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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1998-02-25, Page 9Page 8 Times -Advocate, February 25, 1998 Your Views Letters to the editor Paul. Steckleanswers letter It has been my.poliey in the.psst to avoid enggiftg in a public de- bate via the media, however,... Dear Editor: '• 1 am writing to you in response to a letter that was submitted •in the February 18, 1998 edition of the Exeter Times -Advocate, by Mr. David Hern, a con- stituent of mine. In his letter Mr. Hem insinuates that both. my office staff and myself have intention- ally been avoiding him and his concerns on the pro- posed Multilateral Agreement on investment, (MAi). 1 would like to begin by expressing .both my sur- prise and my ire at reading the aforementioned let- ter. despite the fact that Mr. Hern has employed this tactic to encourage puhlic criticism in the past. Over the past years l have endeavored to represent my constituents in a manner that is accountable and open: 1 have. either personally or through my offic- es -,,had direct contact with over. 25,000 constituents. The' primary. reason that i am so surprised by Mr.- Hern's letter is simple, Mr. Hem was one of those individuals that I have met with personally. - 'It has been my policy in the past. to 'avoid engag- ing in a public debate via the media, however, in this particular instance I behevc.that 1 would he re- miss if i did not defend my integrity .as the local Member of Parliament. As many constituents have discovered. the_.door to my office is open to all, re- gardless of their politics. Without releasing specific details,- I can -say . that ;Mr.. Hern initially contacted my office in late December, just prior to Christmas. As our office was closed in observance -of Christ- mas and New. -Years. -.I was not in until January 5, 1998. In spitof that., I• did unsuccessfully attempt to -contact. Mr. Hern by telephone at his home. (an ,effort that was later explained to the constituent.) He called my office again in early January and re- stated his original request" to have me contact him. 'At that, time; it was explained• that 1 was travelling • with the Liberal Caucus Committee on Gasoline Pricing and, as such. would he out of the area until •rt" _— _- -i J0- mid-January. Wheal returned on January 22, 1998, I . immediately called and scheduled the requested appointment with Mr. Hern. They very next day. Mr. Hern and I met in my Goderich office to dis- cuss his thoughts at length. 1. am further surprised that Mr. Hern would write the aforementioned defamatory. letter because of the fact that 1 informed him that i also sharemany of his concerns. in fact, after our meeting. I relayed his -Sped? ic=notions _ta several-of_my_ Cauctu-Colleagues— both formally and informally. in addition to that, my Legislative Assistant met with Canada's Chief MAi negotiator; and requested clarification, on a number of points, from no less than seven separate Minister's. These measures were taken further to. the ,extensive contact that 1 have had on this issue' With, the Library of Parliament's Research Bureau. 1. feel that it is also important to mention that almost every Standing Committee currently operating to- day is, or plans to, study •the MAI and any effects that the proposed agreement would have on their in- dividual area of interest. In conclusion, the MAi is an issue that has been with us since May of 1995 and shows no signs of being resolved.in the immediate future.- The notion that a vote in Parliament, (on MAI). is imminent; is - simply not accurate. 1 would like to say to all of the residents of Huron -Bruce that I am by no means ready to support this proposal yet. Before I. make a final decision I would have to conclude my current exploration and_ secure additii Kcal puhlic input on the matter. 1 regret that Mr. -Hern feels that i have conducted myself in an inappropriate manner, how-. ever, 1 would assure him that I am doing all that I can. Unfortunately. with government. things do not 'always move as quickly as i would like them to. 1 would invite Mr. Hern to contact me again should he require further clarification on any business con- tained herein. 1 believe he will find that the door to my office is never closed to the views of my constit- uents. . - Sincerely, Paul Steckle, M.P. 0- ell _ _ 0-. PUC should explain "We have lost the ability to gain not only new residents, but the tax , dollars and spending power they would have brought... Dear Editor: The shocking revelations at Council's Fehruiry. 16 meeting concerning our water system should he of enormous concern to the citizens of Exeter. The facts speak for themselves: 1. A S3 million investment was made to buy an expanded water system intended to allow our town to grow by 2.700 residents. The growth capacity is . now gone. 2..11 was.given away by people who didn't under- stand either the water system or the ramifications of their decision. - 3. The record does not indicate that_the commis- sion sought advice or input -from their engineer or • any other outside body who could have warned them in advance of the consequences 'of their actions. 