The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Page’6 — Halton Hills This Week, Saturday, August 21, 1993 HIS WEEK pinion === Georgetown, Ont. L7G 481, PUBLISHER: Ken Bellamy PRODUCTION MANAGER: Kathleen Topolsek PHONE: 873-2254 6 ’ As The ‘Worm’ Turns Halton Hills residents can hold their heads high and tell anyone interested (if they find that person) they are from the Worm Capitol of the West. Dave Barry was so captivated with the issue, he took up his pen immediately to battle the growing concern of. worm-picking. Barry, a syndicated columnist from Miami, wrote an article — Earthworm wars turning Canada into a hellhole — which appeared in newspapers in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Iowa, Atlanta, Miami, and Paris. His anxiety ranged from violence associated with NOIRE to the driving abilities of these peopl palton Regional Police Service Detective Sergeant Mike Kingston, who was quoted in Barry’s column as describing the “intense competi- tion for prime picking locations,” admitted later perhaps he may have exagerrated a little. Kingston pointed out there are a number of underlying concerns in the worm-picking predica- ment — exploitation of immigrant workers (making $185 in one night’s work?!), violence associated with the “cut-throat business,” (these workers were beating each other with sticks and pipes, running each other over with vehicles, setting vans on fire — all for “prime picking locations”) and accidents caused by worm-pickers racing back to their sell- ing establishments (worm emporiums?!) to have the most wriggly, goop-covered worms on the mar- ket. Despite these thought-provoking concerns, Kingston added there are other more serious prob- lems affecting Halton Hills. “Um, on a scale of drying,” he said. importance, I’d put worm picking right after paint Oksana Buhel Time for real change To the Editor: In Vancouver, our PM Kim Campbell announced that there would be a “review” of the dreaded MP pension plan, remember Mulroney did that in. ‘84 as well. PM Campbell also said that there would be a mora- torium on _ patronage appointments until after the election. Meanwhile, back in Ottawa, within minutes of her proclamation, her office announced that Mulroney’s former Press Secretary would be our new ambas- sador to Cuba. Oops, bad timing! Meanwhile, our beloved “Honorable” Garth Turner, talks of government frugali- ty out of one side of his mouth, yet flies to Vancouver at taxpayers’ expense for a “photo oppor- tunity” on a drug bust he had nothing to do with. Talk’s cheap! Also on Monday, -in Bolton, Turner once again lost his patience with the “electorate of Halton-Peel when they attempted to direct his Townhall meeting agenda to valid questions they wanted real answers to. After all, when Turner advertised the meeting (with taxpayers money), he said that all topics were on the table. Instead, Turner snide- ly reminded the audience that he won his seat with 55 per cent of the vote. True, but we voters fool- ishly believed what Turner had been espousing in print for 10 years and that yes, he would make a difference. That he would communicate our concerns in Ottawa and vote our wishes. That he would fight the GST instead of helping implement it. That he would fight the job killing deficit (tripled since ‘84). That he would stop the tax grabs (taxes up over 30 percent since ‘84) and on and on. What we got in Turner was a paper tiger, weaving back and forth, saying what- ever he was told to say by the masters. Turner attempts to deflect performance criticism by calling the disenchanted electorate asking the tough questions “Ya-hoos and Loud-mouths”. When peo- ple ask legitimate questions of his government’s failed policies, they deserve real answers, not flip rhetoric. The Conservatives say “give us another chance”! The Liberals say “it’s our turn again?” Almost 10 years of Tory pork barreling, preceded by a dozen years of Liberal drifting has this country on It’s time for some real change! Glen Carducci Caledon East EDITOR: alter MANAGER; ink Colin Gibson wea MANAGER: Marie Shadbolt FFI HALTON HILLS THIS WEEK IS INDEPENDENTLY 4rLY OWNED & Meee 873-3918 == PHONE: 873-2254 sts The People's Corner Clarification of Halton sludge program To the Editor: I noted with interest your front page story of Wednesday, July 11 regard- ing the Halton Region Sludge Utilization Program. As a farmer in Halton Country who has the oppor- tunity to participate in the program since its inception, I