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The Times Advocate, 2005-01-19, Page 66 Exeter Times -Advocate Wednesday, January 19, 2005 Opinion Forum News Seniors' perspective Continued from page 5 Flying Officer Wireless Air Gunner Leonard Brown # J/26853 from Crediton was killed in action Aug. 5, 1944, at the age of 20 years. He was flying with #148 Squadron in a Halifax Bomber # JP 276 and did not return from a secret operation over South Poland. Twenty-three aircraft attempted to fly arms to reinforce the uprising in Warsaw but only 12 made it to the tar- get. Six were shot down, most of them Russian fighter aircraft. The Russian forces had advanced and stopped just short of Warsaw and told the Polish underground to rise up and attack the German occupying forces. This they did for two months, while the Russian forces never moved, hoping the non-Communist Polish underground army of 40,000 would be destroyed and they nearly all were. On Aug. 14, 1944, a similar raid took place and another 11 aircraft were shot down. Harold Leonard Brown was buried in the Military Cemetery, Cracow, Poland. Flying Officer Harold Leonard Brown was the only son of Henry M. and Edith Lovina Brown of Crediton, Ont. Thoughts to ponder Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii? Why are there flotation devices under plane seats instead of parachutes? Why are cigarettes sold in gas stations when smok- ing is prohibited there? Have you ever imagined a world with no hypotheti- cal situations? If a 7-11 is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, why are there locks on the doors? If a cow laughed, would milk come out her nose? If nothing ever sticks to TEFLON, how do they make TEFLON stick to the pan? If you tied buttered toast to the back of a cat and dropped it from a height, what would happen? If you're in a vehicle going the speed of light, what happens when you turn on the headlights? You know how most packages say "Open here". What is the protocol if the package says, "Open some- where else"? Why does someone go to all the trouble to put those tiny little holes on pages of postage stamps when the pages always tear anywhere but there? Why do they put Braille dots on the keypad of the drive -up ATM? Why do we drive on parkways and park on drive- ways? Signs damaged, then stolen Dear Editor: In September, after raising an abandoned baby white squirrel, we put a double sided, Drive Slow, White Squirrel Crossing sign at the bottom of our driveway, near the street. This was after releasing Tugger, the lit- tle white squirrel, that we so proudly raised. We put the signs up with the hopes that cars would slow down so he would not get hit while on his regular excursions to our neighbours and the park from our backyard. In October, on a Friday night, vandals damaged the sign. It was pulled from the ground, bent and almost pulled apart then thrown on our lawn. We repaired and re -erected the sign a few days later, this time a little fur- ther back from the street with the idea it would be safer, only to have the sign stolen on New Year's Eve, again on a Friday night. There were only two of these signs ever made, they were prototypes, designed, developed and paid for per- sonally by Frank and myself, when Frank was vice pres- ident and I was chairperson of the White Squirrel Committee for the newly formed South Huron Chamber of Commerce. At that time the expense was too great for the Chamber of Commerce to have them produced and erected as a tourist attraction around Exeter. We would like to ask the persons who stole the sign if they have the same personal and sen- timental value to them as they do to us. If you people have any conscience at all, return the signs. FRANK ZAWALSKY AND MARIANNE BENSON, EXETER. (If you have any information regarding these signs, please contact Frank, the OPP at 235-1300 or Crime Stoppers.) an attempt to transfer responsibility to those who played no role in the new arena decision - the citizens of Bayfield. The necessity for having to possibly make a closure decision is truly unfortunate - unfortunate because it was avoidable. If Bluewater council had asked one sim- ple question, "Do we need this new facility?" In other words, do a needs assessment, this potential closure might not be an issue. Some facts the reader might consider: • Walker, president of the Bayfield Ratepayers Association (BRA), on three occasions, asked the council to undertake a needs assessment. The guidelines for the Federal/Provincial Superbuild Fund mandate a needs assessment. The Ontario Recreational Facilities Association (to which Bluewater belongs) strongly rec- ommends a needs assessment before any new construc- tion. Your council declined. • Michael also requested a referendum on the arena issue. He was rebuffed. • The BRA brought provincial arena density data to the attention of council. The recommendation is one arena per 14,000 residents. With the original three are- nas Bluewater was 600 per cent overserved. With Zurich arena closing and no new construction we would still be 400 percent overserved - that is two arenas for 7,000 residents. Council opted to build new, spend over $4 million and return to 600 percent overcapacity! • The BRA brought registration data for the CAHA, OMHA and the OFSA to the attention of the council. All associations were showing declines in their registra- tions. • The BRA presented federal census data to council, which clearly pointed out that Bluewater's population was essentially static. Our population could not grow enough to absorb the massive overcapacity. • The BRA questioned the absence from the budget of funding for the demolition of the old arena. Paul Klopp offered that "I have it on good authority that we can get upward of half a million dollars for the old arena." Citizens might ask their councillor how much Bluewater has realized from the old arena. They might further ask how much has been spent on ongoing maintenance. When this structure is demolished there is a strong pos- sibility that environmental soils remediation will be nec- essary - a further expense. • The BRA spoke against starting construction before the Zurich fundraisers had completed their commit- ment. Bluewater went ahead. The fundraisers have apparently raised about 25 per cent of their commit- ment and the committee now seems to be moribund. A simple motion of council could make their shortfall everyone's tax obligation. • The council effectively "loaned" municipal funds to the Zurich fundraisers to allow the construction before fundraising was completed. It is still not complete. This "loan" is in contravention of the Ontario Municipal Act - Section 420. Council has a tough