The Times Advocate, 2006-08-16, Page 44
Exeter Times–Advocate
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
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Editorial Opinion
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*SOUS O
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TIMES ADVOCATE
PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511
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Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing costs.
Canada Jim Beckett – Publisher
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Scott Nixon – Editor
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EDITORIAL
What is news?
that media students debate feverent-
y. The classic example that profes-
sors give is "Dog bites man — not news, but
man bites dog — definitely news." Apologies to
pit bull victims everywhere, but it boils down to
the fact that news constitutes events and
actions that don't happen every day. The fact
that the word "new" is a part of what we do
makes it self-explanatory.
Of course, what's new can be a matter of per-
ception, especially when emotions run high If
you don't with an action it's easier to dismiss it
as not newsworthy. But whether positive, nega-
tive or neutral, it's our duty to report on it.
It would be remiss of us to sweep valid stories
of any stripe under the rug considering how
close we are to the community. The account-
ability of working at a small-town newspaper is
tremendous. We are so close to our readers —
and our readers so close to us — that we have
to to be ready at all times to explain our actions
if approached on the street, at the game, or
anywhere else in town.
At the same time, however, there can exist the
perception that we can hide behind our bylines,
our keyboards and our cubicle walls. As one of
the few sources of local news available, per-
haps there is also the belief that we can get
away with anything.
But it's a misperception, just as it can be when
people open our pages and and assume that
editorial staff is being very choosy when it
comes to what gets printed and what doesn't.
As our "letters" box states, we welcome letters
to the editor, on any relevant topic. If you're
unhappy that the printed letters don't reflect
your personal view, I challenge you to send one
in that does. I'm lucky in that I get my 500 or so
words to expound my viewpoint (or lack there-
of) every week — our readers' venue to do the
same is through writing a letter to the editor.
There's an ethical decision for readers to
make, rooted in another media adage — do you
shoot the messenger?
Candidates stepping up to the plate
Some thoughts on local issues during the dog days of
summer:
• I'm happy to see so many candidates coming out
for the upcoming municipal elections. There should be
a number of interesting races in South Huron and
Bluewater this fall. Lucan Biddulph is still light on can-
didates, but that's not necessarily a surprise and I'm
sure more candidates will step forward in time for the
Sept. 29 deadline day.
There will actually be a race for the mayor's job in
both South Huron and Bluewater this time around. In
2003, both South Huron's Rob Morley and Bluewater's
BM Dowson were acclaimed, as was Lucan Biddulph's
Tom McLaughlin. That's a rather incredible
fact — that in the three municipal councils the
Times -Advocate covers, there wasn't one race
for the mayor's position.
Acclamations were something of a trend in
Bluewater last time around, with five positions
acclaimed. In South Huron, Coun. Ken Oke was
acclaimed in the Usborne ward. With Oke run-
ning for mayor this time around, the Usborne
spot is open. As of the writing of this column,
there are no candidates for that position yet,
while there is only one candidate, Crystal
Varley, running for one of the two spots avail-
able in Stephen. Hopefully this will change.
With strong attendance at South Huron council
meetings in the last several months, interest in local
issues is high and there will be more candidates, a
much better scenario than acclamations.
Acclamations are evidence of an apathetic communi-
ty and they defeat the whole purpose of an election,
which is to give the voters a choice. When they don't
have a choice, voters can end up feeling ripped off.
Acclamations also make for boring elections and bor-
ing stories in newspapers.
Mind you, there aren't too many incentives for
becoming a councillor — the pay isn't all that good, the
meetings are long and usually dull, there is tons of
reading and on top of it all, you usually only hear from
residents when they have a complaint.
It's always disappointing that more women don't run
for council. I've always assumed they were simply too
smart for the job, although I have no proof of that.
Here's hoping more candidates put their names forth
for this November's election and give us all some inter-
esting races and good choices.
• South Huron made the correct decision last week to
go to tender this September with the contro-
versial Crediton/Centralia sewer project. The
$6.2 million project cost that has been kicked
around is only an estimate. It could cost more.
Council needs to get a firm price and the only
way to do that is to go to tender and get the
project moving. Delaying the project a year,
as was suggested at last week's council meet-
ing, will only make the project more expen-
sive, making a difficult situation for residents
of the two villages even more burdensome.
This project has dragged on for years and
years and has increased in costs by the mil-
lions. The delays have to stop, and the project
needs to move forward.
Council has pledged to do everything it can to get
grants and took their case to Ottawa earlier this week.
Everyone is still hoping the project will be approved
for a grant from the Canada -Ontario Municipal Rural
Infrastructure Fund (COMRIF), but that's about as like-
ly as the Toronto Maple Leafs winning the Stanley Cup.
In other words, don't hold your breath on a COMRIF
grant, but hope alternative grants become available.
SCOTT
NIXON
AND ANOTHER
THING
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