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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1994-10-12, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1994. r C itizenThe North Huron P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM1HO Phone 523-47! FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Sales Representatives, Jeannette McNeil and Julie Mitchell The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $20.50/year ($19.16 plus $1.34 G.S.T.) for local; $31 03/year ($29.00 plus $2.03 G.S.T.) for local letter carrier in Goderich, Hanover, Listowel, etc. and out-of-area (40 miles from Brussels); $60.00/year for U.S.A, and Foreign. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth. We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. Publications Mail Registration No. 6968 E ditorial I ............... Getting beyond the obvious When disputes get to the stage of open warfare as the current battle has between the towns of Exeter and Clinton and the County of Huron, sometimes the obvious can be obscured by the bitterness. There's no doubt there is a philosophical problem that just won't go away. If municipalities are allowed to pick and choose which county services they're willing to support, how long can the system of shared costs and responsibilities last? In that, there is no doubt the county is right. But how much should municipalities be expected to pay for common services? Part of the argument that officials from Exeter and Clinton are making is that developers in their communities shouldn't have to pay more for planning service to support the county department than they have paid in the past. The proposed planning charges from the county are much higher than those that have been paid in those municipalities that had hired private planning firms to do their work. County councillors must ask themselves why? Have those municipalities been subsidizing planning activities through the general tax revenues? If so, then the taxpayers in those municipalities have the right to question their elected officials as to why they should be subsidizing developers. Or is the problem with the county planning department? Is the county department trying to load too much of its overhead costs onto the backs of developers? Is that overhead just too high in the first place? Are councillors from municipalities that don't have any choice but to support the county planning department in a "misery loves company" mood, wanting Exeter and Clinton to be stuck with the high costs they are? These questions go far beyond just the short-term problem of squabbling within the county council. The name of the county department is Planning and Development, but if the planning costs are too high, the development will be discouraged. If higher planning costs are going to hamper growth in Exeter and Clinton we all lose. We need growth in the county to offset county and education costs. Whether that growth comes in our own municipalities or elsewhere doesn't matter when it comes to county and education levies. For residents of other municipalities, this dispute may seem like an unimportant minor event. In the long run, however, we're all affected right where it hurts, in the pocket book.— KR Gotcha! Photo by April Bromley Writer speaks out on child porn Letters There was undisclosed glee in newsrooms across Canada last week. With the release of Human Resources Minister Lloyd Axworthy's discussion paper on redesigning social assistance in Canada, reporters and editors finally had something they could back the Chretien government against the wall with. There's been an uncomfortable feeling among members of the media in the past few months. A government that has the highest approval rate in the history of polling must mean they aren't doing their job properly, a lot of media people feel. They've been letting the government off too easily, they fret. And so they report predictably on the predictable reaction to the study. One newscast led off: "The more people see of Lloyd Axworthy's study, the less they like." Really? Who is "they"? The opposition parties? Have they ever heard a government proposal they liked? The premiers? Wasn't it a foregone conclusion they'd object if the federal government changed the status quo? They argue on one hand that the federal government is invading their jurisdiction and on the other that the feds aren't giving them enough money to do what they need to do. Business leaders? Most business spokesmen apparently won't be happy with the government's policies on social assistance until debtors prisons arc returned and people arc hung for stealing a loaf of bread. Social welfare agencies? They want more from government, not less. Mr. Axworthy was criticized for a lack of detail in his proposals. Where were the figures, the media wanted to know. Yet this was intended as a discussion paper and if there had been more specifics, the government would have been blasted for pre-empting the debate by obviously having already made up its mind. Was the Axworthy paper worthy of the criticism? Only time will tell. The chances of real success in reforming the social welfare system is remote with so many competing interests. Governments have tried and failed before. But the process could be helped if there was honesty on the part of the media instead of the idea they must "get" the government. — KR THE EDITOR, The Victorian Order of Nurses, who provide 50 per cent of the nursing home support services in Huron County, has expressed grave concern over the data contained in a report prepared by Price Water­ house and released by the Senior's Alliance. The report claims that $90 million dollars can be saved in administration costs if long established agencies such as VON, Red Cross and St. Elizabeth's Visiting Nursing were closed down in favour of a government mandate Multi-Service Agency. VON is supportive of the govern­ ment's initiatives of long term care reform and a co-ordinated model that provides one-stop-shopping for users in-home services as efficiently as possible, but is unwilling to see the system built on inaccurate and misleading data which will undermine competent planning of the system. Many of the clients VON cares for in Huron County are vulnerable and in our haste to move to a new system, we must lake care not to damage a system that has served the people of Huron County well, for 80 years. M. Lynne McDonald Executive Director. THE EDITOR, I saw just a few seconds clip of a video on Prime Time news on Sept. 27. In it, a boy was sodomized and crying out while a male showed his sweaty head, with lust in his eyes. The disgust that came over me made me sick to the core. The anger that followed has not left me. That picture will torment me for the rest of my life. I have been subjected to physical abuse and suffered greatly, but not near as much as what many children are exposed to today. And, they call this entertainment! Is this respect for the dignity of human kind? As a political prisoner in Hitler's Germany, I had to pay the price for opposing the atrocities committed by the Hitler hordes. Many others had the courage to stand up and lost their lives. But, we won over the Nazis. We did not stand idly by. The moral decay has reached a monstrous proportion. In the name of "freedom" we argue and justify the degrading trend by those obsessed with lust and greed and let them do their dirty work. When will we ever have the courage to vigorously and relentlessly pursue the perpetrators of such evil and, if necessary, ban them to where they can do no harm. We should not let them rip out the soul of decency. Our children are the future. We have a duty to protect them if we ever hope to have a better world. We should be aware what legacy we leave behind. Nobody is going to praise those who looked after themselves. But, the deeds of those who sacrificed and were not afraid to counter evil and promoted love will live on forever. Since I am now 74, and do not have the time and resources I turn to those who can make a difference. The media is in a powerful position. Even the politicians are aware of that and react to it. I beg of you to make a special effort to at least save our children. May it not be said that you stood idly by when you could have made a difference. The crown of your work would be when you say: "I did the best I could with what I had." Adrian Keet. THE EDITOR, This is just a note to say how much I enjoyed reading Mr. Roulston's editorial on the Boat People. This is something that really needs to be pointed out since, as he said, many people's perceptions on this do not match reality. Our church took a Vietnamese family at two different times. Both of them turned out to be a delight Continued on page 6