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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2005-09-07, Page 66 Exeter Times—Advocate Wednesday, September 7, 2005 Opinion Forum News Seniors' perspective Continued from page 5 looked straight at his mother and said, "Mom, I sure do love you". And then he took the pen and in great big letters he wrote: "PAID IN FULL" Legion News: Exeter Legion Branch 167 is sponsoring a 5 Lucky Couples Draws at Eddington's Fine Dining. Draw date is October 22, 2005 at Exeter Legion. Cost of tickets only $5.00 (a $60.00 per couple value) Yard & Bake Sale was held Saturday August 27th. There were a lot of items to choose from and the bake sale was a great success also. The organizers of this event want to thank all the volunteers who helped. Thanks to the municipality for the use of the garbage truck, it is really needed for such occasions as the Annual Yard & Bake Sale. Lest We Forget THEY SHALL GROW NOT OLD AS WE THAT ARE LEFT GROW OLD; AGE SHALL NOT WEARY THEM NOR THE YEARS CONDEMN. AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN THE MORNING, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM. Earl Albert Gardiner was born in the United States on January 18th 1891. This family had moved to the United States between 1887 and 1891, when Earl was born. Then for some reason moved back to Ontario after 1891. Earl Albert Gardiner enlisted in the Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment and was in C Company of the 58th Battalion. He received service # 727212. After his training was complete he went overseas, and up to the front lines where he was fighting in the battle for the town of Lens in France, which is not far from Vimy Ridge. On August 15th 1917 at dawn in the morning, General Arthur Currie, the Canadian Corp's first Canadian Commander launched his fresh seasoned troops in a well rehearsed assault against the bleak treeless chalk ridge called Hill #70. For Currie it was a double victory. He had been ordered to take the town of Lens, but had correctly judged that the high ground on the left was more important. He argued for the change of plans and was successful. The bat- tle demonstrated Currie's mode of fighting. Massive use of 160 machine guns to force the enemy to take cover, and trench mortars and howitzers to kill them in their trenches, thus sparing Canadian lives. He also used feint attacks, and thick, oily smoke screens to hide the movement of some troops. For the first time the artillery was directed by his observers using radios. Still they suffered 1,056 killed, 2,432 wounded and 39 taken prisoner. The Canadian loss- es would have been worse but for the heroic stretch- er bearers, retrieving casualties under fire. Hill 70 gave the Allies a clear distinct view of German positions in lens itself. The enemy had fiercely counter attacked but the Canadian artillery savaged them. Private Earl Albert Gardiner was killed in one of the battles for the town of Lens on June 26th 1917 at the age of 23 and he was buried in the La Chaudiere Military Cemetery, Vimy. This cemetery is located 3 kilometres on the south western outskirts of Vimy. Private Earl Albert Gardiner was the son of James and Elizabeth Gardiner who owned a farm, 2 miles north west of Kirkton, Ontario. The family included a brother Robert, brother James, a sister Janetti, a brother William, a brother Edwin and Earl was the youngest son. HOW OLD? Two elderly gentlemen from a retirement center were sitting on a bench under a tree when one turns to the other and says, "Slim, I'm 83 years old now and I'm just full of aches and pains. I know you' re about my age. How do you feel?" Slim says, "I feel just like a new-born baby. No hair, no teeth, and I think I just wet my pants." SENIOR MARRIAGE There were two elderly people living in a Florida mobile home park. He was a widower and she a widow. They had known one another for a number of years. One evening there was a community supper in the big activity center. The two were at the same table, across from one another. As the meal went on, he made a few admiring glances at her and finally gath- ered his courage to ask her, "Will you marry me?" After about six seconds of 'careful consideration,' she answered. "Yes. Yes, I will." The meal ended and, with a few more pleasant exchanges, they went to their respective places. Next morning, he was troubled. "Did she say 'yes' or did she say 'no'?" He couldn't remember. Try as he would, he just could not recall. Not even a faint memory. With trepidation, he went to the telephone and called her. First, he explained that he didn't remember as well as he used to. Then he reviewed the lovely evening past. As he gained a little more courage, he inquired, "When I asked if you would marry me, did you say 'Yes' or did you say 'No'?" He was delighted to hear her