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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2005-04-27, Page 66 Exeter Times -Advocate Wednesday, April 27, 2005 Opinion Forum News Seniors' perspective Continued from page 5 Health Section: Herbs & Spices Chives, this tufted perennial is a native of Britain and is popular throughout the world. Medicinal use: As a member of the Allium or onion family chives have all the health -giving properties of this group but in milder form. Chives contain a variation of the pungent volatile oil, allyl disulphate, found in garlic. They are rich in sulphur and have antiseptic qualities and aid in indigestion. How to grow: Chives are easy to grow, either from seed or separation of the bulbs. They prefer a sunny sit- uation but will thrive anywhere, Plant either in the fall or spring when the soil is warm. The hollow leaves will grow to about 15 inches and produce mauve flowers in high summer The flowers must be snipped off before they develop or the quality of the leaves will deteriorate. Chives must be cut close to the ground so that the bulbs will quickly throw up new growth. In cooking: The volatile oil in chives makes them a poor subject for drying but they freeze well. Chop them into an ice -cube tray, top with water; use the frozen `chive cubes' when required. Chives make an ideal savory garnish, and add zest to any salad, casserole or omelettes and of course baked potatoes. Chive butter is delicious with cheese dishes. Next week Dandelion Estate Planning Basics: Do you have an estate plan?You should. Estate planning isn't just for the wealthy. Everyone has an estate, and we all need to make sure it is distributed according to your wishes when you die. Your estate includes savings, investments, and every- thing you own. Your house, cottage, investments and your RRSP are all part of your estate. For most of us, the objective of estate planning is to ensure the wealth we accumulate during our lifetime provides for our family when we die. Four basic ele- ments of an estate plan help achieve that goal. The first is a will. It ensures your assets are distributed as you intended. The second is power of attorney, which allows someone you trust to manage your personal and financial affairs if you become incapacitated. Third is sufficient life insurance coverage to provide funds for loved ones and beneficiaries. And finally, effective tax planning can reduce taxes faced by your estate and ben- eficiaries when you die. It's important to consult with your investment repre- sentative and lawyer when putting together an estate plan. One afternoon in the Arctic, a father polar bear and his son polar bear were sitting in the snow. The son polar bear turned to his father and asked, "Dad, am I, 100% polar bear?" The father polar bear replied, "Of course son, you're 100% polar bear." A few minutes pass, and the son polar bear turns to his father again and says, "Dad tell me the truth. I can take it. Am I, 100% polar bear? No brown bear or panda bear or grizzly bear?" The father replies, Son, I'm 100% polar bear, your mother is 100% polar bear, so you are definitely 100% polar bear. A few more minutes pass and the son polar bear again turns to his father and say's, Dad, don't think your spar- ing my feelings if it's not true. I gotta know - am I, 100% polar bear?" The father bear was annoyed by his contin- ued questioning and asked his son, "Why do you keep asking if you're polar bear?" "Because I'm freezing!" An elderly couple were on a cruise and it was really stormy. They were standing on the back of the boat watching the moon, when a wave came up and washed the old woman overboard. They searched for days and couldn't find her, so the captain sent the old man back to shore with the promise that he would notify him as soon as they found something. Three weeks went by and finally the old man got a fax from the boat. It read: "Sir, sorry to inform you, we found your wife dead at the bot- tom of the ocean. We hauled her up to the deck and attached to her butt was an oyster and in it was a pearl worth $50,000 . please advise." The old man faxed back: "Send me the pearl and re -bait the trap." Bayfield Ratepayers Association Dear -Editor: In a letter you recently printed on the cover of your Weekender edition from the Bayfield Ratepayers Association, it was stated that a "Zurich Fundraising Group" had raised less than one-fifth of the money committed to the new Bluewater Community Centre. It was also implied that no further money should be expected from this group. Neither statement is true. The "Zurich Group" is the Bluewater Community Development Foundation (BCDF), a provincially and federally chartered non-profit charity. It was the BCDF which originally part- nered with the Municipality of Bluewater to secure approximately $1.3 million in "Superbuild" grants from our senior levels of government for upgrades to recre- ational facilities throughout Bluewater. The BCDF continues to work at arms length with a team of canvassers and other community groups to reach our commitment of $55,000. As of December 2004, the BCDF had released $325,000 to the Municipality in support of the new community centre. (Your paper printed a photo last December featuring two members of the executive of the BCDF presenting the cheque to Mayor Dowson, bringing our total contribution to that amount). Our agreement with the Municipality states that the BCDF has until December 2006 to meet our commit- ment. The BCDF respects the opinion of those who remain opposed to the new com- munity centre. We hope that in turn those opponents will respect the work and dedication of hundreds of volunteers and donors who continue to give freely of their time and resources to bring this much needed facil- ity to our community. We hope and fully expect that in the future, faced with closure of their community centre, not due to lack of use, but because buildings get old and need to be replaced, that the people of the