The Times Advocate, 2005-07-20, Page 44
Exeter Times—Advocate
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
=CNA
Editorial Opinion
TIMES ADVOCATE
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Jim Beckett
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Production Manager
ii
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ri Publishing & Distributing Ltd.
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EDITORIAL
Dejavu
It was a case of be careful what you ask for.
Desperate for some type of relief from the
sweltering July temperatures, most local
residents were probably hoping for rain on the
weekend.
But what they got was a torrential downpour
resulting in the worst flood in Exeter in five
years. And rightly so, residents are frustrated,
angry and fed up.
More than ever, it's clear the planned flood
management project is not only a good idea, it's
something this town has to have. While it was
hoped the project would already be finished, it
is now slated to be done by the end of this year.
Funded by the Exeter Community Development
Fund, the $800,000 project will see a large dry
holding area dug south of Simcoe Street that
will be able to hold 32,000 cubic metres of
water during a flood, large enough to hold a so-
called "50 -year flood."
But that doesn't help those who once again
watched their backyards and basements flood
last weekend. For those people, it's another
case of ripping up mud -soaked carpets, throw-
ing out furniture and undergoing another
round of expensive renovations.
The completion of the flood management pro-
ject can't come soon enough — in the mean-
time, let's hope Mother Nature behaves herself.
A welcome decision
Canada's long-suffering beef cattle farmers
finally received good news last week when a
U.S. court ruled to reopen the border to
Canadian beef.
Since May 2003, it's estimated Canadian beef
producers have lost $8 billion since the border
closed.
Despite last week's good news, the fight isn't
over. There are still challenges ahead for
Canadian beef farmers that will determine the
nature of beef trade with the U.S.
But last week's news was certainly a long time
in coming and it's about time beef farmers
stopped suffering.
OVENEIGHTII 1NACTVEN"'
HOOKEP ON CELLPIIONES }usrYouR
AND VIDEO GAMES,,, TYPICAL
CANADIAN
FAMILY,..
They're back and who cares?
In the end who cares? After 301 days of an NHL
lockout/strike/whatever, what was really solved?
As the details sink in, who won and who lost is
obvious, even with a 600 -page agreement. For all
of you who said they shouldn't have to pay $100
to see a $10 million player get dragged down by a
bunch of $3 million and $4 million play-
ers, welcome to the new reality.
You'll now be paying $100 to see a $6
million player get dragged down by a
bunch of $1 million and $2 million play-
ers.
The bleeding hearts at Maple Leaf
Sports and Entertainment, keepers of the
sacred trust otherwise known as the
Teachers Pension Fund, have already ran
the numbers based on a $30 million pay-
roll and tried not to giggle like school girls
at the results. The press releases about
the cost of scouting and development of
young players are already being drawn up
by MLSE .
At the other end, Tie Domi is realizing his illus-
trious career with the million dollar windfalls is
winding down and he may not make it to his
career goal of 100 goals overall.
What some of us hoped for was that the lockout
would drag on long enough and U.S. teams would
start dropping like flies and that Mark Messier
would have forgotten where he left his skates.
It also would have been nice if the league could
realize twisting itself into knots trying to sell the
game to a NASCAR market is pointless.
Selling the game down south is a lost hope,
especially when it's now not only going
against tractor pulls, but the sheer spec-
tacle of the televised poker craze.
But the league has decided the answers
to dismal interest in the United States is a
year-round schedule so in the odd week
when there is no baseball/football/basket-
ball/NASCAR/cheerleading tryouts, an
NHL game might somehow attract atten-
tion.
Instead of fewer games and a Stanley
Cup that might be awarded before winter
is a distant memory in the minds of most
Canadians, the league has pitched the
idea of adding more teams and another
round to the playoffs.
The advantage is we might be able to celebrate
Canada Day and the end of the hockey season on
the same day.
But all hope isn't lost. They're promising to
crack down on obstruction. And this time they
really, really mean it.
PAT B
BACK 40
VIEW
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