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Times-Advocate, 1987-10-28, Page 4Page 4 ;f Times -Advocate, October 28, 1987 Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 imes - dvocate Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S0 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone 519-235-1331 V. -aa -11, -14 • eNA JIM BECKETT BILL BATTEN ROSS HAUGH Publisher & Adsertising Manager Editor Assistant Editor DON SMITH HARRY DEVRIES Business Manager Composition Manager Inquest findings The May 13 death of a 25 -year old Brucefleld fireman was an unfortunate accident. Hindsight cannot bring back the life of Ken Aikenhead. A recent inquest into his death attemp- ted to determine why this young man was killed as he travelled to a scene of a fire. The inquest endeavored to establish recommendations and guidelines that could help prevent other accidents of a similar nature. Inquests are never pleasant. However, family, friends and associates of Ken Aikenhead should feel some sense of comfort and satisfaction in knowing that the recommendations that cane from the inquest into his deathcould make ma- jor and necessary changes to fire safety in Ontario. When our volunteer fire fighters answer the call of duty they put their live at risk. Ke Aikenhead was an unfortunate victim. DICK JONGKIND Vice -President SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $25.00 Per year; U.S.A. $65.00 may save lives Recommendations that aim to ensure the safety of fire fighters, use of proper equipment andadequate training are vital Jo the protection of the dedicated men who willingly put their lives on the line to fight fires. They should not be placed in, the situation of compromise because equipment does not meet safe- ty afety standards, because they have been im- properly trained for the job. The death of Ken Aikenhead and others like him have brought to light serious deficiencies in fire fighting safety stan- dards in this province. The Ontario Fire Marshal's Office must be made aware of the potential hazards, local municipal councils must be made aware, and fire departments too. With far-reaching recommendations like those that were brought forth from the Aikenhead inquest, there is hope that fire safety standards in the future will be strengthened for the protection and security of our volunteer fire fighters. Clinton News Record The readers write P.O. Box 493 Hensall, Ont. NOM 1XO To the Editor: I am writing in response to your column "Peter's Point," published October 14, 1987, entitl- ed "Kites that don't fly". Although I found Peter's ac- count of his disastrous day of Kite dragging very humorous I Id -mot help_,but feel deepJy, as an industrial designer a attack on our profession. Peter's unfortunate experience , has lead us to believe that in- dustrial designers are to blame for "Mucking Around" with the designs of timeless proven pro- ducts and making them com- plicated and useless. In actual fact, the' im- provements of products for the benefit of manufacturers and consumers (and users) is the very essence of the industrial E design profession. In recent years the term design or dener has been a lied to almost every pro- d group; Designer cars, esigner clothes, designer fur- niture and appliances, designer food, and the list goes on and on. In some ways this has been very beneficial to the design pro- fession, because it has increased our awareness of the value, the function, the feel, and the beauty of a well thought out product. Unfortunately, many unscrupulous manufacturers have attempted to capitalize on this trend by tacking the term Designer to poorly designed pro- ducts and, with the aid of some flashy packaging, have sold millions to unsuspecting consumers. This is not to say that designesr are incapable of making errors or poor design decisions. This does however point out the importance of shopping around and asking ,+ questions in order to select the product that is best "Designed" for you. Before responding. to Peter's Point, I thought I'should contact Peter himself to "tune him in on a few facts". Much to my sur- prise, Peter Hessel is not the design bashing critic I . though him to be. He is in fact a concern- ed consumer who unfortunately got a hold of a trendy "designer's" kite whose idea wouldn't fly. During our conversation, Peter admitted that he did not intend to insult the profession in any way, he merely wished to express the same feelings and frustrations we all have for poorly thought out products. I hope that in the future Peter will make his point a little sharper! Time will tell It seems that 'free trade' is about to happen with the United States: Personally I think that