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The Times Advocate, 2008-01-30, Page 66 Times -Advocate Wednesday, January 30, 2008 Opinion Forum News Cartoon "mean-spirited" In the most recent edition of the Exeter Times -Advocate, there appeared an edito- rial cartoon that offered a satirical, albeit mean-spirited, com- mentary on the Liberal Party's political views on the war in Afghanistan. While obviously not planned by the newspaper, I would point out that the cartoon appeared the very1 Lett day that Canadians learned that yet er s another brave Canadian soldier was , Q the killed in Afghanistan. p L,dl tQ While I would not normally respond to -Editor the schoolyard name-calling employed in the cartoon, given the context, I feel com- pelled to make an exception in this instance. While the artist who conceived and crafted the cartoon feels it is appropriate to call the Liberal leader childish and derogatory names, I fail to see what that approach adds to the current debate on the subject. As of today, Canada has lost 78 of our brave sons and daughters as a result of our military involvement in Afghanistan. Losses such as these are a difficult reminder of the dangers faced daily by our troops in the region, but the loss must also serve as a reminder of our responsibility to move forward, regardless of the course, based only upon sound rationale and thoughtful policy. Calling people names because they may not share your views might have some short-term humour value, but is not worthy of the sacrifices made by our fallen soldiers and their families. In the days and weeks ahead, Canadians — all Canadians — will need to consider the question of our continuing involvement in Afghanistan. It will be the topic of dis- cussion around kitchen tables, in coffee shops, in the barber's chair and, most assuredly, in Parliament. I would strongly urge your readers to be cognizant of the facts surrounding the debate, respectful of legitimate differences of opinion and attentive to the fact that free and open debate is essential if we are to prevent the sacrifices of those 78 men and women from being made in vain. PAUL STECKLE, Huron -Bruce MP Christmas Bureau thanks community It is with gratitude that we extend sincere thanks from all the volunteers who worked the five Huron County Christmas Bureaus to the many people who support- ed our efforts. By any standard this is a huge undertaking for a volunteer group and a program that would be impossible to manage without the backing of a generous community. Over the holiday season we were able to bring welcomed gifts of food, new clothing and new toys to 455 families and 973 children across the County. As we write this letter we are busy `wrapping up' the 2007 service and making plans for Christmas 2008. We are making these plans, confident that you will always answer our call for help! Yours truly, SHARON KIRKEY, chair Huron County Christmas Bureau BARB HOGAN, co-chair Huron County Christmas Bureau South Huron facing some inflationary rates SOUTH HURON — Staff at the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) requested an approximate 14 per cent general levy increase from the contributing municipalities. Their board has granted the increase. That one line item on our budget in South Huron will increase our budget by 0.5 per cent. I am not faulting the ABCA or their board for the increase — ABCA staff figured with the inflation they are dealing with, they needed that size of an increase to provide the same service this year that they provided last year. The board felt the service they provide is valuable to the public and felt they didn't want to see that service eroded. For those reasons, they granted the increase. However we at South Huron are facing some of the same inflationary rates that the ABCA is facing. We also have been facing inflationary rates greater than the tax rate for a number of years. In years past, the council has cho- sen to cheat by cutting back on some of the services to make up for these rate hikes. When you cut back on services, you are cheating the future of the municipality and at some time some of these bills will have to be paid. The municipality is a service provider to the ratepayers. Some of the ser- Ken Oke vices are mandated by the province and some are mandated by the taxpayer. Competent staff must be hired to administer and carry out the services. If you from the public. As more responsibility is handed to the staff, the compensation in wages also goes up. To provide these services, it takes a lot of energy and energy costs have gone up double and triple the cost of inflation in the last number of years. To come up with the budget we look at what we are able to control and only those list items can be cheated on. Each year we are running out of those items. The fact is that South Huron has the second lowest tax rate in Huron County. Should we be looking at a tax rate to sustain our municipality for the future? On Feb. 4, between the hours of 7 and 7:30 p.m., council is having an open house during the regular council meeting looking for suggestions from the public regarding this year's budget. If you can not make the meet- ing, written submissions may be given to the clerk. We need to know what is important to you and what is not important to you. Should we be honest and pass on all inflationary costs to the public through taxes? If you would like to propose new services, we need to know how we should pay