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Home My WebLink AboutThe Times Advocate, 2008-12-31, Page 44 Times -Advocate Wednesday, December 31, 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 Welcoming in 2009 As we say goodbye to 2008 and review the top stories of the year, we also look forward to a new year. What will 2009 bring? Will our battered economy regain its footing? Or, as some experts have sug- gested, will things only get worse before they start to improve? 2008 was a tough year as far as business closures were concerned, and South Huron wasn t immune to that (neither was the rest of the county). Time will only tell if 2009 turns out to be as cruel to manufac- turers as the past 12 months were. What will our federal government s response be to this economic crisis? One wonders whether, with all the in -fighting taking place in Ottawa between the ruling Conservatives and the Opposition, if our politicians are actually attempting to do what s best for the country or are they all just looking for power? Perhaps that s a na ve question. And speaking of government, what kind of an im- pact will new Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff have? Is a coalition government still a possibility? Will Ignatieff be able to rebuild the Liberal party or will the Grits continue to struggle aimlessly as they did under Stephane Dion? Local government should be interesting, too. Re- cently -elected Huron County Warden Ken Oke has a big job ahead of him there is a desire at the county level to reduce the number of county councillors, al- though what that reduction will be is still undecided. A new medical officer of health for the Health Unit also needs to be hired. And in this economy, Oke has to not only worry about his own municipality, South Huron, but also the entire county. He doesn t have an easy job ahead of him. Time of the season It has been heartening this Christmas season to discover how well local fundraising and charitable events went in December. The Huron County Christ- mas Bureau and Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Huron are but two organizations expressing happi- ness and thanks for the number of donations they received this Christmas. It s good to know that, fac- ing financial uncertainty as so many people are, they still recognize the giving spirit of Christmas and help those who need it. For those of you who donated or helped out in any way, give yourselves a pat on the back. Distributed by Canadian Artists Syndicate Longest night of the year There aren t many feelings worse than that which many people will wake up to tomorrow morning after what they will subject themselves to tonight. And I don t mean hangovers of the good kind. What we 11 put ourselves through tonight will make us all wish we d knocked back a few shots straight up just to kill the pain and make the perkiness go away. There s a choice on New Year s Eve which is go out and pay triple price and see a lot of annoying people or stay home and see even more annoying people for free, such as but not limited to Natasha Bedingfield, Fall Out Boy, Jesse McCa- rtney, Ne -Yo, Pussycat Dolls, Solange, Robin Thicke and Fergie. And that s the problem New Year s Eve is the divide between those who make the scene and those of us who are starting to think that Andy Griffith really isn t that bad of an actor. But New Year s Eve is like what Monopoly does to families: it brings out the worst in ce- lebrities and shows. Once back circa 1975, there was a good show on but as usual, Ken Dryden did his best to hand it to the commies. This year the lineup looks especially stellar with Carson Daly bringing his Bob Newhart wit to NBC while over at ABC someone named Ryan Seacrest will stand beside Dick in the middle of Times Square along with newcom- ers Jonas Brothers and not so newcomer Lionel Richie. Meanwhile over at Fox, they will attempt to expand their audience s horizons and / or intel- lect with Lynyrd Skynyrd while Robbie Knievel tries to jump a volcano and break what- ever bones his father didn t. Also on hand will be some other American Idol winners / losers watching the clock run down on both the new year and their careers. And just because we re on this side of the border doesn t mean we can escape the pain. The CBC will drain the last ounce of blood out of the corpses known as the Air Farce (memo to CBC, comedy has moved past 1982, try booking Jeff Dunham and Peanut next year) as they turn two minutes of Britney and Stephen impersonations into three hours of gold until we pray for a Celine power ballad just to know we re still alive. But if we re lucky, and we may be, the kids will claim the TV and we can be entertained by a Miley Montana New Year, which is just slightly less painful than Luba Goy in all her HDTV bril- lance. PAT B BACK 4 VIEW OLEN 0 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). 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