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The Wingham Advance Times, 1995-07-26, Page 44 Editorial Viewpoint e input .*nre-Simco Published each Wednesday at: Box 390, 5 Diagonal Road, Wingham, Ontario • Phone (519) 357-2320 Fax (519) 357-2900 J.W. Egdy Publications Ltd. • Second Class Mail Registration No. 0821 We are: Jim Beckett — Publisher Audrey Currie — Manager - Cameron J. Wood — Editor Norma Golley — Ad. Sales Stephen Pritchard — Comp. Jim Brown — Reporter Margaret Stapleton—Reporter Eve Buchanan — Office Louise Welwood — Office Member of: OCNA CCNA The Wingham Advance -Times is a member of a family of community newspapers providing news, advertising and information leadership. Letters Polley All letters to the editor must bear the writer's name, telephone num- ber and address. The Advance -Times wel- comes letters. We re- serve the right to edit, but will endeavor to preserve the author's intent. Deadline for letters is Monday before 10:00 a.m. Some exceptions may apply. Fax: 519-357-2900 or mail to: P.O. Box 390, Wingham, Ontario NOG 2W0 4* s the trial of Paul Bernardo settles into the less - sensational testimony of forensic science and row • tine witnesses, independent polls suggest there's a growing backlash of public opinion • against the media coverage of the trial. Much of the opposition seems to be that people don't want to read all the gruesome details .surrounding the rape and murder of Leslie Mahaffey and Kristen French. Certainly the horrible acts perpetrated by Paul Bernardo and his now -ex-wife Karla are so violent they turn the stomachs of even the most veteran police officers. But those who say the media should not report the details are missing the point. Freedom of the press is not an idea to be dismissed lightly. It is deeply rooted in the average person's derno- cratic.responsibility to be fully informed. In a democra- cy, the free press acts. as a watch dog on all three branch- es of government. Any time one of these branches is allowed to make decisions out of the view of the public eye, the possibility for corruption and abuse of power emerges. Government is there to serve the public, not to serve: itself: That's how Karla Homolka was allowed to plea bar- gain down to a meagre sentence of 12 years for her part in the crimes. When Judge Kovacs denied the media the right to public details from that first trial, he allowed that travesty to occur. Justice must .be administered according to public standards. ' As more information comes out about Homolka's role in the killings, that 12 -year term becomes more and more offensive. One wonders if the deal would have held up had the public known Homolka's level of involvement a year ago. The point is there is nothing that says anybody has to read or watch all the reports coming from the trial if they don't want to. It is your right not to read the front page story, or turn on the six -o -clock news a few minutes late to miss the lead item, or turn the radio off when the news comes on. Most news agencies have included dis- claimers at the beginning of the news items to warn sen- sitive readers. It is your right to not read or watch or hear about the trial. But when one man decided to seal the Homolka trial, he took that right -- your right -- away. It is not enough for the down and defence attorneys to simply emerge from a court room and announce that justice has been served. That's for the public to decide. -ONCA BBS ED. NOTE - While many of us continue to watch and read about the Bernardo trial, there is also some discus- sion on the opposite side of the coin: that the details now corning out in the trial may be more appropriately pub- lished in something wrapped in brown paper and sold on the top shelf of the magazine stand. Regardless, several questions remain as to what role the once -proud Canadian media should play in purveying information of such a graphic nature. t .• f. Zn M •Q .r Ya A reason to smile Wingkam We don't live in a community where the local 'iewwpaper believes a tornado is necessary to rid them of a local employer and get the village on a role. Try again. with Margaret Stapleton JULY 1948 Members of the Mary Hastings Club of Wingham held their annu- al picnic last ,Wednesday at the town park, A feature of the outing was an auction, conducted by Mrs. Harry Angus, auctioneer. Morley T. Somers, who has been in charge of the Wingham Rural Hydro since 1944, received word last Saturday of his official appointment as manager of the Wingham area. When Mr. Somers came to town four years ago, Ru- ral Hydro served 978 consumers. That number has now increased to 2,063. Mr. and Mrs. Allister Green have disposed of their property on the second line of Turnberry to. Andrew Adams. Delores Hamilton of Bluevale was awarded the Laidlaw - Fur Farm Scholarship for receiving the highest marks of the pupils who wrote their entrance exams at Wingham Centre. JULY 1961 Many people in the