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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-01-14, Page 17Not exactly a Triple Salchow Sometimes you have to make the best of what you've got, just ask Jillian Shortreed, right, and Heidi Badley, who found some ice to pretend to skate on at the Blyth baseball diamonds last week. The duo enjoyed the sudden blast of winter as it made for some interesting outdoor activities. (Vicky Bremner) Global solutions found in God Continued from page 14 one denies that this world is becoming increasingly polluted, and we are becoming more and more aware of the effects of pollution. Chemicals of all sorts permeate our water supplies, our air and our food. We know that many of our illnesses, in particular cancer, are a result of exposure to these chemicals. The world is not as it should be. We can point to no culprit except ourselves when it comes to this problem. We are also well aware that the solution to the problem is bigger than us. It's not that we can't work to fight pollution; it's that we are unwilling to pay the price to fight it. We are told that to reduce and even remove pollution from our water, air and food, we are going to have to pay a huge price. The economy will be ruined and our welfare threatened. It does seem to be that way. But, as a Christian, I have a little different perspective. The solution to the problem comes from trusting that God cares for us. Jesus says in Matthew 6 that we are to "seek first the kingdom of God" and God will take care of everything else. The kingdom of God is seen wherever we see God's will being done. And, with regard to the environment, it is certainly in God's will that we return it to an unpolluted state. In effect, what Jesus is saying is this: if we do what God wants us to do, and in this case it is to put the effort into removing pollution, God will ensure that we have food, shelter and clothing. He will take care of us while we take care of this world. In other words, the solution to the problems we create as human beings begins with trusting that God wants us to take care of his world and each other. When we do that, we can also trust that he will take care of us. This is what holds my life together: that God will take care of me. He will take care of us. That gives me the freedom to do his will without fearing for my own life. But, unless we trust that God will do that, we won't be free to do what needs to be done. We will continue to seek to care for ourselves at the expense of others and at the expense of the natural world. The central teaching of Christianity is that God loved the world so much that he sent Jesus to this world so that the relationship of trust between us and God could be restored. Jesus gave his life for us so that we could know that God cares for us. Putting our faith in Jesus Christ, trusting that through him we can know God's infinite compassion for us, makes us confident that God will take care of us. I am well aware that I do not always live what I believe fully and completely. In fact, none of us do. There is no Christian who lives so freely because God cares for them that they completely dedicate their lives to caring for each other and for this world. And there is no humanist (humanism is also a religion in the definition of religion that I choose to use) who completely lives what they believe. But our religions do give direction to our lives. I am religious, and so are you. We both need to ask this question: does what holds my Life together (my religion) really answer life's big questions? I have given you a bit of a picture into what I have discovered. I encourage you to evaluate your life, your beliefs and your assumptions about this world and see if they do answer the big questions. And, on a more practical level, does what you believe, what you hold dear, give you freedom to confront the problems this world faces or does what you believe give you a sense of despair because there does not seem to be a solution. I encourage you to think about what your religion is. What is it that is in your life that holds it together so that if you take it out, your life would fall apart? And when you have identified that, ask yourself if your religion — your core beliefs — really do provide you with answers to life's big questions. For me, it is clear that God must be present, caring for us and giving us what we need, before we are really true to care for each other and this world. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2016. PAGE 17. Evaluation of CAO raises eyebrows, ire By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Controversy and hot tempers continued to surround the pending evaluation of Huron East Chief Administrative Officer Brad Knight, when it was raised once again at council's Jan. 5 meeting. The issue first made waves in July, 2015, when councillors felt the evaluation came to them in an "underhanded" way — slipped into their agendas behind Knight's back. At the time, many councillors denounced the move, pointing to Mayor Bernie MacLellan as its architect. It was decided, after a series of events, including sending the evaluation to one of council's committees, that MacLellan and Deputy -Mayor Joe Steffler should carry out the evaluation, since they have the most contact with Knight, as opposed to