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The Times Advocate, 2008-04-02, Page 66 Times–Advocate Wednesday, April 2, 2008 Opinion Forum News LETTERS TO THE EDITOR • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Put your faith in Jesus I've noticed several articles in the London Free Press recently about church people doing wrong things. Such stories seem to spark our interest, espe- cially when it's people who are supposed to aspire to a higher standard. It's as if their downfall makes us feel bet- ter about ourselves. Let's not jump to the wrong con- clusions. It's tempting to say: "If that's a Christian, I don't want to be one." Or: "If that's what Jesus teaches, I don't want to hear it." Jesus didn't teach anyone to steal or abuse others, though some people use God as an excuse for wrongdoing, it's not Him. Why do people in the church do wrong things? For the same reason people outside the church do wrong things. We're all human and capable of error. Anytime someone disobeys God, bad things happen. I do believe Christians are less likely to do wrong, but we're not infallible (not even the Pope). That's why we all need Jesus. We cannot please God by good deeds. We must put our faith in Jesus, who died and rose again to save us. Rather than reject Christ because of the mistakes of a few, let us see those as proof that we need Christ all the more. THOMAS BAILEY, Grand Bend t E Conventional apple growers often use intensive serial applications of pesticides to their crops. Do Canadian health officials ensure that apples used in the manu- facture of apple juice concentrate made in China and subsequently exported to Canada are only exposed to pesticides that are legal in Canada? Apple juice is a staple for many infants and toddlers. How many Canadian par- ents have unwittingly given "Made in China" apple juice to their immunologi- cally immature and vulnerable infants and toddlers? In the interest of human health and honesty, I call upon your government to urgently review and change the current labeling regulations for food. The present sys- tem is dangerous, misleading and unnecessary. JIM HOLLINGWORTH, M.D., F.C.F.P. etters 0 the ditor Change regulations Open letter to Mr. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada Dear Prime Minister, I am very concerned about the inadequate labeling of food in Canada. As a consumer and as a health care provider it is imperative for health and other reasons that Canadians are honestly informed about the sources of their food. As you are aware, current Canadian labeling standards allow "Product of Canada" labels to be attached to any food, provided that 51 per cent of the total cost of the food is Canadian. This situation is both deceptive and dan- gerous. How such a policy was ever formulated and allowed to be put into practice is beyond the under- standing of a reasonable mind. Canadian consumers are well aware that standards within the agricultural, food and manufacturing industries vary enormously throughout the world. Canadians should have the right to know the country of origin of all that they purchase and consume. The most recent recalls of tainted pet food and hazardous toys manufactured in China are examples of the con- cerns of Canadians. The ongoing practice of import- ing apple juice concentrate from China is most worri- some to parents and health professionals. Official statistics show that Canada imported $28 million of apple juice concentrate from China in 2006. I Fundraiser a success The Huron CNIB "Focus on Crocus" Campaign for 2008 was a huge success. The campaign raised funds by selling pots of crocuses. Funds thus raised will help the CNIB provide service to the 273 clients in Huron County who are blind, partially blind or deaf blind. Of course, the campaign could not have succeeded without the help of many businesses, food stores, malls, nursing homes, credit unions and hospitals where we had displays and sold crocus. The displays were served by many volunteers — especially mem- bers of Lions Clubs from Exeter, Goderich, Wingham, Auburn, Seaforth, Blyth, Londesborough, Clinton and Vanastra. Lions truly are the "knights of the blind." I trust that everyone who helped in any way — either selling or buying crocuses — recognizes that their help is important and is appreciated. Anyone who missed the "Focus on Crocus" but wants to help would be welcome on our fundraising "Walk Toward Independence" at the Menesetung Trail in Goderich May 25. BOB FISCHER Concert questioned Re: the concert by Mattaniah Male Chorus, spon- sored by Bethel Reformed Church and performed at Exeter United Church on March 27. Whatever the merits of the concert itself, I sincerely question the wisdom of having presented the concert in the format of a pseudo -church service. I refer to the opening and closing prayers; the congregational singing; the Bible reading and the exegetical applica- tion. I can sympathize with those who feel that this was a situation where a captive audience was taken advan- tage of. AL DE HAAN, Exeter Principal's message EXETER — Girls in Grade 9 are reminded to return the consent form for the Girls Unlimited Career Day, scheduled for May 23. The consent forms were sent home with the recent Interim Report Card, and while the event is several weeks away, we do need to confirm our attendance numbers shortly. We need to have the consent forms by April 14 for all girls planning to attend this event. In a recent column I indicated that I would be writing some columns on tech nology and its role in education, and I thought I would start with perhaps the most controversial piece of technology in schools today — the cellphone. Until about three years ago, we had few problems with cellphone use in schools because few students had them. However, in the last couple of years there has been an explosion in the number of students who have their own cellphones, and we have struggled with how to respond to the situation. The problems at school caused by cellphone use are fairly obvious, with the most common complaint being that students are distracted by cellphones ringing or vibrating during class, along with the accompanying need to answer the call. Increasingly, however, students are being caught text mes- saging one another during class time, and some students are being accused of paying more attention to the cellphone than to the classroom teacher. Many young people today spend so much time text messaging one another that they find it a real challenge to turn their phones off or ignore them, no matter where they are or what they are