The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

the HERALD Home Newspaper of Haltop Hills Established 1866 A Division of Canadian Newspapers Company Limited Guelph Street Georgetown 3Z6 Ontario TAYLOR Publisher and General Manager DAVE ROWNEY BOB Editor Advertising Manager PHONE Second Clan Mail RtglilBrtd Number Page SECTION A THE HERALD Wednesday April lM Income assessment System creates distrust anger Its distressing to know that horror stories weve heard about Revenue Canada can be matched by an in cident in our own backyard This time we can shoulder the blame on the provin cial government for a regional assessment of a local business By asking a Georgetown business to produce income and expense information for a tax assessment review the government has overstepped their bounds It is a dangerous and precedentsetting move for Halton Hills and a threat to our business community To justify their inquiries a senior assessor has quoted a loosely worded section of the Assessment Act which says shall upon request give to such person all the information that will assist such person to make a proper assessment As assessment manager for Halton Hills says the income approach is one of three ways in which they may assess the value of a business property An income ap proach isnt necessary and its dangerously reminiscent of Orwells and Big Brother By asking for financial statements a business is being put on the spot If they have a profitable year does that mean the assessors will penalize them for being good businessmen If business profits are down will the government allow for a tax break The system creates distrust anger and humiliation for businesses It could lead to owners simply lying about their profits and losses Worse yet it could take away the incentive for owners to expand their business and work harder Small businesses do not need any more hardships than the economy has already brought them When they thrive our town thrives Provincial tax assessment can be fair without asking for financial statements from business owners We suggest our assessment managers take another look before linking property values to profits chairman RE VEIN TS JJ In keeping with our new policy to go easy on the public were allowing you to keep your children Jeans down home approach will it help or hinder Ottawa Report OTTAWA Now that Jean Chreti en has officially tossed his hat into the ring and has effectively entered the final lap of his marathon campaign to become the next prime minister of Canada there are even more questions being asked about the value if any of his selfdeprecating downhome approach Will it be a national help or a The answer Is far from clear The people enjoy it Chretien has said himself making it amply clear he has no Intention of changing his style Bui he is referring mainly to audiences In Englishspeaking Canada where without fall be gets a hearty round of applause when be talks about being the little guy from Shawfnl- He goes much further than that at times calling himself a goddam persouper and proud of It or a little frog and croud it The word proud is always there From parts of Quebec comes word that this particular approach by Chretien is not appreciated like it is in say bridge Some editorial writers back home have offered the view that the minister albeit in an amusing way Is insulting particularly the small town variety SOME APPROVAL But the Quebec MPs who formed a phalanx around the 40yearold Chretien when he announced his candidacy obviously dont think so They say the reported reaction to Chretiens style Is blown out of all proportions People like his style in Quebec says Pierre Ginuiel who happens to support John Turner Hes a hard worker and people know that In any event its highly unlikely there has ever been another serious leadership contender who as much genuine pleasure out of being self deprecating Canadian history is speckled with politicians who have gingerly dabbled In the art but none who have tackled it with Ihe rare abandon of Jean Chretien And where he differs from all others Is that be puts everything In the present tense be a simple persouper He says 1 am a simple Its an Important distinction Just the other day an English Quebec newspaper in talking about Chretiens style said no one thought John was being servile when he bragged of his humble origins A case was being made that the two approaches were similar But there is absolutely no comparison APPROACH UNIQUE There is no doubt that John Diefenbaker loved to talk about his humble origins in fact he sometimes seemed obsessed by them but these historical nuggets were invariably related to his later achievements It could even be argued that they were actually related to early achieve- There arent too many documented cases of Diefenbaker laughing at himself In the present tense although Lord knows his French pronunciation gave him ample opportunity to do so Even his successor Lester Pear son moved guardedly In area He was generally regarded as the most selfdeprecating of all prime ministers yet his best examples were restricted to earlier incarnations such as his young days in a parsonage and his He could also get enormous mileage out of a simple self inflicting laugh hat didnt require words His chortle seemed to be always at his own But not Jean Chretien When he decides to let his image hang out he doesnt fool around What you are looking at here hell says is a little frog from Shawlnlgan There has never been anything quite like it asks for support Some days it must hurt THIRTY YEARS of the Winter Fair for a second year Is Bennett George town one of Canadas top Scotch Shorthorn breeders Mr Bennett who has been a Georgetown resident for IB years has added to his Farms property since the original purchase until his acreage now totals acres along the BaUinafad Road past Silvercrcek Georgetown 1954 tax rate is mills a 2 mill Increase over last year Taxpayers will contribute about to the public treasury while gross expenditures this year are estimated at 273 according to the budget adopted at Mondays council meeting Mr and Mrs Raymond Jones have joined the Terra staff Mr Jones will be maintenance man and Mrs Jones a waitress FIFTEEN YEARS AGOA per cent jump in public school costs over lost year was termed an inequality and a bitter pill I Intend to fight by Georgetown a rep on the County board of education Ernie at council Public school costs to the town are set at BIO which is a Increase over last years costs Well wishers will give George towns Juvenile hockey team a boister