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Times Advocate, 1993-05-19, Page 4Paged Times -Advocate, May 19,1993 11111 .11111.111 Arnileckett delve Or: Annan Harte eillklfterallillifer: Don smith . Ikib lord "Men are -never so likely to •settle a 'querttion 'lhtly as when they discuss it freely." ... Thomas Macauley roll Mr,d e.oit Weneseee r $ 424 Msb :,., Exert, arertAro .asx by J W. t+benoattoe, a t. M10621093 F Surely someone knew he question begs to be asked: why now? After listening to testimony from only two witnesses, both members of the town police services board, the three lawyers have agreed to suspend pro- ceedings before the Ontario Civilian Commission:on-Police Services. The reason given is -that there is a def- inite -possibility thatany outcome from the hearing would :beTendesed ineffec- tive and useless should :the town dis- band itsforceAnd ixiypolicing services fromdhe`OPP, -as ivany:'expect them to do. Why now? Surely it must have oc- curred to someone that this OPP cost- ing procedure has been under way for months, and was started weeks before thechief was removed from duty indhe first place. If the outcome of the°P cost estimate is so critical to this hear- ing, why was it evertstarted in the first place? This is a :particularly questionable time to stop --proceedings. Only two witnesses have been heard, the testimo- ny from one is'slilldncomplete,.and=any opportunity foznthe:chief -to ..account -for the accusations made _against -him will stave to wait. A conclusion some may draw is that :the hearing thus far has revealed some- thing fthe aninhgry .didn't anticipate when prripagpg.its case before the.co 3-. . mission.* Is it possible'ithat this OPP .costing wall :be used as ..a convenient method to walk away - rom,:the .entire :affair? ',Will the -public beleftWithouta fair judgement:of the :moats that -locked .their town police force :for so many 'months? The costs, however, cannot be ignored. More than one person has stopped to wonder at the cost of this inquiry. This commission includes the services of three trial lawyers (each with assistants) two commission co-chairs, a clerk, and a stenographer. On the stand were wit- nesses on the public payroll taking paid time off from work. In the parking lot outside were several officious -looking cars, including the :cruisers and unmarked cars of police :chiefs taking time away from their jobs =to sit in on the proceedings. They wer- 'en't present as witnesses, just to provide moral support. 'On top Af that comes the rental of the =creation centre at $18 an hour ($108 for :a -six-hour day), the accommodation land mileage of those staying in the area, !and -hours and hours of research and documentation associated with the vol - times -of evidence being presented before the:commission. An 'extremely low• ball, conservative :estimate indicates this commission must cost :about $7,000 a day. In .actuality, :theleal_costsasre likely to be much high- .er. The "IO.iay hearing,: if were to last :only that long, would likely cost in ex- cess :of $100,-000. It is unforhmate-that:Exeter's policing troubles have sone :on:so-far and so long .:4ts'onequfe ; 1 he dispute. ?'he ._town : and --province, tare picking .11p - tete: r ab:on.almostshew.hole affair. Unfortunately, -this inquiry can't be left : half. completed. There are serious ques- tionsuf:accountability:and responsibility left=unanswered. Once begun, it must be -finished. A.DiH. So where are all the worms? There are easy risers who sit bolt upright .in bed at the first sound of the alarm clock. They rub their eyes, wriggle their toes, flex their muscles, and start whistling the Colonel Bog- ey March. They do a dozen pushups, rip open the curtains and take a deep breath. Then they put on their running shoes and jogging - suits. They run ten kilometers, then take a cold shower and pre- pare themselves for action by eating a hearty breakfast. We all know people like that. And then there are reluctant risers like mc. When my alarm goes off at 7, I kill the obnox- ious button, tum to the other side and hope to wake up in due course. And I usually do. With my eyes still firmly shut, with my joints creaking and my bones aching, I feel my way to the bathroom. A hot shower re- stores some, but not all of my systems. While I shave, my eyes gradually come into focus. The image in the mirror tells me that I was not meant to be a moming person. My breakfast depends on how long after the buuer I woke up for the second time. A snooze of fifteen minutes means no break- fast. With ten minutes I can af- ford a quick bowl of cereal and a cup of instant coffee. And then ,I'm off. Why do I punish myself? No- body forces me to get up at sev- en. Do I hope to b rewarded some day for winning this daily battle against niy true nature? I read somewhere that next to the shock of being bom, the shock of being raised from a deep sleep is the most stressful situation most people ever expe- rience. I don't know whether that's true or not. I've had some pretty forceful jolts in my life. Peter's Point • Peter Helsel But my system surely revolts against this cruel awakening five times a week. Naturally, I look forward to sleeping in on weekends. Is there anything unusual about that/ I'm sure that millions of Canadians enjoy the comfort of sleeping a couple of hours long- er on Saturdays and Sundays. Except, of course, for the early beavers who ca.f't wait for the blush of dawn, even on a week- end in spring. So we've got moming persons and night persons, right? Wait! At our house, we also have hy- brids. The young ones. On weekdays they can't be roused in the morning. They cling to their sheets and blankets, and they just love it in bed. The have to be coaxed and badgered and finally dragged into the bathroom by their feet, so they won't miss the bus. But on weekends their person- alities change. Their internal clocks swing into high gear at the dawns' early light. They sit bolt upright in bed, rub their eyes, wriggle their toes, flex :their muscles, and start singing. At 7 o'clock sharp they line up in their parents' bedroom. Duncan: "Can I have a friend ovet?