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Times-Advocate, 1985-01-23, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, January 23, 1985 Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 dvocate Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 150 Second Class Mad Registration Number 0386. Phone 519-235-1331 LORNE EEDY Publisher JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager eNA CCI,LA BILL BATTEN Editor HARRY COWRIES Composition Manager ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor DICK JONGKIND Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $23.00 Per year; U.S.A. $60.00 - C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' -Check it out Some of the planning, controver- sies that have arisen between area municipalities in the past have been well documented in this newspaper, but there are many other planning changes being undertaken in those same municipalities that should be considered by ratepayers. While council members and their sth`ave a responsibility to make --themselves aware of changes being considered that will effect their municipalities and to challenge those they feel are detrimental, so too do private citizens have the same respon- sibility for their own properties. On many occasions in the past, citizens have found to their regret that zoning bylaw or official plan changes were made that turned out to be detrimental to them. That -happened, primarily, because they were not cognizant of the changes being made. Zoning bylaw and official plan changes are made periodically in many communities and it is up to private citizens to determine what they are and what effect they may have for them and their community. Later this month, for instance, Exeter will consider major zoning changes and public notices have already been given and public meetings scheduled to answer ques- tions or consider opposition. Every citizen should be aware of any changes proposed and the ramifications to their property or neighbourhood now or in the future. Ignorance is no excuse and it can be costly for people who fail to make themselves aware of the proposed changes and make their views and wishes known before they are enacted. The leadership race for the Ontario Progressive Conservative party is nearing its conclusion and the only predictable factor is that the new premier will be as bland as his predecessors. Frank Miller's gaudy pants to the contrary, none of the candidates has exhibited anything to sugg(pt that there will be any more color or flare than that to which the province has been accustomed. in the latter stages of the campaign, a bit of mud -slinging erupted, but it was quickly quelled by party officials. The candidates also treated with ap- parent disdain a suggestion that issues should be debated. The campaign has left delegates with the task of picking one of the four peas from the pod. Voters can ex- pect that the new leader will be difx ferent in name only. But don't blame the can- didates...they're not likely to gamble with a winning tradition in deep-• rooted Tory blue country. - Ir I'm not kidding The regular occupant of this space is taking some time off to shepherd his lambing flock. i'll never get a better opportunity to defend another member of the ruminant family -the goat. Since l�ibieal times. sheep have been the good little darlings. and goats . the had guys. Words like scapegoat. Judas goat, and separating the sheep from the goats have become part of our language. I'm surprised the poor animals are not blamed for such misfortunes as Kuck teeth' The goat is the victim 01 an undeserved reputation. Before becoming capriologists goal keel)ers'. Don and i KNEW goats dined on long -johns and linen tablecloths. lin cans and dirty socks. Their sexual appetite was reputedly just as lusty and varied. Playful Pan. the ancient (;reek god of fertility. was depicted as half plan. half guess what Contrary to popular belief, goats are very fussy eaters. They will not touch hay that has fallen from the manger to the barn floor. The only part of the lin can they would relish s-ould he the paper label. and laundry would be pulled "capriciously" from the line only as a joke. However. goals are browsing animals. They would soon demolish your forsythia and prized hybrid teas. Gourmands" No. Gourmets? Yes. indeed. - ()Id Testament patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob own- ed huge herds of goats. ancestors of our present-day Nubians. those bugle -voiced. Roman -nosed. pendulous -eared characters that Reynold' Rap by Yvonne Reynolds come in as many colours as Joseph's coat. King Solomon. wishing to pay his paramour a compliment, told her "You are beautiful, my love... your hair is like a flock of goats moving down the slopes of Gilead." This flattery must have worked: Solomon ended up with 700 wives, plus 300 more female companions in a somewhat less formal relationship. The Bible also mentions a gift from the Arabs to King ,lehosaphat of 7,700 he goats. 1'11 wager the Arabs made their presentation during nya(ing season. their generosity `purred by the overpowering odour com- ing from the billygoat corral. (The male has other nasty lit- tle habits 1 am too prudish to divulge. Even two and three week-old kids are disgustingly precocious.) We purchased our first goats after research turned up the fact goats are intelligent, relatively hardy and resistant to disease. Ten "poor man's cows" can be kept on the same amount of pasture needed for one bovine. Babies experiencing digestive problems are often kept alive with goats' milk. Soon after adding goats' milk to my diet, I met an acquaintance whose casual "What's new?" was rewarded with a five-minute monologue on the Reynolds' latest venture. She studied me carefully before replying. "Well, the milk is work- ing wonders. Your complexion used to be sort of blotchy, and now it's cleared up." 'I didn't have the heart to tell her I'd only been drinking the milk for three days. it does work wonders, but not quite that quickly. Before their marriage Prince Charles and Lady Diana were presented with four young goats, a wedding gift from the Ontario Goat Society. 