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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2008-01-09, Page 5Wednesday, January 9, 2008 Times—Advocate 5 Opinion Forum News 10 YEARS AGO January 7, 1998 - Exeter has the lowest gas price in Huron county at 50.3 cents per litre while Hensall is second at 56.9 cents per litre. Lucan reeve Bob Benner recently recognized Lucan and district Lions club president Clarence Haskett for his member- ship in the club for 50 years. Haskett was the first and is now the 50th president as the club celebrates its 50th anniversary. 20YEARS AGO December 30, 1987 - Chief building official Brian Johnston's recent report to council shows the value of building permits issued during November totalled $464,800. This was almost double the total output for the same month in 1986. For the first 11 months this year, Johnston issued 242 permits with a total value of $5,863,482. Figures at the same time a year ago were 240 permits for construction valued at $3,311,548. Exeter council will be reminding the County of Huron of the town's previous decision to withdraw from the county's planning services. Instead council will be hiring a planning consultant on a fee for ser- vices basis to replace the county service. Mark Ryan is the new president of the South Huron Junior Farmers replacing past president Al Renning. Rick Fletcher and wife Liz Scott are teachers in Coral Bay, a near -Arctic community in Hudson Bay. They returned home for Christmas to visit with par- ents and friends in Exeter and area. 30YEARS AGO January 5, 1978 - Liz Bell, deputy -clerk treasurer of the town of Exeter for the past three years has been named clerk -treasurer to replace Eric Carscadden who will retire at the end of the month. Despite a trying year during 1977, Huron's Agriculture representative Don Pullen predicts coun- ty farmers will "remain valiant and unshaken". Pullen said he was told by one farmer who failed to harvest 200 acres of white beans and did not have crop insurance, "well it's my first crop failure in 16 years". The junior girls curling team from SHDHS were winners in the 0 Pee Chee bonspiel held at the London Highland club. Ted Davies was coach and members of the best rink in the event were skip Laurel Hodgert, Lori Lynn Stewart, Carol Dougall and Jayne Dougall. 45YEARS AGO January 4, 1963 - Mr. 1963, the first New Year's baby at South Huron Hospital arrived at 4:14 a.m. on New Year's morning. He is Glenn English, six pound, 14 ounce son of LAC and Mrs. Ronald English of Exeter. Zone Commander Doug Andrews of Clinton installed the new executive of the Hensall Legion and Ladies Auxiliary Wednesday night. The new Legion president is Jack Simmons and Auxiliary president is Mrs. William Smale. 50YEARS AGO January 5, 1958 - Attending the funeral of the late Thomas Pryde, Huron MLA who died in a London hospital on Sunday were Premier Leslie Frost and members of his cabinet, members of Huron county council, Exeter council and Exeter Lions. Premier Frost paid sincere tribute to Tom Pryde in which he said, "He was a man of great integrity and sound principle". A $3,000 loss in the operation of the SHDHS cafe- teria was discussed by the school board at the first meeting of the new year. 60YEARS AGO January 2, 1948 - Elmer D. Bell was appointed a King's Counsel in the New Year's list. He was also recently elected president of the Exeter Chamber of Commerce. At the inaugural meeting of public school trustees held in the office of the secretary, W.H. Hodgson was re-elected chairman with R.E. Russell as vice- chairman. 85 YEARS AGO January 4, 1923 - A local hockey league of six teams has been formed to play a series of games. The teams are the high school, captain W. Lawson; Midgets, captain E. Wells; Alerts, captain C. Davis; Stars, captain V. Pincombe; Maple Leaves, captain L. Hill and Rovers, captain E. Preszcator. ROSS HAUGH BACK IN TIME Seniors' Perspective By Jim Bearss ADULT ACTIVITIES CO-ORDINATOR The three stages of man: He believes in Santa Claus. He doesn't believe in Santa Claus. He is Santa Claus. Alzheimer Manulife Walk for Memories: The Alzheimer Society of Huron County would like to invite you to join us on Sat., Jan. 26 for our 13th annual Manulife Walk for Memories. Last year, Walk for Memories raised more than $30,000 at