Loading...
Times-Advocate, 1983-05-04, Page 4Times -Advocate, May 4, 1983 es Times Established 1873'�M Serving South Huron, North Middlesex Advocate Established 1881 & North Lambton Since 1873 Amalgamated 1924 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited dvocate I I • LORNE EERY Publisher JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager BILL BATTEN Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor DICK JONGKIND Business Manager Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone 235-1331 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $21.00 Per year; U.S.A. $56.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' and 'ABC' f" Backwards procedure While Exeter ratepayers may initially welcome the news that the municipal portion of their tax bill will increase only slightly this year, they must wonder about the manner in which even that small increase was decided. Normally, budget expenditures are reviewed and the decision made on what will be included on the basis of the priorities established. However, at last week's budget session, members held a straw vote to determine if the budget would in- crease by two percent or be held at no increase. After that, the manner in which the increase would be allot- ted was determined. That is backwards. Surely the decision should reflect the priorities of the community's needs and not merely whether there will be a tax increase or not. Council members seemed to be content that the mill rate would be held in line with last year's or in- creased slightly. That goal having been reached, the decision was then made on how to spend the money left over. WMT HAPPENS WHEN .1 MK OUT OF FEANuTs1 In fairness to council, the money left over will not be wasted. Half of it will be held in reserve for the possibility of expenditures needed to service a poten- tial industry. There's little argument with that as long as the money remains untapped and is used solely for that purpose. The .other half will be used for street paving and many will agree that is a required expenditure. But, the question should have been answered as to how much paving was required, not merely how much money was to be allotted. While taxpayers welcome street improvements, they also welcome tax reductions, especially at a time when many are still reeling from the recession. If there are streets that urgently need to be pav- ed, then expenditures are warranted; but street pav- ing should not be done solely because money has been made available. It's a strange way to decide on a budget expen- diture. It's perhaps even stranger that council members appear to have some fear about letting the mill rate fall below last year's level. Good news continues Wow! That has to be one reaction to the news from the Bank of Montreal. this week regarding the opening of a Commercial Banking Unit in Exeter. Whatever exclamation is used to describe the $600,000 building project and the addition of 20 jobs, it is among the best news that has hit this area in some time. While it brings direct benefits to this community, it has far-reaching effects as it indicates that the Bank of Montreal has joined the list of those suggesting the economic recession is over and the upward swing has started. It is a major investment for the bank and Senior Vice -President Ernie Morel explains it is a reflection of the confidence in the present and future potential of this very important agriculture and commercial area. The plan was not a well -guarded secret, and the fact that speculation was rampant long before the an- nouncement, is possibly responsible in part for other decisions that will result in commercial and residen- tial growth in this area. Decisions made by bankers not only reflect economic conditions, they often dictate those condi- tions. Obviously, the confidencedisplayed in this area could stimulate others, and while the direct results are enough to warrant considerable enthusiasm, the in- direct benefits have equal potential. It's a juicy plum, and if we sound overly en- thusiastic on behalf of the community, that's because we are!? Technology affects most occupations , Education Week has been marked by schools throughout the area, and the parents, students, staff and members of the community engaged in a number of interesting projects as part of the observance. Yours truly was among the 13 local citizens who appeared at an assembly at Exeter Public School to tell the young au- dience a few things about our occupations and to focus some attention on what the requirements will be in those various jobs when the EPS students move out into the work force. The directions issued by Principal Jim Chapman called for a "couple of minutes or so," and despite acknowledged ner- vousness on the part of some speakers prior to their appearances, none had dif- ficulty going over the allotted time. While it. made for a longer session than had been scheduled, the kids were an ex- tremely attentive audience, due in no small part to the props. enthusiasm and interesting things the speakers had to say about their careers and how they envision the changes that will confront the next generation stepping in to fill their shoes. One of the underlying themes express- ed in the majjority of job descriptions was that the next generation will have to be better educated than the present one, a fact stressed most dramatically by Sgt. Kevin Short of the local police who had the grade eight class stand to point out that only a few years ago they would have been eligible to join the force from the standpoint of their education standard. Today, of course, the requirements have been elevated dramatically and those who plan to succeed to positions of respon- sibility in the