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Home My WebLink AboutGoderich Signal Star, 2011-07-13, Page 8niuoity to the editor nts asked to save lives or: einand for blood increases year c :anadian Blood Services is residents of Goderich and lig area to help us meet patient summer by "Rally Together to 1. r is typically a challenging time od system because people focus n plans and warm weather while blood donation falls from d. However, the need for blood products is great. sidents can come together and save lives at the next blood is held at the Knights of Hall, 390 Parsons Court, Ontario, on Wednesday, July 27, p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Tule your life-saving ent call 1888 2 DONATE (1 888 or visit www.blood.ca for more n. New donors and walk-ins Know Can Take: of blood to help n a car accident to help someone who 'n surgery to help someone in cancer treatment a week to help ith leukemia o save soy deone who iovascular surgery nits to help someone al bleeding or a hip replacement per cent of Canadians say they member have needed blood or ucts for surgery or for medical (1 sos-Reid). Within our gibilityrules, it is estimated that (Hans can give blood yet last 1 in 60 actually did. You can help e gap. Let's rally together to save ummer to ensure patients across have the blood and blood n order to support their Marisa Gatfleld mmunity Development Coordinator Canadian Blood Services Wednesday, July 13, 2011 • Goderich Signal -Star 7 www.goderichslgnalstar.can Downtown isn't being murdered, it's suicidal People say downtown is dying, but narcoleptic is a better analogy. As soon as the action picks up it goes comatose. Check out any Sunday in the Square. Once the flea market packs up and leaves, commerce stops with few exceptions. This isn't the Canada of 1982 and the Lord's Day Act is no longer in effect. I guess we missed the memo. Peak shopping hours for most tegular folk are usually after the office workday ends and on week- ends. And yet walk around down- town during those magical shop- ping hours and count the CLOSED signs. The folks downtown have been working hard to get the message across that they are open for busi- ness. Problem is, they are never open for business. One independent business owner who is open weekends said it plainly about extra hours: You want it to work; you put the hours Column Gerard Creces in - that's just having your own business. Well put indeed! Now if only three-quarters of the business owners downtown followed suit, things might pick up. Even on Canada Day, when thousands of people came down- town to watch the parade, you'd think businesses would see an opportunity to make a few bucks. You'd think that, but counting CLOSED signs around the Square, business owners'are either doing well enough for themselves that they don't need the money or they just don't care. If people are going to the Goderich is lucky to Parade watcher have Dr. Spacek furious over vehicles -To the editor: In the early morning on Sunday, June 26th my granddaughter was camping at Pinelake Campground south of Goderich. She is three years- old and has a pacemaker. She had several seizures and we rushed her to Goderich hospital where she was attended to by excellent nurses, paramedics and an astute Dr. Stan Spacek. He displayed all the characteristics of an old time doctor. His care, compassion and knowledge was beyond all expectations. Our family wishes to extend our appreciation. My message to the residents, of Goderich Is that you are very lucky to attract a doctor of this quality and committment. I say keep,Dr. Spacek" at any cost. Don't let him move on. Sincerely, Doreen Forsyth and Tettman family To the editor: I can no longer stand back watching quietly. Correct me if I am wrong. Wasn't the idea of having the parade travel around the square in the opposite direction a safety aspect?????? To keep traffic from travelling behind the parade until spectators had cleared the park areant!!nnnn! This year topped it all. THEY HAD A POLICE ESCOR'P.!"nim There was an OPP squad car at the end of the parade. Directly behind it were at least 4 cars travelling around the square in the opposite direction. Why was this police officer not stopping his vehide and fining these IRRE- SPONSIBLE DRIVERS??? No one had ime to gather their belongings after the parade and safely exit the courthouse park. Something needs to be done before some child gets hit by a vehide after a parade. Is everyone in so much of a hurry these days that they can't wait a few more minutes to let the pedestrians safely exit the parade route???1 ?fl n Sincerely Pat Johston peripheries to shop, it's up to downtown to ask itself why before harping on council. Is it because of the ease of one- stop shopping or simply because you can count on those stores to be open when you need them to be? What products or services are being offered at the mall or down Highway 8 that can't be found on the Square? For young people, pretty much everything, but that's another mat- ter all together. At the longest council meeting ever (June 13), someone noted it takes about 20 years for down- towns to die. I hope beyond hope that is not the case in Goderich., because that would mean business owners would actually put up with 20 years of steady decline before ask- ing important questions like 'why, 'how' and 'what can 1 do to pre- vent this?' If business is stagnating, shake it up. improve your availability, products, service - whatever helps. , But if people aren't shopping downtown it is because they can't find what they want down there. Period. That's not council's problem, nor is it consumers: Let me propose this: Monday to Friday, 9-5 businesses can take all the highway space they want, and seven-day businesses can take the high-priority, high -traffic Square. That's the only way to keep shop- pers downtown. Take two busy and popular examples -Finchers and the Bar- gain Store. They are always open, and always have people inside. A little further down the block, Giant Tiger is the same way. The rest of downtown isn't dying, it's just far too set in its ways. Why change yourself when you can always blame the world, right? Plastic pellets wash up on beaches Ministry investigates potential hazard Last fall, millions of tiny white plastic pellets washed up on 120 kilometers of Lake Huron beaches from Port Franks to Kincardine. The pellets, less than half a centimeter in size., washed in during a storm. The plastic (resin) pellets are the raw materials used to create plastic products when milted and molded. lhis wasn't the first time plas- tic pellets were observed wash- ing up on Huron beaches. There were occurrences recorded in 2008, 2007, 2004 and anecdotal reports of occurrences prior to that. The source of the pellets has been difficult to track down. The wide distribution along Lake Huron beaches seems to point towards a ship based spill. The Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation (Coastal Centre) brought the issue to the forefront after it identified the extent of the 2010 incident to a 120 kilometer swath of Lake Huron beaches. Researchers from the Univer- sity -of Western Ontario ana- lyzed pellets from last year and compared them with pellets they retrieved in 2008. There were very few similarities between the pellets from the two years, indicating that the pellets were from two separate incidences. Analysis from the plastic manufacturing industry suggested that the pellets wash- ing onto beaches were not of North American origin. Multi-year recurrences of pel- lets washing ashore is a concern to orgari7;itions like the Coastal Cent' 'Plastic pellets don't belong on our beaches, and they pose a potential hazard to fish and wildlife," said Geoff Peach, Coastal Resources Man- ager for the Centre. "While the issue has not been resolved yet, we're encouraged that the Min- istry of the Environment has con ued to pursue the investi- gation, Western researchers continue to look into sources and impacts, and the plastics manufacturing industry is now calling on members to work to keep plastics out of Canada's waterways." • www.godericlisignalstarcom Community news: Dominique Milburn small: gsaneMrsObowesnetcom News Sports Special Sections Arts/life Multimedia City Living Community Sports Servile Clubs