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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1986-02-12, Page 7Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, February 12, 1986—Page 7 It isn't a great system but it's the best we have By James Friel It's obvious that when you announce that you're contemplating shutting down a school you better be ready for a lot of public outcry. There are two ways of dealing with that outcry: a board can run roughshod over the whole process, throwing up walls of bureaucracy to wear out even the most avid fighter, or a board can sit down with the people it will affect and honestly consider all the angles with the input of parents with school aged children and other resid- ents. It's heartening to note that despite the recent announcement by Bruce County board of education superintend- ent Don Carroll that a preliminary study has been completed with the closure of Kinloss Central Public School as its subject, he and several members of the board of education can sit in a hall filled with concerned parents and field questions and accept comments. There are no guarantees the school won't close. But at the same time, Carroll and board members tried to make it clear that there's no guarantee it will close. It was even better to see people out taking part in one of the processes in which they can possibly make a difference. Many of these people may not have voted for Brian Mulroney or Ed Broadbent or David Peterson,' perhaps because of the distance perceived' between being affected by decisions and those making the decisions but you can be sure that within their backyard they take an active interest if the full Holyrood Hall is an indication. The turns events take at the local level are a lot more fun too. I read quite a bit of the political news and one thing that stands out in the front page copy and the offerings opposite the editorial page is that either the people in the upper echelons of government are extremely boring individuals, or the media covering them are humorless. A very serious matter was being discussed by the parties involved. but all the posturing we see when governments take on organizations or vice versa was absent. Despite the gravity, people were funny. A popular audience theme was that students at crowded Brookside Public School should be transferred to a less crowded Lucknow Central Public School. "If you took students from Brookside and put them at Lucknow they'd be better off," suggested Marilyn Moffat. "Anybody would be betteroff in Bruce County," said a deadpan Carroll partaking in a bit of boosterism. Aw, maybe you had to be there. But any taxpayer can appreciate the sly rhetorical question posed by Barb Bushell: "Can we expect a decrease in taxes in Kinloss if we're saving money shipping stridents into Lucknow?" I think the low key humor helped diffuse a situation that could very easily blow up in everyone's face. It still might but it didn't that night. One thing I repeatedly heard about at the meeting was the closure of the Lucknow high school. I wasn't aware when it closed but it was obvious it was still fresh in most memories. . The bitterness I felt from a person I questioned about it made me especially surprised to discover it took place almost 20 years ago. Perhaps that's why everyone seems determined to have a say in whatever compromise may have to be worked out. I like it. Writer offers alternatives to hydro transmission line To the Editor: $437 million is the 1985 estimated figure for the cost of the proposed Southwestern Ontario Transmission System by Ontario Hydro. The three people who must determine whether or not to recommend the spending of the public's money, comprise the Consolidated Hearing Board at the public hearings on the above system. At the conclusion of the hearings, the board must make a recommendation to cabinet with regard to the proposed trans- mission system based on the testimony heard. Testimony given at the hearings so far, clearly give the :members of the board two options: • They could recommend a policy - beneficial to both electrical consumers and Ontario Hydro (and ultimately the environ- ment) - to utilize already available energy- saving technology and implement improv- ed electricity management, with little or no change to the lifestyle of the general public. Similar policies adopted by many utilities in the United States have been extremely successful. • Alternatively, they can recommend the transmission system proposed by Ontario Hydro, with the further detriment to our environment and prime agricultural land. The three men on the . Consolidated Hearing Board at these hearings, have the ulitmate power to assist the government of Ontario to regain control of Ontario Hydro. To recommend that we use the presently available transmitted electricity more effic- iently would be to the advantage of the general public, Ontario Hydro, the envir- onment and the province as a whole. The cost of energy efficiency is far cheaper in the long run; the consumer, big or small, would use less electricy, therefore, Ontario Hydro would ' have to produce less. The burden could be removed from our landfill sites, by using our garbage in co -genera- tion plans for the clean generation of elect- ricty. The province's enormous hydraulic generating capabilities should be updated and utilized to their capacity. The acid gas emissions from fossil fuelled generating plants can be controlled by scrubbers or TO more cheaply by using "washed coal". These are but a few examples of alternative technologies available to offset the neces- sity to build- a gigantic 500,000 volt transmission system at the expense of our environment and our prime agricultural land. Hydro maintains that nuclear power is cleaner and cheaper than other methods of generating electricity. The initial financial outlay to build 'a nuclear plant is astron- omical and must be paid' for somebwere along the line. The potential for a nuclear disaster requires only human to make an error or one piece of man-made equipment to fail. The recent radioactive leak from Douglas Point is but one small example. The disposal of nuclear waste - despite what they put it in, on or under - permits the high risk of an environmental disaster. Ontario Hydro's reasons for building this transmission system are: a) To fully incorporate the existing and approved generation at the Bruce Nuclear Power Development - with present trans- mission capacilities, 80 per cent of the generated electricy can already by trans - rafted b) To supply electric power and energy demand in southwestern Ontario to the year 2000 - at present we have a surplus of power in Ontario. By using the electricty we have available now efficiently, and the implementation of cogeneration and other small generating plants .and, by upgrading and using our hydraulic resources to capacity, would give us more than adequate supply to the year 2000 and the same time prove beneficial to our environ- ment. c) To continue to permit adequate inter- change of electric power and energy between Ontario Hydro and Michigan - exports to. Michigan have been decreasing as stated in Ontario Hydro's quarterly update (third quarter, 1985), "Electricity Calling all crafters! To the Editor: It may be of particular interest to local crafters that the Ripley Agricultural Society is sponsoring the Ripley -Huron Craft Festival on July 18 and 19. The response to last year's show was excellent, and this year's craft festival promises to be even better. Many applications from crafters have already been received, and the craft show committee is expecting to allot space to approximately one hundred exhibitors. For the convenience of those exhibitors travelling considerable distance, there are trailer hook-ups available at the community center. However, these are in limited supply, so should be reserved early. The craft show committee will seek bed and breakfast accommodations for those who might wish it. A cold salad plate will ,ince again be available for exhibitors on the Friday evening, Applications*, exhibit' must be submit- ted by May 1, and are 'available by contacting Mrs. Gail van . der Hoek, R R4, Ripley (395.5497). export sales tell'22.3 per cent in the first nine months of 1985 compared to the same period. in 1984. " ...new generation capacity in Michigan also continues to impact negatively on electricity exports". Of late we have had more than adequate proof that our lifestyle during the industrial age has been to the detriment of our envir- onment. Here is a chance for three men, through the testimony put forward by the Foodland Hydro Committee and people who care about the future of our province, to stop Ontario Hydro's ever increasing empire of nuclear plants and transmission lines, and, force Hydro to adopt an energy efficiency policy, beneficial not only to the public and the environment, but also to Ontario Hydro itself. 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