doing — attending class, driving, watching a movie or eating in a restaurant. The most common response to the concerns at school has been to impose a ban — either a total ban of all cellphones and electronic devices from school, or a ban on using them while in class. Schools and boards that have tried the total ban have not had much success for a couple of obvious reasons. The biggest problem is that cell - phones have become so small that it is virtually impossible to determine who has one. In fact, in many cases, total bans actually encourage students to bring cellphones to school, just to see if they can do so without being caught. Since in most cases it is par- ents who have purchased the cell phones for their kids, having them confiscated by the school administration is generally not well received. Our approach at South Huron has been to allow students to have cellphones at school but to expect them to be turned off during class time so they do not become a Communities in Bloom Commuoliies Ie Bloom Bloom l Communities in Bloom want to build pride and unity in Exeter and hopefully it will t become contagious, involving the whole S; I6 Municipality of South Huron. We can all benefit from decreased vandalism, economic development, increased Be/PartOf Itl property values, marketing and promotional opportunities, plus positive benefits for the tourism, hospitality and retail industries. What is civic pride? It is a group of volunteers in a community who encour- age young and old to participate in cleaning up the envi- ronment, preserve historically significant structures and restore balance and variety to our public gardens. This will greatly improve the quality of life in our community and provide a sense of unity and strength to those who are visiting Exeter or looking to relocate. Our committee has received sponsorship from several area businesses so we can start our Blooming Image for Exeter. Our committee members will be doing write-ups on such topics as , "Fill a Dump Truck Full Of Garbage", "What is a Litter Lifter?" (and what you will receive if we catch you), and "The History of Our Town Flower, the Zinnia" (Residents of Exeter will receive a package of seeds with contest rules for prizes). We have invited a master gardener to go to Exeter Public School and Precious Blood School, where the youngest member of each family will receive a Burr Oak tree and will be shown how to plant and take care of their tree, and hope- fully plant the tree in their back yard as a family. We will be asking all sports teams to be taking an active part in picking up their drinking containers and deposit- ing them in the recycle bins that will be supplied, at the the ball diamonds and soccer fields, helping to decrease waste at our landfill site. We also have the BIA and the South Huron Chamber of Commerce helping us out with signs, flowers on Main St. and additional gardens. There is a presentation book being compiled with pic- tures, events and write-ups of what we do for tidiness, environmental awareness, community involvement, nat- ural and cultural heritage conservation, landscaped areas, floral displays and visiting us in late July or early August as they grade our community. The CIB commit- tee will be giving a copy to the library and the Municipality of South Huron. Committee representatives will be going to the Provincial Awards Ceremonies in Gravenhurst Sept. 13, 2008, to find out how many blooms Exeter will receive. Our committee members are: Cathy Seip (chair), Carla Goodfellow (secretary), Deb Roy, Linda Tgahrt, Dianne Waun, James Eddington, Dave Atthill, Ted Jones, John Stephens and Fred Momersteeg. If anyone is interested in volunteering, fundraising, offering financial support, or may just have some ideas, please let us know. CATHY SEIP, Chair Communities in Bloom distraction. If a student is caught using the phone during class time, the teacher has been authorized to take it away for the remainder of the period or for the rest of the day. Repeat offenders have had their phones turned over to the vice-principal, and our policy for continual offenders is that the phone will be confiscated and held until a par- ent can come to pick it up. Naturally, we have faced some challenges with this policy, and because cellphone use continues to be a concern, we are continually reviewing our response to this situation. Recently, there has been considerable discussion in education circles about using cellphones as educational tools rather than trying to stop the use of them. Cellphones can now be used for much more than making phone calls, and they are becoming more and more like hand-held computers. Cellphones now have calculators built into them, digital cameras, dictionaries, text messaging, and, increasingly, students can access the Internet on their phones. Educators are now exploring ways to incorporate cellphone use into their lessons. In fact, I have heard that some university professors even encourage students in large lecture hall classes to text message them during class with questions they may have about the lecture. Personally, as a classroom teacher, I would prefer to have my students put their cellphones out on their desks where I can see them, rather than try to prevent them from using them surreptitiously during class. Some students are so adept at text messaging that they can send messages without even looking at the phone itself. As they become more and more skilled at doing so, it will become almost impossible to prevent them from doing so secretly. Maybe if we turn cellphones into an educational tool, it will become less attractive for students to use them during class time. It seems likely that within a few years virtually every student will have a cellphone. And since they are using them so much outside of school, they will want to do so at school as well. Clearly, we will have to develop a more effective response to this issue as it is not likely to go away. Perhaps a good place to start would be cellphone etiquette — teaching students when it is appropriate and when not to take or make a call on a cellphone. At virtually every meeting I attend, the first order of business is to tell the audience members to turn off their cellphones. Despite this request, someone invariably has a phone ring or rushes out to respond to a cellphone vibrating in a pocket or purse. Maybe if we can convince students that there are times and places that are inappropriate for cellphone use, they will become responsible by the time they are adults. JEFF REABURN PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE