Times-Advocate, 1982-04-28, Page 21•
• 4..
I dread the day. It happens
every month. I pull a plain
brown' envelope from the
mailbox and my worries
begin.
What causes the fear and
trembling?? Is it bad news?
Am I being blackmailed? Is
someone sending obscene
letters?
No, it's . just my monthly
statement from the bank.
I would like to meet the
inventor- of the chequing
account. What kind of a
sadist would inflict such
horrors on the unsuspecting.
public?
The chequingaccount
statement is guaranteed to
sell aspirin. I wonder if the.
banks have a deal with
Bayer. Trying to make your
little record booklet match
the figures in the bank
statement will cause
heartache, headaches and
severe cramps in your
calculator - punching finger.
It is a fact of life that
whatever you have written iii
your own record will in no
way resemble the figures in
the bank statement.
Don't ask why - they just
won't. The seine principle
says that you'll never get as
many socks out of the dryer
as you put in the washer.
Just as socks somehow
disappear between the
washer and dryer, money
disappears between your
bank account and your
cheque book.
There are other interesting
facts about chequing ac-
counts. For example, the
computer has done wonders
to speed up transactions.
You can get confused twice
as fast now. And you'll
probably be twice as con-
fused.
You can be absolutely
positive you've. recorded
every cheque you've written,
but when they come back in
the mail, there will always
be at (east one more cheque
than you have noted. That
extra cheque will bear your
authentic signature, but you
will have no recollection of
having written it. And you
will probably be unable to
think of a single reason you
would be giving that person
that particular amount of
money. But don't worry,
alter a few embarrassing
p►onecalls, 'all the reasons
will be clear.
Another amazing fact
bout banks and chequing
accounts - you can write a
Cheque on your account and
make a deposit at the exact
same time. The cheque will
Mary's
musings
By Mary Alderson
be -cashed by the reecipieat,
whisked through the com-
puter system and deducted
from your account in the
blink of an eye. However,.
your deposit will collect dust
before it shows up in your
bank book. This is how
cheques bounce.
But don't make the same
mistake I did. After being
overdrawna few times, I
asked the bank to simply
move money from my
savings account'to my
chequing account to cover
any cheques. Now instead of
being confused about how
much money I have in one,
account, I am confused
about two accounts. Also,
this plan has another
drawback. It necessitates
having money in one's
savings account. That
presents a whole new set of
problems.
Your own personal record
book is generously given to
you by your' bank. You will
soon learn to regard it with
fear and loathing, the same
way you lodk at your mon-
thly statement. Iq it you will
keep grocery _lists, phone
numbers, and your mini -
calendar, but you will not be
able to keep track of money.'
You'll never know exactly
how much money you have -
but you can be sure that it
will be less .than you guess.
I once made an all out
effort to keep -my little book
up to date. But it was soon so
full of scribbles and smears
of "white-out" that I gave
up. Guessing is much more
challenging.
Of course, the guessing
game continues when you
get the monthly statement -
the computerized code
letters present lots of fun.
How do you suppose they get
DR for overdraft? And then
there's the SC's - service
charges. This figure seems
to vary frommonth to
month, and cannot be
divided by a number evenly.
I have noticed that the
amount charged per cheque
always goes up - never down.
No matter how much
juggling and figuring you do,
the total in your book will not
match the total tb,,e bank
claims you have - and you
will be out by some obscure
figure. But I recently read a
book where the author had
the answer in accounting for
that obscure figure. She
simply notes in her own
record book - "37 cents to
cover embezzlement by
somebody at the bank."
MT. CARMEL BOYS' WINNERS - Winners of a fire prevention poster contest sponsored by the Crediton and
Huron Park fire departments were: (from left) Ron Mommersteeg, tied for second;JustinO'Rourke, first; and
Frankie Wulterkens, tied for second. Accepting the trophy on behalf of Mt. Carmel school is Mrs. Rutten. Also
'shown is 'Doug Lightfoot of the Crediton fire department.
John
Van Leeuwen
238-2757
after 4 p.m.
Girl enjoys page work
Finds MPs don't pay attention
Even though she has miss-
ed five weeks of classes at
Grand Bend's Public School,
13 -year-old Cathy Norris has
had the benefit of a unique
kind of education while work-
ing as a page in the Ontario
Legislature.
Cathy returned home April
16 with her father, John, after
her last day of work ferrying
messages back and forth bet-
ween MPPs in the carpeted
chamber or to their respec-
tive offices.
She was one of 22 fortunate
seventh and eighth grade
pupils of high academic
credentials selected by the Of-
fice of the Speaker, John
Turner, from a veritable flood
of applicants. Not surprising-
ly, she earnestly wishes she
could repeat the experience,
but knows the rules preefude
such an event.
"Few of the MPPs pay at-
tention while someone is
speaking," she answered to
sum her observations of the
Legislators' behaviour. Her
busiest moments were during
question period, the one-hour
time slot during which
government ministers are
probed by the Opposition on
their departments' work.
"Many of these questions
were for Larry Grossman,"
she said, in reference to the
political pressure currently
being applied to the health
minister. "These questions
are all written in advance by
the MPPs before entering the
chamber, and supplementary
questions are made up too, in
case the "minister doesn't
have an answer ready," she
recalled.
The beginning of her work
term coincided with the open-
ing of what was a drastically
changed house. Both Opposi-
tion leaders had been chang-
ed, and backbenchers had
been shuffled as well. A final
seating plan was given to
Cathy and her friends, which
Anniversary Sale
rWO
Days Haggarty's wishes to extend an invitation
to celebrate their 2nd anniversary with
only their customers this weekendday, ApriI 30th Sat., May1st
9 a.m. - 8 p.m. 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Knickers
Reg. $35.00
Saie$16.99
Spring and Summer
Slacks
Reg. $36.00
Sale$ 17.99
Blouses
Reg. *30.00-55.00
$19.99
IS�IO
0 214 Main St.
