Times-Advocate, 1987-02-04, Page 4Page 4
Times -Advocate, February 4, 1987
Times Established 1873
Advocate Established 1881
Amalgama ed 1924
BLUE
RIBBON
AWARD
1985
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:4•
Ames
NMI
dvocate
Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 150
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Phone 519-235-1331
LORNE EEDY
Publisher
JIM BECKETT
Advertising Manager
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BILL BATTEN
Editor
HARRY DEVRIES
Composition Manager
ROSS HA UGH
Assistant Editor
DICK JONGKIND
Business Manager
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C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A'
Time to attack
Sex education has generally been
faced with some controversy, particular-
ly as it applies to the school class rooms,
and plans to introduce instruction regar-
ding AIDS will no doubt prompt some
concerns.
- However, those concerns should be
greatly diminished following an an-
nouncement this week by the U.S.
government's chief health official that a
world-wide AIDS epidemic will become
so serious it will dwarf such earlier
medical disasters as the Black Plague,
small pox -and typhoid.
Listing other diseases that have kill-
ed millions of people over the years.
Health and Human Services Secretary
Otis Bowen said AIDS "will make these
.... pale by comparison".
There is no_known_cure for acquired
immune deficiency syndrome at the pre-
sent time, nor is it known how many peo-
ple carry the virus that makes them
susceptible to developing the disease
*although it is believed the number could
be as high as 1.5 million in the U.S.
Educating the public about how to
keep from getting AIDS remains the
most potent weapon against its spread,
and while that may well be the centre of
some controversy, the frightening
statistics and predictions make it ap-
parent that the education program
must be tackled.with a diligent effort on
all fronts. ,
People can bury their heads in the
sand and bury their dead (no one has
ever recovered from AIDS) or they can
take the more sensible approach and de-
mand that health and education officials
start immediately to tackle this impor-
tant issue.
Needs resolution
While Huron County's libraries con-
tain a vast assortment of good reading
material to satisfy the interests of all
patrons, there is little doubt that business
would increase tremendously if someone
could author an account of the current
situation surrounding the library board
and its administration.
Such a book would rate right up there
with the best of the mystery novels that
now adorn the shelves. Or would it be
more appropriately placed in the humor
section?
It would appear that members of
county council would not be qualified to
write the book because they would have
considerable difficulty in bringing- it to
any conclusion if their current handling
of board matters is any indication.
At the present time there is some
confusion over the status of- the chief.
librarian as well as the number of
members on the board. Even the status
of the board is in limbo.
If all this was taking place at the pro-
vincial or federal level, there would be
an immediate call for a full judicial in-
quiry in an attempt to sort out the mess.
Perhaps the time has come for coun-
ty council members to admit they've lost
control over the situation and to appoint
some independent individual or group to
sort through the mess and, make some
recommendations for a plausible
solution.
The disconcerting aspect is that most
of the current mysteries and conflicts
stem from county council and they are
in the process of wresting more power
unto themselves in relation to library
matters. That's a rather foreboding
glimpse of what may transpire in the
future.
Just don't get caught
Kitchener MP John Reimer
added to the mounting woes of his
Progressive Conservative
government this week when he
was quoted as suggesting that
some elements of Quebec socie-
ty accept cronyism and bribes as
a way of life.
During the interview, Reimer
said that in his three years as an
MP only one attempt had been
made to bribe him "hut it's not
rare in Quebec" and "they lake
some of these things as a sort of
'given"
His comments were in
response to questions about the
current Oerlikon Affair as
several of the key players in that
controversy are from LaBelle
Province.
While Reimer's remarks
naturally brought a strong rebut- •
tal from fellow 'Tory 'MPs and
resulted in his apology. his ap-
parent attitude on some of the
things that go on in Quebec are
probably shared by many other
Canadians outside the province.
Part of that stems from the in-
ordinate amount of federal funds
which go to Quebec and the con-
tinuing dissatisfaction many
from other parts of the nation
hold regarding the move .to ,
bilingualism.