ous when they depart from the Georgetown station April l for their west coast tour Fifth Georgetown Pack Cubs took a trip to the stars March IS when they toured the Toronto McLaughlin planetarium They were accompanied by Mrs M Servos Mrs Dorothy Bodnar Ernie Rosset Cameron Mrs Clair Pelletler Mrs Evelyn Owen and Mrs Terry Colter TEN YEARS AGOFobert real estate staff included Jon Bruce Dan Timmons Mary Jones and Ken Derose Helen Atkins on Harold Bob MacDonald Don Schenk Millie Adams Mary Rose Peters Ursula Zeidler and Fred Harrison Georgetown minor atoms began their championship round for the league title against Milton March Wedding bells are ringing in the village Mrs Sales was hostess for a miscellaneous shower at her home for bride to be Kathryn Sinclair Visitors Sunday with Mr and Mrs Floyd Shortili and daughters were Mr and Mrs Don McClure of Weston FIVE YEARS AGOSixteen local went to a tournament in Clarence New York and eight of them went undefeated Centennials Jim Hall look wrestlers from his school team and three from Die Georgetown District High School Wendy Chaplin became the fourth McDonalds Bowler of the Week plaque winner from Georgetown this season In the central Ontario zone competition A senior bowler she beat her three game average by 230 Approximately attended this year Georgetown International tam Tournament Editors Note This 111- tcr was tiled with The Herald for publication Dear fellow citizens During April Cancer month the local bran of the Canadian Can Society will be ap pealing for the support necessary for them to carry on and also cent to the National Research effort As chairman of the campaign I appeal for help to make our camp aign successful and ch our target of We have a volunteer work force of over individuals who will be canvassing the area Please receive them with kindness and gene rosity They are giving time as well money The financial support you gave last year has been well spent The fundi f or research has produced a steady stream of advance for the cure or control of cancer Your local cancer soc iety also used part of your contribution to as sist and comfort local cancer patients This work included looking after transportation to treatment centres For those in financial need they supplied drugs dressings housekeeping and home nursing There is also an active volunteer group for Ihe education of our youth as well as adults Due to the fact that Cancer probably affects all of us In one way or another your donation will not only help others but will help yourself Make your donation meaningful Get enjoy ment out of your contri bution knowing It will be used well and Is greatly appreciated On behalf of the Socie ty I thank you in adv ance for your much needed support Yours very truly William MeNally Chairman of the Georgetown Cancer Society Newcastle letter doesnt address our tax problems Dear Sir Last week a letter was published in the local press written by a Mr Slyfleld from the Town of Newcastle Thla letter is a long list of com plaints about the Inequi ty of using a Section S3 reassessment Unfortu nately most of his com plaints have nothing to do with Section S3 Let me list a few The Assessment Act assigns punitive values to small hold bigs He seems to be objec ting to the fact that a building lot rural or urban has a much higher assessment than farm land This Is of course true with or without Section Some taxpayers receive refunds of their taxes from the Province Yes this is Irue Sen or citizens are granted up to as a refund of taxes Also fanners gross income certain sUnd- receive a refund of per cent of tt would appear Mr wants practice stopped It that these refunds have nothing to do with Section 3 Mr Slyfleld objects to the fact that homeowners pay their property tax with after tax Income All business men and many farmers pay with before tax Income He Is correct in his statement If this Is to be changed 11 requires some changes In Federal and Provincial Tax Laws It has nothing to do with Sec tion or any other section of The Assess ment Act The system of property tax In Ontario provides In general terms that the tax is related to property value in varying degrees The tax is not related to services received except for such things as garbage collection and sewers This system has been used In Ontario for many years and I am not aware of any move to change this Mr Sly fleld seems to want taxes directly related to services received He la entitled to his opinion and It may have merit However what it has to do With Section S3 is a mystery to me and Im sure is a mystery to Mr Slyfleld also Mr makes no mention of the problems we have with our present assessment system He seems un aware that In Acton we pay an extra 40 mills with no apparent and this Id one of the present ano malies that only Section can correct Left face facts Mr Slyfleld says he is concerned about our problems yet there Is much evidence that he does not even know what our problems are Obviously Mr Sly field has received a sharply increased assessment probably on the value of his land We are not given any facts just a long list of complaints that for the most part have nothing to do with Section Because of this suggest we are entitled to assume that his previ ous assessment was a long standing error in his favour Yours truly J Councillor Ward TORONTO Some days must hurt to be a politician especially a party leader You work hard crisscrossing the province spend long hours away from the family eat noma of the worst in existence talk to everyone and sundry some youd like to slug instead and always have to appear fresh and happy even when you arent And what do you get out of in According to the latest Gallup Poll as taken for the Toronto star not much The Gallup always asks what political party the 1000 people survey ed would vote for If a provincial election were held today But this time it also asked those polled whether they could name the leaders of the Ontario Liberals and Ontario New Democrats Twothirds said they couldnt GOOD NEWS And for Liberal Leader David Peterson and NOP Leader Bob Rae that was frankly the good news The bad news Is that of the 37 per cent who said they could name Peterson almost half IB per cent got his name wrong whom per cent said they could name did better Only 10 per cent got bis name wrong There are easier ways to earn a living Interestingly If the Gallup is to be believed runs ahead of his party in name recognition while Peterson runs far behind Obviously recognition Is not the same as support The new party standings show the