„ Alex: "Who is going to drive me this morning?" Stephanie: "Wake up, it's a sunny day." "Go back to bed, for heaven's sake, " I cry, "that isn't the sun, it's the moon." But all is lost. On one side of the bed Duncan, fully dressed and ready for action, is attacking Elizabeth. On the other side, Alex is bouncing a soccer ball. And Stephanie wants to know why the fanner crossed the road. How can we tell these happy kids to leave us alone? We can't, of course. Occasionally, just very rarely, we suggest that they watch a video. But that's a cheap cop-out, and we all know it. There is no use. For the next few years I will probably remain a reluctant morning person. What's all this about healthy, wealthy and wise? By now, I should be as healthy as a horse, as wealthy as a doctor, and as wise as a pundit The fact that I'm none of these indicates that I'm doing some- thing wrong. And where arc all the worms just waiting to be caught in the morning? No, you. just can't trust proverbs. Maybe I should only work on weekends and take Monday to Friday off. There's another alternative. Be- coming a true morning person. I think I'll buy me a new pair or jogging shoes and take whistling lessons. Dee -did, deedeedec did did deet.. Gas prices in unison Dear Sir: I see that all the gas stations in -Exeter have increased their gas prices, all in unison. "What a coin- cidence that all stations increase to the same price at the same time! If I was of a suspicious nature, I would think that there had been some collusion. But I think that price fixing is illegal, so that can't DeatEditor: HavingrTread- your ,May 12 edi- iion • of .hack in Time I would like ato comecran error that appeared in the 50 years ago section pertaining :to the25th course of pilots gradu- ating from No. 9 SFTS Centralia. Course 73 was actually' the 8th course to graduate from No. 9 Ser- vice Flying Training School Cen- araba. be. However, I don't like what I see, especially as this sort of thing has been go- ing on since the other two stations closed. So I usually buy my gas out of Exeter now, for example at Sears when they charge only fony-nine cents, or in Lucan or Stratford. I have always been a proponent of local shopping, but not when we are treated like this even by the so- called independents. There is of course the exception when the car needs a wash! Supreme sacrifice paid Yours sincerely John Sanderson As mentirlrttutl r aheHJFakhis crew were o itzby r 9pflr•' • man night ftghte>t'While o**bomb-, ing mission to Wasseling, Germa- ny, causing instant death to the entire crew. As the 50th anniversary of other No. 9 SFTS Centralia courses pass, let us not forget the supreme sacri- fice graduates like Alvin Corless paid for our freedom. W.P. Fydenchuk -:article gradu-•,rn ates came from • India and Eng- land. Not only did the course have international graduates, but also included a local future bomber pi- lot, Alvin Corless of Clinton. Just over a year later Alvin and Town library landmark Dear Editor: There seems to be an effort to get rid of one of the town's land- mark, the Carnegie Library. Perhaps not enough constructive thought has been used. The library is centrally located in the town's crossroads and as well as serving as a library is an established meet- ing place for young, old and the in-betweens. We are fortunate to ,#rave an intdIli- sent, efficient ;and experi- -tnced librarian, -Helen Hodgins, and a sympathetic, helpful staff. Have the town's well-meaning bureau- crats consulted the lovely Helen as to her views on the matter? I sus- pect she would not approve of a move to the high school. The present library is getting old, like a lot of us, but can be renovat- ed, and there is sufficient space be- hind for a much needed addition. Lets hope the powers that be give this macer a bit more thought. Yours truly J.M (Gibby) Gibson Exeter Concerned motorcyclist Dear Editor: A month ago, there were seven of us. Now we number five. The spring came with great anticipa- tion for us. We were all eager to get our motorcycles out of the gar- age and onto the road. Already however, only one month into the season, two of us have been hit by seemingly blind motorists. Both accidents happened in town, at slow speeds, thank good- ness. The riders suffered only bruises and scrapes, but two mo- torcycles (totalling over 515.000) have been put temporari- ly out of com- mission. I have not yet been hit. Al- though in my two years of riding, I have been forced on to the gravel and/or sidewalks more times than I care to remember due to some motorists' lack of at- tention. When I get in my car, my first thoughts are not of hew close I am going to come to an accident or death today. On my bike it is. There is always the question of "So when is it my turn?" floating in my mind and that's not right. All I ask is for a little respect, and that everyone takes an extra few seconds to have a good look before turning or pulling out into traffic. It could save you and 1 a lot of unneeded worry, upset, and wasted time. Mark Stuart. Motorcyclist, Exeter, Ont. Federal government owes province Dear Sir: I wish to say that I find the sug- gestion of the Mayor Bruce Shaw that Paul Klopp resign as a mem- ber of his party over the closure of Centralia rather repugnant. I would like to remind you that Bruce Shaw was a Conservative candidate at the nomination meet- ing when the Huron Bruce Conser- vatives elected Murray Cardiff rather than Bruce Shaw. I suggest that Bruce talk to his party mem- bers in power in Ottawa and ask about the $3 billion dollars which the conservative government owes the Province of Ontario for health care and post secondary education. 1f Ontario had received that mon- ey which is owed to this province under an agreement signed by the federal govern- ment and all the provinces there would be no need to consider the closing of Cen- tralia. In Ottawa we have a government that has cut payments to the prov- inces, cut unemployment insurance and after nine years of saying it's saving money ends up with a bil- lion more for the national debt. They are the ones who promised a business -like government. Maybe the money the Prime Minister Mul- roney is spending on his farewell world tour could be used to pay the province and keep Centralia open. I would like to remind Mr. Shaw that it's under hiu,party's free trade deal that companies like Poulin arc leaving Huron Park and moving their operations to the U.S. It is his party that wants to reduce the wag- es and living standards of Canadi- ans to those of Mexican peasants. These .arc difficult times, made more difficult in Ontario by the Federal government's actions. It will take cooperation to solve them and we haven't sten much coopera- tion from Mr. Shaw's Federal Con- servative friends. Yours truly Tony McQuail (AO just so my politics arc clear - I'm lite Federal NOP candidate in Huron•Bruce)