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Times-Advocate, 1984-06-13, Page 4Pogo 4 Times -Advocate, June 13, 1984 imes Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 dvocate Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited LORNE EEDY Publisher JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager BILI BATTEN Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor DICK JONGKIND Business Manager Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $22.00 Per year; U.S.A. $60.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' and 'ABC' Questionable game Considerable attention will be focused on Ottawa this weekend as the Liberal Party of Canada meets to elect a new leader, and of more consequence, probably a new prime minister. While there is no denial of the importance of the decision to the party and the country, it is disconcer- ting to note that the usual "games" will be played on the first ballot by many of those who will,be voting. For many, the vote on the initial ballot will not go to the man they would hope or expect to see win. That initial ballot will honor some "favorite sons" or be bas- ed on some equally idyllic gesture. • That is the usual circumstances in leadership con- ventions, but it does call into question the conscien- tiousness with which some delegates arrive at their decisions. Surely if they have selected a candidate they feel will best serve the partrand country, they would get behind that candidate from the outset to ensure there would be no disastrous mistake, such as finding they wasted a ballot and didn't get an opportunity to cast another one. Many area delegates have clearly indicated they will not vote for their first choice on the first, ballot. Hopefully they'll get a second chance, but if they don't, they'll lament for a long time being on the losing side of'a game which is a questionable aspect of such an important decision. Correct the oversight For the past three years, the Ontario Community Newspapers Association, in cooperation with CP Air, has sponsored a Junior Citizen of the Year contest. For the past three years, there have been no nominations from this immediate area. Hopefully that oversight will be altered this year and we can proclaim that at least one young person in our readership area is held in enough esteem to join the three hundred or so young people from across On- tario who will be nominated by people in their communities. The program honors up to 12 young people chosen for outstanding contributions to their communities, courageous acts of bravery or remarkable fortitude in overcoming physical limitations. Itis not designed for "super,heroes", but rather ordinary young people who do a better than average job in performing communi- ty work. So, come on. Let's not get shut out again this year! There are young people who are eligible and it takes only a few minutes to fill in the necessary forms to at least let them know you're proud enough to consider them worthwhile nominees. Keeps costs down Recently the association of registered nurses call- ed for the eventual abolition of registered nursing assistance in our hospitals, leaving bedside care en- tirely in the hands of the RNs. All credit to the registered nurses who serve us. Most of them are dedicated and skilled in their pro- fession and society would be in deep trouble if they disappeared from the scene. But let's not forget the tremondously valuable service and nursing assistants have provided over the years. There have been times when RNs were scarce that it would have been all but impossible to keep smaller hospitals operating without the services of the nursing assistants. Nor is there any reason to get rid of nursing. assistants, whose rate of pay is considerably lower than the rate paid to RNs. The assistants perform many of the tasks which do not require the skills of full- fledged nurses, a perfectly logical way to provide good health care at somewhat less than top cost. The annual bill for health care is already nearing the point of impossibility. We cannot afford to sacrifice any opportunity to keep those mounting costs within our ability to pay. Wingham Advance- Times. Commercial zoning needs study Following a recent joint meeting of Ex- eter council and the planning advisory committee, the decision was made to ex- tend the limits of the town's commercial core area to a one street depth east and west of Main St. and extend it continuous- ly from the southern limits to the Ausable River bridge. At the same time, the highway com- mercial area would be expanded north of the bridge and there would also be an ex- pansion of uses in the grouped commer- cial zone. These changes won't be instituted im- mediately, but have been approved as goals for the future direction of commer- cial development. The writer's initial reaction to the com- mercial expansion plan was primarily negative. That was based on a couple of factors. The first, and perhaps the most impor- tant, is the fact that there is little reason to expect any immediate boom in com- mercial growth in Exeter. Even if commercial expansion does oc- cur, it would appear that the areas presently