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The Times Advocate, 2007-07-18, Page 66 Times -Advocate Wednesday, July 18, 2007 Opinion Forum News Looking for logic I am amazed that within minutes of Hydro One installing a "smart meter" in order to be able to conserve energy, I would go outside to find all the street lights on at 10:15 a.m. While I can understand the need for maintenance, this is the fourth time in the last four to five weeks. I would assume that any savings that I can generate by various means would be used up by these lights being on during the day. Would it not be advisable for this kind of maintenance to be done on a "night shift" when the lights are on anyways? Just wondering. RON AMERONGEN Exeter Thanks to local police To all the men and women from Exeter and surrounding area OPP: This letter is to thank you for all the amazing police work that you have done and continue to do regarding the break-in at Four Seasons Jewellery Design. Our family faced a real tragedy last month that would have been much harder to go through if it wasn't for the amaz- ing kindness and compassion the officers and detectives showed us. The way your team came together and worked our case was truly astonishing. In a general way of speaking the public doesn't really know what your job entails. Usually the only time someone encounters the police is when being pulled over for a driving infraction. You don't get to see the true work that gets done and the passion for good policing that the officers have. They are true humanitarians who really do care for our community because it is theirs as well. The sacrifices you make do not go unnoticed, the long hours, the time away from your families and special occasions you miss out on to serve our community are not taken for granted; not once did we hear anything but "don't mention it, it's our job." It's sad we have come to realize this under such horrible circumstances but we want to thank you personally and for our community for a job well done and we will never forget this. Sincerely, Jos, TINKA AND JACOB BERVOETS styles. Dance sometimes denotes a passage in a person's life and was used as such in the Far East at least 6,000 years ago. What is acknowledged is that dance evolves throughout time and what may be deemed offensive to a group at a given time can then evolve into a national treasure. For example, early ballet was con- demned as immoral by the church in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The National Ballet and its performers would hardly be described as immoral today. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, ranked dancing with poetry, and said that cer- tain dancers, with rhythm applied to gesture, could express manners, passions and actions. The most eminent Greek sculptors studied the attitude of the dancers for their art of imitating passions. What we must be careful to avoid is the blatant misconception put forth by Mr. Bolen that participation in modern dance equates to a bleak future. His comments with respect to "tarts" and his insinuation that children who dance in modern cos- tume are used for immoral reasons are wholly inappropriate and quite egre- gious. If Mr. Bolen knew how much his blatantly inappropriate com- ments profoundly hurt these children and their families, I am sure he could be convinced to offer an unreserved and abject apology to them. I am also informed that the majority of the children participat- ing in this program are high achievers at both scholastics and the concomitant physical education they receive at school. Perhaps one of these girls will grow up and take up the legal pro- fession and be hired by Mr. Bolen in a future libel suit. His printed comments are certainly designed to be defamatory and border on a breach of the Human Rights Code. Mr. Bolen's Taliban view of the female form and his failure to appreciate the beau- ty of all types of dance should be condemned for what it truly is, and that is an eigh- teenth century mind failing to appreciate the evolution of humankind in all of its pursuits. Mr. Bolen would probably prefer to see the human form covered from head to toe. I have one clear message for him and that is this will never occur in this coun- try. A retraction should be immediately submitted for publication by Mr. Bolen and by this newspaper. FRANK M. REILLY, Waterloo Letters to the Editor "We Care" Men's Charity Breakfast The July 21 "We Care" Men's Charity Breakfast is to be held at the Malibu Restaurant south of Exeter on Highway 4 at 8:30 a.m. Our opening discussion topic continues the theme of auto restoration. In this area there are several people involved in the home garage type of vehicle restoration or custom building operations. Ron Shamblaw of Kirkton is one of these guys. While visiting with his sister, Helen Pringle, at Lake Havasu in Arizona in the late winter of 2006, he noticed a "For Sale" sign on a rare Ranchero vehicle sitting in a local used car lot. Closer inspection revealed its true identity as a 1969 Ford Fairlane 500 Ranchero. This top of the line Fairlane 500 sported additional trim and other goodies. Being in hot dry Arizona, it had no rust, but it did have collision damage that needed repair. Although real work was needed on the body, the 302 cubic inches Ford engine with a four -barrel carburetor and C4 automatic transmis- sion needed no extra attention to get it to working condition. This particular vehicle was built in Atlanta, Georgia, for the hot western states, and as such it also has a different cooling fan with shroud and a larger radiator to help deal with the heat. The vehicle arrived in Kirkton in early June, and serious work began. Ron decided against a complete body -off restoration as this was to be a daily driven, go- on -errands type of