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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2004-09-01, Page 66 Exeter Times–Advocate Wednesday, September 1, 2004 Opinion Forum News Seniors' perspective Continued from page 5 Smoke -Free Public Places &Workplaces in Huron County: Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) Bylaw in Huron County. When does the bylaw take effect? The county ETS bylaw requiring that all public places and workplaces be smoke-free, will come into effect on September 4, 2004. At that time, business owners and employers must comply with all the provisions of the bylaw. How will ETS affect my business? The ETS bylaw prohibits smoking in any enclosed indoor area, which the public or an employee has access to or works in. This includes restaurants, bars, bingo halls, bowling alleys, casinos, Legions, wash- rooms, lobbies, staff rooms, buses, taxis, and company vehicles used for work. Smoking rooms are not permit- ted. Are there any exemptions? Long-term care and psychiatric facilities are exempt from the bylaw Does the county's ETS bylaw apply to hotels and motels? Yes, the bylaw does apply to these establishments. Private rooms are also included because the rooms are the workplace of housekeeping staff. Hotels and motels will not be permitted to have "smoking" and "non smoking" rooms after September 4, 2004. All areas of the hotel or motel that are accessible to the general public or employees, such as lobbies, restrooms, restaurants, and halls covered by the bylaw. Does the ETS bylaw apply to Bed & Breakfast (B&B) establishments too? Yes, the bylaw applies to B&Bs as well. B&Bs offer accommodation to the general public, just like hotels and motels; therefore, B&Bs must meet the same stan- dards of protection for both workers and patrons. Who is responsible for making a workplace or public place is smoke-free? Responsibility for making an area smoke-free falls to whomever is in charge. In the case of a public place such as a restaurant or bar, this would be the owner/proprietor/manager, or the person in charge who acts on behalf of this person in their absence. In the case of a workplace, the owner of the business or the manager is responsible. What is the owner's proprietor's/manager's responsi- bility under the ETS bylaw No. 21, 2003? They have to tell anyone smoking in an enclosed pub- lic place or workplace that it is a non-smoking area, and ask them to stop. They have to make every reason- able effort to ensure smoking does not take place in an enclosed public place or workplace. What is reasonable would include, but not limited to: posting a copy of their non-smoking policy in a prominent place; and prohibiting ashtrays, or anything that can reasonably be considered an ashtray, in an enclosed public place or workplace. In the event someone continues to smoke despite being asked not to, the owner/proprietor/man- ager/person in charge should contact the ETS Bylaw Enforcement Officer. Who gets charged if smoking takes place in a public place or workplace? The employer or the establishment, and the person committing an offence can be charged. The owner or establishment can be charged if they haven't taken every reasonable effort to stop or prevent an offence from taking place. Anyone smoking in contravention of the bylaw can be charged. Who will be enforcing the bylaw? A Bylaw Enforcement Officer will be enforcing the ETS bylaw. How serious is Huron County about enforcing this bylaw and what are the penalties? All complaints and questions related to non-compli- ance of the bylaw will be investigated and charges will be warranted, under the Provincial Offences Act. The maximum fine under the bylaw is $5000.00 per offence. Who can 1 contact for more information and assis- tance? Complaints and questions related to non-compliance of the bylaw can be referred to ETS Bylaw Enforcement Officer. If you need resources, or help to quit smoking, contact the Huron County Health Unit at (519) 482-3416 or long distance 1-877-837-6143. Urban & Rural Brochures: Thanks to the municipality for providing shelving for the many brochures that we have to provide to you. Space is now allocated for the farm community to pick up brochures for their interest. A sample of brochures, provided by OMAF are Fact Sheets: such as Programs & Services to Farmers, Adding Value to Farm Products, Meeting Procedures, Planning Bed & Breakfasts etc., Nutrient Management, Nutrient Management Workbook, Keeping Your Well Water Safe To Drink, Farm Brochures available from OMAF, Buffer Strips, Safe Movement of Farm Equipment, Planning For & Responding to Disasters, Common Sense Nutrition, Jams, Jellies Canning, Tastes of Huron, Planning a Bed & Breakfast Business, etc. Seniors and Health issues include: The Care Guide, Guide to Programs & Services For Seniors, Town & Country Directory of Services Directory, Diabetes, Healthy eating etc. If you require OMAF or Senior's information, please contact this office at (519) 235-0310 x 239. Two Gas Company servicemen, a senior training supervisor and a young trainee were out checking meters in a suburban neighbourhood. They parked their truck at the end of the alley and worked their way to the other end. At the last house, a woman looking out her kitchen window watched the men as they checked the gas meter, Finishing the meter check, the senior supervisor challenged his younger coworker to a foot race down the alley back to the truck to prove that the older guy could outrun the younger one. As they came running up to the truck, they realized the lady from the last house was huffing and puffing right behind them. They stopped and asked what was wrong. Gasping for breath, she replied, "When I see two men from a gas company running as hard as you two were, I figured I'd better nm too!" Settling a cow case: A big -city lawyer was representing the railroad in a lawsuit filed by an old rancher. The rancher's prize bull was missing from the section through which the railroad passed. The rancher only wanted to be paid the fair value of the bull. The case was scheduled to be tried before the justice of the peace in the back room of the general store. The attorney for the railroad imme- diately cornered the rancher and tried to get him to settle out of court. The lawyer did his best selling job, and finally the rancher agreed to take half of what he was asking. After the rancher had signed the release and took the check, the young lawyer couldn't resist gloating a little over his success, telling the rancher, "You know, I hate to tell you this, old man, but I put one over on you in there. I couldn't have won the case. The engineer was asleep and the fireman was