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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1980-12-11, Page 4Pb • 4 Citizens News December 11, 1980 No. it's not a prop from Flash Gordon .The role of appointed officials The discussion at last week's inaugural meeting of Hay township council concerning the appoint- ment of representatives to the Ausable-Bayfield Conservation Authority and the various committees of county council broached a subject matter which may be considered difficult to deal with by municipal councils. Taking the approach of Hay councillor .Tony Bedard there could be a problem of accountability to the electorate when an individual representing a municipality on another level of government or quasi -governmental body makes a decision which the electorate believes is not in the best interests of the municipality. In such a case it would appear that the council of the municipality would be held responsible for the actions of the person who was named by the council as their representative. The line of thinking as professed by Bedard • holds that if a member of council is named as the municipality's representative he would be directly accountable not only to council but to the citizens of the community. Taking the other side of the argument, persons who are not a member of council have made an ef- fort to make themselves available for such a posi- tion and might be more willing or have more time to better serve their community as a council ap- • pointee. Using as an example former Exeter reeve Si • Simmons and former Hay reeve Jack Tinney both offered themselves to their respective councils to act as the municipality's representative on the Ausable-Bayfield Conservation Authority. Both gentlemen have had many years on the A- B Board as an elected official from the community and it would follow suit that they could serve their communities well as they are familiar with the system. On the other hand, an over -familiarization with a particular scene could lead to complacency and as a result, ineffective representation for the com- munity. Bodies such as committees of county council and the conservation authority may need the stabilizing influence of appointed non -elected representatives since the issues they deal with affect many people over a wide geographic area and could be dealt with in the examination stage for many years. It very well could be that these "grey areas of government" which are charged primarily with the duty of examining an issue in detail and where there are not/ many I real decisions actually made,are fan ideal place -Air the non -elected municipal represen- tative. Consultation needed Certainly there must have been at least some raised eyebrows at County Council this week when planner Gary Davidson said the Ontario govern- ment considered the county for a liquid waste dis- posal site. Minister of the Environment, Harry Parrot, an- rounced in the legislature last week that the provin- 2ial government would use a site near South ;ayuga. The land is of the prime agricultural varie- ty and was bought by the government over a period of years. Naturally the residents of South Cayuga, a small community on Lake Erie near Dunville, are angry and upset. Parrott said the government lands provided the most natural geological waste desposal site in the province. But the residents of the area don't quite agree. They would have welcomed a bit of dialogue on the subject before any concrete decisions were forced upon them. The residents fear the area will simply turn into another Love Canal despite government assurances to the contrary. What guarantees of safety do the people have. Government statistics and promises aren't all thatreassuringlor comforting. It was with great surprise that many people learned that Huron County was second on the government's list of proposed sites. Davidson said it would have been difficult for the ministry to con- duct site testing here without his department hav- ing knowledge of the activity. The Huron site is said to be north of Goderich to the county line at Amberley which indicates lands in Colborne or Ashfield Townships were scouted for the disposal site. County Council will look into the situation but will not lodge any formal protest at this time over the government's lack of information. Or secrecy to be more apt: Council fears that a strong protest would only be detrimental at this time. If South Cayuga, for some reason or another, turns back the government proposal it is only natural to turn to alternative B on the agenda. And that is Huron County. At the least, the County could have been notified that it was In the running for such govern- ment attention. There could have been some responsible interaction. The government feels it can condone the dis- posal of liquid waste \safely. -The 'people of the province don't share that optimism. And the people don't take kindly to unilateral decisionsthathave great affects on their lives. . Goderich Signal -Star Published Each Wednesday dy J.W. Eedy Publications ltd. Member: Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association Ontario Wield'', Newspapers News Editor - Tom Creech Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385 Subscription Rates: $8.50 per year in advance in Canada $19.50 per year outside Canada Single copies 254 Association A 777 777 771Y-7 -- ie•6R 7..141 t ' By . TOM CREECH i Continuations and complaints This week's column could best be considered as an extension of last week's effort as a result of some problems encountered in the assembly of the newspaper. To finish off the story about the English gentleman who collects newspaper banners as a hobby, the writer mailed anenvelope contaig22 banners from weekly newspapers which we receive in this office. Definitely my good deed of the day for the week if not the year. As many local firms are quite award the Citizen's News is in the throes! of assembling the special Christ- mas edition of the paper which will be coming out in a few weeks time. Due to the fact that Christmas is on a Thursday this year, the Citizens' News! 1 hit the news-stands a day earlier, Wednesday. As a result of • the bumping -up of the publishing date some alterations in the deadline for ads and stories must be made. All ads or copy must be at our Zurich agent' by 5 p.m., Monday, December 22 or phoned into the Times Advocate office by the same time. There will be no pickup of news or ad copy on Tuesday. Readers and advertisers should also note that the newspaper will not be published the last week of December and as such, ads concerning events should be placed in the Christmas edition. Just in case you forget, the above information will be repeated in next week's paper. * * * It's very rare in the newspaper business to publically complain about something which appeared in another newspaper expecially when he's your "next door neighbour" but a headline in last week's Clinton News -Record caused an increase in the writer's adrenalin production. "Bayfield's Buckeyes win tourney" read the headline which certainly is an attention grabber if tak- ing into consideration the Bucks are based in Zurich and not the port town. There's no denying there's a definite Bayfield con- nection to the Bucks with three or four players living at the port or in surrounding areas and that their con- tributions over the years have been an integral part in the team's success. One doubts if we'll see a headline "Bayfield's Mustangs take Ontario Junior C title." * * * One of the most visible provincial ministries to the citizens of the province is the ministry of consumer and commercial relations. This ministry which is the domain of the one and only Frank Drea, comes out with some interesting material on a very frequent basis. For your edification,1the following info on Christ- mas gift exchanges is presented: We havd been spoiled by stores that have cheerful- ly lived up to their promiseof 'Satisfaction Guaranteed or Money Refunded., 1 hese stores have realized that happy customers are repeat customers and, therefore, well worth the occasional unjustified refund claim. But stores are under no legal/obligation to take back merchandise unless it's defective or does not live up to advertising claims. Refund and exchange policy can differ from store to store because it's based on goodwill. To avoid problems in this area, there are just two basic rules to follow: Develop Good Shopping Habits so you don't have to return the., merchandise;, and: Find Out The Store's Refund And Exchange Policy before you buy, and shop accordingly. It really pays to shop around. Always compare prices and other important features, such as guarantees and service agreements, in several stores before deciding on.any purchase. What may be marked 'special' in one store could cost lot les.. just down the street. . If you don't see any sign of the store's refund and exchange policy, ask the sales person. Some stores offer a credit note; others offer a refund or eChange within 10 days only; still others will on not refund your money or exchange merchandise for any reason. Find out. If you are.buying gifts, make sure they can be ex- changed if necessary. Always keep sales receipts and other proof of purchase.