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
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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
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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