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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1998-08-19, Page 4Times -Advocate,, Attgttst 19, 1998 Publisher & Editor: Jim Beckett Business Manager: Don Smith Production Manager: Deb Lord Advertising: Barb Consitt, Chad Eedy few Kate Monk, Craig Bradford, Katherine Harding. Scott Nixon, Ross Haugh Production: Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson . Brenda Hern, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner Irartsnorwtion: Al iiodgert " front ("co & Accpunting. Sue Rollings, Carol Windsor Ruthanne Negriin, Anita McDonald. Cassie Dalrymple, Ruth Slagt i. CC4 The Exeter Times -Advocate is a member of a family of community newspapers providing news, advertising and information leadership EDITOR IAi. Time for action We're niad as hell and we're not going to take it any more. . Who could Mame residents of Pride Boulevard_ whir have been flooded out repeatedly over the years for adopting Ihis.attitude. Sunday. August 9 could he niarked down as the day the _neighborhood. . • stood together -to show their dissatisfac- 'ion with the way the town .of Exeter -• .. has been handling the constant water problems -in this parrot' town.. As taxpayers they deserve the same type of. protection from flooding that • residents in other parts of tQwn enjoy. Many are on their fifth or sixth time around of cleaning up the raw -sewage - thatspews out basement drain"s. - A.fairly vicious downfall (although. - by -no means a record) showed that.both the regular drainage systems -and the. sewer systems once again were not up ` - to the job, despite recent attempts -to correct. the problem_ - In many cases insurancecompanies are refusing to cover the devastation that can be caused by routine rain- fall...and -who can -blame them. The town'has had plenty of time to Publications Mad Registration Number 07511 iUBIlie lP/1l0KSAAM One year rate for Canada subscribers - 835.00 + OST Two year rate for Canada subscribers • 863.00 + OST QTHgR KATEeS Outside Canada S102.O0 come up with a remedy. After two re- cent storms. one in July -and the most: re- cent on August..9, it is apparent our council needs,to have the severity of this problem pointed oul by the victims .in order:to-get solving this problem and treat -it as a high priority. At the August 10 meeting of town council flooding -victims delivered_ their ir message loud and clear. "We want help; we want to know when help v‘;'-1 be.'" forthcoming and we want to he kept ih - formed..Thisshould not -be too much to. expect from town officials." If residential insurance' policies do not rover sewage damage because' .then have determined it rasa problem that can -.be remedied we believe reimbursement should be offered by the town. • At the very least.those.who have suf- fered from flooding should he.kept ap- - praised of any developments. Following the last disaster on Prvde indications of. serious action from the town to•correct this prohleni appear positive, however, the big question many are asking is "Will there be any change before the next isubstantial rain?" - Let•s hope so. Your Views Letters to the editor Thanks to Exeter and area Re: Municipal restructuring in the Grand Bend area Dear Editor: • The Exeter Roden committee would like 10 ex-. press our, thanks to all Exeter and surrounding arca. businesses that -'sponsored the. Rpdeo. You carne. through for us when we needed you to slake our_ Rodeo a a great success. 'We would like to thank you for making the downtown core- lopk beautiful -with the ,corn stalks and decorating the .windows - with a western theme. it looked great! We .would also like to thank those whodonatcd equipment and magi power to set up and take down the show area. . Exeter Rodeo at one tune was -referred to as the Stampede of Ontario it was- the biggest and best Ro- deo around. It we keep up "the hard work 'and .the great sponsors we can make if as big -and better as it Was years agu..The:cowboys would like to thank the people that live adjacent to the succor field. for all your help with water and putting Up with any incon- • venience they may have caused. As everyone knows how hot it was on Saturday we are sorry that out pa- rade:was not bigger. but the cowboys and their hors- es .had been saddled all day .long and just couldn't take anymore of the heat. We -would like. to thank those who lined the streets to watch:. We were amazed at the turn out. Thanks again! - As a special thank you. we would like to thank Jo- anne Fields for all her many hours and hard work at • keeping us all organized and on our toes. You de- served your holidays alter the Rodeo Exeter Rodeo Committee A View from Queen's Park By Eric Dowd Published Each Wednesday Morning at 424 Main St.. Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S6 by .1W. Eedy Publications Ltd Telephone 1-519-235-1331 • Fax. 519-235-0766 emae•taeeedy.con G.S T *R105210835 Kate's takes By Kate Monk What's in a name? Municipalities in Huron County will start dating again in September as the`: venture down the road to amalgamation. - -' If municipal restructuring is compared to courtship. it's been one of the -most on again. off again relationships of all time. Restructuring committees have been progressing and retreating . tor inane years. The bottom line IS councils in Huron -County haven't been able to leave the nest and venture•out into. a new world. But there is optimism that this time around, there is the political will to move -ahead. The engagement rings will be - exchanged and a wedding date will be set But will the pre -nuptial - agreement put an end to the talks'or -will the municipalities be. wi l l ing to enter the marriage • m good faith that all have the same goal of the greater good for all?' - • - Municipal amalgamation has the potential to make our region.. stronger il-.wc are all willing u, bring our talent, and.resources to the.marriage. We should have the best in staff;:pollticjans and • . cornrriunitY. assets. This rs the key.