The Times Advocate, 2006-03-08, Page 44
Exeter Times–Advocate
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
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Editorial Opinion
TIMES ADVOCATE
PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511
We acknowledge the Financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications
Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing casts.
Jim Beckett – Publisher
Deb Lord – Production Manager
Scott Nixon – Editor
tirt
Published by iroland Printing,
Publishing Distributing& Ltd.
424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850
Metroland Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • (519) 235-1331
EDITORIAL
Too good to be true
There is an old saying that if something
looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Enter the con man, fraud artist, snake oil
salesman, flim-flam man or whatever name he
goes by these days. He has a million identities
and occupations, all of them fake. His life's
goals revolve around separating decent work-
ing folk like you from your hard earned cash.
He is a parasite, too lazy to engage hi honest labour.
He is constantly looking for easy money and acts with-
out conscience to get it.
The movie con man is a suave hero who conducts
elaborate schemes against targets who are always a
little sleazy. Sadly, his real-life counterpart does not try
to outwit greedy casino owners. Instead, he goes after
the most vulnerable people in our society, the elderly,
the lonely, the desperate and most of all, the naive.
Unlike the common thief who takes other people's
property, the con man gets people to give him money
by trickery. His actions involve cheating and a betrayal
of trust. He takes not only his victims' property, but
also their self-respect.
The Internet is a con man's dream come true. In the
blink of an eye, he can send millions of e-mails, vastly
increasing his chances of connecting with a potential
victim. There is little risk and minimal cost. The
"Nigerian Prince" scam in its various guises continues
to bilk people out of their savings.
Not all scams are high-tech, or even clearly illegal.
People in many communities, including this one, are
targeted from time to time by bands of roving handy-
men who just happen to be in the neighbourhood offer-
ing cut rate repairs to the roof, chimney or driveway.
The work, if it is done at all, turns out to be sub -stan-
dard and a lot more expensive than the going rate.
There is often a demand for a snap decision — sign
on the dotted line before more alert family members
advise against the deal — and cash up front.
And then there are the fake lottery prize letters and
employment opportunities. Some come in the form of
e-mails, while others arrive as flyers in your door or
even phone calls.
If only people would take the time to think first.
Is anyone really going to pay you three or four times
the minimum wage for unskilled clerical work like
stuffing envelopes? No. Then why send money to have
your suspicions of trickery confirmed?
Some of the scams doing the rounds in this area are
clearly illegal — a letter disguised as being from a real
financial institution, asking people to e-mail their per-
sonal fmancial information including PIN number right
away, for example. Amazingly, some people do.
Some scams may not quite achieve the legal defini-
tion of fraud but involve trickery — the seller has no
intention of providing value for your money and delib-
erately misrepresents the product. Buyer beware.
If something looks rotten and smells rotten, why
would you taste it to make sure?
— from The Minto Express
About the Times -Advocate
TA stands alone in victory
Friday night in Zurich truly witnessed what the
Wide World of Sports calls "The thrill of victo-
ry...and the agony of defeat," in a bowl -off for the
ages that demonstrated what makes sport memo-
rable. No quarter was asked for or given as war-
rior athletes, their bodies honed to a fine edge,
threw themselves at each other to get to
the snack bar first.
And in the end the highly trained and
motivated athletes of the Times -Advocate
stood triumphant over the broken bodies
of the Lakeshore Advance bowlers.
Despite what might be reported in cer-
tain quarters, there was no question as to
which team demonstrated the fortitude
and team chemistry necessary to succeed
in bowling.
Raising money for Big Brothers Big
Sisters of South Huron Bowl for Kids is all well
and good but as Conn Smythe said, "if you can't
beat them in the alley, you can't beat them on the
After a complete stretching routine from trying
to pick a bowling ball for the first time in years,
the teams took to the alley to see which would
emerge victorious and it quickly showed which
team would have bragging rights and possession
of the alley at the end of the day.
The '27 Yankees and '74 Flyers had it,
the Leafs used to have it and the Times -
Advocate "Murderers Row" had it as they
fired a steady stream of strikes and
spares.
Channeling Bobby Knight, Sun Tzu and
Animal, captain Nixon led heavy hitters
Nina Van Lieshout and Kelly Gackstetter
to overcome the weak link of Pat "three
more in the gutter" Bolen and grind their
opposition into the dust in a sportsman-
like spirit of competition.
Triumphant in their bowling supremacy, the
Times -Advocate team thanks the Lakeshore
Advance for the healthy competition and would
like them to know a rematch and further bowling
lessons are available at a time and place of their
choosing, along with higher stakes to keep it
interesting, possibly along the lines of the recent
"loser leaves town" wrestling match in Goderich.
Demonstrations of other sports can also be
arranged.
PAT B
BACK 40
VIEW
ice.
Selection of the T -A team was a rigorous
process, with captain Scott "Twinkle Toes" Nixon
ruthlessly weeding out those unfit to wear the
office colours (whatever they are) before embark-
ing on the training of the team, which started at
least five minutes ahead of the competition.
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
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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
Kim Hern ext. 102
COMPOSITION DEPARTMENT
Manager Deb Lord ext. 103/114
Heather Bilcke ext. 103
Kelly Gackstetter ext. 103
ACCOUNTING STAFF
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MargPertschy ext. 111
Heather Clarke