The Times Advocate, 2005-08-17, Page 244
Exeter Times–Advocate
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
=CNA
Editorial Opinion
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EDITORIAL
Council on
hot seat
If last week's South Huron council meeting
and recent letters to the editor are any indi-
cation, there's a lot of dissatisfaction out
there.
Residents are unhappy with Exeter's flood problem,
with the municipality's building fees and with the
province dragging its feet on the privatization of Huron
Park. Those concerned with the flood and Huron Park
issues gave council an earful at its latest council meet-
ing.
Victims of Exeter's floods over the past 10 years
(most recently July 16) can't be blamed for being
upset. They've gone through the financial and emotion-
al hardships of cleaning up their flooded basements,
undergoing expensive renovations that may or may not
be covered by their insurance policies and crossing
their fingers every time it rains that there won't be
another flood.
Who could blame them for complaining (correctly)
that the flood problem in this town should have been
solved long ago? The fact is, it should have been.
Hopefully, the project south of Simcoe Street and
another project (barely in the infancy stage) east of
Eastern Avenue will ensure floods in Exeter are a thing
of the past. Unfortunately, floods in Exeter have
become a predictable and unwelcome disaster — the
problem isn't just going to go away. It's going to cost a
significant amount of money and take much co-opera-
tion between the municipality and local landowners.
Regarding the issue of the privatization of the indus-
trial side of Huron Park — the businesses have waited
far too long and would be fully justified in pulling out
for greener pastures.
While the province is finally claiming the plan to
allow businesses to buy their buildings and land from
the government is now a high priority, you have to
wonder if they mean it.
Some businesses in the park have been attempting to
buy their respective buildings for years and are weary
of false promises. They've been stuck in holding pat-
terns, unable to expand their businesses while the
province found ways to delay matters.
It's been stated several times that the Huron Park
businesses will have the first crack at buying their
buildings when privatization starts. Let's hope the
province lives up to that promise and doesn't disap-
point our local businesses once again. These compa-
nies are major employers in the area and have been a
vital segment of our local economy for years. They
need to be supported.
NHL sets another fine example
After a season -long lockout hockey is back in the
news in a big way and fans should be excited. Wayne
Gretzky is going to coach the Coyotes, Eric Lindros is
playing for the Leafs and Todd Bertuzzi of the Canucks
will be lacing up his skates following a 17 -month sus-
pension.
Wait a minute, Bertuzzi is back? How can this possi-
bly be? Remember when his blindside punch landed
Steve Moore of Colorado on the rink? Bertuzzi
grabbed Moore from behind, struck him on the side of
the head and then landed on top of him driving his
head into the ice. It's a graphic description but it illus-
trates the vicious nature of the attack. Two
vertebrae in Moore's neck were broken and
doctors are still unsure if he'll ever play hock-
ey again.
Bertuzzi's suspension included the final 13
regular -season games of the 2003-04 season
as well as the playoffs and it continued
through last season's lockout. It cost the for-
ward half a million dollars in salary, a mere
drop in the bucket when you consider his
earnings for the upcoming season will surpass
the $5 million mark.
NHL commissioner Gary Beaman sheepishly
claims Bertuzzi's suspension lasted almost a
year -and -a -half. Give me a break! Bertuzzi
only missed 20 games and the lockout covered the rest
of the time. In my opinion he didn't serve his full sus-
pension and the NHL has set a terrible precedent for
future situations. Even more disheartening is the
league's inability to deal with the issue of violence.
We will always see aggressive behaviour in hockey
and other sports. It's part of our competitive nature.
However, there's a huge difference between giving
someone a bit of a shove to coming up from behind
and knocking them to the ground when they can't see
you! This is where the NHL needs to change its philos-
ophy and rules.
How about some tougher penalties for dangerous
attacks? If the gloves come off send the players
involved in the scrap to their dressing rooms immedi-
ately for the rest of the game. And let's not forget
about the spoken word. If a coach or player responds
to an attack during a game or after the fact,
they too should face the music. The league
can impose fines or further penalties.
The NHL has to start somewhere and the
most important step it can take at this point is
to be consistent with everyone. There should
be no exceptions.
Now is the best time to create a new and
better league. The lockout is over, the season
is about to begin and there's a fresh slate to
STEP
MAND
CONSIDE
THIS!
HANIE
ZIUK
R
start from.
On a personal note, this is my last column
for the Times -Advocate. As the NHL players
head back to the ice I'll be heading back to
school at Queen's University in Kingston to
complete my teaching degree. I'd like to thank my col-
leagues for helping me adapt to the world of print
journalism. Most of all I`d like to thank our loyal read-
ers who have offered ideas, opinions and support over
the last six months.
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