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Times -Advocate, March 13, 1996
Publisher & Editor: Jim Beckett
Business Manager: Don Smith
Production Manager: Deb Lord
&wising; Barb Consitt, Chad Eedy
Pkivi$; Heather Mir, Chris Skalkos,
Ross Haugh, Brenda Burke
Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson
Brenda Hern, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner
Transportation: Al Flynn, Al Hodgen
Front Office & Accounting Elaine Pinder, Sue Roliinge,
Ruthanne Negrijn, Anita McDonald, Cassie Dalrymple
The Exeter Times Advocate is a member of a family of community newspapers
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cation
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Published TaispAoas 1-8111338-1331 r Fax: 235-0760
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Atwar...
uring moments of conflict, be
they big or small, one thing is certain -
no one truly wins.
There are those who sustain the least
damage, bear the fewest scars, but nei-
ther side emerges without some sense
of loss.
The current argument with the Onta-
rio Public Service Employees Union is
that they are at war with the public at
large. And for the most part, they are.
OPSEU president Leah Casselman says
no; OPSEU is battling the Ontario gov-
ernment to preserve the public services.
According to a Decima Research/
Global News opinion poll, the 64 per
cent of public at large prefer to believe
the OPSEU strike is over nothing more
than OPSEU's own jobs.
That has to hurt. Even if Casselman
says the results mean nothing to her.
She doesn't pay attention to the polls.
No comment on how OPSEU likes to
point out that the Mike Harris govern-
ment - according to the polls - has lost
support.
But regardless of that argument, the
public opinion in this area, and many.
areas similar in makeup to Wingham, is
slo turning against the strikers. The
pu opinion in these rural regions re-
fi the reality of the strike perhaps a
little more than the mass of confusion
at Queen's Park;
In Wingham, the support is waning
bepauthe public is starting to see
h tlt.umbliicscator actorislu ting_.liicacs>!>7t.the pubad• •
. ' Wifighhrit Ad►Ylh .e-Tlmes
the community directly. In Wingham,
two private sector employees have lost
their jobs because OPSEU also has un-
der its umbrella the provincial meat in-
spectors. On the weekend we also were
witness to how ambulance services re-
fused to return a patient at Wingham and
District Hospital to his residence at
Braemar following treatment for injuries
sustained in a fall. Not a priority was the
reasoning.
Ili these smaller centres, where neigh-
bors often hop the fence to lend a hand,
we are starting to see the battle wounds.
Long after the strike is settled, it is
doubtful that the family of the man treat-
ed at WDH will forget the treatment
they received from OPSEU employees.
Nor will it be soon forgotten by the two •
who have been laid off from their jobs at
Green's Meat Market:
And that is where the damage is done
the most.
In Toronto, it is easy not to know your
neighbor, never mind what he or she
may do for living. But in these rural cen-
tres we tend to enjoy (and take for grant-
ed) the higher level of civility true com-
munities offer.
OPSEU may not care to look at the
swaying public opinion, but if they
don't, regardless of how strike comes to
a conclusion - be it in their favour or not
- the battle scars in the community will
remain. And that, Mrs. Casselman, may
be something worth considering ift this
• - 'Z ,3
Doesn't want transfer station in Huron Park
Believe me, we don't want a transfer
station in our community....
Dear Editor:
We ale firm believers in recycling, but Blue Wa-
ter Recycling's proposal to build a transfer station
on the existing location in Huron Park near a resi-
dential area is out of the question.
Just think - a transfer station handling up to 290
metric tons of household garbage per day in your
backyard. That sure is a lot of garbage!
1. Will our sewage system,be able to process the
waste?
2. If not, who will be responsible for it?
3. How will the increased truck traffic affect the
neighbors?
4. How much will the odors affect your quality of
life?
5. Could the odors be harmful?
6. Will we be forced to move?
7. Will we have a pest (rat) problem?
8. Will there be an impact on businesses, and fac-
tories in the area?
9. Where will the jobs come from?
Believe me, we don't want a transfer station in our
community. We have done research and have the
facts. This has to be a community effort to get this
stopped. Please write, and voice your concerns be-
fore it is too late. Time is running out. Write to Min-
istry of Environment, Huron County, Stephen
Township, and Ontario Development Corporation.
We need to have another meeting called to voice our
concerns, and have them addressed.
P.S. Don't get me wrong, transfer station's are a
great idea, but not near a residential area: Why can't
they build it on the existing land fill site?
Away from any residents close by.
Concerned citizens
Jim and Bev Dawe,
Ann, Rob and Sonya Lawrence
TORONTO - Premier Mike Harris is being
demonized for his cuts in public service jobs, "
while the man who made so many of them in-
evitable oddly is being declared a saint.
As Harris dodged strikers, another Progres-
sive Conservative, William Davis, premier
from 1971-85 and longest-ierving premier this
century, was eulogized on the 25th anniversary
of his being Sworn into office.
The provincial network, T ► Wade, ran a
program that was typically reverent., Even its ti-
. tle, Bill Davis: a Main Street Man, could have
been written by the former premier.
