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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2008-11-26, Page 44 Times -Advocate Wednesday, November 26, 2008 CGNA f Editorial Opinion TIMES -ADVOCATE PUBLICATION MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing costs. Canada CO Zift etroland Media Group Ltd. Deb Lord — Manager Scott Nixon — Editor CNA 2007 BLUE RIBBON The Times -Advocate is owned by Metroland Media Group Ltd. 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850 Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • 519-235-1331 Doug Rowe - General Manager, Southwestern Ontario Division EDITORIAL The giving season Christmas season is upon us and nothing is a better reminder of that than the early, and rather unwelcome, winter weather the area has received over the past week. But with Santa parade season here, including Exeter s this Saturday and Zurich s and Lucan s the following weekend, Christmas time is swinging into full gear. And with that is the responsibility we have to help others who need it. There are many ways to do that by donating to your local food bank, filling the Huron County Christmas Bureau bag distributed in local newspa- pers including the Times -Advocate this week, or by participating in the Operation Christmas Child shoebox campaign or the Adopt a Family program started by Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Huron. There are several avenues to help out others. As for the Christmas Bureau, the local host bureau is the Christian Reformed Church in Exeter. Bureaus are also located in Clinton, Goderich, Seaforth and Wingham. They will be open Dec. 8 12 for gifts to be dropped off for Huron County families in need. The Huron County Christmas Bureau will accept new toys, clothing, money or non-perishable food items. In 2007, the Huron County Christmas Bureau helped 973 children and their families. There may be even more need this year a year that has seen the economy struggle resulting in the closure of some high-profile local plants, including CanGro, Dunline and Volvo. There are people out there unable to af- ford food, toys and clothes for their families and they need help. The above-mentioned are but a few ways to assist others during the Christmas season. Every little bit is appreciated, and you 11 be helping someone in your own community. Isn t that the true sprit of Christ- mas? IS IT Too LATS TO KEEP PION? We are a gaming generation Video games have become a necessity for kids and teens today. It seems it s absolutely essential for kids to have a game system whether it s a GameCube, Playstation sys- tem, Xbox or Wii. As a result of this, a lot of kids spend endless hours on their game systems and for most teens and kids video games have become their life. A couple of years ago, I participated in the 24 hour Famine at my church. During the evening, the boys gathered at my friend s house and we decided we were going to pull an all-nighter and play Playstation 2. As we spent the majority of the night with our eyes glued to the TV screen playing Medal of Honor and King Kong, the hours passed by without notice. It wasn t long before we were fast asleep at around four TJ ZIELMAN o clock in the morning, as we failed to complete our mission. In the morning, I awoke only to see the guys back at it, playing Medal of Honor at around eight o clock. I thought to myself, Are you serious? But in the end I guess that thought didn t prevent me from joining them. The truth is, I was addicted. Since I made the wrong move and stayed up almost all night, I thought I had it rough, as I suffered from little sleep, a lack of sense, and hunger. But looking from my parents perspective, I feel bad that they had to deal with me the next day because of my poor decision-making. However, the parents of 15 -year-old Brandon Crisp of Barrie have faced a much rougher burden. Brandon, who had reportedly run away from home because his par- ents took away his Xbox, had been obsessed with video games which may have triggered his disappearance and later death. In this circumstance, some might point the finger at the parents for their son s death, even if they thought he was bluffing and helped him pack his suitcase. In respect to both the parents and the boy, you can t put the blame on the parents or him. The fact that the boy was obsessed with his Xbox and failed to discipline himself to get off his game system doesn t persuade me to believe it was the parents fault. It wasn t too long ago that I had my Playsta- tion system confiscated because my parents were worried I was an addict. Since the game domi- nated my mind, I didn t consider all the things I could be doing instead. In the end, losing the game system was a gain, as I rediscovered my passion for sports, spending more time working on my basketball skills and volleyball technique. Because of this bad habit, I most likely could play video games all day but now I realize the potential effect it s going to have on me later. But nowadays people have pride in playing games for hours, like when a drinker consumes more beers than the amount he or she is capa- ble of consuming. I don t know why there is satisfaction in doing that. Addictions are complicated matters for many people who are addicts of any sort. Often a person s solution is to try to flee from the habit, but like smoking, we all know that s not the best consideration. The question is, if we are unable to discipline ourselves out of bad habits, what kind of an example are we for the next generation to come? About the Times -Advocate Address & Office Hours Time -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¢ 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 10:00 a.m. Display Advertising To place a display ad, 519-235-1331 weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or evenings 519-235-1336 (leave message) or toll free at 1-888-270-1602. Deadline: Friday @ 2:00 p.m. Website: 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 MANAGER Deb Lord ext. 103 ADVERTISING Deborah Schillemore ext. 112 CUSTOMER SERVICE Jennifer Skonieczny ext. 101 COMPOSITION Nikki Cyr ext. 101 Kelly Gackstetter ext. 102 EDITOR Scott Nixon ext. 105 REPORTERS Pat Bolen ext. 113 Ben Forrest ext. 114 ACCOUNTING STAFF Anita McDonald ext. 104 Ruth Slaght ext. 106 Marg Pertschy ext. 108 Heather Clarke ext. 111