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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2006-05-17, Page 66 Exeter Times–Advocate Wednesday, May 17, 2006 Opinion Forum News Seniors' perspective Continued from page 5 cise and stress reduction straight to your inbox each month. The cornerstone of your estate plan is a will! Every adult should have a will, no matter how large or small his or her estate. Without a will, your property will be distributed by means of an impersonal formula established by provincial laws. In essence, this means the government would write the terms of your will for you. A valid will ensures your property will be dealt with according to your wishes and with a minimum of complications and expense for your estate. Without a will, your spouse may not receive as much as you wish. Your heirs will receive fixed percentages, regardless of their needs, and a Court appointed Administrator would handle your affairs. In making a will, it is important to give careful thought to what per- sons, needs or organizations you would like to benefit. It is best to consult a lawyer or notary to ensure your will is properly drawn. And it's much less expensive than most people imagine. Here are 10 reasons for drafting a will. 1. It's your property: A will guarantees that your assets will be distributed according to your wishes. 2. Children/Grandchildren: a will provides for the care of children who are minors, enabling you to choose a guardian. Should both parents die, it assures the children do not become a ward of the Court. 3. Speedy settlement of affairs: without a will, Lengthy Court delays could create hardship for your family. 4. Estate planning• when skilfully drafted, a will allows you to incorporate tax -saving measures and avoid unnecessary taxes. This in turns results in increased funds for your beneficiaries. 5. Simplify the distribution of your estate: by provid- ing a blueprint and a list of directions, families will not have to guess about what you wanted. 6. Peace of mind: a certain peace of mind comes from knowing you've drafted a will that sets out your true intentions. 7. Questions of capacity: if a person loses mental capacity through dementia or Alzheimer's etc, it's not legally possible to write a will. 8. Supporting your favorite causes: a will assures that you can continue to help organizations that you have believed in during your lifetime such as a healthy charity. Remember that without a will, your lifetime earnings will be distributed through an impersonal for- mula. 9. Relieving any burden on your family: reviewing the contents and nature of your estate and making known your decisions ahead of time for its disposition makes it easier on other family members. 10. Ability to be creative: there is relativity few rules that limit a Testator's (person who writes a will) ability to make creative, thoughtful dispositions of property. The Exeter Library: • The Exeter Library children's area has a number of exciting new additions. Thanks to the Friends of the Library a turtle cushion now resides in the blue room. A cozy red beanbag chair makes another comfy place to read in the library. Be sure to test out this new seat- ing. • The Exeter Library is now part of the South Team of Huron County Library. This team is made up of Kirkton and Exeter Branches. One of the benefits of this new system is a rotation of staff in the branches delivering your library services. Any new staff you see will be part of our South Team. • Toddler time continues at the branch on Friday mornings from 10:15 to 10:45. Parents and children are welcome to this free activity that will run until the end of May. Please be sure to register at 235-1890. • The library will be closed for the May 24 holiday weekend as well. This will include both Sun., May 21 and Mon., May 22. Please note that the Sunday hours will end on this weekend and begin again after the Labour Day weekend in September. At the library this is one of the signs of summer! 2006 Monsanto Canada Opportunity Scholarship Program: This year, Monsanto Canada will provide between 40 – 50 scholarships to deserving high school students across the country entering their first year of post -sec- ondary education in agriculture or forestry. Each scholarship is valued at $1,500 and will be awarded to students who meet the following criteria: • Students must be from an agricultural or forestry family farming operation with plans to enter their first year of post secondary education in agricultural sci- ences or forestry; • Students must have demonstrated academic excel- lence, leadership capabilities and active involvement in their local community; • complete applications, including an essay, must be postmarked no later than July 14, 2006. If you require application forms, please call Monsanto Canada's Custom Care line at 1-800-667- 4944 or visit www.monsanto.ca A Florida man drove his brand new Corvette con- vertible out of the dealership. Taking off down the road, he floored it to 80 mph, enjoying the wind blow- ing through his hair. "Amazing!" he thought as he flew down I-95 and he pushing the pedal to the metal even more. Looking in his rear view mirror, he saw the highway patrol behind him, blue lights flashing and siren blaring. "I can get away from him - no problem!" thought the elderly nutcase as he floored it to 100mph, then 110, then 120mph.? Suddenly, he thought, "What on earth am I doing? I'm too old for this nonsense!" He pulled over to the side of the road and waited for the Trooper to catch up. Pulling in behind him, the Trooper walked up to the driver's side of the Corvette, looked at his watch and said, "Sir, my shift ends in 30 minutes. Today is Friday. If you can give me a reason why you were speeding that I've never heard before, I'll let you go." The man, looking very seriously at the Trooper, said, "Years ago, my wife ran off with a Florida State Trooper. I thought you were bringing her back. Contact MPP with concerns Last Wednesday's Centralia -Crediton sewer meeting offers residents of Exeter a glimpse into what they will soon face — costly "user pay"infrastructure upgrades. Many residents of Crediton -Centralia attending the meeting unfairly directed their frustration toward members of South Huron council. Comments from the audience included deamalgamation as a solution to sewer upgrade costs they now face. As many residents of South Huron are discovering, the Province of Ontario has complete power over munici- palities. Amalgamation and environmental enforcement are two decisions the province has unfairly passed down to our municipal officials to deal with. I believe we the residents of South Huron need to direct our concerns regarding these issues to our current MPP, Carol Mitchell. Mitchell did provide a letter which was read at the meeting in which she stated she would meet with various officials to find a solution to the Centralia -Crediton sewer problem. Our MPP is also the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister Infrastructure Renewal, Hon. David Caplan. Your input is needed so our MPP can direct our concerns to the decision mak- ers within the provincial bureaucracy. Contact our MPP: Carol Mitchell 49-51 Albert St.,, P.O. Box 1794, C linton, Ont. NOM 1L0 1-800-668-9320 - e-mail: cmitchell.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org Letters to the Editor of Public (WALLY) PETER FYDENCHUK, Crediton Impressed with students Recently we had the pleasure of attending South Huron District High School's production of "Romeo and Juliet." The director, Beth Jantzi, is to be commended for tackling such an ambitious project and for carrying it off with such success. We were most impressed by the quality of the performance, which involved the memorization of some very challenging dialogue, the set design and the dance scenes, as well as the authentic rendition of the 1960s music, orchestrated by Kate Hollestelle. Not only were we impressed by the young people's performance on stage, but we were equally impressed by their performance off stage at the cast party at our home after the final curtain fell on Friday night. The principal and staff of SHDHS, along with the parents, can all be proud of the way the students repre- sented the school and themselves as they celebrated months of hard work, com- mitment and effort that culminated in a job well done. We are very fortunate to have so many young people who are able to have fun and at the same time deport themselves in a manner that reflects well on their community. SHEILA AND RICHARD MACGREGOR, Exeter Principal's Message EXETER — Last week the drama club staged Shakespeare's classic "Romeo and Juliet" with a slight twist, changing the setting to Verona, 1967. I had the pleasure of attending the performance Thursday night and I came away extremely impressed with every aspect of the performance. It is a challeng- ing play for high school students, but our young actors rose to the challenge, staging an excellent production. I would like to congratulate all the actors, musi- cians, technicians, stage crew and everyone involved for an outstanding job. Special congratulations go to Beth Jantzi who directed the show. It was an excel- lent production and all the students and staff who worked so hard for the past several months should be commended for staging such a high quality production. This week Bob Robilliard and the bands head off to Ottawa for MusicFest Nationals, and I would like to wish them good luck as they head into competition. I know they will represent us extremely well both on and off the performance stage as excellent ambassadors for our school and for the board. Finally, I would like to include a poem submitted some time ago by a student in one of our English classes. I think this poem conveys a significant message in a thoughtful manner. My thanks to Lana Shapton and her teacher, Mrs. Judy Mallette, for this excellent piece of work. Are you the One? Are you the one - who stands in the corner, all alone, wishfully thinking for someone to say HP Are you the one - who bullies the person, who stands in the corner, all alone, wishfully thinking for someone to say HP Are you the one - who watches the person, who bullies the one, who stands in the corner, all alone, wishfully thinking for someone to say HP You should be the one - to stand up to the person who watches, to stand up to the bully, and talk to the person who stands in the corner, not alone, very thankful, that someone said Hi! Are you the one? JEFF REABURN PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE