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Home My WebLink AboutThe Times Advocate, 2006-11-01, Page 3Wednesday, November 1, 2006 TIMES -ADVOCATE 3 Public keeps informed as candidates face off in Zurich All candidates —The final Bluewater all candidates meeting was held Oct. 26 in Zurich with from left, moderator Bill Rowat and candidates Bill Dowson, Marg Deichert, Janet Snider, Paul Klopp, Dave Johnston and Stephen Harburn. (photo/Pat Bolen) By Pat Bolen TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF ZURICH — The final Bluewater all candidates meet- ing before the Nov. 13 municipal election was held Oct. 26 at the Bluewater Complex in Zurich. The meeting, moderated by Bill Rowat from the Bayfield Ratepayers Association, featured mayoral candidates Bill Dowson and Janet Snider, deputy mayor candidates Paul Klopp and Dave Johnston and Zurich ward coun- cilors Marg Deichert and Stephen Harburn. Making his opening statement Dowson said as mayor for six years he believes he has handled the position "fairly, sincerely and honestly...and Bluewater is a municipality we can be proud of." Snider said as mayor she would like to engage the com- munity with groups such as farmers telling the municipality what it could do better. She added leadership should be proactive instead of "reac- tive," saying an example would have been to include a library and medical centre in the new recreation facility when it was built. Klopp described his back- ground in agriculture in the area where he has lived all his life as well as his involvement in poli- tics since 1987, when the issue was a lack of recycling facilities in the area, which led to the establishment of the Bluewater Recycling Association. "I had a small part in that," said Klopp. Johnston said he intends to provide leadership "you can trust," and that he is prepared to listen, be fiscally responsible and ensure all wards receive their fair share. Deichert said building a new library in Zurich in the next term will be an important issue as well as working to bring tourists to the rest of the munici- pality and not just Bayfield. Harburn said he will be a "strong voice" for Zurich with environmental issues, communi- ty safety and fiscal responsibility his major priorities. Public questions Following the statements, the candidates fielded questions from the audience with the first from Joe Gleason, who said the municipality is at a crisis. He asked the candidates if they sup- ported a moratorium on hog barns and confined animal feed- ing operations. Dowson replied it would not be responsible to support a morato- rium at this time but it would be possible to work towards con- trols. Snider said the issue of water quality is very serious, "and if the lake is ruined, we lose jobs." She added she didn't have enough informa- tion to take a position on moratoriums but emerg- ing technologies such as Biomass will give alter- natives to environmental issues. Klopp said he didn't support a moratorium South Huron charges Ducharme By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF SOUTH HURON — South Huron mayoral candidate Dean Ducharme has been charged by the municipality for a variety of alleged building permit violations. The charges involve construction of a house at 369 Pryde Boulevard without a building permit. South Huron chief administrative offi- cer Larry Brown said Ducharme, his compa- ny Huron Contractors and his mother Dorothy Ducharme have been named in the action. The charges allege the failure to comply with an order to get a build- ing permit, failure to cease construc- tion after the order was issued and removal of a posted order. The charges fall under the Building Code Act. Ducharme told the Times -Advocate Monday he has a building permit for the work in question and intends to plead not guilty during the hearing at the Goderich Court House Thursday at 2 p.m. "We are going to be pleading not guilty to this and we're quite sure that we're going to be successful," he said. Referring to the timing of the charges and the Nov. 13 election, Ducharme said, "It's obvious that this is all politics and that's what I've been saying all along." In an e-mail to the T -A Monday, Ducharme added, "This issue has been ongoing for more than a year now. I find it curious as to why they have chosen the middle of an elec- tion to finally act on threats that they have been making." Brown said the timing of the charges was due to the "matter of the process" of the municipality's solicitors and the courts. ROCKY'S�i� BEACH HOUSE Main Street, Grand Bend Irc IIARIEY-DAVIDSON WU] 'OJT �10LP TIO LAM UMV2 CIATI M11111. and asked how many pigs it will take to support biomass pro- jects, saying "it will be a corpo- ration that comes in." Johnston said while he is a strong believer in water quality he doesn't support a moratori- um and that agriculture is not the only source of contamination in the lake. Asked by Zurich farmer Uwe Paschen what their 25 year plan for the municipality would be, "who added that "Zurich is dying," Snider said in the short term, the municipality has to put its fiscal house in order as well as bylaws for medium and high density housing. "The municipality has to have a vision," said Snider. Dowson disagreed with Paschen saying, "I'll take what we have anyday. It's a long way from dying," adding the munici- pality has a tremendous oppor- tunity as long as infrastructure is in place to attract companies. Another question asked was whether campaign donations from any group have been given to any of the candidates. The candidates said they had not received any except for Snider, who replied she had but not for any particular issue. Zurich resident Delores Schilbe raised another issue, noting the size of water bills she has received lately, saying "you talk about small business...then make a decision to charge that much." Deichert replied that meters will be installed in all homes and "it will even out." Deichert added that the rates which haven't been raised in six years, will be reviewed in the near future. Harburn said he is "getting frustrated," with increases and asked "where does it stop?" He added the increases should have been done gradually with three or four per cent a year. After the questions, a brief statement was made by each candidate and the meeting was concluded. ATTENTION EXETER RESIDENTS Bayshore Broadcasting Corporation of Owen Sound has applied to the CRTC for approval to build a new FM Radio Station serving Goderich, Bayfield, Grand Bend and communities along Ontario's West Coast. HERE'S WHAT YOUR LOCAL RADIO STATION WILL OFFER YOU. • A Classic Adult Contemporary format, targeting 35-64 year olds, that provides a listening alternative designed for this demographic. • Unique evening programs featuring music from diverse genres not heard on area radio stations — from oldies to light classical and cool jazz. • Live announcers 12 hours daily on weekdays and 6 hours on weekends. • A minimum of 12:32 hours per week of local news, weather, and sports. • Regular news coverage of municipal Council meetings and community events. NOW...you have the opportunity to tell the CRTC why it is important to you to have your own local radio station. Here's how to file your letter of support. Your written comments must be received by the CRTC on or before November 23, 2006. BY EMAIL: Use the electronic interventions/comments form located on the CRTC's web site at www.crtc.gc.ca under "Public Proceedings" then by selecting "interventions/Comments Forms" or, by selecting the link below the description of each application within the Notice of Public hearing also located on the CRTC's web site under "Public Proceedings"; BY FAX to the Secretary General 819-994-0218 BY MAIL at CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario K1A ON2 In all cases you must send a copy of your letter to Bayshore Broadcasting on or before November 23, 2006. To send a copy to Bayshore Broadcasting you may use email, fax or regular mail. 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