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the HERALD Wednesday August 28 Opinion Traumatic experience when life goes to the dogs Enough with this jocularity suggest the friendlies inlaws and outlaws Get back to some serious writing pointed out the members in good standing of my fan club who met recently in a local phone booth It appears humor has crept into my columns because I have been writing about politicians and jokes have no place when serious literature is being perused I agree wholeheartedly and com- mlserte with those whose sen sibilities I may have inadvertent ly bruised Pst did you hear the latest about our fearless leader Brian the Brave He accorded Canadas official recognition to several Baltic countries which declared independence widening the schism in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics USSR Un fortunately for Brian nobody recognized him and he was asked to leave the respective celebra- How do you recognize coun tries anyway Go up and shake their borders Enough of this nonsense lets get down to serious business Friend Steamer dropped off his column dealing with his pet Boston Terrier its amorous inclinations and the pro blems that arose thereof with his wife Steamers wife that is I can sympathize and em pathize with Steamer in the canine category because I just adopted a fourmonthold puppy last weekend So far approximately peo ple including two veterinarians have checkedout the erstwhile adoptee and no one can tell me what kind of dog he is He is a combination of Heinz 57 and Campbells with a dash of in trigue tossed in for good measure If you were to look for a description of this mutt in the dic tionary you would thumb through the pages until you came to the word weird- and there would be his picture According to the socalled best- informed sources including the veterinarians he is part Bassett As I See It by Colin Gibson possibly part Australian Shepherd with the outside chance there might be some Beagle in him and he definitely has Dingo in him A Dingo is an Australian wild dog From the chest through the legs he has quite nice brown and white markings Thats where normalcy ends His head is brownspotted he has floopy ears and his coloring through his shoulders to the other end is silver with black spots more commonly noted in hyenas Basically speaking the cur had been abandoned by a couple who felt fame and fortune awaited them on the west coast of They had left the dog with a neighbor before trekking west purportedly for a vacation A telephone call later the dogface became an orphan because the western trekkers decided to re main in British Columbia and for sake good old Ontariariairo Are you reading this Mr Rae There was a good possibility the dog might have to be put down so I took the strange beast under my wing as it were I should have left him under my wing I share a residence with a female companion and her two young daughters Young girls are cute- at times When the decision to adopt the dog- was reached I returned home to find two bowls with my name on them in the basement and a place set for the dog at the kitchen table It just about cost me an arm and a leg to get Purlnabreath checkedout and vaccinated at the vets Luckily I have a good medical plan Dog food puppy toys including a hotdog that squeaks dog biscuits and rawhide snacks additional funds The dog is healthy according to the vet but he does have fleas Being the good dog that he is he The first night my female com panion suggested the ugly dogl- should sleep in the bedroom because he had undergone a traumatic time She awoke me at am when the dog had another traumatic time and I had to dean it up Needless to say being an adop tive parent has been a learning experience Im trying to get used to it and the bowls in the basement have nice designs If you see me taking my mangy mutt for a walk you can pet me But dont feed the dog unless you want to clean up after As I see it anyway Development issue prominent for municipal election As the municipal election cam paign unfolds it is good to see the candidates are taking a stand on the contentious issue of develop ment Earlier this summer I would have guessed condidates would have restricted their opinions on future development in Georgetown to the catchall phrase such as Im for planned and controlled development Granted some of the candidates have used this meaningless phrase but when questioned fur ther they do offer specifics For instance Georgetown Ward canddidates Arthur Treb- and Grant Emmerson are adamant on their stands for future development on the Maple Avenue property beside the North Halton Golf and Country Club Mr Trebbne supports high density housing while Mr Em will only accept single family homes Incumbent Halton Hills Regional councillor Joe Hewitt is another candidate who isnt afraid to take a stand As he says Im prodevelopment Regardless of what people think of Mr Hewitts position at least people know where he is coming from Not only that but Mr Hewitt is also willing to articulate a future vision of where a lot of develop ment should happen Not afraid to offend the Towns old guard the councillor states Georgetowns business centre wont be downtown Georgetown but rather the Guelph Street cor ridor According to Mr Hewitt the Georgetown Business Im provement Area should be Bens Banter by Ben dissolved and replaced by a Street BIA If Street is to be the centre of Town it makes sense the next council and the community at large focus its attention on ensuring planning for the area is done right Given plans by Dominion Seed House to develop its vast acreage on Guelph Street I agree with Mr Hewitt the corridor needs special attention especially since few people if any would disagree the extensive strip development on does nothing for