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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-01-28, Page 7Opinion Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - Page 7 Huron successfully ships 3 3 bicycles to Nambia To the Editor; Letters dreds of people donating bicycles and the Church featuring the 'Men of Note' and The Bicycles for HumanityHuron County opinion financial support of our local churches, Dumin Brothers, slides of the bicycle collec- chapter is pleased to share with readers that plus nine boxes of books. The container is groups, individuals and families the goal of tion, coffee, tea, cake and goodies. Way to on Jan. 14, 2009, on a very cold, but quiet collecting 400 used bicycles and raising Go Huron County —you did it! da the shi now on its way to the port of Walvis Bay, $12,000 was exceeded. With the help of y piling container was loaded at Namibia, Africa. These bikes will indeed Spring Breezes Greenhouses in two and a people at collection points, help in preparing es The Bicycles for Humanity bring joy to the lives of those who receive half hours thanks to many helping hands. them. the bicycles and loading the bicycles, and Committee We .loaded it with 383 bicycles of varioushelp in fundraising we saw that it's fun to Jack and Sylvia Nonkes, Rev. Gary The committee wishes to acknowledge sizes, 38 bicycle tires, and 43 bicycle tubes, work together and that many hands make Clark, Shirley Gross, Emmy and Mike four pails of bicycle parts, two tool kits, that it was a great community effort, and by light work. The project ended with a musical Zandwyk and Connie Goodall all various bicycle seats, helmets, and carriers working together this project was tom- celebration evening at the Blyth United pleted in just over three months. With hun- Taxi personnel come to defense of Goderich 'cabbies' To the Editor; I would like to respond to the letter pub- lished Jan. 21/09 "Cabbies Courtesy Questioned." I feel that the lady did not get the whole story as she peered out of her window. The gentleman walking with two canes, only asked the taxi driver to open the door, as he was told. A lot of seniors do not want our assistaiice as they still want their indepen- dence. I feel this is an isolated incident which has been blown way out of proportion. I know there are cabbies out there in all taxi companies that .may not always get out, but 90 per cent of the time they are out there assisting the seniorsand also the young peo- ple too. My drivers work very hard for their pay cheques and gratitudes. They slug par- cels, bags and large boxes of groceries, drive in zero visibility in the winter and knee deep in sow to deliver your take-out food when you don't want to go out in the cold. They plow through the unplowed streets to get to customers; they shovel customers walkways knee-deep in snow, so they can get the cus- tomers to the taxi so the customers get to their destination. We got that. extra mile for anyone who "asks" for our assistance and more. The next time anyone has a problem, call the dispatcher or speak to the owner to have the problem rectified. We do our job and do it well. Oh, by the way, if you would like to take on a `cabbie day' in their shoes, come on board. Patti Smith Goderich Taxi Final, fond farewell from Signal co-op placement student Laurel trennn opinion Hi everyone! Some of you may know me by now, or may know of my stories at least. 1 am Laurel Drennan and I have been doing my co-op placement at The Goderich Signal -Star for this past school semester (mid September - mid January). Every week 1 normally write a story or two, cover and take pictures of local events, and act as a real high school -aged reporter. Almost each week, providing there was room in the newspaper for events I wrote about or cov- ered, 1 was lucky enough to have my voice heard. My own creations were being pub- lished for the whole town to read, if people chose to do so. I could not ask for anything more; it was a great learning experience. 1 learned some good journalism tips as well as proof-reading and photography skills. The people 1 worked with on a daily basis were very helpful, patient, and under- standing. Everyone at The Signal -Star treated me with respect and 1 believe I gave them 'that same respect back. They did a great job of making me feel part of the team and feel very welcome as a co-op student. The main reason I wanted to write a fare- well letter was because 1 truly will miss my co-op placement and feel very grateful to have been able to co-op here. Also, I wanted to thank anyone and every- one who even took a glimpse at my stories and pictures throughout these past five months. I am glad you were interested enough to take a look at what I was writing about, and allow- ing my name to get out there. And who knows, maybe you'll see my name again some day. I have applied to the universities of Wilfrid Laurier, Brock, Western, and Guelph - Humber for Communication and Media Studies and so who knows where life's