The Times Advocate, 2008-10-01, Page 44
Times–Advocate
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
OC
Editorial Opinion
TIMES ADVOCATE
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Doug Rowe -General Manager, Southwestern Ontario Division
EDITORIAL
Election
countdown
ith two all -candidates meetings
held over the weekend, local voters
have a better sense of what their
candidates stand for, although it's still
unclear whether Canadians are all that
interested in the Oct. 14 election.
The Huron -Bruce meeting in Holmesville was, as
usual, well attended; the Lambton-Kent-Middlesex
(LKM) meeting in Grand Bend less so, but it's hard
to get people out on a Saturday night to meetings.
Huron -Bruce Independent candidate Dennis
Valenta and Lambton-Kent-Middlesex NDP candi-
date Joe Hill were both no-shows at their respec-
tive meetings over the weekend.
It was clear from the LKM meeting Saturday that
the environment and green energy are two things
that interest Canadians. Most of the candidates
give the standard answer when asked about the
environment — we need to clean up pollution,
lessen our dependence on oil and invest in green
energy like wind and solar. Even Christian
Heritage Party candidate Micheal Janssens, who
said, "global warming is not happening," and
Kyoto was based on faulty science, still said we
should invest in green energy.
What remains to be seen is if any of our political
parties have the moxie and guts to do anything
about the environment. Canadians say they are
concerned about doing something to get off our
reliance on carbon fuels, but are we interested in
paying for it? Stephane Dion has made his "Green
Shift" plan a cornerstone of his campaign, but it
hasn't exactly skyrocketed his party up the polls.
In fact, recent polls show the parties at approxi-
mately the same popularity they were before the
2006 election, which saw Stephen Harper walk
away with a minority victory, something he'll
probably do again. A majority victory is possible,
but unlikely, and Harper's inability to sway voters
to give him a majority, even with the weak leader-
ship of Dion, shows Canadians still haven't
warmed up to the prime minister. So what we'll
probably have Oct. 15 is a government that looks
pretty much the same as what we have now.
Canadians will pay a lot of money towards an elec-
tion that isn't really necessary.
But in the end, Canadians seem more interested
in what's happening south of the border than
what's happening in our election. To say our polit-
ical leaders are uninspiring might be the under-
statement of the century. There isn't much excite-
ment coming from any of them or their supporters.
FEELING
WCKY
PLJNK?F.
Distributed by Canadian Artists Syndicate
Gone but not forgotten
The Exeter Fury finished a difficult and
possibly last season on the weekend as the
team may be forced to fold due to a lack of
players, a trend not limited to Exeter as the
Wingham Bulls recently announced
they would not compete in the
senior hockey league this season.
Teams such as the Fury and the
Bulls have been hit hard by a num-
ber of factors in the past few years
including an aging population that
is shrinking the pool of players the
teams draw on.
Players that are left face increased
demands on their time from other
volunteer organizations as well as
the demands of raising families. Increased
fuel costs have also made it more expensive
for players living out of town to return to
play as well as for teams to make road
trips. At the same time increased mobility
has also given players more flexibility to
choose which team they would like to play
for.
As well as the loss to a community, the
folding of a team leads to a cycle of more
stress on a league. With fewer teams to
compete, the remaining teams are forced to
travel farther to play, causing more
expense and forcing players to commit
even more time, sending the league
into a downward spiral.
What shouldn't be forgotten though,
even after the lights are turned out
on a team for the last time is more
than the wins, losses and titles a
team accumulated over the years.
What should be remembered are the
people who did the work to start it
and over the years made the thou-
sands of phone calls and the leg work
to keep it going.
Before any team or organization takes the
field, there are the coaches and managers
who have found players, organized a
schedule, checked on field conditions and
bookings, made sure the insurance, buses
and equipment were taken care of and
were there to play the extra time on the
field when the roster was short.
They're the ones we should remember.
PAT BO
BACK 40
VIEW
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