decision - but one that was avoid- able. It must decide whether to keep three arenas and apportion the revenue shortfalls to all of the residents or close the Bayfield arena, still apportion the shortfalls to all residents and leave Bayfield without a facility and yet continuing to pay extraordinarily high taxes. Whatever the decision, the taxpayers of Bluewater will take anoth- er "hit" to their bank accounts. When Bluewater citizens begin to realize they are pay- ing the second highest rate of taxation in the entire province (MPAC data) they needn't look beyond this boondoggle to understand part of the reason. There's a big difference between good sound reasons, and reasons that sound good. (Lyman Maclnnis) WILLIAM HIGGS, BAYFIELD Sam was unique Dear Editor: Sam is a cat. Sam is unique. He is a sleek, black cat with a white spot on his chest and two white back feet. His eyes are green. He has lived with us for eight years and although he drives away all the stray cats, he has adopted a beautiful white, black and orange fluffy cat as well as a white, 16 pound Burmese: Misty and Max are their names. He is unique because we go for a walk every day, weather permitting. With no leash, he walks about eight feet in front of me and yells, not meows, if there is any danger. He goes into the intersections and watches for traffic. He yells as soon as it is safe. I had the occasion to fall in deep snow and he immediately ran to a home and yelled for help. He talks and on a stormy day, if I ask, "What do you think?" he will stop, look at me and decide whether to continue or go home. If I look tired, he takes me to the bedroom and turns back the covers and tells me to lie down. Anyone that speaks of "dumb animals" should spend one day with Sam. Be sure to bring Fancy Feast, Purina Cat Chow and tuna in water! Sam passed away in September of a liver disorder! ARENAGATE in Bayfield Dear Editor: In recent editions of the Clinton News -Record we have read letters from Bayfield citizens reacting to the poten- tial closure of their recently upgraded arena. The mayor's misguided "use it or lose it" mantra is clearly Many thanks to all the people in the east end who either stopped their cars or came out of their houses to see him. RON WESTMAN, EXETER Further delay is not acceptable Dear Editor Re: Bayfield Library Expansion At Bluewater Council meeting of Nov. 22, 2004, Council once again postponed its decision on the Bayfield Library expansion. Council is now apparently going to consider this item again during current budget deliberations for 2005. Bayfield residents are getting tired of waiting. In 2002, Huron County Council, with input from municipalities, adopted a Library Strategic Plan and Facility Model for the County -- upgrade Level One and Two Libraries to a defined standard of service and elimi- nate Level Three Libraries. For Bayfield Library, the "desirable" size for the building itself was set at 1,255 sq.ft. which is an expansion of 220 sq.ft. (21%) over its existing footprint of 1,035 sq.ft. What has been the progress over the past two years? Exeter and Goderich branches have been constructed and expanded, Howick Township will build a new library in 2005. In contrast, Bayfield is still waiting for its library expansion. Why is council procrastinating? Over the past two years the expansion to the Bayfield Library has become tied to the separate issue of the provision of public wash- rooms for summer tourists. Various options for locating the public washrooms (Lion's building, Clangregor Square, post office, library, etc.) have been considered. While a majority of residents prefer Clangregor Square, council, lobbied by retailers, has been favouring a more central location, i.e. construction of public washrooms as part of the expansion to the Library. The Bayfield Library Expansion Committee (advisory to Bluewater Council) engaged Allan Avis Architects to provide a cost estimate of incorporating a new public washroom into an expansion to the library. The commit- tee also investigated the possibility of receiving an Ontario Trillium grant but found these grants could only apply to the "accessibility" portion of such projects ---- not to new construction or expansion. The Avis Report on the "Bayfield Library Addition" was presented to council on Nov. 22, 2004. He conclud- ed that a combined 1100 sq.ft. library expansion (500 sq. ft.) and public washroom (600 sq. ft.) would have a minimum cost of $303,125. The Avis report is badly flawed. First, his advice for an 1100 sq. ft. for a combined washroom/library expansion would more than double the size of the existing library building! This is ludicrous from a heritage perspective! The Bayfield Library is an historical landmark in the vil- lage. Scale of any expansion is a paramount considera- tion! Second, the size (square footage) which Avis assumes is excessive and unrealistic. Huron County Council endorsed a Library Strategic Plan which includes a desirable expansion for Bayfield Library of 220 sq. ft. Why did Avis in his report more than double this to 500 sq. ft.? Similarly, Avis's footprint proposal for washrooms (600 sq. ft.) is excessive -- particularly since most tourists already have access to the washrooms of restaurants and retailers they patronize. Avis's proposed washrooms would be more than twice as large as the washroom in any high traffic Tim Hortons in the country! Third, Avis's unit cost construction estimates are high, ranging from $165 to $200 per square foot with a con- tingency fee of 20% over and above this. Recent con- struction in Bayfield of a similar nature is more realisti- cally in the $140 per sq. ft. vicinity and based on fixed price contracts. Based on Avis's excessive estimate of $300,000, Council staff outlined a possible source of funds. $85,379 would come from Council's budget for Libraries which along with a Trillium grant would pay for half of the project (i.e. washrooms). The funding for the rest, i.e. $150,000, would be raised through local fund raising and volunteer labour. What Now? The Avis report should be done over with realistic assumptions. Council should be able to com- plete the project in 2005 for roughly $100,000 to $125,000 using its own budget ($85,000 to $100,000) and a small Trillium grant of $15,000 to $25,000. The Bluewater Heritage Committee should have a strong influence over the scale and design of the project to ensure it is historically and architecturally compatible with the original building. Bottom line: Bluewater Council must make a decision in January to proceed with and complete in 2005 Bayfield's library expansion and public washrooms. Further delay is not acceptable. Bill Rowat, Bayfield Taxpayer