Conservatives with per cent the Liberals with per cent and the New percent In the 1981 election the Tories won per cent Ihe Liberals per cent and the per cent ACCURATE The question that has to be asked is how much the provincial polls are being skewed by the massive publicity surrounding Prime Minister Pierre resignation announcement Feb 29 Polling was under way at the tune example provincial lives claim their own polls show them consistently at better than per cent Gallup says it la accurate In a sample size like this within four per cent out of There are two things to watch out for In coming months The first is whether provincial Conservative Liberal and fortunes will follow the expected trend this year of declining federal Tory percentages and rising Liberal with static as a result of the federal Liberal leadership race JUNE VOTE The second is whether speculation about a June vote provinclally has any basis In reality I dont believe so There is talk of going to he polls early to avoid that federal decline and what some people consider will be a effect on to the provincial party There is a back up theory that the federal Liberals might seek an August election although the timing is tough which would let the provincial Conser vatives go to the electorate In the fall Maybe But dont be surprised If Premier Bill Davis leads them to the ballot box against name and other guy a year from now Letters to the editor Stop dumping on school system Dear Sir Its budget time and along with It come the headlines about taxes going up again I want to talk about education taxes which are also going up It probably will be Just enough to keep what got but not nearly enough to make it significantly better You read it right We had better be willing to pay for the education we say we want our kids and adults to have I include adults because there Is an In creasing number of adults who are return ing to day schools to upgrade their education or get a diploma These are people who went to school In the good days to which we often compare present educa tion and find It wanting It was wanting In the good days Its time we that todays educational system Is no worse Ihon was and as far as offering opportunities for learning It is a lot better This costs money I apeak of offering opportunities for learn ing rather than how much people are learn ing because there It a difference The differ ence is where the re sponsibility lies The schools are by and large meeting their responsibility for offer ing opportunities This of course Is limited by flnancea since much of the equipment ry Is expensive Walk into any high school and youll find computers technical shops with modern loots business educati on rooms with word pro cessors and class sets of electric typewriters science labs with elec tronic scales ripple tanks and the most up to date microscopes Some private computer schools charge thousand dollars to teach what Is being offered In a computer studies course In high school If kids are not learning Its not for lack of opportuniti es It is the Job of teach ers to teach and they do It Is not nor should be their job to run after students to get them to attend class and com plete or hand in their assignments or to get them to behave That Is Ihe responsibility of students especially In high schools A student who does not want to leam simply does not leant Teachers spend a lot of time on them only a few change their mind Taxpayers have the responsibility to promote education and that is not done sulfl- We need to spread the Idea that education is more than training Its learning to identify and solve pro blems related lo living Going to school is only a beginning In education We need to stop dump ing on the educational system and especially on teachers because If we dont value them neither will our children and a lot of time and money will be spent on disciplining and poll ticking and less on teaching It costs an average of 3500 a year to school a child or adult In the public system It costs two times that much In the private system and private schools dont spend significant on discipline and they have smaller classes In a probably futile effort to please the public the government has Just spent in the millions dollars re vising the educational opportunities for the intermediate and senior schools This raises the price tag of education even more And Its not going to make any difference unless taxpayers can first convince ves and their children that education matters and that Its worth money to have the schools continue a process that Should have started at home Eva Acton Revenue Canada officials inform their regional staff in February of the following decision A taxpayer who has had a leg amputated and wears an artificial limb would qualify for the dedjetion line 53 of Tl because without it the taxpayer would be confined to bed or wheelchair Similarly if a taxpayer wears a leg brace to obtain some mobility and without the brace would be confined to bed or wheelchair the deduction would be applicable This applies only to permanent disabilities Use the regular T2201 and answer yes to questions re confinement to bed or wheelchair Then have your doctor add the statement This Individual would be confined to bed or wheelchair If it werent for use of brace prosthetic etc Only those having applied for the past four years who were turned down have much chance successfully getting rebates for the previous four years Many people have a similar problem but recently a woman in Pickering decided to do something about It She organized a shoe swap for people with odd sized feet and to her surprise she has had a response from people across Canada At present ninety per cent of the contacts are post polios but no doubt many other who could benefit by this service If you want to enquire about the next shoe swap contact Inge Shepherd at 416 or write to ber at RR2 Pickering L1V 2T9 Section of the Ontario Human Rights Code permits a reasonable and bona fide exclusion from employer group disability or life Insurance benefits because of a handicap that substantially Increases the risk In short If you own group insurance and ore handicapped you may have little or no coverage This Is in contravention of the Ontario Insurance Act We will write more an this later but for now check with your Insurer and personnel for your coverage if you are a member of a group and are handicapped Keep their reply for future reference POETS CORNER Friendship A git so Urge I from one to another that cant be seen Is felt In the exchange smite