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Times-Advocate, 1985-05-08, Page 4Page 4 Times Advocate, May 8, 1985 Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 imes MIN dvocate Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 150 Second Class -Mail Registration Number 0366. -\ Phone 519.235-1331 cn LORNE EEDY Publisher IIM BECKETT Advertising Manager +CNA riih BILL BATTEN Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor DICK IONGKIND Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $23.00 Per year; U.S.A. $60.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' Valuable resource Forest resources are more impor- tant than many of us realize. And Na- tional Forest Week, May 5 to 11, focuses on alerting people all across Canada to the tremendous importance of this valuable resource. This year's theme, "You Need Forests", is one that can be instantly appreciated by the more than 160,000 people directly and indirectly employed in the forestry industry in Ontario. Our forests touch the lives of all of us -- providing recreational and ecological benefits, as well as economic one. Ontario's forests play a vital role in our society's economic and social welfare. They are part of our heritage, our economic strength and our potential for economic growth in the future. It can work The police have long attempted to promote the idea that they and the citizens of the communities in which they serve are "partners in crime prevention." Unfortunately, many citizens fail to respond to the challenge for a • variety of reasons and then s}t back and complain because the other part- ners in the battle against crime don't appear to be doing their job effectively. The recent breakin at a Hensall store shows the quick and satisfying results that can be obtained when the partners do work closely together. A witness spotted a crime in pro- gress and immediately notified police. With that information, three suspects were quickly apprehended. The benefits that accrue from that situation are many: the citizen has a good sense of accomplishment, the police avoided an otherwise time- consuming investigation and hunt for the thieves, the store owner has his merchandise, all citizens benefit -by not having their insurance rates in- creased to cover such losses, hopefully the thieves will be taken out of cir- culation and others will think twice before duplicating the actions. All that was basically accomplish- ed with one telephone call and it could have been made anonymously had that been the wish of the caller. When it's that simple, and pays such dividends, more of us should take our partnership responsibilities more seriously. Heading off criticism? One of the more disconcerting situations facing editorial and column writers, is in knowing whether their words of wisdom t or otherwise 1 are being read and considered. Feed -back is generally low. and there are times when the thought and effort (you're sur- prised? ) expended appears dubious. On occasion, of course, that can be attributed as a fault of the editorial or column writer in not stirring people, while on other occasions it can be dismiss- ed as a further sign of the apathy which exists in our society. Some of the opinions expressed are not necessarily designed to elicit any direct response. although writers hope that their views and comments will at least stir the conscience of those al whom they are directed. Editorials are one person's opi- nion, nothing more and nothing less, but I must admit there are many occasions when it is most surprising that some of the opi- nions expressed on this page never result in any feed -back. By the same token, there is an equal feeling of relief on occasions as I sit in trepidation waiting for some irate reader to phone or walk in- to the office to take some strong exception with what has been printed. That's part of the job. of course. and it is always made a bit more rewarding when people do take the time to make some comment. regardless of whether it be in agreement or otherwise. It is even more rewarding when readers take the time to jot down their comments and send them in to he printed as letters to the editor. The pages f any newspaper are intended iapart to be a forum for debate on currentissues which affect . all people, and readers who use that vehicle are most appreciated. Having said that. I do take jome small exception to a recent critical comment of an editorial expressed by PUC manager Hugh Davis. It's a little out of his • bailiwick in his position as a public servant to come to the defence of Exeter council's deci- sion about what the latter members will pay themselves in annual stipends. To term the T -A editorial on the. subject "unduly harsh criticism" does not appear justified. It noted that a decision to increase stipends almost, 10 percent was Batt'n Around ...with The Editor