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Home My WebLink AboutThe Times Advocate, 2007-12-19, Page 3Wednesday, December 19, 2007 Times–Advocate 3 Council unhappy with mayor's columns By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF SOUTH HURON — Not all members of South Huron council are happy with Mayor Ken Oke's columns in the Times - Advocate. Oke began writing his columns last win- ter and writes most weeks. At Monday night's council meeting, a motion tabled by Coun. Pete Armstrong stated Oke's columns should only appear in the T -A quarterly and should be approved by the chief administrative offi- cer for content and structure. After discussion, Oke refused to allow council to vote on the motion, saying the motion isn't legal. He encouraged council- lors to seek a lawyer's opinion on the motion and pay for it themselves. He later told the T -A he will continue writing the columns. Armstrong agreed Oke's columns are well read by the public, but he questioned the content of the articles, explaining they should be specifically about municipal policies as set out by council. What Armstrong doesn't want is the mayor's opinion in the columns. He cited two of Oke's columns where he said the mayor was setting forth his opin- ions on matters such as the future of MacNaughton Dam and economic devel- opment. Armstrong said the columns should reflect what all seven members of council think. Deputy Mayor George Robertson said the articles shouldn't be opinion pieces if the mayor is paid by taxpayers' money to write them. Oke said that for writing four columns a month and making two appear- ances on ETM Television, he bills the equivalent of two meetings, which works out to $200 per month. On months when he doesn't write four columns or appear on ETM twice, he doesn't get paid (the T -A does not pay Oke for his columns, and he is not paid by ETM to appear on televi- sion). Coun. Tom Tomes admitted he doesn't read Oke's column regularly and added he tends not to read council news in the newspaper, although he did read one of Oke's columns recently and said only a couple of paragraphs dealt with council, while the rest was of a per- sonal nature. He suggested Oke only write once a month instead of weekly. Coun. David Frayne said he hears lots of positive feed- back about Oke's columns and would like to see them continue. Oke said he receives a lot of good responses from the public about his columns (there was a complimentary letter about them in last Heritage committee receives donations By Nina Van Lieshout TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF LUCAN — The heritage committee has received two new donations for its new Lucan museum. A $30,000 donation was present- ed by the Lucan Lions Club, while the Lucan Fire Department gave the heritage committee a $2,500 donation, assisting with the short- fall. The cost of the project is about $500,000. Policing committee Lucan Biddulph Coun. Alex Westman says he's "pretty pleased" with the progress the Policing Committee made this year, adding they are planning a few community events in 2008. Westman says the police are putting together a "general self defence" workshop where anyone is welcome to come out and learn "basic safety awareness." Westman says a demonstration, along with information on keeping yourself safe are among the highlights of the workshop. Deputy Mayor Perry Caskanette says although he's interested in the workshop, he questions how useful it would be and wondered if a workshop highlighting domestic disputes would be more helpful, since statistics show, domestic dis- putes are happening in the munici- pality. Mayor Tom McLaughlin says, although the self defence workshop may not be as helpful in the Lucan area, "We want the community to feel safe going to London and Toronto. Not just in the communi- ty„ Another workshop planned focus- es on identifying and preventing fraud. End of the year — Bluewater Mayor Bill Dowson and the rest of council ended their 2007 work Monday night by unanimously expressing their support and confidence in Chief Administrative Officer Lori Wolfe as she has completed the six month probationary period after joining Bluewater in July. (photo/Pat Bolen) week's T -A) and while he originally didn't intend on writing weekly, the strong response he received from the public encouraged him to write nearly every week. He said he always makes clear what is his opinion and what is council's opinion. "I was elected mayor ... what I say is my opinion." He said his columns are intended to keep the public informed and he will con- tinue writing them. Oke pointed to positive economic devel- opments in South Huron in the last year and warned the confidence in the munici- pality could be lost if councillors "declare war in this room." He added he won't allow council to vote on the matter unless councillors seek a legal opinion. Hospice/Palliative Care - Support when you need it. During this season of hope we reach out to those who are facing a life -altering illness, their own, or that of a loved one. Hospice/ palliative care volunteers provide care and compassion during dcult times. For more information about hospice/palliative care, call us. 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