police force will require university training. Technological changes have obviously affected all but a few of the occupations represented., Rev. Jim Sutton indicated no move in that direction in his theological field, while lawyer Kim McLean reported that computers have touched only a cou- ple of areas in the legalprofession. In view of the drastic decline evidenc- ed in religious participation in the most recent Canadian census, one wonders if the church is keeping pace with the technological age. Will we have video games to helpspread the message,•.lim'' With the exception of one occupation represented in the dozen, all have become open to both men and women. The excep- BATT'N AROUND with the editor tion, at least in smaller communities, is the volunteer fire brigade ably represented by Norm `fait and Leroy Ed- wards. It has always been a bastion of male dominance, possibly because of the physical requirements of the work. However, 1'U(' lineman Dennis llockey revealed that women have now joined those ranks, and Bell Telephone repair- man Pete McF'alls is now a technician, Oritnarily because the latter designation can he used to accommodate the ladies who have joined that field. Dr. Linda Steele was living proof that medicine is open to both sexes, and has been for a long time, while nurse Dawn Murray noted that the traditional nursing cap is disappearing because it is hardly suitable for the men who have joined that field. Jim Chapman was coaxed into put- ting on the cap to prove the point that•it really didn't fit the male ego, unless they enjoy being the victim of some laughter as he was .from his student body. Rec director Lynne Farquhar pointed out the increasing demand in her field as people enjoy more and more leisure time through reduced work hours and labor- saving household appliances and perhaps Jay Campbell corresponded with her talk by pointing out that people need weather forecasts to help them plan their outdoor activities as well as the work schedules for those who have to plan around a eather conditions. Most indicated vast technological changes in their occupations over the past decade and a prediction that those changes will continue at a last pace. * • Rounding out *the list of speakers was Dorothy Chapman, invited primarily because her husband indicated it was one of the few chances he has to see her due to her busy schedule as a volunteer worker on several fronts in .the community. It was perhaps her address that put life into perspective for all in the audience. Her message, which she noted was the same for the past century and will con- tinue through the next, is that people have to care about people and do their part to make life enjoyable and interesting for those around them. The computer will never replace the Scout leader, minor hockey coach, the canvasser for the local charity, the per- son who helps look out for a neighboring senior citizen or takes his/her place on groups, interested in making the com- munity a better place in which to live. It was indeed a fitting message to con- clude the program, because no matter what technological changes take place in our various vocations, there remains the responsibility to our fellow roan and our community to ensure that all benefit to the fullest extent from the "good life" modern technology can bring. Despite the worth each may attach to his vocation, it diminishes greatly if that person does not respond to the needs of others both in that vocation and in the bet- terment of the community. Steadily losing senses Most people begin to lose their senses, if not their sense, as the passing years exact their toll. Sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch grow less acute, steadily but inex- orably, in most of us. This didn't bother me much. Deafness runs in the family. My nose has been broken so often that I can't smell much, and this affects my taste buds. I thought touch and sight would la ;t forever, or at least to the grave. If I touch a hot burner on the stove, or the cold nose of a dog, I can tell the difference. But since they started using that tiny print in books and newspapers, I've had to rely on specs to read, and even on the highway, they seem to have pygmies painting the signs these days. What disturbed me was that my wife seemed to be failing rapidly. She has always been noted for hav- ing eyes like a hawk, ears like a deer, and a nose like a bloodhound. . The nose is still there. She can sniff an illicit beer at forty yards. She knows exactly when I haven't hada bath for a week or washed my hair for a month. But recently her sight and hearing seemed to be growing dimmer and fog- gier. It was strange. It seemed to be much worse in the TV room. She could still hear the top coming off a beer bottle in the kit- chen when she was upstairs with two closed doors between. She could still see a speck of dust on a surface- I'd swear was pristine. However, when we were watching TV, the deterioration began to show. At first; I was always hollering at her to turn up the sound, or try to sharpen the picture. She'd retort that I was getting deaf and blind. Then she herself got fed up with the shadowy picture and the with this old girl for four- teen years. We had almost come to blows over whether She would watch Dallas or I would watch a real, unreal Western. We had settled family problems of great mo - Sugar and Spice Dispensed By SmNey • inaudible sound track, and I notedwith some SatiSfac=r' tion tbe.failing of her faculties. This went on for weeks, the symptoms steadily getting worse, until we had someone in to watch a special program with us. "Good Lord!" quoth our guest. "What is this - days of the silver, silent screen? How long have you . had this