councillors who don't. At the Jan. 5 meeting, MacLellan raised the issue once again, asking councillors when they would like to receive a presentation detailing Knight's evaluation. The request was simple enough, however, when councillors asked if the evaluation was complete or not, things turned confrontational. MacLellan didn't give councillors a straight answer as to whether or not the evaluation is complete, but alluded to the evaluation that caused councillors to be uncomfortable last year, saying he would simply use that evaluation. However, several members of council were stunned, saying that it was their understanding that council had directed MacLellan and Steffler to author a new evaluation, tailored more towards Huron East, rather than a Huron County evaluation that had been used in the fust place. Discussion continued, with some councillors saying that the style of the evaluation had essentially been left up to MacLellan and Steffler, so if they chose to use the first evaluation and felt it was appropriate, then it was up to MacLellan and Steffler to make that decision. Councillor John Lowe denounced the confrontational tone MacLellan took in raising the issue once again, calling it "cut-throat" and "confrontational" among other things. MacLellan did not respond to Lowe's comments. Since the discussion took place at council's first meeting of the new year, Lowe said that MacLellan's strategy in raising the evaluation issue didn't give him much hope for co-operation and harmony at the council table in 2016. Knight eventually spoke up, saying that council had already passed a motion directing MacLellan and Steffler to author an evaluation and all that was missing was a timeline. A motion was then passed stating that the findings of the evaluation should be presented to council by the end of February. Discussion continued, however, looking to the future, saying that a firm schedule should be set for Knight's evaluation and that a process should also be set in stone that involves feedback on Knight's part, as well as that of the mayor and deputy -mayor. Councillor Ray Chartrand said that a job evaluation is as much for the employee as it is for the employers, so if the evaluation was being done without Knight's input, the municipality would be doing him a disservice. Many councillors agreed that the process should be more collaborative, although nothing was made formal. MacLellan and Steffler have been directed to complete their evaluation of Knight and present it to council by the final meeting in February. Letters to the Editor PFCA, HCFA feel misrepresented THE EDITOR, It has recently come to the attention of the Perth County Federation of Agriculture (PCFA) and the Huron County Federation of Agriculture(HCFA) that Goderich to Guelph Rail Trail Inc. (G2G Inc.) made a false statement about our position on the proposed trail development on the abandoned rail right of way between Millbank and Auburn. The false statement was made to a media outlet in June, 2015, and was subsequently part of a media story about the proposed trail in July, 2015. We wish to be clear that neither the PCFA or the HCFA have developed a position in regard to our level of satisfaction with the possible solutions to the challenges identified by adjacent farmland property owners to the proposed trail. The PCFA and HCFA had representation on a working committee along with representatives from G2G Inc, adjacent farmland property owners, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) and County Planning staff. The committee did develop a document outlining possible solutions to the challenges this trail proposal presents. The final document was completed in September, 2015, and was presented at public open houses in Milverton and Blyth the last week of November, 2015. Those who attended these open houses were able to submit further questions, concerns and comments which are to be addressed by appropriate members of the working committee. We are aware that a number of questions were submitted at the open houses that have yet to be answered. Until these questions are answered, and the PCFA and HCFA can consult with the adjacent farmland property owners about the answers, we will not be able to consider a position on this trail proposal. It concerns us greatly that a registered charitable organization would release a false statement on our behalf. Joanne Foster, PCFA President Erica Murray, HCFA Vice President Respect shown for local funeral impresses mourner THE EDITOR, I just wanted to write and express my gratitude for the pleasant and unexpected courtesy extended by those in the community last week. After the funeral of my good friend Wallace Bell, we travelled from Brussels to Blyth for the completion of the service and I couldn't believe how many people pulled over to show their respect. With people being as busy as they are these days, it was refreshing to see so many people take time out of their day to do that. It meant so much to us and I know that Wallace, who was a truck driver, would have done the exact same thing. Irene Lamont. rind al oh ill Id W- S 11 Nsecent circulation figures show The Citizen has the •;; highest circulation in the northern part of r Huron County, #3 in the entire county.al 4 `n "4' -1 The Citize / - Proudly Community -Ow ,ed Since 85 ••�di;o_.