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The Times Advocate, 2008-04-09, Page 44 Times—Advocate Wednesday, April 9, 2008 zkocna =CNA T. 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 costs. 1eI ana a Deb Lord — Production Manager 1107 Scott Nixon — Editor t The Times -Advocate is owned by Metroland Media Group Ltd. Metroland 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850 Media Group Ltd. Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • 519-235-1331 Doug Rowe -General Manager, Southwestern Ontario Division EDITORIAL Public process necessary The openness of South Huron's budget process has been encouraging, and that trend continued Monday night as chief administrative officer Roy Hardy led council and those in attendance through this year's draft budget, which calls for a five per cent increase on the municipal portion of residential taxes. That increase amounts to a $35 increase on the municipal levy over last year's figures. Still to be determined is the county levy. Of course, while council invited input from the public a couple of months ago on what types of projects they would like to see receive budget consideration, only two groups made presentations — Communities in Bloom and South Huron Minor Hockey. There will hopefully be more public input in future budgets because public participation improves the vibrancy of a municipality. It's also better to get involved before the budget is final- ized rather than complaining about the increases after the fact. Budgets and numbers aren't the most exciting thing in the world to deal with, but if you have concerns about how your municipality is spending your money, take an active role and get involved. Council approved this year's draft budget Monday night and plans to adopt it at its April 21 meeting. "Grant" the latest buzzword It's amazing how often the word "grant" is used by politicians and in newspapers these days. In an age when municipalities are struggling through provincial downloading, smaller communities in partic- ular rely on grants to help with major infrastructure projects such as waterlines and sewers, exactly the type of large -ticket items local municipalities like South Huron and Bluewater are dealing with and will contin- ue to deal with as aging infrastructure needs to be replaced. Bluewater did well for itself last week and this week, receiving grants in the millions for roads and bridges, water and lagoon projects. South Huron was disap- pointed when it was denied a Municipal Infrastructure Investment Initiative grant of $479,000, one day after receiving good news of a $726,053 provincial grant for roads and bridges. But whether municipalities are receiving grants or being denied them, there's no question grants will remain tops on the wish lists of municipal politicians as they look for ways to fund projects. Fr LETS FlPYSTMI,Ey CUP! I'MTHE$E14Sf I'M THE NABS! AfeiUl,b3 I"M THE LEAFS.. by, r-.,o3a:4., A.t;c c. Cvmetinnto 0o good to be true It can happen to anyone, and in fact it may be just a matter of time before you become the next victim. But many of us have the "It won't happen to me" atti- tude and rarely do you think you will become the next statistic. I'm speaking of identity theft and other fraud. I was given the opportunity to interview for- mer Exeter resident Gary Ford, author of "The Canadian Guide to Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft and Other Fraud," and vice-pres- ident of First Canadian Title. Identity theft and other fraud happens every- day all over the world. In fact, Ford told me that identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the world. Actually, this topic is something I've experi- ence first hand — almost. Last month I applied for one of the Mystery Shopping positions after reading an advertise- ment about the company through a local newspaper. Mystery Shopping companies send people to different locations, including restaurants and stores to assess the quality of the service received, while pretending to be a "shopper." I thought it sounded like a fun idea, but remained cautious. I quickly logged on to the Internet and chose a site that asked for little information. You shouldn't ever give any of your personal informa- tion through the Internet, over the phone or even in per- son. A few days later I received a fraudulent cheque in the mail for $2,500, a letter congratulating me for becoming part of their team and finally a work schedule. My first assignment was to take this cheque to my bank and cash it. I was to keep $200 for myself and send $2,300 to Toronto to my relative Donna. Give me a break! When something is too good to be true, it usually is! So I went to the bank where the "cheque" was "supposedly" from, and asked whether it was real or not. My suspicions were correct, and it was defi- nitely fake. I went to the Exeter OPP detachment, where they told me to contact PhoneBusters, which I did, filing a report. Unfortunately right around the time that I received the cheque, I read in a local paper that about 60 people actually fell for this trick, and it made me sick to my stomach. I absolutely despise people who feel the need to screw with other people's lives. In fact, a close friend of mine was bilked out of $20,000. And with the laws being so relaxed in Canada, most of these criminals either get away with their crimes or get minimal jail time. So, my advice — follow your gut extinct, speak with close friends regarding your suspicions and if something is too good to be true, it usually is. NINA VAN LIESHOUT KICK THIS AROUND About the Times -Advocate 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 Classified ad & subscription sales ....519-235-1331 24-hour automated attendant 519-235-1336 Fax number 519-235-0766 Fax number for accounting dept. 519-235-2449 Subscription Rates One year rate for addresses in Canada: $42+GST Two year rate for addresses in Canada: $75+GST One year rate for addresses outside Canada:$160+GST Call 519-235-1331 to order a subscription. Classified Rates Word ads: $13 for 20 words, 20(t for each additional word+ GST. Notices (births, announcements, coming events, memoriams, cards of thanks): $16 + GST for up to 50 words, All ads must be pre -paid. The classified ad deadline is Monday at 10 a.m. Display Advertising To place a display ad, 519-235-1331 weekdays 8:30 to 4:30 p.m. or evenings 519-235-1336 (leave message) or toll-free at 1-888-270-1602. Deadline: Fri. 2 p.m. Web site: www.southhuron.com E-mail Us TA e-mail addresses consist of the person's first initial and last name followed by @southhuron.com. For example, Deb Lord's e-mail address is dlord@southhuron.com Our general e-mail address is ads@southhuron.com. The Times -Advocate Team COMPOSITION Manager Deb Lord ext. 103 Nikki Cyr ext. 101 Kelly Gackstetter ext. 101 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 Jennifer Skonieczny ext. 102 ACCOUNTING STAFF Anita McDonald ext. 104 Ruth Slaght ext 106 Marg Pertschy ext. 108 Heather Clarke ext. 111