truck, and it received some modifications to make it Ron's own. The customizing modifications included bucket seats from a Lincoln, different wheels, hood pins and changes in the chrome mouldings. By November the engine was running flawlessly, the creases, scrapes and tears were removed and smoothed, and the entire body looked beautiful in its new blue fmish, painted by Ron. It certainly draws attention to itself as it moves around the countryside. We live an a hurting world. Your presence at the breakfast and the contribu- tions made to the Canadian Food Grains Bank helps put food in the mouths of starv- ing children. After breakfast, enjoy a time of spiritual renewal and Biblical truth. For more information, contact George Burgin (229-8833), Dave Hern (229-6339) or Hans Timmerman (284-0174) Submitted by GEORGE BURGIN Comments called inappropriate I have only now been provided with a copy of the article authored by Mr. Pat Bolen and his critique of modern dance he reviewed on the occasion of the dance recitals and performances at South Huron District High School some weeks ago. I am a friend of the parents of one of the children who participated that day in the "think pink" portion of the show. Knowing these parents and the child's grand- parents and in particular the child who participated, I found Mr. Bolen's comments quite inappropriate and designed to apply conservative values upon a cultural event which are clearly his own and, I would envision, not shared by the majority of peo- ple residing in the community he lives in and writes for. The history of dance precedes ancient Greece and takes on many forms and We need to support CT Scanner Those of us who live outside Goderich need to support the Alexandra Marine & General (AMG) Hospital campaign for a Huron County CT Scanner. I have not been a resident in Goderich since 1976, but I feel compelled to support this needed regional health cause. Its specific location no longer matters. We must try to be bigger than some of our local politicians — across Huron County — who, regrettably, can only see progress if it happens within their own corporate boundaries. On the other hand, the hospital boards for all our small hospitals have been pro- gressive and visionary. They have been able to see the larger, regional picture — with or without the support of the local councils. Over the long haul, Huron County council has almost always supported regional campaigns for hospital capital equipment. The members currently err in their refusal to support the AMG campaign. They are really refusing to support the Town of Goderich. That is not the issue. The long history of Huron County support for hospital capital equipment, such as this scanner, has served to eliminate the local bickering about such costs, the bene- fit of which overlaps municipal boundaries. I hope the mayors and reeves will give sober second thought and reconsider their recent refusal. The Ontario Ministry of Health does not pay for capital equipment such as this scanner. Funds must be raised locally. Any local hospital that can afford to divert operating funds to run the equipment can do so. In the Huron County case, the only hospital that can seem to do this is AMG. For the benefit of Huron County health care then, we are obligated to support them. Ordinary citizens, the users of the health care system, need to help set the health care directions. We must talk to our local councillors. They need to understand that the in camera, closed door bickering about regional services must stop. This is not a competition between towns, townships and villages, it's about our general health and well-being as a community. The needs of the ordinary residents of Huron County must take precedence over individual municipal concerns. The CT Scanner is but one issue. The same thing applies to the development of family health teams, water and related services, annexation and boundaries, land use planning, economic development, environmental concerns and any other matter where benefits to real citizens overlap existing municipal boundaries. We need gen- uine partnerships, not partnerships of convenience. Negotiations and flexibility have to swing both ways to find solutions of mutual benefit — once again — not to indi- vidual municipalities, but to the citizens at large. Contact Gordon Hill of Varna at 233-3307 or Willy Laurie of Central Huron at 482- 9265 for more information. Talk to your local elected representatives about starting to pull together on this matter, and others, for the benefit of our collective communi- ty PAUL CARROLL Municipality of Central Huron Playground gets festive EXETER — The youngsters had an awesome time last week hunting for treasure and playing Spiderman tag. Week three, "Festive Fever Returns," is off to a good start as well. On Monday we wore green to celebrate St. Patty's Day CASEY CYR EXETER PLAYGROUND LEADER and on Tuesday we had "Play Ground -Hog Day" where we had a scavenger hunt to search for groundhogs. Today is packed full of love as the kids learn about why St. Valentine's Day exists, and enjoy some crafts before traveling to the Exeter Pool. "Adventures on Wonderland" is still on Thursday; we are excited to have you so keep signing up! Don't forget to wear a Halloween costume Friday. "Sports Spectacular" week starts July 23 with a soccer kick off. Kids will learn some soccer skills while they play together as a team. Baseball takes place Tuesday where we will be teaching the kids the basics and how to play hard. On Wednesday we rediscover the good old Canadian tradition, hockey, before heading to the pool for a swim. Get excited for Thurs., July 26, when we will enjoy ice cream on a DQ tour! Don't forget to wear a jersey July 27 for "Jersey Day." Call Maggie at 235-2361 if you have any ques- tions.