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Home My WebLink AboutClinton News Record, 2014-12-31, Page 44 News Record • Wednesday, December 31, 2014 www.clintonnewsrecord.com Clinton News Record PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860 53 Albert St. P.O. Box 39 Clinton ON NOM 1L0 (519) 482-3443 www.clintonnewsrecord.com SUN MEDIA A Quebecor Media Company MARIE DAVID Sun Media Group Publisher - Grey Bruce Huron Division 519-364-2001 or 519-372-4301 re �. Wei %A NEIL CLIFFORD Publisher neil.clifford@sunmedia.ca MAX BICKFORD Advertising Manager max.bickford@sunmed ia.ca TARA OSTNER Reporter dinton.reporter@sunmedia.ca DAWN JOHNSTON Sales Representative clinton.ads@sunmedia.ca TERESA SMITH Front Office clinton.classifieds@sunmedia.ca SUBSCRIPTION RATES 1 YEAR $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 2 YEAR $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) SENIORS 60 WEEKS $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 120 WEEKS $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GS1) Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged but that balance of advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographic error advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold.Ad- vertising is merely an offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at anytime. The Clinton News -Record is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproducing purposes. Publications Mail Agreement No.40064683 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 53 Albert St., Clinton ON NOM1L0 (519)482-3443 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian PeriodicalFund (CPF) for our publishing activities. Canada Aocnal Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and the Ontario Community Newspapers Association editorial RIDE stops keep us safe It's the time of year when we drive from home to home to share presents. Or head to Christmas parties. It's a time for gifts. Friendship. Food. And, let's be honest, it's also the season for drinking. Moderate drinking, we hope. One safety precaution society takes at this time of year is to increase the number of police RIDE checks. For a lot of people, this feels like an inconvenience. They want to avoid the whole process and help other people do the same. These days some social media users are alerting people on Twitter, Facebook and other programs to the location of RIDE stops. This is nuts. What's the point? Sure, it saves you a few minutes. But it doesn't save lives. "When you're Facebooking or tweeting where police are setting up their RIDE stops, what you're doing is warning drunk drivers and hampering the police's ability to get them off the road," Cst. David Hopkinson with the Toronto Police Service told Sun Media. If you're certain that you're sober then you've got nothing to hide. Waiting at a RIDE check only takes a few minutes. But if you send out the location, you're potentially letting a drunk driver off the hook You're enabling criminal behaviour. There's the chance that person could later get into an accident with you or one of your loved ones. Mothers Against Drunk Driving's website explains that "In 2010, it was estimated that 2,541 individuals were killed in motor vehi- cle crashes in Canada. MADD Canada esti- mates that at a minimum 1,082 of these fatalities were impairment -related." As a Statistics Canada release from 2013 notes, "impaired driving is the leading cause of criminal death in Canada." However they also note the Christmas season surprisingly has one of the lowest counts of drunk driving incidents. So no big deal then? Forget the RIDE checks? On the contrary. StatsCan specu- lates that the RIDE checks, free drive -home services and increased awareness bring this number down. In other words, the system is working. Stay safe this holiday season. Don't drink and drive. Look out for your co-workers, friends and family. And please don't share RIDE check locations! - QMI Agency r QMI Agency Newsmaker of 2014: Jian Ghomeshi QMI Agency It's rare such a newsmaker comes from out of the blue and changes the conver- sation of a country. But such was the story of Jian Ghome- shi in 2014, QMI Agency's choice for Newsmaker of the Year. Picked by the majority of QMI Agency editors in newsrooms across the coun- try, the CBC radio superstar's confession that his rough "tastes in the bedroom" got him kicked off the air turned quickly into a deeper discussion about how we deal with sexual abuse and harassment in our society. It was a watershed that started with a Facebook post in late October. In response to the CBC announcing it had dumped its most popular radio host, Ghomeshi took to social media to win what he hoped would be a public relations battle. "Dear everyone," the post started, in his famously friendly tone. He defined his firing as nothing more than the CBC's disapproval of his sexual habits, which he argued are nobody's business but his own. He said he was the victim of a smear campaign by a spiteful ex-girlfriend. He swore he'd fight it, launching a $55 -million lawsuit. Supporters stood by him. Then came the accusers — nameless at first, then some identifying themselves — telling stories of how Ghomeshi choked and hit them on dates, of aggressive sexual advances, and of workplace harassment. His supporters quickly disappeared. Then came the charges — four counts of sexual assault and one count of choking. The aftershocks were felt on Parlia- ment Hill, where more stories of sexual harassment followed. Political employees shared frightening stories of sexual bullying and casual har- assment in the world of politics. Former deputy prime minister Sheila Copps told her own tale of sexual abuse while a politician. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau sus- pended a pair of his MPs — Massimo Pacetti and Scott Andrews — after hear- ing allegations of "personal misconduct" from a pair of NDP MPs. By coincidence, a similar story began playing out in the U.S., as women lined up to accuse legendary comedian Bill Cosby of date rape. What's more, they gave their names. Trailer Park Boys actor Lucy DeCou- tere was among the first to allow her name to be used when she told a tale of a bad date with Ghomeshi. She even waived a publication ban on her name as her case is before the courts. The Ghomeshi affair appears to have given strength to a legion of women will- ing to identify themselves and face abusers. As Ghomeshi's charges wind through the courts in 2015, the discussion will no doubt stay with us. "Ghomeshi's fall from media darling to outcast is remarkable, but how his story got people talking about their own expe- riences of abuse or harassment is what makes him a top newsmaker, although no doubt a reluctant one," Owen Sound Sun Times managing editor Doug Edgar wrote in his vote. "The details were riveting," wrote Monique Beech, Sun Media's digital content director, "the testimonials from alleged victims compelling and the larger public conversation around sex- ual abuse that it sparked necessary." QMI Agency News Story of the Year: The terror attacks in Ottawa and Montreal. CONTINUED > PAGE 5 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The News Record welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signed and include a daytime phone number for verification purposes. Letters can be sent care of the Internet at clinton.news@sunmedia.ca, sent via fax at 519-482-7341 or through Canada Post care of The Editor, P.O. Box 39, Clinton, ON NOL 1LO. 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