community and surrounding district were shocked on Friday morning to learn of the passing of Gordon W. Deyell, 54, Wingham's chief of police. An honor guard of police- men attended Mr. Deyell's funer- al. A native of Turnberry, Mr. Deyell hadbeen chief of police in town for the past three years and leaves to mourn his wife, three daughters and one son. Ivan Lloyd, a native of this area, is chief guide at the new in- formation centre for the public at the Douglas Point Nuclear Power Station. John Norman has offered a cash prize of $20 to the pupil who comes up with the most suitable name for the new Turnberry school. The competition closes at noon on Aug. 4 with all entries to be submitted to the secretary, Alex Corrigan. On Monday of this week, pre-• liminary workwas started on the construction of a new motel south of town. JULY 1971 Four students at the F. -E. Ma- dill Secondary School; have quali- fied for Ontario Scholarships of $150 for having an average of 80 per cent or better. They • are Che- rub Tompkins, Joe Kerr, Vera Brasjen and Kathleen Krauter. Rev. Anne Wightman, daughter of Edgar Wightman of Belgrave, became the bride of Frederick Duffle McGraith at Knox Presby- terian Church, Belgrave, where she was ordained two years ago. The upper part of the bandstand' makes a nice waterside retreat in its new location at Riverside Park. A group of university students from Waterloo has taken up resi- dence for the summer at a Morris Township farm owned by Mel Jermyn. Through the assistance of an Opportunity for Youth grant, the young people are renting the land, cleaning up the barn and in- stalling electrical wiring in the house: JULY 1981 Rev. Paul L. Mills has accepted the call to become minister of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Wingham, arriving here on Aug. 1. He replaces the retiring Rev. Robert Armstrong; . A local couple was among a group of new Canadians awarded citizenship during a ceremony at Kincardine recently. Wayne and Sue Wai, proprietors of the Great China House, came to Canada from Hong Kong several years ago. Douglas Kirkland, a profession, al photographer whose parents both came from this area, will be one of the official photographers at the wed'di'ng of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer this week. Many local residents plan to rise at 5 a.m. to watch the ceremony. 7,41 1 onzogn lomprog it yvismmo ar P lArte A g rpI4a, 4144 Tough decision in small town his was a tough week for me. I `"had to make a decision on just how the Advance -Times would handle a potentially embarrassing and sensational case in the commu- nity. I thought long and hard about just what we do with the case against a local doctor and two nurses at Wing- ham and District Hospital. Would we simply reprint the Wingham OPP press release on the charges leveled against the three medical staff and the perpetrator of the assault against the eight-moneh-old infant? Or 'would wre pry to gather aS rt}ueh vitt forrivlon aS positbte and more: indepth and balanced article togeth- er? In the end, I decided that anonym- ity of the author of the article would be too much of an unfair advantage, so my byline appears. It can be too easy and comfortable to be sensa- tionalistic and not assume responsi- bility for the written words. Traditionally, the Advance -Times has had a very limited role in court and police coverage. Part of that i®s our doing, part of that is the limited co-operation in the community with various agencies. Despite that, some cases usually surface with a roar - cases like child abuse, smuggling, drugs, What usu- ally gets left in the shadows is the petty crimes - shoplifting, passing bad cheques, traffic- violations. But, don't get me wrong, they are not less important, just usually less dramatic. The Outer Edge Cameron J. WOOD And the police do help to make the public aware of the dramatic events in our community. When it's something big, they usually come to the media first, as opposed to us tracking down them. This most recenr case has`•sottYte. ' seriousr,Optications;.'not billy v for the people involved and the na- ture of their professions, but also ,be- cause of our moral obligations to protect human rights. • The police may in fact have their own ulterior motives in the manner in which the case was released to the media. The name of perpetrator has not been released to the public. Why? Is it the norm in cases of child abuse not to release the name to the public? More realistically, it's just tradi- tion in our smaller communities. In cases of sexual abuse (none of which was involved in this case ac- • cording to all reports), the name of the perpetrator is frequently protect- ed by publication bans to prevent identifying the victim. That makes sense. Could it be that they too are con- cerned with how our justice system works — especially in cases where children are affected? Maybe they have strong feelings about why those who