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The Times Advocate, 2008-01-16, Page 27Wednesday, January 16, 2008 Times–Advocate 27 Quilt winner —Vicki Kraft of Grand Bend holds the quilt she won as first prize in the annual South Huron Hospital Auxiliary Quilt Draw. Kraft also won the third prize, a crystal vase, held above by Marina Jaques, chairperson of the Quilt Committee.The second prize, a quilt rack, was won by Ruth Bell of the Grand Bend area. (photo/submitted) Dinner tickets available EXETER — Tickets are now available for the gala charitable event of the season, the Conservation Dinner of the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation and the Exeter Lions Club. The 19th Annual Dinner has set back-to-back fundraising records for watershed conservation including conservation education, accessible trails, boardwalks, docks, fish stocking and commem- orative woods. This year's dinner takes place April 17 at the South Huron Recreation Centre in Exeter. For tickets talk to a Conservation Dinner committee member or phone 235-2610 or 1- 888-286-2610. Tickets usually sell out early, according to organizers, and buy- ing tickets now allows purchasers to be eligible for the early -bird draw for a limited -edition print. For information on the Conservation Dinner visit the new website in development at conser- vationdinner. coin The Conservation Dinner has raised funds over the past 18 years for projects which have included the MacNaughton Morrison section of the South Huron Trail, an accessible fishing dock, funding of $1 for each stu- dent attending a conservation education program and more. The dinner includes a live auc- tion of art and other items, a silent auction, special raffles and general raffles. Local individuals and businesses wishing to sponsor auction items or contribute donations to the event can contact the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) at 235-2610. It's time to order trees EXETER — Many local residents have been busy taking down their Christmas trees following the end of the holiday season but 2008 is a good time to start thinking about putting up trees, according to the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA). Planting trees does a lot more than just make the local landscape more picturesque, according to Ian Jean, ABCA Forestry and Land Stewardship Specialist. Jean said landowners are helping to improve air and water quality, reduce erosion and mitigate against projected future weather extremes. "The new Watershed Report Card has identified a lack of forest cover as an issue in our area and that's why it's so important to see landowners stepping up to plant more trees," Jean said. Grants are available in some cases for tree planting projects that improve water quality or reduce erosion, he said. Conservation Authority staff can also provide tree planting services and help match trees to the site. Trees can be purchased from local nurseries or Conservation Authorities. The ABCA Spring Tree Order Form is now available at www.abca.on.ca. The deadline for ordering trees from the ABCA is Jan. 31 with a payment deadline of Feb. 28. A variety of seedlings and larger stock are available for sale for environmental projects, Jean said. For information phone 235-2610 or 1-888-286-2610 or e-mail ijean@abca. on. ca More than 200 landowners pur- chased more than 70,000 trees from the ABCA in 2007, according to Jean. "It's great to see so many residents seeing the value of improving forest conditions in the watershed and we are looking forward to seeing this continue in 2008." United Way CD features local women GODERICH — Production of a CD featuring the female musicians of Huron County has taken another step for- ward with the announce- ment of the 17 women selected to take part in the unique recording. "We were very pleased with both the number and calibre of the submissions," said Kimberley Payne, chair- person of the "Noted!" steer- ing committee. "Originally we were look- ing at filling 10 spots for the CD but when the committee listened to the recordings and read the stories of the women hoping to take part it was impossible to choose only 10. Eventually we were successful in narrowing it down to the lucky 17 and we couldn't be more pleased with the quality, age range and diverse musical styles found in the chosen partici- pants," Payne explained. "We are going to end up with a phenomenal CD that does all of Huron County proud," she added. The latest step for the women was an educational weekend retreat at Brentwood on the Beach last weekend. Workshops cover- ing all the aspects of working as a professional musician and recording a CD were covered during the weekend. The recording sessions will take place over a two-week period in February with the release of the completed CD scheduled for early May 2008. The "Noted!" project is grateful for the financial support of the Mildred Grimes Trust and Huron Economic Development Matters. Project organizers still need additional commu- nity sponsors to help cover the costs involved. If inter- ested in contributing to this beneficial community pro- ject, contact Payne at 519- 524-7900. The "Noted!" participants are: Ashley Anderson, Suzanne Daniels, Christa Ducharme, Megan Finkbeiner, Jenelle Gaynor, Leisa Hartman, Melina Hussey, Monica Joy, Sarah Koopmans, Elizabeth