hard to justify when those same people were in effect asking their employees to accept increases of far less. • It may have been harsh in sug- gesting that almost 50 percent hike for the mayor's position is completely absurd, but any pay increase of that magnitude in this time of restraint can certainly be given that label with no cause for apology. Reading between the lines, the criticism from the PUC manager may have been intended to avert any similar criticism& his own employers, the PUC commis- sioners. when they set about deciding on how big their in- creases will be. Similar to council. the PUC is compiling information on what the other four towns in Huron pay their commissioners. Local tax- payers should get prepared. because judging from the com- ments of Mr. Davis, the local commissioners. similar to coun- cil. have been working for substantially less than most others in Huron. Commissioners. unlike council members, do not set their own salaries and therefore can not ac- cept all of the blame if theirs fall below that of other neighboring centres. However, 1 can't recall council ever turning down a sug- gested hike whenever asked by 1 the local commissioners, so in theory at least, they have a great deal of say in how much they receive. * * * * * * One of the debatable points about looking outside the Qom- munity to set salaries is in rising Goderich as one of the factors. It certainly brought the local coun- cil stipends up and will probably do the same for the commissioners. It's not a big argument, but the fact is Goderich is twice the size of Exeter, and if one is to com- pare similar sized communities, that is a bit out of context. Why - not use Hensall, whose population is actually closer to Exeter's than that of Goderich. Goderich, it may be assumed, uses towns of similar size when comparing salaries, but probably throws in Owen Sound in view of the limited number of correspon- ding populations. Owen Sound then probably throws in Guelph in its comparison escapades, while the latter then uses Kit- chener and Kitchener uses Toron- to and so on until all the municipal salaries in Ontario are really based on Toronto and not those, of comparable size. Had they not used the figures from Goderich to arrive at the average, Exeter would have found that the mayor's pay would have increased only $495.25 in- stead of the $1,450 and council salaries would actually have declined $102.50 instead of in- creasing $204. In fact, had they not used Goderich and'their ov n 1984 stipend rate in the average, councillors would have found they were 8136.67 over the average of the other three t{wrls with comparable population. I happen to think that most members, even at the new rates, are underpaid for their time and talent but also think that the stipends should never reach the point where they are a considera- tion to attract candidates. Ex- perience shows we're better serv- ed by those who do it strictly out of community dedication as is the present situation. Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited A pretty sad story A Long, hard winter. About fourteen feet of snow in these parts. A blizzard in March. Another in April. A cold, brutal spring, with a cutting wind every day, even when the sun shone. However, that is quite normal for people in this country whose ancestors were stupid enough to emigrate to Canada, Instead of Australia or. South Africa or Southern California. I got through it, somehow, get- ting up every day at the crack of noon to look out the window, see the snow swirling, say a bad word or two, and climb back into bed with a book, hoping someone would come to dig me out. Or fail- ing that, that everyone would leave me alone, to be found in June, in bed, and in extremis. It wasn't so bad, really. My daughter and grandboys came for the March break, And break it was. Ben seems to be hyper. He never walks when he can dance. He never shuffles when he can jump. He kicked out one of the spokes in my staircase. But he can't be hyper, because he can sit and watch TV for eight hours without moving a muscle or even blinking. So much for psychiatry. And my son, Hugh, visited every few weeks, when he wasn't off in Central America,not being shot or captured or kidnapped in Nicaragua. He wasn't even tor- tured. Yet, in Toronto, he was. Three druggies broke in on him, beat hint up, poured boiling water all over him, smashed a kneecap with a hammer, and cleaned out all his hi-fi equipment. Funny world, eh? Of course, the kids love their father like a father. Always hugs and kisses, a tradition in our family. but I have to keep an eye on the bums. They're both always broke, and they know the old man has a few nickels in the sock. Kim sighs. "Boy, I'd like to have a house some day." And Hugh ad- mits that he could get a $1,000 electric piano into his room. He has instant recall. But he also