Loading...
Times Advocate, 1997-12-03, Page 4i (Ne 4 Times -Advocate, December 3, 1997 Publisher & Editor: Jim Beckett Business Manager: Don Smith Production Manager. Deb tone • Barb Consitt,•Chad Eedy Nem Heather Mir, Kate Monk, Craig Bradford, Chantal, Van Raay, Ross Haugh Production; Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson • Brenda,Hem, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner Transportation: Al Flynn, Al Hodgert Front Office & Accounting; Sue Rollings, Carol Windsor Ruthanne NegriJn, Anita McDonald, Cassie Dalrymple, Ruth Slaght, Sheila Corbett 4-4 The Exeter Times -Advocate is a member of a family of community newspapers. providing news, advertising and information leadership.SUBICHIMCHUMIESI Publications Mail Registration Number 07511 One year retafor Cafe da subscslbsrs - 83540 ; ow Two year rata for Caiade'ettreedbers - $e3.00 ♦'AR .N.eIAM CON 4NI ekko 02.00 1919-1994 .i' Ufa ASSOC, Published Each Wednesday Morning at 424 Main St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S8 by J.W. Eedy Pubiications Ltd. Telephone 1.519-235.1331 • Fax: 519-235-0768 G.S.T. "R108210835 L1)11 ()RI \1. Make your list and check it twice D ecember marks the true begin- ning of the Christmas season. Some people may complain that the celebra- tion marking the birth of Christ has de- generated_into an exhausting round of :too much drinking and eating, too • much spending, and -too little joy_and wonder. Bah, humbug!. - They are partly right, of course Same people_focus So completely on the wrapping that they forgetabout the gift inside. In. truth, the wrapping is pretty appeal- ing - lovely decorations, bright lights and special music. We have a jolly mascot in red velvet who laughs and gives children_presents. The air is filled with the scent of spruceboughs, roast. turkey and cinnamon sticks. But there is so much more to Christ- - mass and most of it has to do with giv- ing gifts not necessarily the sort that-_ come in expensive boxes with fluffy red bows and pretty paper. There are the. anonymous, gifts of money dropped in the kettles at the street corners, and tinned food for the food bank dropped off with area mer- -. chants. These mean so much -to families strugglingforsurvi v -al -in -the -Midst -of �-- plenty. No one ever knows where that large tinned ham ends up, but it is a true joy to imagine someone,perhaps an elderly couple or a. young family; sitting down at•a table decorated with paper snowflakes, and savoring every morsel. There are gifts money cannot buy - one is the gift of. life. The combination of snow and ice on the roads, and a lot more people travelling, means blood supplies will surely be low during the holidays. Take an hour to visit a blood donor clinic. Forget stories about the so-called tainted blood scandal and • keep two things`in mind - it is impossi- ble to get a disease by donating blood, - and people still desperately need - it. Some gifts take only a bit of one's .time. Simple acts ofkindness can mean .so. -much, especially at this time of year. Someone with a car can take a neighbor . or friend who is without transportation. - to the stores for a bit of Christmas shop- ping: A person with young children nev- er finds it easy to get out_of the house and buy gifts for the little ones - an offer - to babysit for an afternoon or evening would be appreciated.This, too, is a gift. Consider those wonderful souls who give not only their time but also their hands and -feet: Service club members who look after hampersfor the -needy-_ spend=untold hours sorting, packing and delivering parcels to make sure Christ- mas is enjoyed by everyone. The lights might not make it up at their own homes, and the holiday baking never gets,done, they are so busy, but while the cookie jar is empty. their hearts are filled with the true happiness of Christ - as. - - rims. What would Christmas be without the concerts and pageants? So many ---people-give-their talents -and -skills -to make these successful. Caring can be a gift, especially if the recipient is a person or family trying to cope with a loved one's illness. A:card, a prayer, a few'dollars tucked into an en- velope to help cover. travel expenses, are all gifts that show this community cares. Caring, time, talent; thoughtfulness these are gifts which don't break like carelessly handled ornaments, they don't have to be exchange_ d for a different cel - or or size, and best -of all, they won't leave giver or_ receiverwondering what was under all the pretty paper. Reprinted from Suuieen City News Your Views .0. Lights in the park "The spirit of giving is very evident in Exeter..." Dear Editor: On behalf of the Exeter Lioness Club. 1 would like to.thank everyone whoyattended the first official . "Lighting of the Park". It was a great success. I want to thank the carollers Julie Godbolt and the Girl. • • Guides.. the Lions Club. the Exeter Recreation Department. Tim Horton's Becker Farm Equipment. Donuts Delight. Pioneer Gas Bar. and the Times Advocate for their assistance. - .The spirit pf giving is very evident in Exeter and thesurrounding communities. This is one way we.. can thank you for your continuing support of our fundraising activities to help those Tess fortunate than ourselves. It -was a.pleasure for the Exeter Lioness Club to organize the "Lighting of the Park." Liz Stephens. Exeter Lioness Club L A View from Queen's Park By Eric. Dowd TORONTO -- Can anything good be said about a senator who shows up only 2 per cent of the time, but continues collecting $80,000 salaryand benefits and has been -drummed out of the federal Liberal caucus? Andrew Thompson, .whose absences, suppos- edly through illness, have been judged unac- ceptable by Prime Minister Jean Chatien, was leader of the Ontario Liberal party from 1964 to 1966 and is