial governments. The ball is in their court — let's see what happens. Some people don't get it "U know what, i used to think like u on the subject, but u know what after my first child was born it all looks different,feels different and brings on a whole new meaning to your life. So untill u grow up and have kids of your own i suggest u keep your comments to yourself and write about stuff u know about like sports, as what the website says u r supposed to do" There is a reason why no Academy Award is given out for comedy. More than just being good or bad, humour of any type is subjective and basically, for what ever reason, there are always people who just don't get it. Trying to write humour is even trickier which I found out with my column on babies recently which brought the above response, which, from its time sent at 3:30 am, may have come from a parent balancing a screaming child of his own on his lap and didn't see the humour in my making fun of kids. Without the luxury of context, what seems hilarious to one person is offensive, dull or just plain stupid to another. But for the record, I like kids, and I love my niece and nephews. Kids are just about the most fun people I know to be around. They're a sponge soaking up everything around them, good and bad. And that is where I, and every aunt and uncle come in. We have the easy job of teaching the kids the things, not what they need to know, but the things that make life fun and make parents look forward to the day we have kids of our own so they can get even. Because it's us who teach the kids bologna is perfect for cutting faces in, that it doesn't really matter if the same knife is used for the jelly, the peanut butter and the butter and it's perfectly acceptable to set up train tracks so the train goes over a cliff. And there aren't many things more fun than jacking up a two year old with before handing him off to the parents 10 minutes before bed time and saying it's been a fun afternoon but I have to go now. Aunts and uncles don't have to remember the tricks of the trade for getting through the day like parents do, such as the hole in the jelly timbit has to face the two year old or it means jelly on the floor of the truck, a crying kid and another trip through the drive through. Or that you never put all the 'A' material up front for the kids and always save something for the ride home. Will I be the same as a parent? Probably not. I may be the parent who would never let a two year old sit on a motorcycle, will be telling him/her to stop playing with the food and eat their lunch and forget that all it takes to make a super hero is a towel pinned around the neck. But I hope not. PAT BACK 4 VIEW BOLEN 0 About the Times -Advocate 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: $38+GST Two year rate for addresses in Canada: $70+GST One year rate for addresses outside Canada: $130 Call (519) 235-1331 to order a subscription. Classified Rates Word ads: $11.00 for 20 words, 20c for each addition- al word+ GST. 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The Times -Advocate Team Publisher/Editor Jim Beckett ext. 109 ADVERTISING Deborah Schillemore ext. 112 REPORTERS Scott Nixon ext. 105 Pat Bolen ext. 113 Stephanie Mandziuk ext. 107 CUSTOMER SERVICE Sue Rollings ext. 101 Kim Hern ext. 102 COMPOSITION DEPARTMENT Manager Deb Lord ext 114/103 Sharlene Young, ext 103 Dianna Hardy ext. 103 ACCOUNTING STAFF Anita McDonald ext. 104 Ruth Slaght ext. 106 Christina Scott ext. 108 Marg Pertschy ext. 111