The program referred repeatedly to Davis's
cilrcumriluciutious speaking style and home town,
Brampton, where his son said many people call
him Bill.
Davis admitted modestly he has difficulty
talking of his successes - 'I was always able to
extol the virtues of others rather than myself.'
Davis said 'my children pd to tell me when
the government had goofed'and Larry Gross-
man, his treasurer, recalled that Davis, horror
of horrors, 'once said damn, the closest he
came to losing his temper.'
There were stories of Davis listening to base-
ball on a Walkman in the legislature and crucial
talks with U.S. bond rating agencies made
smoother because Davis knew the name of a
basketball player at Syracuse University.
Ali this helps paint the picture Davis found
useful when he was premier that he was a
homespun, humble, family man and sports fan,
a bit slow with words but strong on old-
fashioned, small-town values and not one of
those city slickers from Toronto, of which
Brampton is no more than a suburb anyway.
But others would laugh at Davis's suggestion
he could never promote himself when they re-
call he spent $50 million on government ads in
election years to promote himself and his party,
became the first Ontario politician to hire U.S.
experts and their polls and advanced marketing
techniques to sell himself and his party like
soap and even went on TV with his dog ('this is
Thor and we love him' - shades of Richard
atts new
Brenda Burke
nun out i.l,nntr r
�: ,• rr*�r��yi, �
t•-r,Not "alliowed •t o" piaflt {ail!. res i . ' t!n,, i P,. :uc;r'1;
Luc to council recently passed
a motion that seems rather
bizarre.
' The planting of trees on
boulevards is strictly prohibited.
Not only are maples and willow
trees not allowed, (which makes
obvious sense) but those neat
little species that only grow to
certain heights aren't being
considered either.
The reasoning appears to be
based on time and money
factors. Who has time to go
around pruning and caring for
little trees? And who has the
money to cover maintenance
costs involved?
Perhaps the residents who
wish to plant thein in the first
place do.
Councillor Rosemary
Gahlinger-Beaune has many
reasons for wanting trees
planted in boulevards and so do
area residents - cleaner air,
visual enjoyment, shade, an
ounce of prevention in global
warming, etc. All of these
reasons seem to make sense.
On the other hand, council's
excuses for backing out of
preparing a policy are not so
clear.
Planting small trees in
boulevards will not make more
work for the town maintenance.
crew. Healthy trees will not be
hindered by snow banks nor
obstruct drivers' views nor get
tangled in telephone wires.
And so what if only a small
section of the town would
qualify for tree planting. People
will understand.
If other municipalities don't
have a problem with this topic,
why does Lucan? For an issue
obviously important to many
residents, as is shown by the
turnout of those who voiced
their opinions at council's last
meeting, some effort should be
devoted here.
After all, this is the recycling,
earth -aware, natural,
free -thinking age of the
mid -90's, isn't it?
Saint
Nixon) to win an election.
Former New Democrat premier Bob Rae was
trotted out to say Davis 'is a very decent man,'
although when Davis was premier Rae used to
say he was 'consistently mean-spirited.' Rae is
now anxious to be seen as a statesman and fit in
at his new taw firm run by Otte of Davis's clos-
est friends.
But others would question just how decent
Davis was when his party collected huge dona-
tions from companies and left them with the
distinct impression his government would grant
favors in retum. This was not merely an oppo-
nent's view, because two companies put it on
paper and it inadvertently became public and
Davis had to change the law to prevent large
donations.
The program called Davis 'shrewd,' but he
spent $800 million of taxpayers' money on oil
company shares later sold for a loss of $410
million and $453 million gathering land for
building later valued at $271 million and prom-
ised to build the Skydome for $150 million but
Obviously the town's unwritten
policy didn't work in the past.
When a resident is forced to
yank out trees he's just planted
because he's act aware of a
policy that doesn't exist,
something is wrong.
A guideline should have been
put in place years ago. Why put
the decision off and make
everyone upset just before
planting season by saying no?
Help is available in
implementing a policy. And it
doesn't need to be as detailed as ,
London's. A representative
from the Ausable Bayfield
Conservation Authority took
time to visit council last October
to make recommendations on
boulevard tree planting.
What's going on when Exeter
constructs a gazebo in a park
and doesn't allow weddings and
Lucan builds boulevards and
doesn't allow tree planting?
Some rules go just a little too
far.
it cost $578 million and the list of miscalcula-
tions could go on.
Davis also helped make job cuts inevitable
because he governed by polls. Even Harris and
company in their early days in opposition said
the Davis government essentially was a few
guys reading polls in a hotel room.
"Davis once promised to balance a budget and
won an election for it, but instead could not re-
sist the temptation to spend and ran up huge
deficits that conuted to the $97 billion debt
which Harris flinp about. •
When someone expressed a need, Davis usu-
ally reacted by setting up a new program and
branch to cater to it and hired staff and classi-
fied them as temporary to hide the growth in
the public service.
Many thousands of Ontarians are now being
fired throiugh no fault of their own, but because
they took thesd jobs that shou,9Inever have ex-
isted - this is int much or a mason far giving
Davis
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