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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2007-10-31, Page 66 Times -Advocate Wednesday, October 31, 2007 Opinion Forum News Welcome back, Mohawks Congratulations to the Exeter Mohawks for returning to the ice. As a former sports writer at the Times -Advocate, I remember covering the Mohawks and the fine tradi- tion that went along with it. Dave Revington was the coach and he had a team of stars including goalie Rick Pikul and defenceman Chet Couture, whose son Logan was recently drafted into the NHL. Barry Baynham was a mainstay on the defense along with Ron Elliott and Jeff Warren. Wayne Urbshott, Tim Shields, Gord Brooks and a host of others made it fun to go and watch the Mohawks. John Pryde was a big orga- nizer as was Gabby Mol. I remember trips to Dunnville to play the Mudcats and the fun we had on the way. Congratulations to those who brought back Senior A hockey and it is nice to see so many locals on the roster. Letters to Editor itor J _ FRED GROVES, Leamington Time for'Remembrance' As Remembrance Day approaches let us take the time to think reverently of our armed forces around the world, our fallen comrades and all the veterans whose sacri- fices have made our freedom possible. I would like to thank my executive, committee chairs, all the members and volun- teers. We as Legion members can never say enough thanks for all the time and effort these individuals put in to make this a great place for comradeship. These are the peo- ple that make us proud to wear the Legion uniform. Also at this time I would like to call on everyone's help to please inform friends, fami- ly and others, that contrary to the current rumor "that" we are government sponsored or receive any of the money from the poppy campaign to use as we see fit" is incor- rect. That money is used for veterans. We do not sell poppies. We as Legion members distribute poppies and if the public wants to make a donation, it is greatly appreciated and enables us to support more veterans' needs. LARRY BAILEY, President, Exeter Legion MacNaughton Dam what have you done? Seems to me that you have done a lot. Who can remember, young and old, their visits to you and why you were there? Was it just to stare and stare some more, or to catch your first sunfish, to laugh and yell as you slid down and had to explain the holes in your shorts when you got home; or was it the lunch or picnics as you watched the turtles or fish sunning themselves? Watching the baby geese growing up, the ducks playing at dusk or maybe just to stare at you as many of us have. The spring thaw wow, the summer fun, the fall with the colour of the trees gleaming in the water, or maybe it was in the winter as the ice tried to take over but you always held your own in a picturesque flow of sparkle and steam. Remember the swimming lessons at the old "L" shaped dock? Who can swim to the dam and back? Swinging off that old rope tied to the Willow tree, diving off the edge, playing tag, or just sitting with a friend and staring. How many times have we all driven by and taken a quick look, to see how you are and what you are doing, roaring wildly, half frozen, or hardly flowing, and why do we? Because you are there - you are Exeter! You are special! You are a landmark! You are tranquility! You are our heritage! You are ours! Now you have turned green for part of the summer and some people think it is time for your demise. Why? Because you have not been perfect for these few weeks or should we blame Mother Nature? There is talk of getting rid of you. I guess some people think that your usefulness is over. They don't need your water anymore for the canners. I'm sure the bigger fish will find a new home; at least I hope they will. Their friends; the ducks, geese, turtles, frogs, blue herons, the king fisher...I could go on - where will they all go? There is also talk of doing a study to see if you live or die. I personally think it is a waste of the taxpayer's money. We know that the green coat is duckweed, which is not harmful to us or our environment. There is no smell and the main reason it is so noticeable this year is because of the dry hot summer we had. This phenomenon is also being seen in the knowledge to spray the weed and I am quite sure without harm- ing us or the environment. But is that really necessary? Maybe we should see what Mother Nature has in mind. She doesn't usually screw up unless we get in her way. For your information go to Google and type in duckweed. You will be amazed that it is not a green monster at all, it is in fact quite the opposite. If you are as concerned as we are, get in touch with your council members and let them know how you feel. It is your home! Your neighbours JACK AND MARGARET KRAFT, Exeter Update from South Huron mayor SOUTH HURON — With reference to my article on Exeter, England, I have been informed that I was incorrect about my statement about the money. I made the state- ment in jest and probably it was in bad taste. I apologize to anyone who felt offended by it. A resolution was passed at a recent council meeting that reads: "That South Huron Council hold a public information meeting to discuss a proposal to return the Exeter Dam to its natural state; and further that a study to be taken only if a grant is available for the project." I have been watching the mill pond all summer and yes I have to admit it is an eyesore with all the green floating on the water. Each time I saw it, it seemed to be getting worse. I was hoping for a miracle like a decent rain fall to flush the green away. Some councillors have been getting complaints and finally a letter was sent to me and council to condemn the condition. Someone made the comment that the MNR and the ABCA would support the removal of the dam and turning the area back to a natural state. There was no Ken 0 talk of what can be done to correct the green water. Environmentalists would be alarmed with our concern as duckweed is nature's way of cleaning nutrient rich water. I am not sure of what