Hensall area or the Bayfield area fight as passionately as the people of Zurich have to preserve an institution they have known and enjoyed for generations. It is not simply about the ice surfaces per capita. These buildings are the heart and soul of their respective communities. As a legacy, from our experience with the new Zurich Complex, the Bluewater Community Development Foundation will remain, and will gladly facilitate funding for any eligible project throughout Bluewater including libraries, playgrounds, pools and community centres. In closing we respectfully ask that those who represent the Bayfield Ratepayers Association exercise more care when submitting their diatribes. Your error with respect to the amount of money raised through the BCDF may give one cause to question the accuracy of some of your other assertions. STEVEN HABERER Vice-president, Bluewater Community Development Foundation Strike article needs clarification Dear Editor: Regarding your article, "Community Living South Huron close to strike action," some clarification is needed for your readers. Community Living - South Huron (CLSH) is very committed to negotiating a fair contract with its workers. What we are not prepared to do is put the quality of our support services in jeopardy. CLSH is funded by the Ministry of Community and Social Services, and it is the Ministry's position that it will not fund wage increases (as well as anything else). So to increase wages, the money must be found in our current budget, which is no easy task. The Agency put a final offer of a 2.4 per cent increase on our full-time rate of $16.81 per hour and our part-time rate of $15.54 per hour but it was reject- ed. The proposed increase would keep our rates comparable to most Community Living organizations in the province. To make any further offer would certainly result in a reduction of hours, thus reducing the quality of service our clients receive. Mrs. Dunlop's state- ment "because of low wages and demanding stressful work, many staff resign" is not only false but goes against the Union's position that the Employer should find money anywhere it can. From January 2003 to today, eight of its 91 employees have resigned. Not one of the resignations was due to Mrs. Dunlop's claim. In fact, ettCLSH has experienced above average job ers �► retention, dispelling her assertion that clients and staff are at risk due to a lack of continuity and high turnover. As well, Mrs. Dunlop herself has been with the Agency for over 18 years. It is our hope that a strike will not occur. As Mrs. Dunlop states, "our first concern is for our clients" and everyone involved with Community Living could not agree more! TREVOR MCGREGOR Supervisor, Human Resources Community Living - South Huron Dashwood, ON to the Editor Principal's message EXETER — Mother Nature has certainly been sending us some mixed messages this month. In the week before last it seemed she had dispensed with spring and moved directly into summer, giving us unseasonably high temperatures. The warm weather made some of our classrooms unbearably hot, making it difficult for students to concentrate on their studies. After a long cold winter, it seemed we might have a very warm, dry spring, which would be great for enjoy- ing outdoor activities, but not so great for focusing on school work. Then this past weekend, of course, we had a return to winter with an unexpected dumping of snow that caused a major power failure in the Exeter area. This resulted in the cancellation of Saturday evening's Cabaret by our school bands and choir and threatened also the Sunday afternoon performance as the blackout continued overnight and into Sunday morning. Fortunately, the power came on in time for us to pro- ceed with the Sunday afternoon performance, which was very well attended. The bands and choir were excellent as usual, performing for an appreciative audi- ence. On behalf of Mr. Robilliard, Ms. Hollestelle and all the students involved, I would like to thank everyone who braved the miserable weather to support us by attending the Cabaret. The weather is not the only thing that has been unco- operative for us lately. As parents and students know, we are scheduled to issue the next report card on Friday of this week. However, the soft- ware program we use to enter marks and com- ments decided last week to be as fickle as Mother Nature. Just as the majority of our teachers were about to enter their data, the program mal- functioned and we were unable to enter marks for two full days. We finally had the system running again Friday, and then we had the power failure Saturday and Sunday, which prevented teachers from entering the information for most of the weekend. The result is that the report cards will be delayed and we are now looking at distributing them Tues., May 4. I will keep my fingers crossed, hoping there are no further interruptions. We are also looking forward to the annual school show, which is coming up May 4, 5 and 6. This year's production, "Return to Eden, 2048," is written and directed by Ms. Glenda Burrell, our drama teacher and department head of our Arts Department. This will be Ms. Burrell's final production at South Huron as she is retiring from teaching at the end of this school year. The show promises to be an entertaining evening of musical comedy and we encourage you to come out and enjoy it. Tickets are available in the main office at the school. Our final community forum takes place Thurs., May 26 at 7 p.m. in the school library. The topic for this forum is drugs and alcohol, with a focus on drug awareness for parents. A representative from the OPP will be in attendance with the "drug kit" that shows parents what the drugs and drug parapherna- lia look like. This will be a good opportunity for parents to become more informed and get answers to any questions they have about drug use among young people in our community. We encourage you to attend this event as well. JEFF REA PRINCI MESS BURN PAL'S AGE