Levesque, Marlene Mathers, Sara McGregor, Raylene Rebryna, Kim Souch, Sara Souch, Judy Sparks, and Jena Ujiye. Upset with Human Rights Commission It is time to expose the Human Rights Commissions for the deliberate attack on the very freedoms they should be protecting. The HRC has transformed into obscurantism antics, whose specific design now appears to be to prevent Canadians enlightenment on issues prevalent to our established and histor- ical way of life. If these provincial and federal Human Rights Commissions are not scaring you then it is because you are not informed. Canadians ought to be alarmed at the power these quasi- judicial agencies possess. In other words a person is guilty if accused, whether or not there is proof; in contrast to a real court in the Canadian legal sys- tem, there has to be proof of guilt before a person is found guilty. We are all aware that the Canadian courts sometimes fail but we seem oblivious to the fact the HRC is a failure in the extreme. The HRC was created in the late 1970s to deal with disputes regarding prej- udices in rental housing and employment and has morphed into an organization intent on squashing freedom of conscience, freedom of thought, freedom of belief, freedom of associa- tion. Consider the recent attacks toward free- dom of the press, as seen in the recent HRC complaints accepted against Macleans maga- zine and Ezra Levant. Levant is being drawn and quartered by the Alberta HRC for exercis- ing his rights to freedom of the press when he reprinted some controversial caricatures in the Western Star. Any and all Canadians concerned about jus- tice and fairness need to be contacting their elected officials to put a stop to this abuse of our Canadian fundamental freedoms by the very organizations which are supposed to pro- tect them. If it is not abuse then one has to ask why in 30 years has there never been a suc- cessful defense of a Section XIII complaint brought before the federal HRC? The reason is simply the fact that rule of law does not apply, feelings rule. Canadians are being abused in the extreme when one considers the accused is forced by the HRC to get legal rep- resentation yet the accuser is supplied legal representation at the taxpayers' expense, so even if a person was to win they still lose. There are already laws regarding inciting riots, conspiracy to commit murder, defama- tion, etc., so we have laws in place already to put reasonable limits on freedom of speech. Certain persons wish to prevent open and intelligent dialogue, obvi- ously because their radical views cannot stand against intelligent scrutiny, so they resort to using the HRC, thereby putting unreason- able limits on freedom of speech. Where would our country be today if ideas which offended oth- ers were not permitted by the state? Women fought long and hard for the right to vote, then for the right to sit in legislature, and equal pay for equal work. Where would our society be if we would have had the HRC back then for men to take the women before these commissions because their ideas were offend- ing them? The very thought is ridiculous, yet that is what is happening to reasonable debate in our Canadian society today with the frivolous complaints being heard at the HRC and the rule of feelings being law. Our citizens should have the right to voice opinions and our newspapers, magazines and other opinion givers ought to fear only in can- celed subscriptions for giving opinions which offend. Look up httpJ/ezralevant.com for more information on his Jan. 11, 2008 hearing. IAN Tuck , Exeter Letters to the Editor POLICE BRIEFS Suspended driver caught BLUEWATER — On Jan. 7 a vehicle was observed trav- elling at a high rate of speed southbound on London Road through Hensall. Huron OPP officers initiated a traffic stop and the driver was deter- mined to be suspended from driving. The 23 -year-old South Huron man will appear in Goderich Provincial Court February 21 to face a charge of driving while under sus- pension. Impaired driver confused BLUEWATER — An OPP officer from Lambton County was patrolling north of Grand Bend on Bluewater Highway in Bluewater Jan. 6, when he observed a northbound black Ford van travelling slowly and weaving within its lane. The van's left turn signal was turned on however the van continued northbound at 60 km/hr. The officer activated his cruiser's flashing lights and the van turned west onto Sararas Road which immedi- ately dead ends and provides pedestrian access to Lake Huron. The officer noted the strong odour of an alcoholic beverage on the driver's breath. Her eyes were blood- shot and her speech was slurred. At times she was incoherent believing she was in Strathroy. Her movements in the van were quite slow and she was unsteady on her feet. Two full bottles of beer were observed next to the driver's seat. The driver was placed under arrest for impaired driving and was taken to the Grand Bend detachment where she refused to provide two sam- ples of her breath as required by law. A 46 -year-old Adelaide Metcalfe woman will appear in Exeter Court Feb. 28 to answer to a charge of impaired driving and a charge of failing to provide a breath sample. Bridge Club Above average scores for Jan. 9 Carole and Dennis Hockey .593 Liz Bell and Rosaleen Berends.562 Audry and Don Wilson .541 Nell McCann and Lorna Stewart .510