HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2006-01-18, Page 9Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Exeter Times–Advocate
9
Huron -Bruce candidates tackle issues in Holmesville
Continued from page 8
having older farmers take on young
farmers in an apprenticeship role, some-
thing Joslin questioned because he won-
dered who would pay the young farmers.
"There's not a lot of hope," Robertson
said of farming, adding the government
needs to get serious about caps.
He said there are "way too many"
farmers working off the farm. Referring
to CAIS, he said it was designed for big
agri-businesses.
"We've got to stop giving money to the
people who don't need it; we've got to
get it to the people who do."
Valenta urged the government to "keep
it simple" and get rid of the bureaucracy.
He said money wasted on the gun reg-
istry and Adscam could have gone to
farmers.
"Farmers need representation ... the
Liberals and Conservatives have had
their opportunity."
Joslin said the problems in agriculture
can't be solved with the wave of a magic
wand.
"In the short to medium term, things
do not look good," he said, adding some
young people will have to leave the farm.
Joslin spoke of the need to bring more
jobs into Huron -Bruce and suggested the
former Centralia College in Huron Park
could be refurbished into a training cen-
tre.
Another question referred to debt
repayment and how each party would
tackle that problem.
Lobb said the Conservatives' plan is to
pay down $3 billion of the debt annually
for five years. Joslin said his party
believes Canada's more than $400 mil-
lion debt should be paid off like a mort-
gage in 25-30 years.
Robertson said the current debt pay-
ment schedule is bringing the debt down,
but the government needs to invest more
taxes into sectors such as education.
"Paying down that debt faster if the
roof is caving in doesn't help," Robertson
said.
Steckle said the Liberals have paid off
more than $70 billion of Canada's debt
in eight years and have brought the
country into fiscal balance.
"I'm proud of our record."
Serda, after complaining the Green
Party and the other smaller parties
weren't receiving enough coverage in the
media, declined to comment on the issue,
while Valenta said he couldn't make any
promises because he doesn't know what
shape the country's books are in.
Closing statements
During closing comments, Joslin asked,
"Can you count the broken promises of
the Liberal government?" Pointing to the
NDP, Joslin said leader Jack Layton was
willing to support a government he
described as corrupt to get what he
wanted.
Valenta said he is the only candidate in
Huron -Bruce with the freedom to speak
for the voters. He described the parties
as an "old boys' club" and said, "if you
want something different, you have to
vote different."
Robertson said a vote for the NDP will
make Ottawa sit up and take notice.
"This election is about the here and
now," he said. "You can make a bold
choice."
Serda said the three major parties have
left Canadians disillusioned and voter
apathy is rising. She said the new gov-
ernment will likely be a minority and she
wants to be in Ottawa to break dead-
locks.
Lobb re -stated his opening comments,
while Steckle said the Liberals' numbers
lead to a balanced fiscal bottom line,
which leaves enough to help farmers.
Agriculture commitment
Before the meeting, each candidate
gave written or verbal agreements to
commit to agriculture. The agreement
read, "I commit to delivering:
• Immediate funding after the election
and sufficient funding for the subsequent
two years, until the next Agricultural
Policy Framework can be designed and
implemented; to provide a satisfactory
standard of living for Ontario farmers
and their families;
• Flexibility in the delivery of assistance
programs to farmers that works for
farmers; including the preservation of
programs like supply management sys-
tems that have already proven to work
for farmers and consumers;
• A commitment to build on and
improve the Agricultural Policy
Framework for long-term growth and
development."
Message
from
SHDHS
principal
EXETER —
The School
Council is host-
ing another
community
forum Thursday
at7p.m.inthe
school library.
The topic this
time is
"Balancing Life"
and our presen-
ters will look at
the pressures
faced by young
people trying to
find time for
school and vari-
ous combina-
tions of: part-
time employ-
ment, sports
both at school
and in the com-
munity, music
and/or dance
lessons, partici-
pation in com-
munity activities
and their own
social lives.
All these activi-
ties require time
and energy, and
students fre-
quently find
themselves
struggling to find
ways to balance
them. Our panel
members will
discuss strate-
gies for
setting
goals,
establish-
ing priori-
ties, man-
aging time
and stay-
ing orga-
nized.
This ses-
sion
should
be of
interest to all
parents, but par-
ticularly those
who may have a
son or daughter
who is trying to
do too much.
