Huron Expositor, 2014-08-27, Page 41--„,
4 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, August 27, 2014
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Canada'
editorial
Rural Ontario gains
from funding injection
When Premier Kathleen Wynne took a
spike -driver to an old rail line in St.
Thomas last week, she hammered home an
important point: the province's rural roads,
bridges and sewers are in desperate need of a
re -build.
While urban neighbours debate the need for
subway expansion and upgraded sewage treat-
ment, so they can cope with big -city issues,
smaller communities have often endured the
double blow of depopulation and deterioration.
Too often, a shrinking tax base has
worked against a community's need to
improve its facilities.
Municipal leaders faced a cumbersome
process of waiting for the right fund to come
along, putting together a proposal, submitting
an application, then waiting to see if there was
enough provincial money or interest to push
it through before the wallet snapped shut.
If they missed the deadline or endured
rejection, they often waited on their needed
project until another was available.
That makes the new $100 -million -a -year
Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund
(somehow, it's apt that the name is as utilitar-
ian as its purpose) a welcome change from
the norm.
Wynne and Jeff Leal, Minister of Agricul-
ture, Food and Rural Affairs, tout the program
as a permanent and predictable source of
annual funding to build and repair roads,
bridges, water and wastewater systems.
Now, the work that needs to be done in
rural and northern communities will stand a
better chance of getting done.
Communities that languish in part because
they haven't been able to afford to rebuild a
bridge or upgrade their water treatment facil-
ity — few have had access to the racetrack rev-
enue or transit -money transfers that cities
expect as their due — will have greater ability
to attract investors, residents and jobs.
The fund might even go a short distance
towards easing the animus rural Ontario
expressed towards the Liberals during the last
provincial election.
There are those who will say Ontario's
$12.5 -billion deficit needs no added weights.
Truth is, both views are accurate. But in a
province driving to fix a fiscal deficit and a
rural infrastructure deficit, this fund travels a
necessary and welcome middle road.
Ice ice baby
0 ver the past
week I've seen
numerous friends and
celebrities, not to men-
tion the former presi-
dent of the United
States, get a bucket of
ice water poured over
their heads.
Let's face it; the ALS
ice bucket challenge is everywhere.
With video after video popping
up all over my Facebook news feed,
I couldn't help but think back to
some of the more ridiculous chal-
lenges of the past; jumping naked
in snow, setting themselves on fire,
folks have come up with some
pretty ludicrous ways of getting
attention.
I figured this one was no different
It wasn't until I started seeing
some of my closest friends taking
part that I really started to look a lit-
tle deeper.
After all, these were pretty intelli-
gent, semi -mature adults, if they
had chosen to participate, there
had to be something to it, right?
First off, I, like many others, had
no idea what ALS was.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is
more commonly known as Lou
Gehrig's disease.
Now I'm sure that name rings a
bell.
A progressive neurodegenerative
disease affecting nerve cells in the
brain and the spinal cord, ALS causes
motor neurons to die, taking with
them the ability for the brain to initi-
ate and control muscle movement
As voluntary muscle action is lost,
patients in the later stages of the dis-
ease can become totally paralyzed,
and eventually die.
It affects 3,000 Canadians, 1,100
of them in Ontario alone, and has
no cure.
But what does all this have to do
with getting drenched on video?
Spearheaded by the ALS Associa-
tion in the U.S. on July 29, the idea
is to either donate $100 to the
cause, or dump a bucket of ice
water over your head, post visual
proof to social media and
Col
umn
Whitne
Huron E
y South
xpositor
nominate others to do
the same.
As fun as all that
sounds, the campaign
has come under some
intense scrutiny with
many people wonder-
ing, why all the
hoopla? Why not just
donate the money?
And honestly, at
first, I agreed.
I was obviously greatly underesti-
mating the power of social media.
Truth is, this crazy stunt has
raised so much awareness for the
ALS Association donations in the
U.S. have catapulted, raising over
$53 million as of press time. Imag-
ine, all that in just under a month.
Howmany organizations can say that?
Our national counterpart, ALS Can-
ada, has also received a huge boost,
with 88 per cent of their goal reached
so far with $2.6 million. Though many
have said we just got off to a late start
with many canucks claiming to be
blissfullyunaware of the campaign
until witnessing Sidney Crosby's con-
tribution at the begirming of August.
So, after all that, I figure it's my turn.
After arriving home from the
office today, my neighbours will
pour a bucket of ice water over my
head in the name of charity, but
not before I've made my donation
at www.als.ca/icebucketchallenge.
Be sure to watch out for that
video, coming soon to a Huron
Expositor Facebook page near you.
Finally, I have to make my nomina-
tions. But, who in Huron East could be
so brave and so generous? Willing to
take an ice bath, as well as make such
an important contribution?
With that being said, I hereby nomi-
nate each and every member of Huron
East council. Sendin' it out to Bernie
MacLellan, Joe Staffer, David Blaney,
Frank Stretton, Dianne Diehl, Alvin
McLellan, Andy Flowers, Allison Dek-
roon, Bob Fisher, Nathan Marshall, Les
Falconer and Larry McGrath. Heck
let's even throw CAO Brad Knight!n
there for good measure.
Time to make your wards proud
folks. Let's not forget, it is an elec-
tion year. Good luck.
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