The Brussels Post, 1975-11-26, Page 2Amen
by Karl Schuessler
Pepper, do we 'have to go on this way?
Carrying on these lucid conversations — back
and forth. Trying to make sense to each other?
Trying to put a little sense into each other.
We could stop, you know. End it all. Just
like that. In a minute. Why, I could pack your
bags in one second and have you out the door.
I could throw you out of the house and you'd
be gone. Banished. -My cat forever -- into
exile. And our. talks — and differences —
forever ended.
One lady told me she thought my talkiiig
with you was silly. What was a man of my
station and age in life doing talking with a cat?
Absolutely silly. It was drivel she couldn't
waste her reading eye on.
And even if I were talking to my cat — poor
man — I didn't have to publish it. Somethings
may be true, but they ,don't have to be
broadcast.
She told me I should be more serious. Get
down to business. Be a real Amen man. A
man who could bring spiritual insights into
this troubled world. What this tetering old
world 'needs is. not Pepper talk. It wants pep
talk. Truth. Values. Morals. Character
building exhortations. Discipline. And what
better chance do I have to instil them than
with my pen?
I just let her go on, Pepper, I didn't say a
word But all the while I was thinking what the
world really needs is a little humour.
People are desperate for a• laugh. They've
had too much of the world. They want to get
away. Escape in a respite of a smile.
But that's hard to do, Pepper. Whenever I
sit down to write a column, I almost
instinctively thing of something preachy and
teachy. It's• so easy to say "Isn't that awful?"
"Isn't that tragic?" "Don't you know any
better?" "Why did you do a silly thing like
that? Now have you learned your lesson?"
And if you don't know what the lesson is, then
I'll tell you. "From this and" this we learn
that..."
All this is so natural, Pepper. I have to
watch myself. I'm a whole fount bf bubbly
morals and babbling manners. I have to shut
my tap—my trap?—off. And let a little sun
shine in.
Sunshine— that's what we need in this time
of year — especially in this gray November.
We'll do anything for a laugh.
Did you hear about the man in California
who's started a new movement? It could put
every animal pet on the endangered species
list.' Better watch it Pepper, you could be
replaced by a rock.
. That's what I said, Pepper, a-rock. This man
advocates a rock pet. Rock pets — stones that
he's gathered from a Mexican shoreline. They
don't even look like a pet. They're just stones.
And whenever he sells one of them, he prints
out a list of instructions. Well,' not that many
instructions, considering you have plain stone
on your hands. But think of all the
advantages. No feeding problems. No kitty
litter,boxes. No shots. No vet fees; or license
tags. -
Of course he admits that a stone isn't the .
most lively of pets. It tends to play dead most ,
of the time. But you can carry it with you.
Take your pet to work if you like. No landlords
,7
,
to argue with.
The rock pet idea is catching on. 'You can
now buy a little glass cage to house your pet.
And for the chilley weather, one lady is
knitting sweaters for your rock.
• Adsurd? Ridiculous you say, Pepper. You
think we're crazy, eh Pepper? '
The psychologists just laugh. They say new
rock pets show how much the world needs a
laugh. How we'll do anything— almost
anything— to wipe the frowns and furrows
from our desparate brows. The world needs
relief.
But that psychologist has another reason to
laugh, Pepper. He's carrying $20,000 a day to
his bank— from all those rock pet sales.
And I can smile, too, Pepper: I've carried
off another Amen column to my editors.
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To the editor.
Salary boosts are too high 1
We were ,surprised to see that council salaries had been
increased by, $1415,00 for 0175,
This will mean an added burden to the taxpayers Of
approximately a mill and a half
Compared to other' iriunicipalities we think the council is
entitled to a salary increase of $106.00 each, Witht, inf lation
.
What it is, and government guidelines, we.feel that the
amount they voted themselves is excessive We are sure
council
many of Out citizen§ agtee, It is doubtfiii, that ahy Of our
ihembeesatehatd,up ehough fd heed auch InCtedad
'iti
• This letter' will be" published without a tiatite because,
answered, or not; IS Of no COtiedin,lt is Sitiiply A statement 'of
'my
Surprised Citizen
g Brussels Post
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1975
Serving Brussels and the surrounding community.
Published each Wednesday afternoon at Brussels, Ontario
by McLean Bros. Publishers, Limited.
Evelyn Kennedy - Editor Dave Robb - Advertising
Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association and
//---\
Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association loCNA
\-2 Subscriptions (in advance) Canada $6.00 a year. Others
$8.00 a year, Single 'Copies 15 cents each.
ONTARIO.
It's the best we'll , get
The cost is enormous and the burden on those on
fixed incomes will be very heavy. But we don't think
Brussels has any choice. We have to h ave sewers.
Studies by the Ministry of the Environment show
that the village is dumping raw sewage into the
Maitland River. This creates a serious health hazard,
as well as destroying what once was a• beautiful river;
a place for swimming and fishing.
There are houses and btAinesses in Brussels
which don't have adequate septic tank systems
because they are on too small lots. These old
f.ashioned,waste removal systems,'are often .located
Oo close to wells on land that doesn't drain well and
,hey also are pOtentially hazardous to our health.
The lack of sewers in the village tends to stagnate
Jevelopment too. There have been rumours of plans
to install sewers in Brussels for years now. Potential
new residents hesitate to build new houses and pay
over $1000 for a modern septic tank system, only to
have to scrap it in a couple of years when sewers are
nstalled.
Modern industry too looks for serviced sewered
lots before they'll put an investment into a new
plant. -
`A modern system of sewers and a waste treatment
plant is the safest and simplest way to clean up an
environmental and a health problem. Other small
villages° have found that it's the only way. A lagoon
system is cheaper but it was already vetoed because
residents feared bad odours near their houses.
Sure it's costly and we hate to see householders
who can't afford it getting hit with $200 yearly
charges. But we think the answer is to come up with
some sort of subsidy for them rather than saying ...
some can't afford it ... therefore we won't do -it.
For people who own a number of lots in the village
and are worried about paying the heavy annual
charge on them all, there is another solution.
As soon as sewers are installed on their vacant
lots, 'their market value Will rise tremendously. Th ey
can sell their extra, serviced lots for far more than
their pre-sewer value plus sewer connection costs.
As reeve Jack McCutcheon said at the meeting on
sewers last week, "Do you realize the value of lots
that have sewers) ?"
A system of sewers in Zurich, which with 825
people is clOse to Brussels in population, was
finished more than a year ago and cost each
. householder an average of $125 per year. But
contracts on these sewers were let more than three
years before the Brussels sewers will go to tender.
And we all know what prices rise in that time.
The price of installing sewers goes up when a
village is spread out over a fairly large area, or where
there. are a lot of hillsiE3russels has both these
problems and Zurich didn't. The contractor who put
in the ZUrich sewers said the ground there was
unusually soft and easy to dig in, another factor that
Out Zurich's costs..
Those who object to sewers say surely there is a
.less expensive way to handle waste. For a villadb the
Size of BrUsselsthere is none. An eXperisiVe sewage
System has been the' only Solution for all the
comMunities near by. They either have theft or they
are as the brovinoial government to do the study
that is the firet step In getting that is
those first steps towards sewers have already
been taken, thanks to the foresight and years of hard
Work and plugging by various Brutsels' Councils.
Cot'ncillors have been elected to de some of the
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