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Home My WebLink AboutThe Times Advocate, 2006-10-04, Page 44 Exeter Times–Advocate Wednesday, October 4, 2006 A ocna =CNA TIMES ADVOCATE Editorial Opinion PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511 We acknowledge the Financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing costs. Canada Jim Beckett – Publisher Deb Lord – Production Manager Scott Nixon – Editor 4 Published by Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd. Metroland 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850 Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • 519-235-1331 Peter Winkler -General Manager, Southwestern Ontario Division EDITORIAL Interesting election The candidates are in and it appears cer- tain that this fall's municipal election will be the most interesting in South Huron's short, six-year history. There will be elections for every position in South Huron, a change from the 2003 election, which saw Mayor Rob Morley and Coun. Ken Oke acclaimed. This time around, there is an interesting mix of new- comers taking on council veterans. South Huron also sees the departure of some council experience, as Mayor Rob Morley, Deputy Mayor Dave Urlin and Coun. Harvey Ratz aren't running. As a result, South Huron is assured of a new mayor — Oke is challenged by political newcomer and out- spoken council critic Dean Ducharme of Exeter, while the deputy mayor's position sees two council veterans, current Coun. George Robertson and former Coun. Drew Robertson, up against Crediton's Wally Fydenchuk, another resident who has been vocal in his criticism of council. The wards of Exeter, Stephen and Usborne also fea- ture several new candidates, which will make for some new faces on South Huron's new council. If only the elections in Bluewater and Lucan Biddulph were as exciting. In Bluewater, there will be elections in the positions of mayor, deputy mayor and the wards of Hensall and Zurich, while the remaining six posi- tions will be acclaimed. Things are even less interesting in Lucan Biddulph, with almost the entire council acclaimed — Mayor Tom McLaughlin, Deputy Mayor Perry Caskanette and councillors Wayne Hall and Paul Hodgins were all uncontested and will return. Only Ward 3 Coun. Doug Anderson faces opposition in the election; he will face off against Alex Westman. Acclamations, as this space has complained before, are a sign of voter apathy. Councillors who are acclaimed like to say it's because everybody is happy; more likely, it's because nobody cares. Say what you want about those who have been vocal in their criticism of South Huron council — at least they've stepped up to the plate to get involved. We'll see how they do Nov. 13. About the Times -Advocate What do we want to be? It's still over a month away but with Canadian troops in large scale combat for the first time in 50 years in Afghanistan this year's Remembrance Day promises to be even more emotional than it normally is. For the first time in generations, we're being forced to decide not just what our values are but how much we're willing to do to defend them. Since the mission started in 2002, a total of 37 Canadians have been killed serving in Afghanistan, a number which would hardly have registered on the morning of July 1, 1916, when the 1st Newfoundland Regiment went over the top near the village of Beaumont - Hamel in France on the first day of the battle of the Somme in the First World War. As the official account on the Veterans Affairs Canada website states, "of the 801 Newfoundlanders who went into battle that morning, only 68 were able to answer the roll call the next day, with 255 dead, 386 wounded and 91 missing." Grievious as the losses were they were dwarfed once again in August 1942 when Canadians stormed ashore at Dieppe and in the space of one night, 907 lost their lives with another 1,946 captured. Polls, if they are to be believed, don't show that 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: $40+GST Two year rate for addresses in Canada: $72+GST One year rate for addresses outside Canada: $140 Call (519) 235-1331 to order a subscription. Canadians have much desire to carry on the struggle with a large percentage thinking the war is already lost and another sizeable number saying they wouldn't serve even in the highly unlikely, if not outright impossible, event of a draft. Although the federal Liberals would normally be drooling at the prospect of knocking over a minority government and fighting an election over an unpopular war, it isn't quite as easy as they would like since they were the ones who signed the order in the first place, leaving "Taliban Jack" and the media to lead the sur- render offensive. With the calls that Canada is a tiny country with neither the need nor the resources to be in a war on the other side of the world, they ignore the reality that a country with one third the pop- ulation 60 years ago put a military of one million in the field, floated the third largest navy in the world and flew the fourth largest airforce. Canadians may yet decide the war in Aghanistan is "a quarrel in a far -away country between people of whom we know nothing," but if we decide to throw in the towel a new national symbol might be in order, something like a beaver with its head rammed firmly in the sand and its tail tucked between its legs. Classified Rates Word ads: $11 for 20 words, 20t for each additional word+ GST. Notices (births, deaths, announcements, coming events, memoriams, cards of thanks): $15 + GST for up to 50 words, All ads must be pre -paid. The classified ad deadline is Monday at 10 a.m. Display Advertising To place a display ad, (519) 235-1331 weekdays 8:30 to 4:30 p.m. or evenings (519) 235-1336 (leave mes- sage) or toll-free at 1-888-270-1602. Deadline: Fri. 2 p m. E-mail Us Web site: www.southhuron.com TA e-mail addresses consist of the person's first initial and last name followed by @southhuron.com. For example, Jim Beckett's e-mail address is <jbeck- ett@southhuron.com> Our general e-mail address is ads@southhuron.com. The Times -Advocate Team Publisher Jim Beckett ext. 109 ADVERTISING Deborah Schillemore ext. 112 EDITOR Scott Nixon ext. 105 REPORTERS Pat Bolen ext. 113 Nina Van Lieshout ext. 107 CUSTOMER SERVICE Sue Rollings ext. 101 Elaine Chipchase ext. 102 PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT Manager Deb Lord ext. 103/114 Heather Bilcke ext. 103 Kelly Gackstetter ext. 103 ACCOUNTING STAFF Anita McDonald ext. 104 Ruth Slaght ext. 106 MargPertschy ext. 111 Heather Clarke ext. 206