Our presen-
ters, including a
couple of our
own very
involved stu-
dents, will hope-
fully provide
some practical
and effective
strategies for
dealing with
these pressures
and stresses.
This forum
comes at an
appropriate time
as students are
preparing for
final exams next
week. It is
important they
build sufficient
study time into
their busy
schedules, and
we invite stu-
dents to
attend
this ses-
sion
along
with
their
parents.
I
would
like to
take
this
oppor-
tunity to publicly
thank two local
businesses for
their ongoing
support of one of
our school pro-
grams.
Because of the
support of
Exeter Toyota
and Exeter
Chrysler, the
Transportation
Technology pro-
gram at South
Huron has
received two
new vehicles: a
2003 Toyota
Echo and a 2005
Grand Caravan.
Each of these
local dealerships
supported our
applications to
their parent
companies and
paid for the
shipping of the
vehicles when
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the applications
were approved.
As a result, our
students will
now be able to
work on current
vehicles and see
the latest in
automotive tech-
nology. We
greatly appreci-
ate the generosi-
ty of these two
businesses and
the many other
businesses,
organizations
and individuals
who support our
programs.
Finally, I
would like to
briefly explain
the water prob-
lem that caused
us to send the
students home
early last
Wednesday. At
about 9:45 a.m.
that day, we dis-
covered we had
virtually no
water pressure,
which created a
health and
hygiene concern
for us. The toi-
lets in our wash-
rooms are not
like those found
in most homes
as they do not
have flush tanks,
operating
instead entirely
on water pres-
sure. The same
is true of the uri-
nals.
Should we lose
water pressure,
as we did on
Wednesday,
then the toilets
and urinals will
not flush ade-
quately. If the
water pressure
is lost for an
extended period
of time, then we
have a health
issue and need
to send the stu-
dents home.
When we con-
tacted the
municipal office
about the water
pressure prob-
lem, we were
advised it was
due to an emer-
gency repair
being made to
the water tower
and that the
pressure prob-
lem might last
for the better
part of the day.
This being the
case, we decided
we had better
send the stu-
dents home
from South
Huron and from
Exeter Public
School, where a
similar problem
existed. Because
we made the
decision to send
the students
home and
because we had
lost the water
pressure, the
Huron County
Health Unit
issued a water
advisory and
ordered us to
shut off the
fountains and
not permit any-
one to drink the
water in the
school until at
least two con-
secutive water
samples showed
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that water safe
to drink.
The water
advisory is an
automatic step
in such situa-
tions, even
though our con-
cern related to
the water pres-
sure required to
flush the toilets
and not the
quality or safety
of the drinking
water.
The board
office arranged
to have water
coolers brought
in until the
tests were
completed so
students and
staff had water
to drink. Water
samples were
taken on
Wednesday and
Thursday, and
we received
word on
Friday that the
water advisory
would be lifted
on Monday.
While the mea-
sures taken may
seem extreme,
we would rather
err on the side of
caution and not
put the health of
any of our stu-
dents at risk.
Even though the
water was prob-
ably safe to
drink through-
out this time, we
would much
rather be safe
than sorry. In
the end, it
caused only a
minor inconve-
nience and most
students proba-
bly consumed
more water
from the coolers
than they would
have from the
fountains.
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COUNTY OF HURON
WASTE MANAGEMENT
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
The County of Huron is holding two public meetings
to discuss current initiatives under the County's
Waste Management Plan. Public input is encouraged
and appreciated.
1. Olde Town Hall, Exeter (South Huron Municipal Office)
February 8, 2006 at 7:30 p.m.
to discuss the County's waste management plan
with a focus on the proposed use of the South
Huron (Exeter) landfill site by the municipalities of
Central Huron, Goderich, and Huron East
commencing in 2010, only for the use of Stage 2
capacity of the site.
2. North Huron Municipal Office, Wingham
February 15, 2006 at 7:30 p.m.
to discuss the County's waste management plan
with a focus on the proposed expansion of the
North Huron (Wingham) landfill site as a long
term solution for municipalities in Huron County
possibly commencing in 2015 or later. The County
is proposing to seek approval from the Ministry of
the Environment for a Terms of Reference to
conduct an Environmental Assessment for an
expanded landfill site.
Inquiries may be directed to the Huron County
Planning and Development Department, Court
House, Goderich, Ontario, N7A 1M2, 519-524-8394