zoned can handle more than a modest amount and one needs to look no farther than some of the vacant commer- cial facilities and land in the community to suggest that new zoning is hardly required. There have been few times in the town's recent history when there has been so much vacant floor space available; and it is not merely in bits and pieces here and there either. There are some sizeable buildings vacant. Another factor which could limit com- mercial growth is the impact of the new shopping centre at the north end of Lon- don. Local businessmen have already ex- pressed concern over the portion of business that they may lose to the major shopping centre on Richmond St. N. Predictions are that the centre could af- fect some local businesses by anywhere 4 from 10 to 25 percent of their current volume. For some, that could well represent the difference between a viable operation and one that could be in economic jeopardy. Hopefully, the latter situation will not BATT'N AROUND with the editor arise, but if it does, that would result in even more available floor space in Ex- eter's commercial zones. • t ♦ * The first priority would appear to be to ensure that the, existing lands and buildings are occupied before they deteriorate to the detriment of the entire community, and obviously that is not fostered by opening up new commercial areas. It can only be achieved by ensuring that those who wish to move into town or ex- pand present operations do so by utilizi- ing the commercial facilities that are already in existence. However, no matter how logical that argument may appear, there is apparent- ly a stumbling block in that some owners of commercial land and facilities are reportedly seeking rental or purchase prices that some potential customers feel is too high and would make it difficult for them to have a profit margin for their own business. At last week's session of council, Dorothy Chapman indicated that there have already been cases where serious parties have decided against locating in Exeter due to the prices being charged by owners of commercial lands or facilities. She suggested following the meeting that that was one of the main reasons why the commercial zoning should be extend- ed and that is certainly a plausible plan of action under these circumstances. The danger, however, is that the core area could be dotted with vacant and deteriorating structures and that in turn could prompt some existing businesses to join the exodus to new commercial zones and in effect create a snowball phenomenon that would certainly not be in the best interest of anyone. In short, it could be a matter of correcting a problem while at the same time creating a new one. * * * * The entire situation appears to warrant a comprehensive study before final action is taken. The claim that local facilities may be too expensive should at' least be explored to determine if the claim has any justification. Because a couple of potential customers find the price too steep does not prove anything other than the fact they can not affored that price for their particular businesses volume. There may well be others that would find the price in keep- ing with current conditions and their ex- pected volume. The amount of vaca t floor space at present, combined with urrent economic conditions, would s ggest that most owners would see the need to be com- petitive. Some of them may be in a finan- cial position to hold out for the best dollar, but surely some must be wanting to fill their vacancies and willing to listen to reasonable offers. The final decision by council is ex- tremely important in this regard and obiviously should be made only after some pertinent facts and figures are examined. It is not a matter that should be held in abeyance if it is creating the situations outlined by Mrs. Chapman. It needs some immediate attention. 4 kp The 'boom years Manners, mores changing There has been a tremendous change in the manners and' mores of Canada in the past three decades. This brilliant thought came to me as I saw a sign today, in a typical Canadian small town: "Steakhouse and Tavern". Now this didn't exactly knock me out, alarm me, or discombobulate me in any way. I am a part of all that is in this country, at this time. But it did give me a tiny twinge. Hence my opening remarks. I am no Carrie Nation, who stormed into saloons with her lady friends, armed with hatchets, and smashed open (what a waste) the barrels of beer and kegs of whiskey. I am no Joan of Arc. I don't revile blasphemers or hear voices. I am no Pope John Paul II, who tells people what to do about their sex lives. I am merely an observer of the human scene, in a cougtry that us- ed to be one thing, and has become another. But that doesn't mean I don't have opinions. I have nothing but scorn for the modern "objective" journalists who tell it as it is. They are hyenas and jackals, who fatten on the leavings of the "liens" of our society, for the most part. Let's get back on topic, as I tell my students. The Canadian society has roughened and coarsened to an astonishing degree in the last 30 years. First, the Steakhouse and Tavern.' As a kid working on the