Parkhill,
*AP
Phone
294-6414
-38.99
5/8 Pants
(Pedal Pushers) Reg. 32.00
Sale $15.99
Slacks
With elestic cuff,
Reg. 36.00
Sale$1799-
IMO
Plus 411.11411111111
many in-store k
specials.
VISA
•
had to be committed to
memory in six days. "For the
first few days, the members
would tell us where to find the
receiver of each message, but
eventually we had to know
where everyone sat," Cathy
said. Pages also brought
glasses of water, carefully
balanced on trays.
Cathy also placed copies of
new bills in ministers' desks
before they arrived .in the
afternoon, and passed out
more copies when debating
was finished. Other literature
which passed through her
hands were Harsards,. and
votes and proceedings.
Sometimes six or seven of
these government bills would
be _processed in a day, to
receive the Lieutenant -
Governor's signature and
become law.
Cathy stayed in Downsview
with friends of her parents, a
living arrangement stipulated
by the rules of pages' employ-
ment. For two nights every
week she worked until 10:00
p.m. as the chambers humm-
ed with further debates or
reviewed supplementary ex-
penditures requested by
Government ministers.'
Cathy said she found time
to relax and get acquainted
with her fellow pages in the
chambers. She found that the
nearest one to Grand Bend
was from London, the re-
mainder being fromother
locales all over the province.
The lucky youngsters were
lunch guests with the
Lieutenant -Governor, the
Hon. John Aird, and for their
final day, they dined with the
Speaker himself, where they
received individual plaques of
appreciation signed by
Premier Davis.
It seems certain the
memento of her service to the
province will be treasured by
Cathy for years to come.
Times -Advocate, April 28, 1982
Page 9A
PUC reports
good spring
A combination of good
fortune and preventive
action has spared the
Grand Bend Public Utilities;
Commission some extra
work and expense this
spring, the commission was
told at its monthly meeting,
Tuesday.
Works superintendent Stan
Lovie reported that there
have been no watermain
breaks this spring, and
recent heavy winds caused
no damage thanks in part to
some tree trimming carried
out earlier.
' However, the commission
has lost about $1,000 in water
meters and related equip-
ment due to the series of
fires in the area. Lovie said
he was able to retrieve the
undamaged meter from the
site of the Village Inn after
the fire marshal had finished
his - investigation. Bob
Shaven suggested to Lovie
that he check if the com-
mission's insurance policy
includes meters.
The three commissioners
will be attending a spring
zone meeting (in Zurich next
month) of the Ontario
Municipal Electric
Association.
The commission was also
notified of Ontario Hydro's
application to the Ontario
Energy Board for a rate
increase to take effect in
January 1982. Secretary -
treasurer Orian Gunning
saidthe letter estimated the
average rate increase to
wholesale distributors would
be 13 percent, but she said it
was hard to know now what
the effect . on the village
would be.
Gunning asked the com-
mission if it wished to
request a guaranteed deposit
when a mortgage is taken
over from a defaulting party.
After some discussion, the
commissioners asked her to
check with their Exeter
lawyer to get a proper legal
wording for the motion.
Gunning also told the
commission that the nionthly
water consumption for the
first four months of this year
is much lower than the same
period last year.
Congratulations &
Best Wishes
to
Tot tittle tOt
gift �t>oppr
It boutique
Glad to have you aboard!
AKWOOD INN
RESORT, GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB
On Lake Huron shores
Grand Bend
Ontario
please telephone or write:
Box 400
Grand Bend, Ont. Canada
(Office) 519/238-2324
(Dining Room) 519/238-2328
(Pro Shop) 519/238-8060
(Gift Shop) 519/238-8560
sy little atorit
gift Oboppr
boutique
The Feather Tick in
Exeter welcome you
to visit their new �' ''`;,►:`� '�. _ ,
boutique = r -St t,' {1�,
located by the Dining room at the Oakwood Inn,
it's a treasure trove you will enjoy with loads of
gifts tucked into a Nutshell!
Our official opening is on Sunday, May 2nd and
we will. be there to greet you between 2-4 p. m.,
drop in and say hello.
Open weekends until May when we shall be open
7 days a week thru the season from 10 a.m. - 7
p m.
Mane & Sidney Homans .
lean Schlegel - Manager
OAKH'OD INN GRAND BEND
COLLECTIVE PURCHASING POWER TO SAVE YOU MORE
Gray's Appliances
ti
AN IMPORTANT MEMENTO When Cathy Norris of
Grand Bend finished her five weeks' work as a page
in the Ontario Legislature, she was presented with this
plaque honouring her achievement.
Book sale planned
The annual event is here
again at the Middlesex
County library. Bargain
prices for books from 20
cents - $1.00. You will find
novels, biographies,
mysteries children's books,
"specials" and thousands of
paperbacks.
They will go on sale for one
day only, Thursday, April 29
from 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
with different " selections
every hour.
The Middlesex County
Library is in Arva on Rich-.
mond Street, one mile North •
of Highway 22. Proceeds
from the sate will be used to
purchase new books.
Propane
Birch Bark Trailer Park
Hwy. 83, V/2 miles East of Hwy 21
Open 7 days
9 - Dusk
Inquire at house
Beside Propane Tank
Phone
238-8256
Best Interest
We represent many Trust Companies. We are
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' subject to change
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235-2420
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GRAND BEND CLINTON
238-8484 482-9747
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294-6341 294-6971
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