1f you ever hear that the Royal Couple are leaping over high fences at a single bound, butting in where they don't belong. and generally ac- ting like a couple of kids. you'll know why. 1% OIL Cut *YIr11E51uYlE n Gi.ur Rowan'. 1n 1NE1� VAut.15! !�Y Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited Wrisrarn "Fill 'er up! 1 -lust won the Lotto!" A day at a time There are all sorts of people !iv- ' dig in Canada these days. Most of us are reasonable, ordinary, human beings, not evil, not par- - a day at a time. You and I, Jack. And then there are a lot of peo- ple just along for the ride. Welfare bums . and politicians. Both species would deny it, wide- eyed with indignation. The welfare bums would insist that they are culturally deprived, victims of a noncaring society which refused to give them a de- cent education. T is, of course, is so much hogwash. Take a closer look at them, and they are bums, literal- ly. They're not stupid. They know every angle of the welfare, unemployment insurance, social subsidies game, and they play it with finesse. They know to the last nickel ex- actly' what they can skim off a pretty decent society which doesn't want anybody to be cold or hungry or homeless. Their favorite gimmick is to be photographed with their five or six children in front of their new television set. They like rubbing our noses in it. The man of the house in- variably has a sore back or some other vague disability which prevents him from working. The woman of the house invariably supports her man, because she know he's a bum, and if she didn't he'd pound her and the children, and they'd have nothing. The children will grow up in the family pattern, believing that society owes them a living, and be sullen, cranky, mean, if anyone suggests they get off their tails and do something. Poor kids. Maybe I sound like a middle- class, right-wing pundit who believes that nobody should get an het 0 r,_...,-.:...�� en+ ave a heart of gold, some might say brass, and 1 believe firmly in helping the helpless. In my time I have been helped, and have helped others. Most of the people who helped me, I have hated. And most of the people Sugar & Spice Dispensed by Smiley I•rve helped have hated me. That's the way she goes. Better to do it anonymously. And now we come to the other welfare bums; the politicians. They are not corporate welfare bums, as David Lewis called them, becoming more and more boring as he did. They are individual welfare bums. Most of them are small- town lawyers with a yen for the public eye. Having wheezled their way into the nomination, they defeat a lot of born also- rans, and take a back seat in Ot- tawa, Toronto, Victoria. At a drop of the hat, they vote themselves pay and pension in- creases, though their only desire is "to serve my constituency to the best of my ability." At the appearance of a camera, they whip out a cheque from the federal or provincial .govern- ment, and a new five miles of road, or a dock extension, or a post office, is born. s eer clear of gun control, or abortion, or anything else that might upset the "committee" back home. When it is time for re-election, regardless of their records, they fight like tigers to hang onto that infinitesimal bit of power and prestige. Have you ever heard a politi- cian stand up and say, "I'm a futz. I have not represented you, but only myself. 1 will not be run- ning for re-election because I don't deserve it"? I am not saying that there are not people who go into ,politics with ideals, with a desire to serve their fellows. There are. But they are few and far between, and even the good ones seem to suc- cumb to that insidious love of power, after a bit. It's little wonder that so many Canadians today are angry. They have worked, more or less faithfully, for years, with an organization. Suddenly they are turfed out. They go on unemployment payments. They don't feel good about it. They'd rather work. They look around and see all sorts of layabouts drawing the same money. They are too old to move. They have mortgages. They have children to educate. And they see their "leaders" playing games; arrogaht Liberals, pugnacious Tories, wet Socialists. It's enough to make a grown man weep. Not to mention a grown woman. Welfare bums at both ends of the stick, hanging on grimly, happy in the knowledge that you and 1 will pick it up Among lucky ones If you're reading this article you're one of the lucky ones. Yep, you've escaped for another little while. Me too, i guess, since I'm sitting here typ- ing away on this little column. 500 people in the United States weren't so fortunate over Christmas Eve and Christmas day. They are the people who died in automobile crashes over that two day period. Now if 200 people died in an airplane crash or in an epidemic of the bubonic plague we would have big headlines over every newspaper in the country. Did the 500 figure make the front page? i doubt it. Most of it just sits on the beginning page of the third section (area deaths). People just accept it unless it happens to be someone they know personally. Now why i broke the 200 figure down separately is because that By the Way b> Svcl Fletcher is the approximate number of people who died because of alcohol-related driving accidents, about 40 percent of the total. Let me bring it a little closer to home. 9 out of the 14 killed in Michigan were because of alcohol. (1 was listening to an American radio station for these statistics). Not close enough yet? Well you just watch your own daily paper for a few Monday mornings and count up the folks in your own community who are wiped out simply because our society thinks that driving and drinking is all right as long as no one gets hurt. if you think you've heard this song and dance from me before, you're right. And you'll probably hear it from me again until our laws are tight enough to make people think very seriously before they turn on that ignition key. As they stand now -.