4. The people's representative, appointed by Council to be our eyes and ears. did not undertake his obligation to inform Council that this move was being considered. To top it all off, Exeter's ponion of the investment was debentured...that means we are still paying for it! That's right - wc'rc obligated to pay for some- thing that we no longer•havc because of a decision made by three people who didn't understand what they were doing hut had the power to do it anywaN Council has done the right thing by taking charge of the P.U.C. decisions on water management and planning. Despite the inevitable finger pointing and excuses, -what the puhlic deserves from the P.U.C. - and what would he far more productive - is a husi- nesslike analysis of what went wrong in this instance. We have lost the ability to gain not only new residents. hut the tax dollars and spending - power they would have brought to town -.potentially millions of dollars each year. This is an.extremely serious issue. The P.U.C. is obligated to provide a complete explanation and I certainly want to hear how the P.U.C. intends to rectify the situation and buy hack our future. Council raustthen decide how they want toproceed with ensuring that the public trust is not broken again. The next regular meeting of the P.U.C.. is scheduled for Thursday. March 12 at 11 a.m. fol- lowed by a Council .meeting on Monday. March .1 at 7:30 p.m. 'i encourage all •ratepayers to join me al these meetings - I wouldn't miss this explanation for the world! Yours fru Karen L Brown. Ex act Motorplex has drawn families from far and wide Anyone who has .visited . the com- plex will tell you that -it is totally - committed to bringing.exciting en- tertainment to families. Dear Editor Re -article "Consensus reached regarding Motorplex" • Grand Bend Motorplex has been up and funning for about four years now. and all of a sudden the residents of Stephen Township find it necessary to try and put an end to it? • By the sounds of the five conditions that the mo-` torplex has to meet thanks to the township council and it's residents. they're getting pretty close to clos- ing the doors on the motorplex. that has drawn fami- lies from far and wide to it's excellent facilities! • - Really "jet cars will only be allowed to run one weekend in I998"? The four long weekends during the summer at the Grand Bend Motorplex have as their main attraction the world famous jet cars and trucks! This is what really draws the thousands of kids and families each long weekend. Why rob this area of such a special event? Has anyone from Ste- phen Township ever been in the crowd and seen for just a minute how exciting it really is`' These jet ve- hicles only run for about five minutes, and run down the track in less than seven seconds. Can the locals not tolerate these few. minutes of jet noise which only occur four times during the summer'? What about the thunderstorms that occur at least once a month? They're much louder and can last for hours. Do we not tolerate them for what they are? 11 has no effect on our enjoyment of life - does it? Grand Bend Motorplex is a top notch facility. Last year much was spent on updating thc track includ- ing lighting for evening events. Now the motorplex is also being restricted as "to run the loudest vehi- cles prior to 8 p.m. and complete drag racing by 10 p.m. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is not thc facility lo- cated some where near Grand Bend right in the mid- dle of nowhere? For the very -few .who may be with- in ear shot of the -complex I'm sorry. but it's not enough to justify creating a "liaison committee" to watch and suppress a facility that has been. operating for all these years to entertain families who, other- wise would have to travel far and wide to see any- thing like this so close to home. The Grand Bend Motorplex is a quarter mile drag strip designed to race noisy, fast cars quickly down the track. You don't build `a jumbo jet, then let indi- viduals decide that it shouldn't fly. do you'' The mo- torplexwas built many years ago for a purpose. why take that away from them, the racers, the fans and the families? Anyone who has visited the complex will tell you that it is totally committed to .bringing• exciting en- tertainment to families. Aside from the noise issue what else can anyone say? It is an extremely clean facility. lot's of great food, great long weekend events, a variety of live con- certs. super friendly staff on hand and a safe envi- ronment for all ages! This area is being exposed all summer long, with radio advertising, drawing many to this area time and time again. Not bad for a facility in the middle of nowhere. don't you think? So please. before you ruin it for the thousands who- appreciate a facility like this, why not let the . Grand Bend Motorplex operate to it's full capabil- ities that it was designed for? Or better still. take in a day at the races! Perhaps the members of the first liaison commit- tee will reconsider. if not tone down their demands , once they go to the first meeting scheduled for June 10 at 8 p.m. at the Grand Bend Motorplex Tower. There they'll meet a friendly group of Motorplex owners and staff who want nothing more than to please and entertain the community by working long and hard to bring us these great shows! Eric Heyblom Quebec bound twenty-eight Gr. 7-8 Students including Ka- trina Marr, Iert, Heath- er Marr, Gemma Van- denberg, Lara Martens and Jamie Boxer (seen here score -keeping at the tournament) will travel to Quebec City on May 11-14. While in Quebec City, the stu- dents will tour the Mu- la--Civilisation,-- Upper and Lower Towns, visit the Plains of Abraham and see a battle re-enactment,- tour e-enactment,tour the Basilica of Ste. -Anne de Beaupre, attend the Citizenship' red and white dinner and _ dance plus much more. The tournament raised over $800. Giving their all. Right photo: Liq- uored • Leprechauns player George Marr goes the extra mile to field this ball during action at the St. Pat's School Quebec Trip fundraising . a dult volleyball - tour- nament at Lucan Community Memorial Centre on the week- end. The tournament raised over $800. The Lucan Raiders "won' the 'A' final, the London Mighty Nuts the 'B' final and the Lucan Town Clowns the 'C': final. 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