there are many things to be said for it. Living here in Ontario we have been aware for many years of price discrepancies which have existed between ourselves and the folks not that many miles across the border. Gasoline is one thing which strikes me as a commodity for which we pay grossly inflated prices on this side of the border. I bet that if that market was opened up that the prices over here would adjust themselves in a hurry. I've noticed for years a real dif- ference in the price of. clothes 'over the river'. Towels, sheets, shirts and dresses have often been half the price of comparable dry goods in our stores. Similar- lythings such as microwave ovens and lawn mowers I have priced and found to be a lot cheaper there. Cars, of course, have always By the Way by Syd Fletcher been a sore point. For the life of rpe I have never been able to figure out why a car can be assembled here in Canada (with a computerized radio in it built in Taiwan), shipped to Texas and be sold cheaper than it is here in Southern Ontario, even taking ac- count of the exchange. Here's another one. A couple of years ago I saw three big trucks full of very live Proudly, David H. Long Industrial Designer turkeys passing along the highway heading for . the American border. The name on the side of all three trucks was of a big grocery chain in the U.S. Now maybe that doesn't mean anything to you but I have pur- chased turkey often in the 'States' for fifty or sixty cents a pound. You can buy those prepared turkey rolls over there for about three dollars 'each. Over here turkey will be usually .around three tiines that much, again allowing for exchange. \ Personally I thinktthat,con- sumers will benefit on the 'bole by being allowed access td a much larger market. Business will naturally locate in this area to service a popula- tion with greater buying power and to take advantage of a well- educated, reasonably priced labour market. Again I'll say it. Free trade will prove to be a good thing. Time though will tell if I'm right. Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited "I TOOK OUR NEW CREDIT CARD FOR A TEST.+RUN. Deliciously delectable If beauty is only skin-deep, that envelope holding ou: features on- to our skulls is very important and deserves -the best of care. However, few of us can afford a hedonistic stay at a luxurious spa. And elective plastic surgery to erase crows' feet or remove the bags under the eyes is not covered under OHIP. A glance at the price tag on many commercial beauty pro- ducts is enough to furrow the most serene of brows. Therefore I was delighted to come upon an article explaining how to turn one's kitchen into a beauty salon by using many common items found in one's frig and cupboards to feed one's face. Externally. The alluring promise of unclogged pores, fading wrinkles and a revitalized complexion - for little effort and less cost - proved irresistible. I had nothing to lose but some of my epidermis. The article stressed the impor- tance of a deep cleansing masque once a week. Oatmeal, mixed half and half with water to the consistency of paste, was highly recommended. Speaking from experience, I can offer two bits of advice. Don't try the instant, quick -cooking oatmeal (stick to the old-fashioned variety, and it in turn will stick to you), and give yourself this treatment before washing your hair - and your clothes. The expert advised lying down for 10 minutes and refreshing the eyes at the same time with either used tea, bags, slices of raw Reynold's Rap by Yvonne Reynolds potato or cucumber, or cotton squares soaked in witch hazel. As I am a coffee drinker, potatoesare cheaper than cucumbers this time of year, and I was fresh out of witch hazel, I opted for the Little Orphan Annie look. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I headed for the couch. I looked like a warthog with a bad case of cataracts. After washing off the guck, I returned to my instructions. I was dismayed to find I had tem- porarily destroyed the acid man- tle on my skin, my protection against dirt and pollution. Without a toner, my skin would take more than three hours to regain its natural acidic state. Could I wait that long? What should I do? The next paragraph provided the answer. I needn't stay vulnerable. Back to the cup- board. Grab the lemon juice. Add one ounce to six of water. Shake well (my trembling hand should suffice). Splash on, avoiding if possible the newly rejuvenated eyes. Breathe a sigh of relief. Safe at last. I was now ready for the- daily routine of cleansing the fate, at the same time delaying the evaporation of water and foiling would-be robbers of my natural skin oils. 1 had a choice. 