the area Another reason for council to focus on future development on Guelph Street is because the downtown BIA appears to have no vision for the area Changes have been suggested for the area on several occasions yet no ac tion has taken place To put it simply the downtown core ap pears to be going nowhere Although many of the can didates have taken a stand on development they havent of fered much opinion on where dif ferent types of development should be located Most can didates appear to agree higher density housing is necessary in Town but the question is where should it go A lot of the can didates say location depends on the specific development applica tion Its this piecemeal approach to development that led to the unpleasant looking strip develop ment now lining Guelph Street The public should push the can didates to articulate a clear vi sion of where certain types of development should proceed This way the public will know ahead of time where the next council will locate development There will be fewer surprises and presumably less fighting bet ween the public developers and Town council over the ac commodation of future growth in the community Mulroney should pave the way for his successor Political conventions are not the most exciting of events for the general public They are gather ing of the tribe with seldom any real impact on the policies of the party policies which are shaped by small groups of advisors well away from the public eye The Conservative convention of early August however did contain the potential for drama the possibility of Brian an nouncing his intention not to seek a third term in office As Mr stewardship has- not resulted in high levels of popularity for his Party it is not surprising that many Conser vatives would have gladly cheered such an announcement and even actively encouraged it The Prime Minister instead put on one of his best performances giving the rather dispirited Tones a vintage rousing speech full of hoopla the kind of speech which makes political groupies hearts leap without changing an iota on political reality Mulroney followed the speech with a good amount of mingling with the masses As delegates basically go to Conventions for being seen and stroked few are so naive to think that they can have an im pact on political decisions a friendly word from the leader is enough to send them home in a happy mood So no drama at the Tories convention But should seek a third term Let us consider the issue independently from the pre sent poor showing of the Prime Minister in the polls there Is no reason in the Canadian political desert while Mulroney could not stage a comeback as in 1988 and win a third term himself back in 1983 had clearly and repeatedly stated that he would not wish to stay in power for more than two terms The reason The danger of political fatigue In my opinion he was right then and wrong now In our age both because of overexposure and changing conditions a public figure can hardly expect to retain the sympathy even the interest of the public for a long period of time Margaret Thatcher was unceremoniously kicked out of of fice in her eleventh year of power and had effectively lost her leadership power by 1989 President Mitterand who un wisely sought a second seven years term is in a free fall in the polls President Reagan became a subject of hilarity by the end of his second term President Carter became a subject of hilari ty in his first term but then you always have those over- achievers Except for the Italian politi cians who manage to stay in power undisturbed for thirty or forty years but they are also not expected to do anything useful we see public figures burned the world over in a matter of a few years A reelected Mulroney would enjoy a short political honeymoon to be followed by contempt even hatred And not because of some failure purely because the public will be fed- up with him Mulroney is naturally to leave office with his popularity at the lowest level and the coun try in a constitutional crisis The temptation to stay on to achieve Another View by Carlo Testa some success and get out of political life in a blaze of glory is HELP KEEP YOUR COMMUNITY CARING AND FRIENDLY Good Neighbours other Find out how you can get your community involved by contacting The Ministry of Citizenship Office for Senior Citizens Affairs CALL COLLECT obviously very strong The likelihood of succeeding however are very slim should remember his words of eight years ago and prepare the road for his successor vvXXxwxxxxxxxxX Reproach to Darwins razors for lunch To loiiii up with such a AS for Darwins notoriety Im hunch no match I guess lo their theories they But from a dinosaurs egg I their right didnt hutch But remember their words didnt from a mass of ma possible and might To concepts they seek to Nor I hope as low as a find snakes belh 1 think they have blown their mind Im afraid If I all the So from bees Im things they hold not I might find right out In The woodpeckers strong neck I the cold don I All we ask Is an equal voice If I pecked like him Id need So at least man can make an In strong telligent choice I doubt from the sea I was left Not that Im trying to convert high and all If only coincidence the dolphin really Him who makes that Hounds like mv cry call 1 dont think even with all Why do I make it of my concern this time Were told to relate of His 1 could have evolved from a return mass of slime They think were so simple and As for a fish dont have one have no scale I wouldnt trade all their And 1 must have shrunk If I theories for my hope were a whale Feebleminded and archaic Darwin decided we evolved callus from one cell Darwin that started all But where did It come from this UBS Pray tell Joyce Ferguson Do you think he could have had Georgetown