remembered a little l"fferently at Queen's Park. . Thompson, Irish-born, a former social worker and special assistant to Lester Pearson before he became prime minister, had been an MPP only five years when an unusual combination thrust him into leadership. Former leader John Wintermeyer had lost an election and his seat and Thompson, earnest and modest, initially had no aspiration to lead. Bui he made a passionate speech con- demning Progressive Conservative premier John Robans's notorious "police state bill," Which guve police tough powers to deal with organized crime. including the ability to hold Kate's takes By Kate Monk The camera incident Life has it -s ups and downs and sometimes you can.pack a. load of ups and downs into one day. - . Life is Tike that for all df Us at slime point intime. I'm reminded of "the camera incident." A friend (Corinne) was getting married and she asked Doug to take a few wedding'pictures for. her - some spontaneous shots to complement the work of the • official wedding photographer. When we arrived at the church ' .in Guelph. we discovered.that although Doug had his camera bag, his camera wasn't in the bag! Alas. it was in Exeter on . his kitchen table. Too late to go back.to Exeter to get the - camera. maybe•o, her guests could help put. During the ceremony. I had the bright ideathat since. my - niece was attending the University of Guelph. perhaps we could borrow her camera. • So. between the wedding and the dinner. we rushed over to the university and called her. She was at home and yes. we could hon; ow her camera! We would meet at a spot on campus. What luck! So. we got Lisa's'camera (film included) and headed off to the reception. Alas. the camera had a fixed focal length and you had to be very close to people to till the view finder. So much for spontaneous pictures. It's difficult to get people to act naturally when you re two feet from their faces. But. Doug managed to take a few photos of happy people and some excellent overall shots for Corinne's album. • We were going to return the camera to Lisa that night. but she and her room mate had gone .out with some friends. it was • - tine with her if I took the camera- back to Exeter and I'd , -see her in a'few weeks anyway. • Things had worked'out well. When we returned to my house. I picked up an armload • of stuff from the back seat of Doug's car - my coat, the. camera. my purse. magazines etc.. - - As Doug backed out of my - driveway, his tire bumped over something — the camera! Yes. I. had dropped the camera. It was. a tough little camera bui the comer of it was crushed. Yet. all was not lost; We extracted the - film which was not damaged. Lisa got a new camera courtesy of Aunt Kate and I have a camera with duct tape around the end. suspects. for questioning without laying charges and' allowing them to call a lawyer. News media suddenly talked of Thompson as having the gift of the gab and.even being a new Mitch Hepburn; the crowd -pleasing, last elected Liberal premier of the 1930s and ' 1940s. Thompson quickly had the support of influential federal Liberals, including finance•minister Wal- ter Gordon and party organizer Keith Davey, who also saw it as a chance to control the pro- vincial party. He also had most of the provincial party estab- lishment, who wanted to keep out interloper, ex - evangelist and newspaper editor Charles Tem- pleton, who had no background in the party but support in grassroots seeking a messiah. Thompson quickly showed that he lacked the ego needed to command. Self-effacing, he stressed even while running for leader that he sought "democratic leadership that works coop- eratively," and teams, not leaders, win elections. Despite having made his reputation with one speech, Thompson made few thereafter in the legislature, attending often, but explaining he Remembered differently was not qualified to speak on all the complex areas of government. He was not dominating or skilled ,enough in negotiating to bind together warring groups and personalities in the Liberal caucus, who includ- ed city reformers and rural members more con- servative than most Tories. Thompson never got Templeton fully on -side and when the .latter said drunkenness was not uncommon at the legislature, Thompson retort- ed that Templeton would not know because he had visited it only once in two years. But Thompson had backbone to stand up against the federal Liberals who helped make him and complained loudly when they postponed na- tional medicare. Thompson also took the federal Liberals' commitment to nationalism seriously and pro- -tested that they allowed U.S. multinationals to take too much money from Canada, and federal Liberals called him confused and exaggerating. Thompson was hurt -when he was convicted of dangerous driving after an accident caused ironically by his driving too long and too late to meetings. which prompted the legislature to as- sign every party leader a car and driver. While there were claims that he was not an effective leader, there was no suggestion at that time he did not put effort in his work. Thompson also pushed earlier than some others for human rights protection for women, laws against pollution including mandatory controls on car exhausts. safeguards on notoriously un- der -supervised nursing homes, jobs -oriented community colleges asalternatives to universi- ty, comprehensive, compulsory, national meth- . care and broadcasting the legislature on TV. When Thompson stepped down, saying he had a heart condition, there were snickers that he had invented his illness, but his sudden change from fresh -faced and strapping to gaunt and bony was easy to see. None of this excuses his taking taxpayers' money while not working, but it is worth recall- ing that the missing senator once contributed something of value.