jour- ney will take me and where you just might see my name next! Until then, it has been a pleasure writing for you and I'd like to thank The Goderich Signal -Star for allowing me to co-op here this past semester. American Inauguration ushers in new era of change __Vanessa Illrown___ opinion President-elect no longer, Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States on January 20. Num- bering snore than one million, the crowd of civilians, stretching 3 miles from the Capi- tol to the Washington Monument, turned out last Tuesday to witness a poignant moment in American and international history. Interestingly enough, Obama's Inaugura- tion came the day after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. As the face of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, MLK would have been 80 years old had he witnessed the unprecedented scene of the ,first Afri- can-American to take 'the oath of office. In terms of history, a mere 45 years has come to pass since Reverend King urged Ameri- cans black and white to come together in peace and "let freedom ring". In 1963, Dr. King traveled from Birmingham, Alabama to march on Washington and deliver his "1 Have A Dream" speech at the Lincoln Me- morial, just steps away from where newly appointed President Obama delivered his Inaugural Address. One could not help but appreciate these two men as inextricably linked through the bonds of history. In his speech, Dr. King communicated through powerful rhetoric that "I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood". Perhaps in 1963 this notion could not be realized due to bitter racial injustice, but now in 2008 Obama has proven that Dr. King's dream is becoming reality. As high -commissioner of the most powerful nation, President Obama can lead the free world with grace and dignity, but more importantly with truth. • Obama's speech was tough, promising opposers that "you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you". However, there were seeds of Dr. King's romanticism planted throughout the I 7 -minute address. Speak- ing to dissenters including terrorists abroad and those dwelling on differences between black and white, Muslim and Christian, the new US government "will extend a hand if. you are willing to unclench your fist". For Canadians alike., this new era of American politics is cause for celebration as the two nations of the North American con- tinent are bilaterally connected. According to a CTV Newsnet poll, an overwhelm- ing majority of .Canadian citizens feel the US is moving in the right direction with President Obama at the helm. Moreover, another poll showed Canadians to be more accepting of Obama's Presidency than our own Prime Minister, Conservative Stephen Harper: This is certainly not a novel trend, for many Canadians have long been indif- ferent to their own government than that of the US. It remains to be seen whether these two leaders- who are on opposite sides of the political spectrum- will forge an amiable alliance. Needless to say, they will be diplo- matic, as politicians are expert in that regard, but will Obama's new post as Commander - in -Chief affect the looming confidence vote here in Canada? Whatever the outcome, President Obama's strongest asset remains to be the daunting ability to connect citi- zens at the grass roots level, one virtue that our own Prime Minister ultimately lacks. Throughout the primaries and general elec- tion, Canadians themselves flocked south of the border to extend their supportive hands to Obama's campaign as he reached never - before -seen heights of fundraising. Rid- ing on the notion of change, civilians and politicians embraced then Illinois Senator Obama's efforts to bring together young and elderly, black and white, yellow and brown. With his first state trip to our nation's cap- ital scheduled in a matter of weeks, Harper and Obama will meet face to face, creat- ing a think tank for North American policy. The first topic of concern will undoubtedly be the plummeting economy and the im- portance of economic co-operation, most notably affecting the automotive sectors of each nation. Attention will also be paid to Canadian support for the war on terror and whether or not our troops will still be sta- tioned in Afghanistan post -2011, the alleged date of departure. When considering the list of projects affect- ing Canada -US relations, it is not surprising that President Obama's first foreign trip wi be to Ottawa. Canada has the most troops in Afghanistan of all NATO partners, is the largest trading partner of the US, and sup- plies more petroleum to our southern neigh- bour than does Saudi Arabia. Canada is not a nuclear, military, or economic threat to the US administration, therefore failing to receive the acclaim it deserves in terms of North Ameri- can security.' Canada remains a positive rein- forcement of US hegemony around the globe and President Obama's first trip to Parliament should further cement goodwill 'in the milieu of Canada -US relations.