'I could give myself a cleansing massage with lard, shortening, or the oil of the peanut, the sesame seed, the almond or the avocado. I chose Crisco. I know you are impatiently waiting to hear the results of my efforts. Did my groceries glamorize? Was my masque magnetic? Did my transforma- tion ransformation take? I '11 let you decide. I'll just tell you this. My husband came in moments after I had gently and laboriously washed away the last of the shortening. He found me so appetizing he couldn't decide whether to approach me with open arms or a knife and fork. Salute- to. weeklies When I lived in the city - it seems like a century ago - L didn't know that weekly newspapers ex- isted. Like everybody else in the concrete jungle I glanced at the headlines and read the odd editorial and news feature in the busy, bulky, big -city daily. For those of us living in a small town or in We country, one of the most rewarding moments is the time - at midweek - when the local paper arrives. Although the official term now is "community newspapers", I still prefer to call them weeklies. Of course it's important to know what goes on in the Persian Gulf and along the border bet- ween Libya and Chad. And I must keep informed about the arms race and the trade talks, about the striking garbage persons in Montreal and the striking educators in Toronto. It's all very essential, very serious, and worth glancing at.. The weekly's role But when the local' paper comQs,• 1 drop everything and read it from cover to cover. Don't you? Because the weeklies tell us what's happening in our own backyard. They can be counted on to cover the monthly meeting of the Field Naturalists and the annual tea and bazaar .of the Canadian Legion's Ladies-' Auxiliary. • They tell us who got hurt in what accident, whose barn burn- ed down, who got charged with shoplifting, who was born, who got married and - last but not least - who passed away. That's the official obituary term for dying. Ah, the obits! The weeklies wouldn't be, the same without them. I don't know anybody around here who doesn't read the obits regularly and with a pas- sion. In fact, my next column will be about obituaries. City folks - if they know about the country weeklies at all - may refer to them as local rags. Well, I've got news for them. Some of PETER'S POINT • the best, journalistic work in Canada today is found in our community newspapers. Oh, there may. be some rough style, imperfect grammar or fun- ny spelling occasionally. That's because everybody has to pitch • in. Publishing a weekly is not a multi-millionrdollar enterprise. -Staff that can find their way around the country, take pic- tures, report, write, compose, use proper grammar and spelling, all ata princely salary, of course, is not that easy to find. So once in a while you may encounter English up with which it is hard to put (to paraphrase Winston Churchill). But all is forgiven. If you want Pulitzer -Prize-winning prose, ydti buy the New York Times. If you want to know what the Davidson Town Council has decided about the local Senior Citizens Organization, you subscribe to the Davidson Leader. If you're in- terested in what's going on in Alameda or Moose Creek, you make sure that you don't miss this week's edition of the Oxbow Herald. The columnist's role And if you're tired of reading about the weightly issues of the day, you turn to the weekly,col- umns. Ilere you learn about the real struggles, those within our smaller communities, within our families, within ourselves. As a columnist, I feel that my own role is to provide cdmic relief from the many "hard news" items that tend to give us the willies. They're all wonderful papers, providing a useful, important ser- vice to their communities. I salute the Advance in Kemptville and Wynyard, the Banner in Orangeville and Russell (in Beef and Barley County), the Clarion in Kindersley and Nepean, the Journal in Carleton, Humboldt and Wheatley, -the News in Blenheim, Cayuga and Lambeth. I congratulate the hard- working people that week after week produce all the Gazettes and Leaders and News and Posts and Presses and Reviews and Standards and Stars and Times and Watchmen. These and many, many others are Canada's salt of the earth in tTewspaper publishing. They need our recognition, encouragement, support and participation. Without them living in a small town or in the country would be intolerable, and certainly less in- teresting. The"weeklies need us to survive, but I think we need them just as much. Why not send a letter to your favourite editor right now, telling him or her that you appreciate your weekly newspaper? I think it would be worth a few pennies of postage, don't you? •