their five walk locations! The Society would like to make this year's walk even more successful. Come out on this special January morning and help us make this a day to remember. The date for this important walk is Jan. 26 10 a.m. — 12 noon. You will meet at South Huron District High School in Exeter. Exeter Alzheimer Caregiver Support Group meets the last Wednesday of every month, 1 - 2:30 p.m. at the Exeter Town Hall. Facilitator is Maggie Brennan. Getting bored with winter? Plan to play euchre at the Riverview Estates, Exeter on Sat., Jan. 19 from 1 — 4 p.m. Lunch is provided. Turn at Beer Store and proceed east to the Riverview Estates. For more information con- tact Mildred Chalmers at 235-2028. Canadian Fiddle Champion Scott Woods with his band `Dancing Fiddles' will be at the South Huron Recreation Centre on Sun., Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. Contact Heather Wells at 228-6136 for purchasing tickets that are only $15. The show is sponsored by the Stephen Central Grade 8 Graduating Class of 2008. Please consider helping the pupils with their fund raising efforts. After the conclusion of the show, you are invited to attend a Ham, Scalloped Potato and Dessert Dinner catered by Crediton Zion United Church. Adults $13 and children aged 5 —12 only $5. Enjoy seeing tulips? Mark your calendar for May 7 — 10. Marion Foster is hosting a trip to 'The Tulip Time Festival' in Holland, Michigan. You will see displays of millions of tulips and celebrating Dutch heritage and cul- ture through dance, art and theatre featuring markets, dinner shows, concerts, Klompen dancing and a spectac- ular parade. Contact Ellison Travel & Tours Ltd at 235- 2000 or Toll Free: 1-800-265-7022. Newfoundland from Coast to Coast: Jim and Dorothy Chapman are hosting this great trip on July 3 — 15. Experience North America's first sunrise, see 10,000 year old icebergs, watch humpback whales and view the spectacular coastline as you encounter the warmth and calm of the local people on this spectacular journey to Canada's easternmost point. Join Ellison Tours on our 3rd annual Newfoundland tour. Always in demand, this is our most popular tour! Contact Ellison Travel & Tours Ltd at 235-2000 or Toll Free: 1-800-265-7022. Barn Dance Show On Sun., April 13. The Kirkton Agricultural Society is presenting the 'Barn Dance Show' at the Kirkton- Woodham Community Centre. The concert will be from 2 to 4 p.m. featuring the Barn Dance Show Band and spe- cial guests. Tickets are available at Wayne Otterbein's Barbershop, Exeter or at the Kirkton Market. For more information contact Melanie at 229-8286. Miscellaneous tips Here's another use for that new turkey baster you bought. Use it to squeeze your pancake batter onto your hot griddle and you'll get perfectly shaped pancakes every time. When you check into a hotel room, use an anti -bacter- ial liquid or soap to wipe the TV remote, light switches, taps etc. Germs can stay on these objects for hours or days. If you're short and your closet coat rod is too high, buy some shower curtain rings at the dollar store. Place the big hook over the rod, and from the hook that hangs down, hang your coats including the coat hanger. This makes it accessible to reach and also the shoulders of the coats are not bunched near the rod. If you're flooded with addressed junk mail from chari- ties trying to raise money, simply put your request to be removed from their mailing lists in the self-addressed, stamped envelope and post. It's better than phoning every mailer and using up your time. Save your bread ends and crusts in the freezer. Whenever a recipe calls for bread crumbs, pop them in the blender. This way, you avoid the additives of com- mercial products and you can use the type of bread you prefer. Phantom bidding ignites firestorm! It was the summer of the `wars' in Toronto — the real estate bidding wars, that is. The battlefield! A practice called phantom bidding, in which a seller's realtor con- cocts bogus offers to help boost a property's selling price or spook buyers into rushing their offers. The issue hit the headlines after Michael Manley, owner of Prudential Properties in the beach, ran for head of the Toronto Real Estate Board promising to stamp out the practice. Maureen O'Neill, who refused to acknowledge the practice even