we mean when we talk of a natural state. Laws would prevent any work in the streambed that would be acceptable to a park -like setting that would include bringing in thousands of meters of fill. Would a million dollars cover the pro- ject of removing the dam and grading the area to enhance the park? Would the municipality be responsible for the drop in real estate values in the area if it was turned back to a natural state? We all know that by law you can not fill a floodplain. So what would a nat- ural state look like? To me it sounds like mud flats and swamp with bull rush- es. And don't forget the green water in the small water way that will be left. Mission accomplished — we got rid of an eyesore and turned it into an ugly eyesore. I can't imagine Exeter without the mill pond. We have one of the most beau- tiful parks in the area beside the mill pond. This has been one of the hottest and driest summers in history. Both factors contributed to the green in the pond. We are all frustrated by the condition of the water, but that is no rea- son to panic. The resolution says that a public meeting will be held to get the public's input. Please come to the public meeting and help us with ideas on fixing the problem. Tell council that under no circumstances should the mill pond be destroyed. Duck weed can be controlled by herbicides, biological controls or mechani- cal controls. Professional advice will be necessary. Ice Principal's message EXETER — Two weeks ago we held a Career Week at South Huron to promote awareness among the students of the many career options open to them, especially the careers available right here in Huron County. The Career Week was sponsored by the School Council and funded by a Parents Reaching Out grant that the School Council received from the Ministry of Education. Over the course of the week, students attended sessions on small business and entrepreneurship, future opportunities in Huron County, apprenticeships and non- traditional careers, financial planning, private colleges, a career fair and opportuni- ties in agriculture. I would like to thank the many individuals from local businesses, industries and institutions who gave of their time in support of this venture. The after- noon sessions were well attended and I think the students learned a great deal from them. I learned more about career opportunities in Huron in this one week than I have in many, many years, and we are grateful to all the individu- als who took the time to share their expertise with us. Unfortunately, with the exception of the session on post -secondary financing, the evening sessions were not well attended, but the information provided at these sessions was extremely valuable. I would like to thank as well the many teachers who gave up class time to bring their classes to the afternoon sessions, and to Isaac Moore, Warren Elder and Mitch Boyle, who helped us every day with the sound system and presentation technology. Finally, I would like to thank Jim Brintnell and Karen Brown of the School Council for their hard work and support in organizing, promoting and running the Career Week activities. On a less than positive note, we had some disappointing behaviour at our Halloween Dance last week. A number of students chose to smuggle alcohol into the dance and were drinking while attending the dance. Several students were caught and have been suspended from school. However, we have pretty reliable informa- tion that there were many more who escaped detection, some of whom were identi- fied but left the dance when they realized some of their peers had been found out. This incident has disappointed me greatly and has caused me to re-evaluate sever- al aspects of our school dances and our methods of supervision. As you may know, we have police at our dances and one of the things they routinely do is check bags and backpacks as students are entering the school. We also have breathalysers that we use at the door. Sometimes we breathalyse everyone, a practice for which we and several other schools have been criticized, and at other times we do random sampling. In fact, one of the reasons I chose to get breathalysers in the first place was due to parent complaints when their children were suspended that many others were drinking as well, and why weren't they caught and suspended? As well, staff members circulate in the gym and in the halls around the gym to monitor student behaviour during the dance. They also check the bathrooms peri- odically, but this practice often results in complaints from students who feel their privacy is being violated. Perhaps now they will understand why we need to do so. Despite all these precautions, some students did smuggle alcohol into the dance, which was probably made easier due to the fact this was a costume dance. As I indicated to several people following this incident, if we reach the point where we have to search students and breathalyse them on the way out as well as on the way in, then it is time to discuss why we are hav- ing dances in the first place. As a result of this incident, I have cancelled the dance scheduled for February, and we will be breathalysing everyone who attends dances in the future. As well, there will be no more costume dances. This may seem a harsh reaction and it does penalize students who did nothing wrong, but I feel the need to send a statement to the student body on this issue. Should we continue to have problems of this nature, then we will have to consider not having dances at all. The Provincial Code of Conduct is very clear — students are not to attend school functions under the influence of alcohol, and suspension is the recommended conse- quence. In fact, if a student is caught supplying alcohol to another student, then the principal must consider an expulsion. Please note that it does say "consider," but students need to be aware that this is a possible consequence should they be caught in such a situation. Hopefully, this is not a decision I will ever have to consider. JEFF REAB PRINCI MESSA URN PAL'S GE