Projects, such as the new jait
being planned fer Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney's home riding in
Quebec, just add fuel to the fire
that smoulders in English speak-
ing sections of Canada. His
government continues the at-
tempt to appease Manitob over
a recent decision to award a
lucrative airplane contract to a
Montreal firm rather than the
low bidder from Winnipeg.
The image of the province also
suffers, when' the Quebec
Solicitor -General announces
plans to introduce reforms this
spring to help the police in the
province shuck their image as
trigger-happy, careless and out of
control in the wake of a long list
of blood- blunders and scandals.
Quebec has had difficulty shak-
ing the political hijinks.- and
Batt'n
Around
.with 1
The Editor
patronage that marked the dic-
tatorial .. reign of Maurice
Duplesses and historiaris would
probably agree that some of
Reimer's accusations would have
been true had they _been m
reference to elements in the pro-
vince during those years.
* * * *
Of course, the Kitchener MI'
was out of line in sugge§ling that
the general attitude of people in
Quebec as it relates to moral
standards is drastically different
than that found in any other pro-
vince in Canada. _
He was, however, quite correct
in suggesting that some elements
of Quebec society accept
cronyism and bribes as a wav of
life. His error came in including
only Quebec citizens in that
condemnation.
The reality is that there is an
element of Canadian society
which accepts such improprieties
as til way of life and the disconcer-
ting aspect is that the numbers
included in that element appear
to be growing almost daily.
Some suggest the moral decay
has reached the point where
many people think the only "sin"
in perpetrating dishonest, un-
savory or criminal deeds is in be-
ing caught at it. in other words,
the criteria on which people
make their decisions is basically
based on avoiding detection and
not in whether • it - is right or
wrong.
As frightening as that creeping
disease may appear, it is no more
so than a growing attitude held by
many that they can explain away
their own deficiencies by pointing
out they were only following the
lead of others.
In essence, .tha( was what
Reimer may have been attemp-
ting in his ill -chosen remarks. To
shift some of the Cleat off Pro-
gressive Conservatives and
politicans in general. he chose to
hint it was due to a way of life in
Quebec from which the Pro-
gressive Conservatives and.MP
ihvolved have their base.
There are no statistics which
accurately reflect which province
in Canada has the highest level of
criminal and immoral activity
within its•private or public sector,
because much goes undettcled.
lfowever, current events and
history would indicate most sec-
tions have their fair share. '
The prime question is not from
where this decline in moral stan-
dards is evolving, but rather why
and how it can be altered.
Despite the poor examples that.
can be found at all levels of socie-
ty, the necessary change can on-
ly be made on an individual basis
when people start asking
themselves whether their actions
and decisions are right or wrong
and not merely whether any im-
propriety in those actions or deci-
sions will be detected:
Serving South Huron, North Middlesex
& North Lambton Since 1873
Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited
CANADA'S IN A
REAL MESS AND MIMS
MULRONEY? -- OUT OF
THE COUNTRY!
Gone off deep end
What's a grown man doing
jumping around like a kangaroo
or entangling his hind limbs while
squatting on a thin sheet of foam
rubber?
You're absolutely right. I have
gone off the deep end. It's all
Elizabeth's fault. She'talked me
into this. I wanted to wait till
-later. till another diet would come
'along, or till spring, or till
somebody would offer me an in-
centive to lose weight and inches.
i hummed and hawed and
mumbled about being too busy.
too tired. too old. and too bashful
to join an aerobics class. But
Elizabeth simply enrolled me and
presented me with a challenge:
prove that you can do it. And she
told me about the gorgeous
instructor.
"I'd probably be the only man
in a gaggle of ladies," I protested,
but Elizabeth assured me that the
class was co-ed all the way.
• I still wasn't convinced, but
just for the heck of it I dropped in
at a sporting goods store to see
what the in -crowd was wearing
these days. Fifteen minutes later
I left the store with a pair of state-
of-the-art aerobics shoes (I won't
mention the brand, but it's got the
Union Jack prominently
displayed) and a'track suit that
just happens to be by the same
designer who did the shoes, and
whose name runs all the way
down the left pant leg. Having
made that kind of investment, I
was firmly committed.
