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Times-Advocate, 1987-05-27, Page 44 Puye 4 limes Advocate, Muy 27, 1987 limes lstablished 1671 Ad or.,dt• 1'tahlished 1661 Amalgama ed 1913 BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1985 imes dvocate Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S0 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone 519.235.1331 PCNA CCNA LORNE EEDY BILL BATTEN Publisher Editor BM BECKETT Advertising Manager HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor DICK IONGKIND Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $25.00 Per year; U.S.A. $65.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' Another hero emerges .The word "impossible" is one that should soon disappear from the language of Canadians. In recent years, they have watched in awe and admiration as one -legged run- ners Terry Fox and Steve Fonyo have ac- complished what appeared to be impossi- ble dreams and now Rick Hansen has joined the list of those national heroes. Hansen too has become an inspira- tion to everyone and his goal of wheeling around the world in a wheelchair has pro- ven that being disabled is only a state of mind. The human spirit, it appears, can rise above most ordeals when they are tackled with courage and stamina. Similar to Fox and Fonyo, Hansen has raised public awareness of the abilities of the disabled and their needs, and equally important, should show those who have been blessed with few physical problems, that they too can attain their dreams. 'Certainly, the journey was also a credit to the generosity of Canadians and hopefuly that will be one of the on-going. attributes that has been generated by the sincerity and imagination displayed by the new hero. "What goes beyond the dollars and cents is the understanding that disabled people can go on, despite the special bar- riers that stand in their way," he said in completing his journey. "If that can con- tinue on a long-lasting basis, it will be the tour's true measure of success." People can -reach for their hopes and dreams of being the best they can be with what they have. Pre-election budget The budget brought down by Treasurer Robert Nixon can best be .. described as a pre-election document as it continues expenditures at an excessive rate. An increase of 6.9 percent fails to reduce the deficit to the extent warranted from past rainy days in the province or those which will probably arise to offset the current economic growth being enjoyed. As may have been expected, the budget contains virtually no bad news for anyone and .a little something for everyone that the Liberals will be expec- ting to pay dividends at the polls. - The reality is that the Liberals have already won considerable•favor with the electorate and could have augmented that support by showing more fiseal responsibility and not a continuance of the spending spree that keeps the deficit as a dark cloud over the sunny economic conditions that currently prevail. Nixon optimistically predicts the province's inflation rate will be a moderate 4.2 percent in the coming year. He should have proudly announced that the provincial spending increase was be- ing prudently held at a comparable figure. Back to square one When a ship at _sea becomes riddled with holes, those aboard probably nave difficulty setting priorities on which needs immediate attention, to stem the flow and possibly start gettng wet feet before being forced to come to grips with that type of decision. The same appears to be holding.true for the South Huron rec centre. Everyone. knows there are problems, but they have not yet reached the dangerous point at which some commonsense approach is required. An engineer was called onto the scene some time ago, following on the heels of an inspection by a local building expert who,too, had set out some priorities. But those reports .appear to have been sidestepped to an extent and were followed up by one this week given to council by the facilities manager who had been asked to priorize the needs. - The story could go on about the dif- fering opinions given by two local firms who had submitted prices, but council decided some expert help was required. Basically, that takes everything . back to square one, although' that may not be as odd as it appears, and an engineer will once again be called in to ascertain the needs and set priorities. a - Those priorities are obviously badly needed. There could certainly be some question about a recent board decision to clean ceiling tile at a cost of $2,199.11 while there is still evidence that moisture problems at the facility, continue and pose a threat to those recently cleaned tiles. What was supposed to be a priority list from the facilities manager listed painting "almost everything inside and out" with that being followed in order by moving existing arena eavestroughing. That would indicate the painters would have to rescale the walls and paint the area from which the eavestroughs were moved. A reverse order would appear more practical. While there is now a concerted effort by council and the board to tackle some of the deterioration problems caused by the lack of maintenance priorities, it is evident thatnot only should the engineer detail repair priorities, but he should also be asked to outline a detailed maintenance check and work strategy that can be followed in the future. '. The engineer's terms of reference should now become the first priority of the board and council, and if it takes 'another engineer to assist in that challenge, so be it. Missed the treat? One of the things the Ministry sider the strength of some of the of Education has come out with . now is very strict rules about giv ing medication to children. If for some reason or the other a child has to be given pills during the day signed permission has to be received from the parents and the doctor. Even aspirin has come to be a no -no with the cur- rent concerns about Reye's Syn- drome. Medicine is placed in locked cabinets in most schools, with good reason when you con -4 By the .7 Way by Syd I lel( her ..,.....,., .... modern drugs Back when 1 was in Grade 5 or Serving South Huron; North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by I.W. Eedy Publications Limited ti Shufflers vent. wrath Members of the Exeter Shuf- fleboard Club could put to rest the validity of the old adage that sug- gests there is no wrath similar to that of ,a woman scorned. The club, made up to an ap- preciable extent , by senior citizens, exhibited their own wrath in communications with the South Huron rec centre board recently. Spokesman Marshall Dearing indicated that much of his com- plaint stemmed from what he read in this newspaper related to his consternation about the set- ting of fees. It should be pointed out that he either reads im- properly between the lines or comes up with conclustions that are without foundation. At the rec board meeting, when asked why he assumed that the new rental rate for the shuf- fleboard was non-negotiable, he responded by saying that it was in "black and white" in the T -A report of the meeting at which the rates were approved. The story has been double and triple -checked and I fail to see anywhere in the account of the proceedings any reference to non-negotiable as he stated. In fact, facilities committee chair- man Kathy Whiteford was reported as saying that at least one group was expected to res- pond negatively