existed, eventually won the elec- tion. But within months she had to reverse her stand when the Star uncovered proof unethical bidding practices had indeed been occurring. Several realtors also told us about phantom bids, saying that they're not only unfair to buyers, but they're a threat to the whole industry's reputation. O'Neill has since established a blue-ribbon task force of industry insiders to investigate ways to put an end to unethical practices, likely by implement- ing a system to formally register bids. "I have hand-picked these people and they are the best hi the industry. They have no bias," O'Neill said recently. Manley said he's happy the industry's professional association is finally looking at some form of offer regis- tration system. "What TREB is doing is exactly what they should be doing," he said. The names of the task force members will be made public in January at the panel's first meeting, O'Neill said. Gail Swainson Toronto Star OPP'sTop Cop Julien Fantino furious drunk driving message lost. Whether someone kills an innocent person with a gun or by getting behind the wheel after drinking, the result is the same, says police commissioner Julian Fantino. In an open letter to the people of Ontario, Fantino suggest- ed people are becoming complacent about drunk driving. "I remain incredulous that with all the knowledge, awareness, education and exposure dedicated to the prevention of this particular crime, Canadians have either tuned out the message or timed themselves out of the problem in the misguided belief that the conse- quences of drunk driving will happen to someone else," Fantino wrote. So far this year, 70 people have died in crashes involv- ing alcohol on roads patrolled by the provincial police. Fantino expressed frustration with how the justice sys- tem deals with accused drunk drivers after they are nabbed by the police. "We will also need timely political intervention to fix loopholes in current drunk -driving laws that have become the hobbyhorse for defense lawyers to extradite their drunk -driving clients from the consequences of their criminal conduct," Fantino wrote. He also pointed to a poll suggesting the number of Canadians driving while impaired is rising, and said "all this leads to believe that Canadian society has developed a tolerance for this particular crime." One of the keys to combating the problem, Fantino said, is more RIDE checks. This year, officers checked more than 650,000 vehicles between Nov. 28 and Dec. 26, an increase of two per cent from last year. The number of 12 hour suspensions increased by nearly 40 per cent from the 667 issued last year. "The only positive outcome is a decrease in fatalities to date, from 35 in 2006 to 27 in 2007 (during the RIDE period.)" Fantino wrote. "This 22.9 per cent decrease is, I believe directly related to our increased efforts to detect and apprehend drunk drivers before they kill themselves or, as is too often the case, kill totally innocent people. Canadian Press The consequences If you drink and drive and get caught and convicted, you should have taken the law seriously; For the first offence: $600 fine, one-year driving prohibition; or time in jail. For the second offence: 14 days in jail, two-year dri- ving prohibition; and time in jail. For the third or subsequent offence: 90 days in jail, three year driving prohibition. Drunken charges will lead to much higher insurance costs, only if insurance companies want to take you on as a client. By calling police and reporting suspected impaired drivers, everyone can play a role in keeping our roads safe and in reducing impaired driving crashes, deaths and injuries. Knock on wood Three sisters ages 72, 74, and 76 live in a house together. One night the 76 year old draws a bath. She puts her foot in and pauses. She yells down the stairs "was I getting in or out of the bath?" The 74 year old yells back "I don't know. I'll come up and see." She starts up the stairs and pauses. Then she yells "was I going up the stairs or down?" The 72 year old is sitting at the kitchen table having tea listening to her sisters. She shakes her head and says "I sure hope I never get that forgetful." She knocks on wood for good measure. She then yells "I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who's at the door". Jim Be arss