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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2005-07-20, Page 5Wednesday, July 20, 2005 Exeter Times—Advocate 5 Opinion Forum News ROSS HAUGH BACK IN TIME 15 YEARS AGO July 25, 1990 - Andrew and Stephen Geiger of Burnside Stables of Zurich brought home top prizes from the Campbell's Challenge horse show in St. Marys. The new Exeter fire hall was officially opened Tuesday afternoon at a cost of $480,000. MPP Jack Riddell congratulated the town and its building committee on its achievement and suggested the taxpayers' monies had been well spent and added, "I don't think there is a thriftier town in the county." Mayor Bruce Shaw retorted, "Your reference to our being thrifty wasn't suggesting we are cheap?" 25 YEARS AGO July 23, 1980 - Longtime residents of Ailsa Craig, Jack and Gertrude Rosser were selected as this year's Grand Marshalls throughout Gala Days. Former MPP Charlie MacNaughton and Agriculture Minister Lorne Henderson cut the ribbon at the opening of the new Huron Hall residence at Centralia College of Agricultural Technology. The thirty-sixth annual Kirkton Garden Party held Wednesday was again a big success attracting close to 4,000 people. Although thunder and lightning threatened to spoil the show towards the end of the evening, they held off, just as master of ceremonies Lee Paul said it would. 40 YEARS AGO July 25, 1965 - Kenneth Kerr, formerly of Elmira and Trenton has been appointed editor of the Exeter Times -Advocate effective August 9. Miss Mary Van Camp was in Owen Sound and entered two of her paintings in the Jury competition at the Tom Thompson Art Museum. The show concludes August 7. Hal Hooke, former field officer of the Ausable River Conservation Authority has been appointed secretary of the select committee named by Premier Robarts to consider all aspects of authorities throughout Ontario. 45 YEARS AGO July 27, 1960 - Fl. W.L. Balkwill of Exeter leaves his position on the construction engi- neering staff at RCAF Training Command headquarters in Winnipeg to become construc- tion engineering officer at Camp Borden. Material for Exeter Curling Club's new build- ing to be erected east of Riverview Heights began arriving this week. Miss Helen Westcott assisted by Mrs. Harold Broderick hosted a dinner party at the Dominion Hotel in Zurich in honour of Mrs. Robert Dennis of Hollywood, California who is visiting friends and relatives in the district. 55 YEARS AGO July 26, 1950 - The British Empire hails its new princess, a six -pound daughter to Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. Gerard Vandenbussche, a new Canadian from Belgium, has turned useless swampland into a gardener's paradise at Grand Bend. He was able to buy 250 acres of land that was considered useless from the government for $12 per acre and has grown vegetables for market. The nationwide railway strike caught Hensall grain elevators right at the peak of the threshing season. All mills will be forced to close before the end of the week. 70 YEARS AGO July 25, 1935 - From July 27 to July 31, Exeter is celebrating a Century of Progress and holding a Reunion of its Old Boys and Girls. It is 105 years since the first settler built the first log cabin at what is now known as the corner of Main and Simcoe streets. Monday at noon will see the opening of the great three-day sports program with a grand parade of decorated cars, floats and Calithumpians led by the Forest and Exeter bands. Two of the smartest baseball teams in Western Ontario, the Stratford Nationals and Hamilton Victorias will fight it out under OBA umpires. Premier Gardiner of Saskatchewan will throw out the first pitch. Seniors' Perspective By Jim Bearss ADULT ACTIVITIES CO-ORDINATOR "Reputation is a hallmark. It can remove doubt from pure silver and it can also make the plated article pass for pure. And so many people without a hallmark of their own and are always trying to get the loan of somebody else's." Mark Twain Adult public swim In the past, the Exeter Swimming Pool has operated each summer and has been a favourite for residents of all ages. Adult public swimming is held Monday to Thursday 6 to 6:30 p.m. For more information contact the Exeter Pool at 235- 3169. Zurich fair Held on July 22, 23, and 24 at the Bluewater Community Centre, Zurich, sponsored by the Zurich Agricultural Society. July 22 — evening entertainment and dance. July 23 — parade, livestock shows, home craft exhibits, baby show, children games and crafts. July 24 — Jamboree and horse show. Free admission — July 24. Contact Margaret Deichert (519) 236-4130. Ontario's West Coast Official Vacation Guide Country festival Come home to the Country Festival, Seaforth, July 29 — July 31. All weekend enjoy dances, tournaments, tours, summer carnival, Egmondville House flea mar- ket, craft market at the Seaforth Public School and the hospitality tent with local talent at the Legion. On Sunday attend a community church service at the arena and in the afternoon enjoy the downtown swing band concert and stroll around the town and enjoy the sights! Ontario's West Coast Official Vacation Guide 55th annual Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Championship Aug. 4 — 8: four days of family fun including fiddle workshops, concerts, the Canadian Open Fiddle Championship, parade, farmers' market, midway, arts and crafts. Presented by Shelburne Rotary Club. Phone: (519) 925-3551. Town and Country golf tournament Will be held Sat., Aug. 6 at Woodlands Links Golf Club, Clinton. Your day will include 18 holes of