Clinton News Record, 2013-12-18, Page 44 News Record • Wednesday, December 18, 2013
opinion
NewsCl
Record
PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860
53 Albert St.
P.O. Box 39 Clinton ON NOM 1L0
(519) 482-3443
www.clintonnewsrecord.com
SUN MEDIA
A Quebecor Media Company
NEIL CLIFFORD
Publisher
neil.clifford@sunmedia.ca
GERARD CRECES
Editorial
clinton.reporter@sunmedia.ca
MAX BICKFORD
Advertising Manager
max.bickford@sunmedia.ca
DAWN JOHNSTON
Sales Representative
clinton.ads@sunmedia.ca
CHRISTY MAIR
Front Office
clinton.classifieds@sunmedia.ca
Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a
typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous
item together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not
be charged but that balance of advertisement will be paid for at
the applicable rate. In the event of a typographic error advertising
goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be
sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell, and may be withdrawn
at any time.
The Clinton News -Record is not responsible for the loss or damage
of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for
reproducing purposes.
Publications Mail Agreement
No. 40064683
RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES:
CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT
53 Albert St., Clinton ON NOM 1L0
(519) 482-3443
We acknowledge the financial support of the
Government of Canada through the Canadian
Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities.
Canada
ocna
Member of the Canadian Community
Newspaper Association and the Ontario
Community Newspapers Association
editorial
CPP increases need
show of faith in public
sector reductions
Wile the Conservative majority has
voted down an NDP proposal to
increase Canada Pension Plan contri-
butions, the doors may not be fully closed.
Ontario and Prince Edward Island have been
leading the provincial charge toward expanding
the CPP - Premier Kathleen Wynne has sug-
gested the province could even go it alone if
need be.
Canadian Minister of State for Finance, Kevin
Sorenson and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty
have said the cost of increasing CPP to Canadi-
ans is too much and could cause economic
damage, however Flaherty met with provincial
representatives earlier this week on the matter.
Any solution they can come up with would be
an improvement.
Folks live on credit now. Most don't have the
ability to put money away. Those who do are
putting less away. For many people entering
into retirement, CPP and Old Age Security are
their only source of income.
Going it alone, however, seems a strange
stance for Ontario to take. Outrageous salary
and pension amounts at the Ontario Power
Generation are making their way into provincial
households via their energy bills. Auditor Gen-
eral Bonnie Lysyk warned of further increases to
come in her annual report this past week.
It begs the question: should we really pitch for
an increase in CPP if our own public sector sala-
ries and pensions are out of control?
Short answer - yes, but...
Perhaps it's time to take the scissors to the top
half of the totem pole, and mandate some sort of
reduction from the executive -heavy OPG and
Hydro One, and by proxy our energy bills. To be
sure, an Ontario pension plan would provide
extra security for our seniors, but if public sector
pensions are already inflating Ontarians' bills,
that system also needs an overhaul.
It's a confusing position to be in as a taxpayer.
While the idea behind a government pension is
to provide for our retired people and have our
retirement provided for in kind, the reality is we
pay too much money to those who already have
too much to begin with, and give very little to
the people who truly need it most.
GC
www.clintonnewsrecord.com
column
I'm the king of the castle...
at least, I used to be
Well, folks, I was
wrong last week when I
said things couldn't get
much more Christmassy
in the News -Record, but
not by much. Another
day, another concert it
seems. But, all of it is
building toward that
magical time, the
moment of truth - the
final bell of the last day of school before
Christmas.
Christmas holidays were always the
best part of school for me from kinder-
garten all the way up through college.
While there are many good reasons for
this - including non-stop video game
marathons, cookies for breakfast and
turkey sandwiches - the best part of it
all was playing in the snow.
Absolutely nothing made Christmas
break better than to call my buddies in
the morning and make plans of con-
quest for the wintery day ahead. While
the task of assembling snow pants,
sweaters, boots, scarves, coats, hats and
mittens was indeed onerous, once the
outside winter wonderland beckoned
there was no refusing its lusty call.
We did everything and anything with
that snow that a motley gang of kids
from around the block could. We built
forts and tunnels in the big drifts made
by the plows. We hurled snowball after
snowball at each other until our hands
were red and raw (Editor's note: you
can't make a good snowball with mit-
tens on). We rolled in snow, we made
angels in snow, we wrote our names in
snow.
And yes, we rode snow.
All the kids in town just called it "the
Hill'; because it was the closest approxi-
mation to a steep incline as we could
get in our little village. It was the site of
many victories, many upsets and many
injuries.
Our game of choice was called
Hijacker. We paired up in twos on GT
1411
Column
Gerard Creces
always done
possible.
It was like downhill wrestling with
metal frames and plastic skis.
But, we'd play it for hours, until our
faces were frozen and our bodies were
beaten and bruised. After that it was off
home for lunch and a cup of hot choco-
late before heading back to the Hill for
more abuse.
And when the Hill was too crowded,
we would find a giant snow pile in a
municipal lot and play King of the Cas-
tle. This was another brutal game of
survival, where packs of rabid kids claw
at one another to get to the top of the
snow hill. Once there, the only way to
stay at the top was to shove the would-
be contenders back down.
Had I understood metaphors at that
age, I may have thought twice.
But, all is fair in snow and war, and
war in snow and wars over snow.
Thinking back on it, sabotage was the
name of almost every snow -filled game
we played. It was a common occur-
rence to spend all day building a fort
with your buddies only to find another
group of kids smashed it by the next
morning. But the circle of life continued
and the smashees became the smash-
ers once the latter was home for
supper.
Such is the nature of snow, and life I
suppose.
You can build great things up only to
have them torn down by sixth graders.
Enjoy the break, kids, but don't break
anything while you're enjoying it.
Snow -racers, with one
man steering and the
other on back as the
hijacker. The driver's
goal was to make it to
the bottom of the hill.
The hijacker's role was
to commandeer an
enemy sled en route.
Being young boys,
this was almost
in the most brutal way
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The News Record welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signed and
include a daytime phone number for verification purposes. Letters can be sent
care of the Internet at clinton.news@sunmedia.ca, sent via fax at 519-482-7341
or through Canada Post care of The Editor, P.O. Box 39, Clinton, ON NOL ILO.
CLINTON NEWS RECORD — HOURS OF OPERATION
MONDAY: 9:00 - 5:00 • TUESDAY: - CLOSED • WEDNESDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • THURSDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • FRIDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • SATURDAY & SUNDAY: - CLOSED
ADVERTISING DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT 2:00 • PHONE 519-482-3443 • FAX: 519-482-7341
www.clintonnewsrecord.com