in the caboose when the train went through your ranch that morning. I didn't have one witness to put on the stand. I bluffed you!" The old rancher replied, "Well, I'll tell you, young feller, I was a little worried about winning that case myself, because that durned bull came home this morning." Sorry state of our communi This letter was sent to the Municipality of South Huron and copied to our newspaper. Dear Sir or Madam: I am enclosing my cheque for Water and Sewage con- sumption for billing period 5/1/2004 to 7/31/2004. You will notice I have deducted your outrageous rate increase of $30.00 per billing period. There are a few questions that will need to be answered before I can even consider paying this unfair fee. • Why was I the consumer, who by the way has no option here to go to the competition, not informed of this pending increase via a letter and how come it is retroactive? (Obviously you have my address seeing you can mail me a bill.) • Where is my copy of the By -Law #40-2004? Should this not be included with the bill so I can understand why I am being held hostage by the PUC? • How is this being distributed to the "wealthier" resi- dents of Exeter, the businesses that consume high vol- umes of water, and the poor who live on a very limited fixed income? It looks to me the poor are getting "screwed" and the "Rich" are getting a break... Not very constitutional or very Democratic. (At least I think we still live in a democratic society...) • How long is this temporary billing in effect? For that matter is it as Temporary as the GST was? • What does the town need the money for? And how does it intend to spend this extra cash...? It seems that with the latest increases in tax & hydro as well as the high gas prices this only adds to the bur- den of "Johnny Taxpayer" who ends up with an increased monthly expense of close to $ 100.00. I won- der if Welfare and Old Age Security just increased as much, so I can go to my Employer and simply demand the extra money... Now, if I am lucky enough to still have a job, do you think that my employer will simply hand out a raise as easily as you people are asking for that extra $ 30.00? I am sending a copy of this to our local members of Parliament as well, just to give them a chance to com- ment on the sorry state of this community.... Sincerely, JOACHIM (JOE) DONATH CC: Paul Steckle, Carol Mitchell Village of Hensall has shown its support Dear Editor: When amalgamation was shoved down the throats of Ontario, the main selling feature used by the promoters of the project was "Bigger is Better and more services for less cost." No one really believed this to be true, but we the unknowing led by the uncaring were fished in royally. The results of this deception are now very evident as we see discontent, anger, frustration and apathy creep- ing into our society, first, on little "Cat Feet" and now like a locomotive on a mission. As if the provincial government hasn't heard a word we said, the people of Ontario are now being submitted to on an even larger scale of "You are not important to us, up here." This came at the AMO conference in Ottawa this past week when Mr. McGuinty proudly applauded a signed agreement. This agreement placed the small communi- ties at further risk of alienation by indicating that future government funding and programs won't take place with individual municipalities but with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, which repre- sents more than 400 communities across the province. This document is stripping our small communities of any identification we have left after amalgamation and taking away our chance of being heard. Shame on you Mr. McGuinty! We know full well who you are, do you know who you are? Or are you hoping to let another agency do your dirty work brought about by your broken promises. Now is the time to start writing your feelings folks. Let "Big Brother" know that we are mad as hell and we aren't going to take it anymore. The village of Hensall has shown its support with an overwhelming 93 per cent signing of a petition which appeared in the Times - Advocate. We will be heard. KAY WISE Chairman of Concerned Citizens of Hensall Police briefs EXETER — On Aug. 26, Huron OPP received a suspi- cious vehicle call in the area of Scotty's Pizza located on Main Street in Exeter. The officer found the suspected vehicle, a gold 1972 Volvo parked near the business. Within minutes, the officer saw the vehicle move from the parking spot and stopped the car. The driver was found with alcohol on his breath, failed the roadside test and was taken for breath tests. Results of the breathalyser found the man was almost four times the legal limit allowed to drive. The 51 -year-old South Huron man was held overnight for observation and released this morning. He has been charged with driving a motor vehicle with over 80 mgs. Court has been set for Oct. 28 in Exeter. SOUTH HURON — On Aug. 26, OPP officers in South Huron were contacted about two daylight break-ins. The first call was received at 6:15 p.m. when resi- dents returned home from work to find a break-in to their home on Andrew Street. Entry into the home was through a window. Stolen from the house was small amount of money mostly in coin, CDs of various types of music and a quantity of food. The second break-in was reported fifteen minutes later at a residence on Middle Street in Crediton. The house was entered again through a window — this time stereo equipment valued at $1,700 was stolen. Stolen was a Sony tuner, a Yamaha CD player, a DVD player, a tape player and two Paradigm speakers with box. Both break-ins took place that day between 5 a.m. and 6 p.m. The entry took place when open win- dows were found to the residence. Huron OPP are continuing their investigation into these break-ins if you can help solve these crimes call the local Exeter OPP office or contact Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477(TIPS). SOUTH HURON — On Aug. 16 at 3:30 p.m. an officer working in South Huron stopped a 1976 Pontiac LeMans on James Street. The driver was found with no licence and further checks found the man had lost his driver's licence for previous criminal driving offences. The 24 -year-old South Huron man has been charged with driving while disqualified. He will attend court in Exeter Oct. 24. The officer continued to investigate the incident and discovered that the owner of the vehicle had allowed the man to drive without any insurance on the car. As a result, a 26 -year-old female has been charged with permitting an adult to operate a motor vehicle with no insurance. She will attend court Oct. 21. The vehicle in this case was also impounded for 45 days.