golf, steak dinner, cash prizes, putting contest, hole in one. Prizes for everyone, best ball/scramble, experienced and novice golfers welcome. Register early. For more information contact Town and Country Support Services in Exeter at (519) 235-0258 or (519) 357- 3222. South Huron Chamber of Commerce hole in one golf tournament South Huron Chamber of Commerce hole in one golf tournament takes place Thurs., Aug. 18 at Exeter Golf Club; nine holes, steak BBQ, hole in one winner drives home in a Cadillac CTS from HMP. For more informa- tion call the Chamber of Commerce office for more details 235-4520. Library news Exeter Library is ready to "Blast Off" into summer The Exeter Lionesses are again supporting the sum- mer reading program at the library. The theme this year is `space' and two university students will be pre- senting the program. Openings are still available for the four to six age group. Please call the library at 235-1890 to register your child or grandchild for this free program. New books continue to arrive at the library. Come in for cool summer reading. Legion news The annual rummage sale will be held at the Legion Aug. 27. Many items needed and please contact Harvey Hillman at (519) 236-1167 or the Legion at (519) 235-2962. More details about the sale in future columns. What's happening in Grand Bend Aug. 27: Friends of the Pinery Golf Tournament; Widder Station 12-2 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. Home help Town and Country Support Services home help ser- vice provides assistance with housekeeping, shopping and meal preparation. Housekeeping includes: • cleaning, dusting, vacuuming, tidying • laundry, ironing, mending • shopping, errands • defrost refrigerators • clean stove, ovens The length of time a worker spends in your home depends on you and your needs. He or she is available from a few hours a month to several hours a week. Fees for service Users of this service are charged according to their ability to pay, based on a sliding fee scale. Invoices are sent out every four weeks. Home maintenance and repair The Town and Country Support Services can arrange for a handy person or housecleaner to provide home maintenance, repair job or heavy cleaning. The job may be arranged regularly, occasionally or one time only. Examples of regular jobs include: • heavy housecleaning • yard maintenance • snow shoveling • washing outside windows One-time jobs include: Helping you arrange home repairs/renovation such as: • decorating • plumbing • electrical • new furnaces • roofs • masonry repairs • structural modifications for personal safety, barrier free access and quality of life • seasonal housecleaning • washing indoor walls • washing of drapes/slipcovers/upholstery • indoor window washing • scrubbing out of cupboards • cleaning out of wood burning stoves Contact your local Town and Country Support Office at (519) 235-0258. Aging in Canada Census data tell us that seniors comprise one of the fastest growing population groups in Canada. In 1998, there were an estimated 3.7 million Canadians aged 65 and over, up 57 per cent from 2.4 million in 1981. In marked contrast, the population in age ranges under age 65 grew by less than 20 per cent in the same period. In 1998, seniors made up 12 per cent of the total population, up from 10 per cent in 1981 and 8 per cent in 1971. The current figure is more than twice that of 1921, when only 5 per cent of Canadians were aged 65 and over. The senior population will grow even more rapidly during the next several decades, particularly when baby boomers begin turning 65. Statistics Canada has projected that by 2016, 16 per cent of all Canadians will be aged 65 and over, a population numbering almost six million. The senior population that has reached old age is also growing. About one in 10 Canadians was aged 85 and over in the mid-1990s compared with about one in 20 earlier in the 20th Century. The population of older people will grow partly because baby boomers are aging, but also because people are living longer. The remaining life expectan- cy of Canadian seniors has increased substantially over the course of the 20th Century. Backbreaking work, infectious diseases and accidents which once carried people off at younger ages are no longer as prevalent as they once were, and modern medicine has enabled people to live many more years than their parents or grandparents. What is increasingly impor- tant, therefore, is the quality and security with which people can live out the remainder of their lives. Asian farmers sucking continent dry Asian farmers drilling millions of pump -operated wells in an ever -deeper search for water is threaten- ing to suck the continent's underground reserves dry, the London-based science magazine New Scientist reports. "This little -heralded crisis is repeating itself across Asia and could cause widespread famine in the decades to come," the magazine said in a report on a water conference in Sweden last summer The worst affected country is India where small farmers have abandoned traditional shallow wells, instead drilling 21 million tube wells hundreds of metres below the surface using technology adapted from the oil industry. A million wells a year are com- ing into operation in India to irrigate rice, sugar cane and alfalfa around the clock. While $600 (US) pumps have brought short-term prosperity to many and helped India a major rice exporter in less than a gen- eration, future implications are dire, the magazine said. "So much water is being drawn from underground See PERSPECTIVE page 6 Sgti Jim Be arss