to the new rates; that being the fair board. "We expect to hear from the fall fair," she commented, ad- ding quickly that the rate could be subject to negotiation. It was! Anyone with even a scant knowledge of the democratic pro- cess should have realized that board members would have been open to appeals by any group which felt the fees were unfair. That's a responsibility and obligation for public bodies, and it. is absurd to suggest that they should spend countless hours in pre -negotiating fees with the myriad involved. There's no guarantee that such an appeatwould be successful, of course, but that avenue is always open in this community and it is disconcerting that members of the shuffleboard club would allow their initial anger to remain un- checked to the point of not using that avenue. It is not a fair defence to sug- gest the avenue was cut off by an employee of the board: Surely those who are nearing or are in the senior citizen category know that a public servant does not Batt'n Around ...with The Editor have that authority. In fact, if the employee was over -stepping the mark, that in itself should be recognized as a need to approach the board members. * * * * *. While I take particular excep- tion to the club members casting aspersions on the content of the press report and thereby damag- ing our status with public bodies, it is further eroded by a sugges- tion that those public officials were guilty of a "blatantly ar- rogant display of insensitivity" when the first news of the rate structures was in the local press. Conveying decisions made by elected and appointed officials to the public is one of the major roles of a community newspaper. It is the vehicle by which the vast majority of decisions is made known to the public. People affected have the right to the opinion it may be insen- sitive, -but the alternative of mail- ing out minutes after each meeting to all citizens is a costly and time consuming exercise that would add an unconscionable amount to taxes and facility ren- tal rates. Those who prefer to get the decision first hand, have the right to attend public meetings. Those who give up that option, as prac- tically everyone does, are ap- parently either satisfied with the method of current communica- tion or don't really care whether they know what's being done on their behalf by those entrusted with looking after their interests. * * * * * * There may be some justifica- tion for the criticism over the rates by the shuffleboard club, but their comments appear undu- ly harsh, particularly when it must be noted that the majority of rec board members are volunteers. - While the new rates represented a sizeable increase, a dollar for an afternoon's recreational and social pursuits is still a big bargain in com- parison to the cost for some other recreation groups. In fairness, the shufflers should be advised that the revenue the board were expecting to generate was far below that of the club's estimates -and should have been discussed openly to arrive at the actual amount. The board members have been clearly caught in the middle of rate structures and municipal assistance and deserve a more courteous response from the groups which they attempt to serve while keeping the predica- ment in scope. Most participants see their costs as being too high, while on the other hand, non -participants see their contribution of tax dollars as being too high. It's extremely difficult to reach a "happy medium" and is made more so when groups pull out their support by taking their ac- tivities elsewhere. Hopefully the shufflers will reconsider, bury the hatchet, and take advantage of the negotiation process which is always available. Choosing euphemisms 1 was -at a meeting a few days ago where most people were older than I. While discussing a subject I referred to someone as an "old lady". Everybody laugh- ed. It turned out that the lady in question was 77, younger than many of those present. My first inclination was to apologize for my slip of the tongue. I should have used an "in- offensive" term like older, get- , ting on in years, or senior citizen. But then I thought about it, and I said: "I'm really not sorry 1 called her an old lady. There is no doubt in my mind that she is a lady. And anybody who reached the age of 77 should be proud to be called old." -4verybody has the right, of • course to choose their own 6 though they didn't seem to have much concern about teachers ad- ministering the odd thing, that is, if you can count cod liver oil as a medicine. The teacher used to line us up just before lunch and get out that great big brown bottle and her tablespoon. There was no getting out of it no matter how much of a fuss you made. It was "Open wide" and down the hatch. I can't Please turn to page 5 euphemisms. But as far as I'm concerned, I prefer to use simple, straight -forward language. In comparison with people in their forties or younger, I am old, and I don't mind being called old. 1 have grey hair, wrinkles, and other physical signs of aging, and I'm proud of them. Why should 1 pretend to be anything but middle-aged or old? Should I live long enough to reach my sixties, seventies or beyond, I would object to being called "elderly", "advanced in years", or "a ing;', just to avoid the word -"old": amagirig now. Everybody is aging. The same goes for "older". We're all older than somebody. A two-day old in- fant is older than a one -day old baby. Whom are we trying to kid and why? Come on, old ladies and old gentlemen, tell us to stop fooling you and ourselves. Senior citizens indeed. Are the rest of us junior citizens? Or in- termediate citizens? Why don't PETER'S POINT • we all stop the charade and bring the word "old" 'back to its honourable meaning? I think it deserves to be restored to its former position in the language. There may be something very wrong with a society that doesn't dare to use the word `old". What could be more dignified than men or women who are old and proud of it? Whether you're just reaching retirement age or living in a nursing home confined to a wheelchair, you should be able to say: "I am old -and because I am old I have lots of things to con- , tribute." In fact, our community, our country, our world would be poor indeed without our old people. One of the most encouraging human endeavours I know is a project going on in my own com- munity. The grade eight students of our township's central public school regularly visit a nursing home where every boy and girl has a "partner". These kids are building a bridge across the genera ions. Everybody benefits. The old le enjoy the break in monotony, t stimulating con- versation, the cheerful talk and laughter, the help offered by the students. And the youngsters pro- fit from the contact with people who grew up in a different age, under different circumstances. I know that similar projects ex- ist in many places, and perhaps more are needed. A step in the right direction would he to acknowledge that people in nur- sing homes are old, not "older". Arid the same goes for people who live in their own homes, with relatives or friends, or in "senior citizen apartments", who may lead very busy lives indeed, who are nevertheless chronologically "old". Don't insult their intelligence by calling them ridiculbus names. I would like to be able to call my own relatives, my good friends "old ladies" arid "old gentlemen" without having to blush, without apologizing.