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The Times Advocate, 2005-07-06, Page 66 Exeter Times -Advocate Wednesday, July 6, 2005 Opinion Forum News Seniors' perspective Continued from page 5 marriages. In law today, marriage is constituted by the legal act of a ceremony and signing of official docu- ments, though this may be performed by a religious functionary for reasons of Canadian tradition, the actu- al performance of marriage by religious functionaries is relatively recent. Those churches who argue that we should deny same-sex couples the right to marry on the grounds of some claim that marriage is inherently religious or that marriage has remained unchanged over time are simply wrong historically. In my view, those churches who argue against same- sex marriage on the grounds that it violates their reli- gious principles seem to want to impose specific reli- gious views on a diverse and pluralistic country. Also, as the recent Supreme Court opinion has made it clear, it is specious to argue that churches will have to marry those couples who do not have their own religious cri- teria. If Clergy of the Roman Catholic Church are not currently obligated to marry divorced persons, neither will churches be obligated to marry same-sex couples. I'm sure we have not heard the last of this discussion. Author: Pamela Dickey Young, Queens University. What's happening in Grand Bend July 2005 July 7: Grand Bend Good Food Box orders are due today; $10 and $15 family boxes available. Boxes are delivered on July 20 for pickup from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. to the front lobby of the Grand Bend Area Community Health Centre 69 Main St. East. July 8: Greater Grand Bend Community Association board meeting at 4:30 p.m. Grand Bend Municipal Office/Council Chambers. July 19: Port Franks Senior Euchre -Rama; Port Franks Community Centre, Port Franks Road starting at 10 a.m. sharp! Lunch included. Everyone welcome! For further information call 243-3844. July 19: Port Franks Garden Club annual elections and campfire 7:30 p.m. Contact Marg at 243-1121. July 25: Grand Bend Horticulture Meeting; Grasses— Care and Maintenance with Martin Quinn Instructor at the Grand Bend Legion 7:30 p.m. Aug. 27: Friends of the Pinery Golf Tournament. Widder Station 12 to 2 p.m. Tee -off four person scram- ble, three -course dinner. Golf package $85, dinner only $25. Charitable receipt given for $65. Call 243-1521 for details. It's summer! Many groups are taking a vacation from meeting till fall The Huron Country Playhouse Guild: next meeting will be Aug. 24. The Alzheimer Caregiver Support Group, Living with Cancer Support Group, Diabetes Support Group, and Lioness Club will meet again in September. Walk This Way is a free, fun publication that encour- ages exercise. For your free copy and magnetic board for your fridge contact health promoter Cindy Maxfield at 238-1556 ext. 6. An old farmer's advice * Your fences need to be horse -high, pig -tight and bull -strong. * Keep skunks and bankers and lawyers at a dis- tance. * Life is simpler when you plow around the stump. * A bumblebee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor. * Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled. * Meanness don't jest' happen overnight. * Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads. * Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you. * It doesn't take a very big person to carry a grudge. * You cannot unsay a cruel word. * Every path has a few puddles. * When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty. * The best sermons are lived, not preached. * Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway. * Don't judge folks by their relatives. * Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer. * Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time. * Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none. * Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance. * If you fmd yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'. * Sometimes you get and sometimes you get got. * The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with watches you from the mirror every mornin' . * Always drink upstream from the herd. * Good judgment comes from experience and a lotta that comes from bad judgment. * Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in. * If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influ- ence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around. - Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God. Subject:A miracle! A man walking along a California beach was deep in prayer. Suddenly the sky clouded above his head and in a booming voice the Lord said, "Because you have tried to be faithful to me in all ways, I will send you one miracle." The man said, "Build a bridge to Hawaii so I can drive over anytime I want." The Lord said, "Your request is very materialistic. Think of the enormous challenges for that kind of undertaking. The supports required to reach the bot- tom of the Pacific! The concrete and steel it would take! It will nearly exhaust several natural resources. I can do it, but it is hard for me to justify your desire for worldly things. Take a little more time and think of something that would honour and glorify me." The man thought about it for a long time. Finally he said, ""Lord, I wish that I could understand my wife. I want to know how she feels inside, what she's thinking when she gives me the silent treatment, why she cries, what she means when she says 'nothing's wrong,' and how I can make a woman truly happy." The Lord replied, "You want two lanes or four on that bridge?" Ensuring all our energy and attention is centred on our students Education Matters Randy Wagler,Trustee, Huron Area 4 - South AVON MAITLAND DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD Summer's out for summer I'm sure that many students are now breathing a sigh of relief that they've made it successfully through another year, while many students are jumping for joy at the prospect of two months without school. Parents likely share somewhat similar sentiments, however I'm sure when August rolls around, many of them will be looking forward eagerly to September and the return of school! At the Board level, we are certainly breathing a sigh of relief as well, and jumping for joy (or at least throw- ing our hands up in joy!) as we have completed suc- cessful negotiations with our teacher federations, resulting in labour peace and stability for the next three years and hopefully longer. The recently ratified agreements will benefit every- one, especially students, as it will allow us to focus all our efforts on them instead of being somewhat dis- tracted by labour negotiations. This round of negotiations was quite unique. For the first time in history, the Minister of Education took an active role in the process, working with the teacher federations and the Ontario Public School Boards Association to hammer out a provincial understanding that would form the basis of all agreements. Although all bargaining was done locally, there was an understanding and general agreement around some key provincial issues like salary and teacher preparation time so that local issues such as working conditions could be dealt with in a productive way. I believe that this approach was a positive one. Since school boards receive their funding from the Ministry of Education, there is very little flexibility to decide how those funds are spent, especially when it comes to increases in salary or benefits beyond what is provided by the Ministry. By agreeing at the provincial level on the 'big ticket' items like salary, Boards and teachers were able to negotiate meaningfully and pro- ductively, I believe. In the end, I am convinced that the students benefit from this approach. Three more years of labour peace will help ensure that all of our energy and attention is centered on our students - the reason we're all here in the first place. As in the past, I'm look- ing forward to working with our teachers in a positive, collaborative way in the years ahead to ensure that our students receive the highest possible quality education. What is more important than that? Have a great summer! If you have questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at 235-4445, or email me at rwagler@fc. amdsb. c a. RANDY WAGLER EDUCATION MATTERS Zurich's Lauren Leis, who just turned 10 on the weekend, had her lengthy locks cut off at Exeter's Eclipse Hairstyling last week so she could make a donation to Angel Hair For Kids, a program which makes wigs for chil- dren fighting cancer. Leis, who was inspired by other children who made similar donations, specifi- cally grew her hair for over three years to make the donation.At right, hairstylist Kristina Chansamone prepares Leis's hair, while at left Leis sports her new, shorter hairstyle. (pho- tos/Scott Nixon)