boats on the Upper Lakes, I was ex- cited and a little scared when I saw that sign in Amercian ports: Duluth, Detroit, Chicago. I came from the genteel poverty of Ontario in the Thirties, and I was slight- ly appalled, and deeply at- rj Sugar and Spice Dispensed By Smiley tracted by these signs: the very thought that drink could be publicily adver- tised.Like any normal, curious kid, I went into a couple, ordered a two-bit whiskey, and found nobody eating steaks, but a great many people get- ting sleazily drunk on the same. Not the steaks. In those days, in Canada, there was no such creature. The very use of the word "tavern" in- dicated inquity. It was an evil place. We did have beer "parlours" later ex- changed for the euphemism "beverage rooms." But that was all right. Only the lowLr ele- ment went there, and they closed from 6 p.m. to 7:30, or some such, so that a family man could get home to his dinner. Not a bad idea. In their " homes, of course, the middle and up- per class drank liquor. Beer was the working- man's drink, and to be shunned. It was around then that some wit revers - ed the old saying, and came out with: "Work is the curse of the drinking class", a neat version of Marx's(?) "Drink is the curse of the working classes." If you called on someone in those misty.. days, you were offered a cuppa and something to eat. Today, the host would be humiliated if he didn't have something harder to offer you. Now, every hamlet seems to have its steakhouse, complete with tavern. It's rather ridiculous. Nobody today can afford a steak. But how in the living world can these same people afford drinks, at current prices? These steakhouses and taverns are usually pretty sleazy joints, on a par with the old beverage room, which was the optiome of sleaze. It's not all the fault of the owners, though they make nothing on the steak and 100 percent on the drinks (minimum) . It's just that Canadians tend to be noisy and crude and profane drinkers. And the crudity isn't on- ly in the pubs. It has crept into Parliament, that august institution, with a prime minister who used street language when his impeccable Engligh fail- ed, or he wanted to show ' how tough he was. It has crept into our educational system, where teachers drink and swear and tell dirty jokes and use language in front of women that I,.a product of a more well-mannered, or inhibited, your choice, era, could not bring myself to use. And the language of to- day's students, from Grade one to Grade whatever, would curl the hair of a sailor, and make your maiden aunt grab for the smelling salts. Words from the lowest slums and slummiest barnyards create rarely a blush on the cheek of your teenage daughter. A graduate of the depression, when people had some reason to use bad language, in sheer frustration and anger, and of a war in which the most common four-letter word was used as frequently, and absent-mindedly, as salt and pepper, have not insured me to what our kids today consider normal. Girls wear T-shirts that are not even funny, mere- ly obscene. As to boys. Saw one the other day_ on an otherwise nice lad. Message: "Thanks, all you virgins - for nothing." The Queen is a frump. God is joke. The country s problems are somebody else's problem, as long as I get mine. I don't deplore. I don't abhor. I don't implore. I merely observe. Sadly. We are turning into a na- tion of slobs. Talk about embarrassing So it's been a hard week and the boss -has been on your back and the wife has been bugging you about that new fur coat and you decide to go have a few beers before you go home. The first one goes down so easy that you have a cou- ple more, then one last one just before you go. You know, the old one for the road. So you head out of town driving extra carefully, the way you always do when you've had a few drinks and that darn left back tire blows. You pull over real easy and the black and white car behind pulls over too. Who said that they're never there when you need them? "Need a hand?" So he helps you and in a few minutes you're on your who got caught just last week. And when you get back glimwsk VViCAAV Perspectives By Syd Fletcher way meanwhile sweating a few drops of blood hop- ing he doesn't smell the alcohol on your breath. All the time you're wondering, "How many drinks did I have back there anyway?" and remembering your buddy into the car you think: Three quick shots was all he'd had. I guess he was weaving down the road a little. Doesn't seem fair but they charged him with "impaired driving." Haul- ed him down to the station, made him sit there for a picture. Two or three hun- dred bucks, a day's pay lost for appearing in court, •and worst of all three months loss of license. No, worst of all was when he had to get somebody from his family to come pick him up at the station, as if he was a sixteen year old kid and didn't even know how to drive home. Talk about embarrassing. And then you think how lucky you were to get away this time. Or when you think how unfair the whole system is. Why don't they get after the real criminals? Or maybe you think you'll get somebody else to drive you home the next timeou decide to'have a few drinks.