set. anyway?" After the usual bicker- ing that married couples go through to establish anything - even the time of day - we agreed, not without a certain amount of awe it seemed like on- ly last year we'd bought it? - that the machine was fourteen years old. - Our friends noted in disbelief. "That thing was worn out six years ago. No wonder the picture looks like a 1920s movie, and the sound track is as shcrp as a stomach rumble." We just looked at each other askance. I think that's the word. At anv rate, there wasn't much skance in us. We felt pret- ty much the way one would feel if the doctor told one that a favorite aunt had terminal cancer. I mean, we had lived Don'tuse Recently we were in Toronto and had just finished a day of shopping. Tired we got into the car and dreaded out of the parking lot planning to go to the expressway and then home. It was not meant to be, at least not for a few minutes. Traffic was be- ing halted by a policeman for a gigantic parade of what seemed to he only people carrying signs. No floats, no bands. From our position back in the parking lot we couldn't tell what was go- ing on except that there was a lot of chanting going on. We turned on the radio and the announcer was saying "There were two policemen injured and six people arrested as pro and anti -war demonstrators clashed near City Hall. If you are wise you will stay away from downtown Toronto, as the traffic is badly hacked up." We began to think that maybe the end of our day was going to be a bit ex- citing if we were going to ment, during the commer- ci Is. tut grandl5o ' Wind" suckled, at this fount of pap, and thrived, turning into incredible hulks. Bat- man and Robin, Darth Vader. To just throw her out in- to the dump would be like throwing your library out, burning your En- cyclopedia, ripping up Plato and Hegel and Kant - that's a law firm that has given us a lot of trouble. An end to all culture in the home. Well, we had to steel ourselves, but we did it. Just as one throws a belov- ed aunt to the wolves, we let the brutal TV men come and carry her off to an unknown grave, still alive, but barely; still whispering. Then came the great wrench. How to replace her. There was a confab that lasted all day. We cer- tainly weren't going to just go out and buy the first thing on the market. After all, we weren't born yesterday. None of this nonsense that we have always used to buy cars. When we buy a car, we go and look at them, kick the tires, check the color of the upholstery, and buy the thing. We it, lose high school football games, although the words were definitely not too com- plimentary to Mr. Reagan Perspectives see a bunch of 'peaceniks' or whatever they were calling themselves. Pro- bably a few students who were stirring up trouble when they should be stu- dying for their final examin,.tions. We got out of the park- inglot and onto the street ere we could get a good look at what was going on. They were marching about twenty columns wide, chanting slogans that sounded suspiciously like the cheers you hear at By Syd Fletcher or Mr. T'rudeau. They had big signs declaring that they were: For peace, against nuclear war in general and the cruise missile testing in Northern Alberta in particular. They weren't - just students. In fact I would have to say that they represented almost every racial, religious, com- munity, and age grouping There were babies and old people, people in wheelchaires and one even on crutches. Some of have never yet visited more than one car lot. We are the salesman's dream. And we've never got a lemon. Some people spend more money on gas driv- ing around and comparing prices than they do in their first year of driving. But we weren't going to be taken in this time. After all, a car is merely a car. A TV set is much more. As well as being a source of entertainment and infor- mation - how would I know anything about Mini -pads without it? - it is a refuge, a solace, a babysitter. - A TV sit ig-ratill more important than parents or children. It is an 'escape from the real world, an an- odyne for pain, physical or psychic, a sleep -inducer, a thing to make one feel superior to one's fellow man, a warm, intimate look into the lives of prac- tically anyone from the cop on the orner to Sir -Lawrence Olivier. You can't handpick your family. But you sure can be choosy over your TV set, thank goodness. So what did we do? We went out and bought the first one we saw, after judiciously flicking it on and off several times. You can't even kick the tires on the TV. But it has remote con- trol. Now, we're really go- ing to fight about who sees what. I'll just ')e settled in- to Hill Street Blues when my wife, deliberately and maliciously, will switch to one of those dreary, endless, stupid soaps she thrives on. Like murder mysteries'.' Watch for The Remote Control Button Murder. Oh, well. There's no such thing as an ill wind. At least we've got our sight and hearing back. it them carried signs saying, "If you love peace, honk your horn.' I cotldn't argue with that, so I honk- ed a couple of tunes. I'm not so sure I agree •, with them about the cruise missile though. The Russkies sure seem afraid of it, which has to be a point in itsfavour. I don't believe that Communists listen to anything except a very a very big stick. But one thing 1 did agree with these people that were marching and and I found myself with a big lump in my throat as I watched them marching along. If you have strong convictions about something, then don't be afraid to stand out on the corner, or on the street if necessary, to voice your opinion about it. After all, that's one of the freedoms that we've been guaranteed under our Bill of Rights. If we don't use it, we'll lose it.