take an oath to offer aid to the injured fail to maintain that commit- ment beyond a band-aid or two. It's easy to feel the anger swell when one hears of injustice to chil- dren. But many questions remain ,as ,to the manner in which the information related to this particular case came out. I spoke with some media col- leagues on their thoughts about the natter. Some telt naltrlingYithe e yst clan and the nurses White gizt,nanting the perpetrator was unfair. Others felt that the police should bear the responsibility for the information and the public has a right to know if their health care professionals ad- hered to the standards set in legisla- tion. And some others said the same kind of news was common place in the more urban newspapers and that the fact we live in a small communi- ty should not affect the way news is delivered to the public at large. Well, we — I — went out on a limb and published the information as re- leased to the Advance -Times by the OPP. I was in court for the medical staff and will be today for the rest of the case. What you have today and will have next week is the story the best we can deliver it. And a taste of sensational journalism that goes against what I wanted for Wingham. Mike's mean streak showing TORONTO'-- Premier Mike Harris Tory backbenchers rarely stood up is trying to convince people that he ■� ■ to successful premier William Davis, is Just a regular guy, but his mean Kells complained he could not get streak is showing. y ,+ The Progressive Conservative pre- appointed even to a joe job as a par- liamentary assistant to a minister. mier insisted after being elected: "I f Kells suggested this may have am an ordinary guy I came from the been because he supported Bob people, I'm the guy next door." Welch instead of Davis for leader Any neighbor who borrows Har- Fro '� Palk and won in a riding where party or- ris's lawnmower should make sure to ganizers had wanted another Tory to return it on time. Harris has ,shown run and that thereafter Davis his hard edge by his rapid succession t W"wouldn't look me in the eye." • of cuts and particularly,although it Kells never got in a Davis cabinet, has not been as much noted, in pick- later. Stockwell particularly must but his successor, Frank Miller, ing his cabinet. wonder why Harris excluded him. thought him capable enough to make Almost the only criticisms of his He was a headline -grabbing munici- him environment minister., Harris choices so far have come not; from pal politician in Toronto touted as may remember only that he rocks opposition parties, but from Tory Tory leader even before being elect- boats. MPPs who soldiered in the legisla- ed an MPP in 1990, which may have But Harris may have doled out his ture in opposition. Three longer- irked Harris, most cavalier treatment to the Tories' serving MPPs, Christopher Stock- Stockwell was an energetic and leading woman MPP, Dianne Cun- well„Gary Carr and Morley Kells, forceful finance critic. He was too ningham, who had been deputy lead - have complained they were not in- much of a hatchet man to the point er and education critic and said she eluded although seven new MPPs that Liberals passed him questions would 'love' to be education minis are in. they were afraid to ask themselves, ter. MPPs left out normally hide their but showed enough intelligence to Harris made Ernie Eves his depu- annoyance feeling there will be suggest he could play a more con- ty premier and put Cunningham in” changes in a Year or two and they structive role. But Stockwell also intergovernmental affairs, where she may be included then if they don't was outspoken in caucus and pushed will be little noticed. •rock the boat. Harris to emphasize tightening wel- Premiers normally act as their But Harris has the srnallest cabi- fare and scrapping employment equi- own intergovernmental affairs minis - net in 30 years, only 18 'ministers ty, which served the party well in the ter and Harris not Cunningham so plus himself. Openings will be few election. Harris simply may not like far has been talking on Quebec sep- (unless he runs into scandals) and by someone who talks back. aration and reviewing federal - the time they come to serving Kells, a minister's aide before he provincial finances with Prime Min- MPPs will have lost their vantage became an MPP and, therefore more ister Jean Chretien. Cunningham ran of experience and 50 ea -heaver knowledgeable about the legislature against Harris for leader in 1990 and new Tory backbenchers 11 have than most, complained he "didn't run argued he was "yesterday's man," done their utmost to irnpres• and be to be a backbencher" and he may too far to the right and did not grasp beating on the door. have been kept out because he is the issues. A veteran teft out now stay find epitome of talking back. In a cele- The lesson may be, "Don't cross entry to cabinet even more/:difficult brated case in the.earty 1980s, when Mike Harris."