say, "Why, I said, 'Yes, yes I will' and I meant it with all my heart." Then she continued, "I am so glad that you called, because I couldn't remember who had asked me." Motorists should respect farm vehicles Dear Editor: I would like to comment on the report in the Aug. 31 paper regarding the truck tractor accident on Airport Line. The tractor driver did not `decide' to turn into any residence, he was indicating a left turn into , ette the laneway of his own home. The accident . occurred in the Municipality of Bluewater, not South Huron, and one hydro pole was snapped -wow in two, not two hydro poles damaged. As fall and the harvest season approaches, I would ask those who travel on the paved rural roads to do so with caution. Speaking for our sec- tion of Airport Line, the road has many dips and hollows, the shoulders are non-existent and the ditch- es unforgiving. Many use this road to avoid slowing down for the towns on highway #4 but should remember that this road is posted 80 kmph and has slow moving vehicle signs at each end to remind motorists that farm vehicles use it. There is little room for error when driving on Airport Line and this is evident by the number of accidents which have occurred on it. In our society we spend a lot of time waiting for services as others do their jobs for our benefit. Farmers moving machinery or crops on the road are just `doing their job' and motorists need to slow down and respect that fact. Slow moving vehicles are part of our rural community. If you don't want to contend with them, stay on the main highways and leave the rural roads to those who live and make their living on them. Otherwise drive carefully. o th Edlto seems to me that using taxpayer's money to go into competition with its own tax- payers is a misuse of public funds. The 2002 report regarding the sale of Huron Park should be made public immediately (the public did pay for it) so that the busi- nesses of Huron Park do not have to speculate as to what costs will be associated with the purchase of their respective properties. One of my previous letters in this paper was regarding the outrageous fees being levied against property owners for building permits. The new building bylaw which was passed regarding these fees, was on the municipality's website prior to my previous letter, but has since mysteriously disap- th from the website. The new fee schedule continues to be in effect. However, the old fee schedule, outdated since January of this year, is now the only one posted on the website. Is this how issues are settled? The next council meeting is Mon., Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. The citizens of the community need to become more involved and demand a more open and responsive council and administration. As it stands they spend most of their time "putting out fires". We as a community need to keep council on top of issues. Yours truly, DEAN DUCHARME, Huron Contractors Inc., Registered Home Builder rs e r Respectfully, DIANNE SHAPTON. EDITOR'S NOTE: The police information printed in the Times Advocate is forward- ed to our newspaper directly from the OPP dispatch and printed from the copy sub- mitted. Council only "putting out fires" Dear Editor: I was entertained by reading your paper's account last week of the meeting between the businesses of Huron Park and South Huron council. On the issue of whether the Municipality has been working on behalf of the Huron Park businesses, Mr. Morley replied "What do you think I have been doing for five years?" It seems that for a period of 2002 the Municipality was a competing potential purchaser, as Mr. Morley stated that he was in favour of pursuing this option until reading the results of a report that the municipality commissioned on the issue in 2002. Mr. Urlin, during this same meeting, stated that "Council is 100% behind the mayor". I think that it may be a good idea to find out exactly where the mayor is standing prior to making this statement, as it seems he has spent some time hopping from one side of the fence to the other. Mr. Morley was also speculating on the costs that would be associated with the service upgrades that the industrial side of Huron Park requires. His numbers ranged from 2-10 million dollars. This is quite a range. I would assume that the report commissioned in 2002 on the feasibility of South Huron purchasing Huron Park would have professional estimates that would narrow this number down. This report has not been made public. Why should this report be kept confidential? Maybe the municipality is still entertaining the possibility of purchasing Huron Park? Municipalities were never meant to be in the real estate business and it Derek and Meaghan Spence stand under an I 8 -headed sunflowerAug. 31 grown by Patty Spence of Exeter in the first year she has planted sunflowers. (photo/Pat Bolen)