for them. It should be an interesting meeting and I know I am looking forward to don't hire competent staff, charges are laid by the province and lawsuits prevail the outcome and I feel council is also interested to get the public's input. Lung Association calls on Canadians to take action When Dr. Alan Kaplan hears debate about whether smoking should be banned in cars carrying children, he thinks about a young patient of his - a little boy with asthma. Strangely, the boy didn't have any breathing prob- lems during the week. But on weekends his asthma would worsen and by Sunday night he'd have trouble breathing. It was a pattern that was repeated almost every week. What triggered this recurring problem? It didn't take long to figure out. The boy's parents were separated and he would spend the school week with his mother. On Fridays, the father would pick up his son by car and smoke all the way back to his home, a 35 -minute drive away, where he also smoked indoors. "Now if a smoking ban in cars was in place, it would have at least protected that child during car rides," says Dr. Kaplan, a family physician. That little boy is just one reason why Dr. Kaplan sup- ports a ban on smoking in cars with children. He's not alone. Canadians support a smoking ban The majority of Canadians (82 per cent) say they support a ban on smoking in vehicles with children younger than 18 years of age, according to a recent national poll. More than two-thirds of smokers (69 per cent) say they support a ban, too. "We should not allow children to be exposed to a substance that makes healthy children sick and sick children sicker," says Nora Sobolov, president of the Canadian Lung Association. Across the country, people are talking about smoking bans in cars carrying children. Last fall, the town of Wolfville, Nova Scotia became the first town to ban smoking in cars carrying children under age 18. The government of Nova Scotia soon followed, passing its own province -wide ban. Since then, private member bills and motions have been introduced in provincial and territorial governments in the Yukon, British Columbia and Ontario. In the United States, bans have also been passed in: California; Arkansas; Louisiana; Bangor, Maine; Keyport, New Jersey; and Rockland County. South Australia has also recently taken action to protect chil- dren from the dangers of second-hand smoke. A dangerous poison Tobacco smoke is a dangerous mix of more than 4,000 dangerous chemicals. Because the space inside cars is small, second-hand smoke is more concentrat- ed. The poisons in smoke can reach very high levels in a short amount of time. Babies and children are especially vulnerable to the poisons in tobacco smoke because they breathe more quickly and take in more harmful chemicals for their size than adults A 2006 study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that exposure to second- hand smoke in a car for just ten seconds can cause asthmatic episodes in children. Children who are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke have: * Higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) * More cough and wheeze than children of non- smokers * More severe asthma than children of non-smokers * More ear infections * Slowed lung growth * Double the risk of bronchitis, croup and pneumonia * Lower test scores in math, reading and logic * Higher risk for heart disease * More chances of taking up smoking themselves Protecting our children There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Even brief exposures can be harmful. Detractors of banning smoking in cars say that their civil liberties are being trampled on. But Dr. Kaplan counters that argument with: "Who's looking after the children's civil liberties? Children are held captive in car seats in their parents' cars, where they are forced to endure significant levels of second-hand smoke." "Babies and children are powerless to protect them- selves from this risk. But we are not," says Sobolov. The Lung Association has launched a campaign to help Canadians act now on this important public- health issue. By visiting www. cleanairforkids.ca, Canadians can send an email message directly to their provincial or territorial representative, health minister or premier. "As parents or grandparents, health-care profession- als, educators, caregivers, business owners and com- munity leaders, we all should be concerned about this major public health risk," says Sobolov. "We must act now to protect our children." cooking with memories BY DEBBY WAGLER BROCCOLI CASSEROLE WHILE GROWING UP WE ENTERTAINED A LOT! WE WERE ALSO INVITED OUT TO VARIOUS HOMES AND MY MOTHER AND I LEARNED TO COLLECT RECIPES. IF YOU DIDN'T GET THE RECIPE OF SOMETHING YOU LIKED THE DAY YOU ATE IT YOU PROBABLY WOULDN'T GET THE RECIPE. MY MOTHER CARRIES TO THIS DAY RECIPE CARDS IN HER PURSE. I SHOULD BECAUSE WHILE WAITING FOR APPOINTMENTS I AM ALWAYS WRITING OUT RECIPES FROM MAGAZINES ON THE BACK OF SALES SLIPS! THE FOLLOWING RECIPE IS ONE FROM A HOME WE VISITED A NUMBER OF TIMES AS GUESTS. NANCY WAS AN AMAZING COOK. TRY THIS ONE TONIGHT! 1 pkg. frozen chopped broccoli (10 oz) 1/3 cup long grain cooking rice la cup to 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese or your favorite 1 can cream of celery soup 1/2 cup water Cook rice in 1 cup water for 10-15 min. until almost cooked. In casserole dish mix thawed broccoli, cheese, soup, rice and water. Bake in oven for about 40 minutes at 325. Wow.