When I joined the class, I ex-
pected to find a bunch of youngish
to middle-aged plumpies trying
to shed a few dozen pounds. I was
not prepared for what hit me. 1
was the, only overweight person
present. Everybody else was in
ship-shape. These people didn't
come to GET fit, they were there
to STAY fit. I was the oddball.
The first night was an un-
mitigated disaster. The one-hour
class was difided into three
PETER'S
POINT
•
parts: jumping. running and
stretching. After fifteen minutes
of trying to coordinate all my feet
with all my arms, I realized that
my tongue was sticking to the
roof of my mouth, my knees had
become flutterballs,• my lungs
were' emitting clouds Of steam,
my brand-new track suit had
turned from light into dark grey.
and I was leaving a trail of sweat
all over the gym floor. _
I sneaked away long enough to
revive the mucous membranes in
my mouth with ice water and to
shift my exhausted system down
to first gear. i recovered suffi-
ciently to join the group a few
minutes later and to run a few
laps, hoping that this would he
the wind -down. But when 1 look-
ed at my watch, I realized that
the class wasn't half over yet.
Wasn't there going to be an inter-
mission, for heaven's sake? Were
• these people trying to set an•en-
durance record?
Instead of stopping:•everybody
got hold of a little sheet made of
foam rubber. The tireless in-
structor - thE; fittest and most
energetic lady i ever saw in my
life - demonstrated to the class
how to twist yourself into posi-
tions that 1 would hive found im
possible to get out oI. had i been
able to get into them in he first
place. Have you ever tried to fold
one leg under your rear end and
. to sit on leg number one while
raising leg number two into the"
air at a steep angle'.' But that
wasn't enougl Your ar►ns-,Were
expected to discribe a circle at
the same. time. And would you
believe that out of about :10 peo-
ple in the glass, I was the only one
‘,vho couldn't do it?
1 just sat there on my little floor
pad. - admiring all those bodies
beautiful. Never - except at the
Shriners' Circus - had I seen such
contot'ions*before. 1 just sat
there. watching. and enjoying the
music.
Needless to say. I wouldn't go
back. Needless to say. Elizabeth
wouldn't buy my excuses.
'.You're goingto quit after only
one lesson? After you paid your
fee and bought that Reebok
stuff?"
When not only my manhood
and my pride. hut my financial
prudence are questioned. how
can i admit defeat? •
I'm going back to my aerobics
class. if it kills me. i've decided
to stick it out and to sweat it out.
U Peter's Point doesn't appear,
next 'week, you'll know that i
have tied myself into a knot.
It was a big deal
Not that many years ago I was
talking to a Grade eight student.
"Are you getting excited about
the trip to Toronto next week?"
i asked.
"Oh yes," he replied. "You
know, f.'ve never even been to
London. i've been to Sarnia
though."
I must admit that his statement
took me a bit aback. in this day
and age of easy transportation
you don't think of travelling for-
ty or fifty miles as a big deal. For
this young fellow though it sure-
ly was.
1 made it a point to stay near
him as we went through the
various buildings. He had hun-
dreds of questions about
everything he saw. The Science
Centre impressed hirn and so did
the Toronto zoo.
What really made his day was
the big apartment buildings.
twenty or thirtystoreys high.'I'he
�By the
Way
by
Syd
Fletcher
realization that more • people
could live in one building than liv-
ed in his whole town was mind-
boggling. •
When we were waiting for, the
subway he edged a little closer to
a friend as the train whooshed in:
to the station. When we were rat -
fling along through the darkness
of the tunnel he looked around at
the masses of people. his eyes
never stopping.
Then we went into the 'i louse of
Tanaka'. a Japanese restaurant.
The chefs came right out to the
table a11(1 put on, a real show.
throwing their hugs' -salt and pep-
per shakers around like profes-
sibn jugglers, talking the whole
while at a tremendous rate. The
kids loved it.. .
Driving the bus clown Yonge
Street with all its colourful per.
sonalities kept the students gawk-
ing and craning their necks in
every direction.
- i must admit that all the plan-
ning and effort for that day was
more than•paid back, by the look
in that dung fellow's eyes as he
settled hack into his seat for the
long trip home.
•Ai