has instant forgetfulness. Like who supplied the funds for his Central American sashay. I'll give you a hint. It was a close relative. But all these things, and even the fact that I haven't paid my 1983 (yes, that's 1983) income tax yet, have not created the malaise I feel this spring. There's something deeper. I'm Sugar & Spice Dispensed by Smiley losing face. Oh, I don't mean my physical face. It's disintegrating ,lust like yours, and yours. No. I'm, failing behind in the race. My pride has been badly bruised, and I can find no solu- tion, even though my pride is pretty tenuous, and the solution seems simple. Every so often, one of my old friends invites me out to dinner. I don't know why. I'm about as sociable as a hibernating bear. Nonetheless, I accept with gratitude and anticipation: the wine flowing, the political and philosophical conversation, the change from frozen chicken pies. And every time it happens, I sort of slink into a material.cor- ner. Know why? Because every one of them has several things I don't have. You name it, they have it. After a meal, I suggest helping with the dishes. "No problem, Bill, we'll just put them in the electric dishwasher." I wash mine in the kitchen sink, in a brown plastic bowl. When I wash them. which is at least twice a week. Then we spend half an hour talking about dishwashers: price, quality; length of existence. Dinner is brought to the table, everything piping hot, and I learn, very quickly, that it was all cooked in something like twelve minutes in the new microwave oven. That's good for another half-hour, as the ladies.compare brands and recipes. Then, when I'm hoping for nothing worse than a re -run on TV, I find that mine hosts have a VCR, whatever that is, and we're about to watch a movie that at least three thousand people saw when it first came out, in 1939. Wow. Over brandy and cigars, we don't listen to records -Of Bach or Gershwin or Handel. We listen to tape recorders and compare prices and makes and decide on where the speakers should be. I sit in ' a corner, nodding pleasantly. I don't have any of these things. and can't even discuss them with knowledge, let alone animation. Oh, I don't have a backhouse. I do have a television set and get the right channel four out of ten times. I have a stove and a refrigerator. I handle the fridge quite well. I have electric lights and a furnace. But I don't have a dishwasher, except myself, nor a microwave oven, or a VCR, nor a home com- puter. I am a failure. Perhaps it's because I am not too mechanical. My wife used to handle all that nonsense. She could change a plug in the flash of an eye, while I was looking for the flashlight. I do have a vacuum cleaner, and I can run that. I got an elec- tric shaver for Christmas, and it took me four days to try it. I was scared. It's now broken. 1 have a food blender, but don't know how to work it. Pretty sad story for a guy who flew Spitfires. A simple errand It all started out with a simple errand. My wife sent me down to get a loaf of bread and a quart of milk. Now that should be a job for the corner convenience store but there was a great big sign in front of the supermarkert. one of those outfits yvith a flashing arrow on it, that proclaimed milk to be at $2.99. Not being an expert in the price of milk I decide that jt must be a real deal if the manager went to the trouble of having so- meone put all those letters on the sign, and So I turn in there. I look for one of those little wire containers that you can carry under your arm. You know the kind. No way. Just one of those carts that are big enough to park up beside a semi truck without being ashamed ,of yourself, the ones that almost'require a Class ^ A license to drive. I get down the first aisle safe- ly. still empty and locate the milk counter. That's when I realize the $2.99 size is about four times the By the Way by Syd Fletcher amount I usually buy but I look into that gaping cart and realize that I've got to put something in- to it right now because I see peo- ple are going to wonder about me if I push it, empty, right up to the front counter. Better take three loaves of bread instead of just one. I'm beginning lo, feel a little more confident now and can give a little sneer at a fellow I pass go- ing the opposite direction who has only got a few packages of cheese in his load. I round the pend and meet him again and see him eyeing my cart as he stuffs in a huge bag of rice puffs. I wildly throw in a giant bag of dog food thinking. "See your rice puffs and raise you a ten -dollar family size bottle of relish." making a frantic dash for the check-out counter trying to ig- nore the five hags of potatoes That he has just stuffed in on -top of a pastry pie. Hopefully my wife will he able to find some use for the 26 cans of wild rice that 1 grabbed just before we scrambled for last place in line