Page 4, Terrace Bay-Schreiber News, Wednesday, March 2, 1983 Editor: Harry Huskins Features Editor: Judie Cooper Business Manager: Diane Matson Production Manager: Mary Melo Receptionist Carol Koshowski member of Contributing Editors eae tog every Wednesday by Laurentian Publishing Ltd. Box 579, Terrace Bay, Ontario TELEPHONE: 825-3747 Terrace Bay Schreiber Deadline: Friday, 5:00 p.m. 5 5 Subscription rates: $10.00 per annum (local) Win. Campbell - ---- $14.00 per annum (out-of-town) Clem Downey : one cee Second Class Mail Registration No. 0867 ea ae odesco choice Editorial by HARRY HUSKINS Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes was right when he said, "Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.'? But just how to go about raising them has been a problem that has confounded society for several thousand years. The local school board met 'the problem head on last week when it decided to begin levying taxes on the cottages and businesses that lie between the towns of Schreiber, Terrace Bay, Marathon and Manitouwadge. The decision 'sounds straightforward enough, however the background that went into making that decision reads like a badly written slapstick comedy. One expects to see the Keystone Kops to come around the corner at any minute. Some Jackfish residents have been unhappy for years with the educational taxes they are paying. Some think they are too high, others don't think they should be paying school taxes at all. Last fall some of the residents approached the school board to see if the taxes could be lowered or dropped altogether. Later the school board was petitioned to do something about the taxes, and as part of this was included a demand that if Jackfish had to continue to pay taxes, then other people (read White- sand and Selem) should have to pay taxes too. The motivation for that demand was probably a legitimate sense of injustice. "Why should we have to pay when they don't," and probably the hope that if enough people got upset and opposed the annexation the school board would just say "It's not worth all the fuss" and drop Jackfish from the tax rolls. Unfortunately the provincial govern- ment doesn't allow a school board to drop areas, only add them. Like a snowball rolling downhill the move began picking things up along the way and going out of control at the same time. A move that Started out attempting to drop one area from the Board slowly transformed itself into a movement to add others to the Board. The things picked up along the way fall into three categories: the Good, the Funny, and the Ugly. : The Good ideas were annexing Hemlo and Winston Lake for any taxes that might eventually come out of them, and annexing any areas where children (4) live outside the Board's area yet attend its schools. The continued on page 12 GRANDPA AND ME BY MARK TURRIS DID YOU GET GRANDPA, WHERE THIS PAMPHLET? / wer / Y I. WONDER WHO PUT THESE OUT ? THEY'RE VERY WELL WRITTEN AND EXTREMELY INFORMATIVE / WEU, THAT LEAVES OUT THE GOVERNMENT, Keith Penner, M.P./député Dear Editor: Recently, an issue has arisen which has caused much concern among Canadians, and espe- cially among many women in my constitu- ency. I am referring to the proposal made by Judy Erola, M.P. for Nickel Belt, to elimin- ate the spousal tax de- duction. I would like to make it clear that Mrs. Erola's suggestion does not reflect government policy in any way. It does not have the sup- port of the Liberal party, men or women. I would also like to state that I do not share Mrs. Erola's views on this matter. It is evident to me that Mrs. Erola was in error when she said that only affluent families take advantage of this de- duction. A study of the 1980 tax returns shows that three million fami- lies claimed this dedu- ction. Nearly three- quarters of them had incomes. of $25,000 or less. The claimants in- Penner on spousal income clude the elderly, the working poor, and single parent families. 1 would not call such people af- fluent. : How would the remo- val of this deduction affect people? Let us look, for example, at a family of three - hus- band, wife and child - where the working spouse has an income of $20,000. If that family had to forego the spous- al tax exemption, they would have to pay near- ly $1000 more in addi- tional income tax. Clear- ly, to expect ,such a family to find that much extra money is unrea- sonable. For Judy Erola to make this suggestion is irresponsible. Single parent fami- lies also depend on this deduction since, for tax purposes, they can claim one child as the equi- valent of a spouse. These families, who now number almost three- quarters of. a million, desperately need the $3,300 deduction. The contributions made to Canada by childless spouses, not in the labour force, are in- calculable. It is these people who carry out tax deductions much of the volunteer work so necessary to the well-being of our com- munities. Canada needs their energy, their dedi- cation and their sup- port. The Canadian family has been subjected to numerous demands and challenges over the past' 20 years. To have a further tension heaped on top is totally unnec- essary. Mrs. Erola has contributed to these strains in a most thoughtless fashion. Keith Penner M.P. Arthur Black A love machine Marshall McLuhan made a chilly little observation in an interview he gave a few years before his death. He said: "Pro- jecting current trends, the love machine would appear a natural development in the near future -- not just the computerized date- finder, but a machine whereby ultimate orgasm is achieved by direct mechanical stimulation of the pleasure circuits of the brain." A love machine. Well it hasn't happened yet, as far as I know. But there have been some pretty wierd developments in the field of L'Amour of late. Such as these bulletins culled from last week's newspapers: ITEM ONE: During the sixties we had a lot of "In's" -- Drop-Ins, Sing-Ins, Bed-Ins, Be-Ins. Last ee rene rye gS 7 Par University of South Carolina they had one that was new on me. A Hug-In. Their Third Annual Hug-In, as a matter of fact. Students ran around all day clutching people and then getting their quarry to sign a tally sheet, _ attesting to the fact that they had been well and truly hugged. This was no Bunny Hop. The huggers begged, cajoled, ambushed and even threatened potential hug- gables in an attempt to fatten their scores. Object of the exer- cise: to hug as- many people as you could in one day. A student by the name of Robbie Martin was the hands-down -- or hands- around -- winner. He copped 280 signatures, including those of four Deans; the faculty of the entire English Department, and ee oe! fo) a oe eee eS + o'er staff. ITEM TWO: I suppose it's not surprising to discover that spiral- ling prices have invaded even the wonderful world of romantic trys- ters. Why should lovers be exempt? There was a time when an amorous couple in search of privacy could rent a room for the afternoon -- but have you check- ed hotel rates lately? Which may go some distance towards explaining the odd sight that greeted the manager of Public Storage Limited, in Rex- dale Ontario, when he went to check out one of his rented storage lockers. When he unlock- ed the door he found ... well, a bedroom, actually. Complete with bed, dresser, carpet and chairs. The fellow who rented the locker lady friend. And he'd been doing it for some months before he was found out. But the manager was quite philosophical about it. "You can't blame him for trying," he said. '*A hotel room can cost you $90 a night. This guy was only paying us $87 a month."' ITEM THREE: Here in the Great White North, we Canucks do things differently, eh? Espe- cially our perverts. Last week a woman walked into a Winnipeg Police Station with a complaint that was bizarre even by Prairie standards. She told the Desk Sergeant she'd been attacked. Could she supply a description of the attack- er? No problem. He was dressed + Pere ees ae That's pretty standard, but the rest of his garb was ... able. On the lower part of his body he sported transparent red panty- hose and a pair of pink leg warmers. The man (if that's what it was) pushed the woman to the ground, then took-off, without trying to hurt her or remove her clothing. You know in a country like ours, where the winters are long and the nights are cold ... strange things can happen -- even to grand institutions like Love. Thank God Spring is just memor-