- being. willing tots share our toys and goodies..it's all part of playing well with other. as equals. • •- One of -the hest ways -to break - down the barriers is hv.choosrng a name Tor the amalgamated - municipality that units -the towns; villages and township: by reflecting a conuiion feature. Giving up our communities• . Maiden names does not mean - our identities arc hist but means weare wiling to erase the boundaries. Is this one of the -stumbling •• blocks.of the Avoi1 Maitland • District School Board''_ht the past eight.nninths.we have. seen our school trustees stick to•their old Huron - or Perth County loyalties. giving more weight to the addresses of staff than their credentials: 1 believe the fact the -name M•on Maitland reflects two distinct geographic areas contributes to this: is the. Bluewater District School Board= getting along better than -it they - were named the Grey -Bruce - board' Maybe so. - The municipal names`chosen in Perth Coun.ty-(West'Perth, North Perth etc) may not set the world On.Gre but they .do send the Message the. muniy:ipalitle . - are now politically united and -willing to.move ahead to serve, their new constituents. A few years' ago:'tite`nan* - Ausable Shores was proposed for the new community.'Sonte •people like the name. others .don't. Regardless.• it's.on.the ,.right track.. - ,• Let's give our new frame some thought. I'm sure the politic`,ians- arcopen to suggestions. r TORONTO --The :tragic murder of a young Toronto policeman -- deplored unreservedly . by those pf all 'political- views -- has been • seized and used`as a •'ieapon against any who might question police actions. The death of Constable William Hancox, a farnily - man who lost his life protecting the community and deserves unstinting admiration. came almost as a windfall to those who defend police no matter what the issue. Police in Ontario have been under unprece- dented clouds. Among them, a judge found po- . lice negligent because they failed to warn a se- rial rapist was attacking women in their homes and he broke into an apartment and raped an- other. A man who served eight years of a life sen- tence for murder was freed after police conced- ed a jailhouse informers testimony was con- cocted and another released after three years in jail awaiting trial for murder when police final- ly admitted they lacked evidence. An inquest said police need to study spousal abuse after a woman reported repeatedly an ex- boyfriend threatened.her,•but.he was still able to kill her. A judicial inquiry into the conviction for mur- der of Guy Paul Morin, who was serving a life sentence when it was overturned by DNA evi- dence, found some police evidence was totally .unreliable.and even- falsified. This recalled an earlier finding that serial rap- ist Paul Bernardo remained free for two years and killed twice after police failed to pursue in- formation: . A police chief has just lost his job after admit- ting breach of trust in taking a $125,000 inter- est-free loan from a • company which hoped to benefit. A poll said the public had become concerned that- police often refuse to co-operate with the Special Investigations Unit, which looks into po- lice actions that. result in deaths or injuries to ci- vilians. Two •policemen who chased a stolen van which mounted a sidewalk and killed a man have been charged by the SIU with dangerous driving. because provincial • rules say officers' New lift to a police •cause first consideration. in chases should . be -public safety.. . The Toronto Sun. which generally support§ police, has used the opportunity to say in edito- rials that this is a hard time to be a police offi- cer, particularly because police are frustrated constantly by second-guessing by those who know nothing of their job. The paper claimed that some seem to [Hake it their life's work to knock and ridicule police. and its former editor in a column was more spe- cific, charging many New Democrats and Lib- erals have a dislike of police verging:on hatred and paranoia. - Newspapers have been deluged with letters complaining that police are being over - scrutinized by armchair experts and civil liber- ties zealots'and it is time people rallied behind them. - The Toronto Police Association also paid for large advertisements claiming there is no evi- dence to support the dangerous driving charges and are asking the public to back police, a con- tempt of court. • As the.exainples-show. police -.do -make mis- takes, but the Liberals and NDP have refrained from countering -that strict monitoring by civil- ians is essential. which would seen distasteful when a murdered police officer is being mourned. . - • The two parties. had their differences with po- lice while in government. Police booed NDP premier Bob Rae at a baseball game and staged a work slowdown against Liberal David Peter- son, both tunes alleging that civilians had inter- fered, but there never was any suggestion of law and order breaking down.,• But the outpouringi.of support. for police has not been lost on Progressive Conservative' Pre- ' mier Mike Harris, who consistently supports police in disputes and recently returned to al- lowing them to investigate virtually all com- plaints trade against them. ' Harris ministers are already musing about weakening the .SIU so it .will be less bother- some to police, and even calling for a return of the death penalty. The death of a policeman has given new life to a police cause. A