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Lakeshore Advance, 2011-03-02, Page 44 Lakeshore Advance • Wednesday, March 2, 2011 opinion www.lakesholeadvance.com lYiesgore Advance PUBLISHED WEEKLY P.O.BOX 1195 58 Ontario St., North Grand Bend ON NOM 1TO phone: 519-238-5383 fax: 519-238-5131 email: Iadvance@bowesnet.com f li MEDICompanyA A Quebecor Media NEIL (ARD Publisher/ Advertising Manager ndtfford©bowesnet.com LYNDA HILLMAN-RAPLEY Editor IadvanceGbowesnet.com STEVE NORTi1EY Advertising Sales JUUE HARRISON Typesetting/Classlfleds KATHY YOUNG Accounts Receivable SUBSCRIPTION RATES ADVANCE: Regular $39.95 (38.05+1.90 GS") Wine subscriptions awllabte—came rates Pub4cat ons Mae Agreement No. 40064683 PAP REGISTRATION NO. 7594 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO LAKESHORE ADVANCE CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT P.O,Beti 1195 58 Ontario St. North Grand Bend ON NOM 1TO For any non -deliveries or delivery concerns: phone: 519-238.5383 e -nae: IadvanceObowesnet.00m Menges of address, orders for subscriptions, and undelrerabte copies (return postage guaranteed) aro to be sent to Lakesht)r,Mance at the address indicated here. Advertising Is accepted on the condition that In the event of a typographical error, the portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous Item together with a reaeonab a allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertise- ment will be paid at the applicable rates. 'Nur odor/ ledge the lirwtcw supporta ane GorerrenentolCwwda deough the AtticedonsAssefence Program (PAP) toward our mailing cosh' Canaaa Aocna editorial Liquor rules won't have huge impact Lynda Hillman -Replay Lakeshore Advance Loosening up the liquor rules in Ontario won't cause the stir that many Loo it will though bring this province to where it should be - 2011. e are kind of behind the times, antiquated perhaps, with some of the rules. The laws, if passed, will probably not have a huge impact on the people of Ontario- but those who do go to the festivals or weddings without being corralled in a tent or a controlled drinking area will be a thing of the past. The actual controls, liquor laws and permits will remain the same. Attendance will probably not skyrocket and the fear of people drinking more will probably not be realized because of these changes- it just means a little more freedom to listen to a band or watch a game far more up close and personal than before. This proposed law- loosening puts Ontario's tourism trade on the same level playing flied as those resorts at beach destinations. At this point it is just an idea from the government in power- nothing to get too stressed about. letters to the editor Windmills do not sell tourism says reader The West Coast of Ontario, who wouldn't want to vacation here with sand, water, cot- tages, campgrounds and the best sunsets in the province or live here with all the year round opportunities that abound in such a rich area of natural diversity.'lhere are great opportunities to hike through areas of natural and scientific interest (classed as ANSI by the Government) such as the lower Maitland or Bayfield river valleys or the Pinery Provincial Park. You can paddle down multiple river sys- tems and stand in awe when witnessing the migration of bird and waterfowl species like Golden Eyes, Scaups, Mergansers the flocks of Tundra Swans and Sandhill Cranes, to mention a few. Where else could you stand outside your house or barn and see raptors like Red flailed Hawks and Bald Eagles move in pairs or groups back and forth from lake Huron during parts of the day or listen to the calls of the Screech, Short Eared, long Fared and Great I lorne d Owls in the evening? No doubt about it, an amazing place to live or visit - for now. All the brochures that have been developed to help draw the tourists to the areas along Lake 1luron may not point this out yet, but soon they will be able to include the great attraction on the West Coast of Ontario of being able to drive up and down the Bluewa- ter I Iighway and be in awe of the grand struc- tures erected in the name of green energy. Wow, it will be so amazing to see 49 storey high towers with bus sized hubs on the top and blades that reach the size of football fields! It will be no trouble to spot them, as there are close to a thousand planned to he built from Sarnia to halfway up the Bruce Pennisula (450 of them right here in 1 luron County - whoo hoo!) you can just stand any- whete on the 'West' coast and look 'East' and they will be right there for you to gaze at in wonder! It really is unfortunate that the migrating binds can't read the brochures so they could plan to re-route their own trips a little east or west of lake limn, but then again it is only 13 on average (based on the most recent Ontario study) that are expected to meet their demise by getting too close to just one of these strictures, so 1 guess it's really no big deal if let's say 6000 of your bird commu- nity leave your southern clime and head north for the stammer to find only 150 of you left after traveling through I luron County. Oh wait, 1 must have that wrong... it would only be 5850 birds killed on average there during the year, not from one flock...not quite the same, so I guess they could still take their chances? if you're a naturalist and enjoy watching a hawk or kestrel or any of the bird or animal species that hunt by sound or hover on pre- dictable winds, I'm sure they will relocate somewhere inland that you could travel to in your leisure time, once those that survive the blades have discovered their prey is hard to locate with the interference of the turbines and have moved elsewhere in Ontario. Might I suggest that instead of spending a lot of tax dollars on printing new Tourism brochures and booklets we just add bright colourful stickers that catch your attention. 'they could say "Come to the Beautiful West Coast of Ontario...oh by the way, just don't look East'; unless you are one of those tour- ists in the CANWEA ads that apparently flock to areas with Industrial Wind 'L'urhine 1)evelopnments...but that could be a whole new tourism plan! Beverly Budd RR2 Goderich Sands of Time Lynda Hillman-Rapley Editor, Lakeshore Advance Get on with it • Spending nine months to cone up with a master plan three municipalities could agree upon was not an easy feat. But they did it. Last week's tri -municipal, Bluewater, Lamb - ton Shores and South Baron meeting began on a great note with Dr. Louis laasfi explaining in great detail 'what is'. The three mayors of today were all part of the past tri -municipal team -two as councilors -one as mayor. All three CAOs of today were also at the table as the agreement was reached. Why then does this process now seen to be going sideways? The people who represent us, the mayor and councilors are not the experts on issues we face every day. that is why staff bring in the experts to explain what is happening. For those coun- cilors who choose to listen to the ami chair crit- ics who claim to know and preach their truths, that's fine but they should know the difference between fact and fiction in the name of good representation. It is probably time for the tri municipal coun- cils to decide what direction they want to go when it comes to their municipality's sewer needs. If any of the three believe there will ever be growth in their communities, they should he jumping on this project- as is. If they realize it is going to cost a whole lot more later than the gov- ernment dollars that are being offered today - again -jump and; if the thought has surfaced that two upper -tier governments would not hand over $15 million if they did not think there was a need, the decision should be obvious. There is no room for growth in the current lagoon. Whatever projects are on the go at present are safe -there is capacity. But not one of the three can add a new development that is not already on the radar. No matter what rumour regarding this information is out there --there is no doubt this detail is fact. Bringing the new councilors up to date has been accomplished— and we are fairly sure these new people had some kind of insight before running for office --they must have a grasp on the situation by now. As a council for the people, we expect you to not only be thinking about the next four years -- but the next four decades in your decision mak- ing process. Utile cost for the treatment plant is $21 -$26m1111on now --imagine what those num- bers will he when it really becomes clear there is no capacity for the business that wants to come to your municipality. Or worse, the regulatio• change. if a smaller version of what is being pi posed is in your crystal ball- fine- as long as your crystal hall can see further than one term of office. Whatever the council decides --it is time to poop or get off the pot.