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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2014-02-26, Page 44 News Record • Wednesday, February 26, 2014 www.clintonnewsrecord.com Clinton News Record VOL. 153 – ISSUE 00 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 I I. 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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 NOM 1L0 (519) 482-3443 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. Canada 1pcna Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and the Ontario Community Newspapers Association editorial A message of thanks and a pile of papers It all began with a letter to the editor. Patti Munnings wrote in the week of the massive snow- storm that brought Huron County to its knees mid-Feb- ruary with a very simple and very kind message. It wasn't a long letter, but it was impor- tant. It was a thank you. See, Munnings was stuck at the end of her Victoria Terrace driveway, unable to get her car out. After being passed by numerous cars, a town worker stopped and helped dig her out. He told Munnings he was not leaving until her car was unstuck, and it took the help of another perfect stranger and much shoveling, pushing and salt to get the job done. The only problem was - Munnings never did get their names. "I was so appreciative that someone took the time - at the end of my driveway no less -from their day of work to help somebody out like that," she said. "I was totally impressed. "They were two guardian angels that came out of nowhere." Well, the letter didn't print the first week, so Munnings called in to make sure it printed the next week. It never did. So Munnings called again to ask why it wasn't printed and that got me to thinking - what a wonderful world. Here is a person who thought thanking someone was so important that they made repeated attempts to get the message out. The folks who helped her may not even read the paper (hopefully they do and get the message), but the act of showing her appre- ciation was important enough to pursue weeks after the fact. While I'm disappointed with myself that I lost the let- ter, I must say I'm certainly inspired by Munnings. So too, the strangers who helped her also deserve a special mention. In an age where it's quick to complain and easy to over- look our neighbours, it's sto- ries like this that remind us not only that there are selfless people in the world, but their actions don't go unappreci- ated. And for Munnings, the act of showing her apprecia- tion was of utmost importance. To Patti, I'm sorry I lost your letter, but I'm very glad that we were able to speak. Thanks for reminding me that the lit- tle things make the biggest difference, and that taking the time to thank someone is just as special as the help of a guardian angel. -- GC Opportunity lost: the Alice Munro saga 0 ne of the first lessons a person learns in the cold, cruel real world is you can't have it both ways. Consider Central Huron's recent deci- sion to not go in on a study to expand the economic and cultural opportunities pre- sented by Nobel Prize winner Alice Munro. From one side of their mouths, they speak about the desire and the duty to recognize such a great local achievement. From the other, they talk about how little value something like this would have. The cost was $15,000 for each munici- pality taking part. The province was kick- ing in the rest. It's not exactly small pota- toes, but then again, neither is any government study. The value of this one, however, is ambiguous. The whole purpose of the study is to see how to best create, celebrate and capital- ize on the profound success of Munro and the area she called home, wrote about and popularized. 11 Column Gerard Creces One suggestion was to create space in Huron's libraries for an Alice Munro trib- ute, and that is indeed a worthy sugges- tion, but it doesn't do much for economic or cultural development. Ask yourself - how likely would you be to travel to another community to look at a plaque? Even if it was a really nice plaque, you'd be hard-pressed to plan a trip around it. Expanding the writers' festival, on the other hand, would draw many people and depending on the structure, guidelines and prizes involved, has the potential to draw on a higher caliber of entrants, pan- elists and participants. Naturally, it takes startup money to dig deep and explore these things, and with the province on board, there is definitely incentive for getting in on the ground floor. But, Central Huron (or at least half of council) is saying a flat no while also com- plaining the county should be the sole undertaker. It is a self-imposed stalemate. Take a look at council's expenses in this issue. How much of those conference costs were absolutely necessary to local governance? How many were nice to attend but really didn't add much to the local picture? Is it right to say $15,000 for a study of this nature is too much when individual council members have billed taxpayers for more than that amount? Again, you can't have it both ways. So, council, if you're opting out of this study don't be surprised if you're left out of the benefactor list. And if you do end up reaping some rewards through the spillo- ver, here's hoping you don't try to take any credit for it. 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