found parts of the article misleading. The program was devel- oped in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Ministry of the Environment, the Region of Halton and the farming community. Sludge is a by-product of sewage treatment and after a 30-day heated biological treatment process, it may be applied to agricultural land under specific ministry guidelines. It is high in nitrogen and phosphorous. These are two of the essen- tial ‘nutrients required for plant growth. Halton sewage sludge is low in metals and all of Halton’s wastewater treatment plants are produc- ing a sludge well within the metal limits allowed by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of the Environment the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. I should point out that crops need metals for growth just like people do. Take a look at your all-purpose vitamin pills, for example. The Region of Halton has segregated any contaminat- ed sludge and sent this out for disposal by other means. The sludge is applied only to agricultural land and is usually injected into the soil. It is not applied close to. waterways or ponds, and is kept back from wells and ~ 5 End the madness! To the Editor Today, Aug. "0, a loaded aggregate truck lies on its side at the intersection of 17 Side Road and the Fourth Line. Luckily (as far as I know), no innocent third party was involved. When is this madness of these trucks on these two roads going to end? Just this last few days, I personally have: 1. Reported a number of trucks for speeding (one I “clocked” at over km/h., double the speed limited); 2. Reported a truck who sat a few feet from my rear bumper, then blasted me ‘with his horn and shook his fist at me because he had to slow down slightly as I made a legal left turn off 17 Side Road; 3. Reported a number of trucks for being on these two roads after the 6 p.m. limitation (the last truck one day was spotted at 7:41 p.m. entering the Fourth Line from 22 Side Road from the direction of Limehouse); 4. Had a meeting with Pat local citizens’ group look- ing at problems such as this; 5. Had a number of con- versations with my fellow residents on these two roads, who seem to be as fed up as I am with aggre- gate trucks. Many of us remember a few years back, a couple of incidents involving aggre- gate trucks hitting school buses - again, miraculously, no-one was injured. Every weekday (and sometimes Saturdays, too), we are awakened at well before 6 a.m. as the first trucks come thundering through at speeds that would earn them a ticket on the 401. We are violated with noise, dust and danger. It is time that sanity pre- vailed, and the Town of Halton Hills puts its citizens first. These trucks should not be on these two primari- ly residential roads! Sooner or later, an accident will occur involving the death or serious injury of an inno- cent third party. The town had better have deep pock- ets. It cannot claim it has not been warned. Martin of Halton Regional J. Frewen-Lord Police, who is involved in a Georgetown Halton Hills This Week to: welcomes your letters. must be signed and include The Editor your full name and address. Names will be withheld on Halton Hills This Week request. Halton Hills This Week 732 Guelph St., Unit 9 menerves se right to edit, Georgetown, ON revise, or reject any letters on the basis of factual errors, L7G 4B1 punctuation, spelling errors or as a result of space limitations. Or fax to: Send your letter 416-873-3918 homes to prevent any possi- bility of pollution. A record of the amount of sludge and its nutritive value is kept. The sludge may only be applied once every five years to any one location and the amount applied per acre is controlled. This is all done in strict compliance with Ministry f Environment and Ontario Ministry of Agriculture guidelines. The application of accept- able sewage sludge to agri- cultural land is very much encouraged by the min- istries involved as a pro- gressive, safe recycling practice. Halton’s Sludge Utilization Program has been in operation for 13 years, and has gained a very successful reputation in the environmental field, with visitors coming from as far away as the former East Germany the Netherlands to study its operation. I hope that this letter clears up some of the mis- understandings created by the article. Frank Anthony Limehouse A Leathertown thanks To the Editor: Thank you so much for all the publicity and support that you and Ken Bellamy and your staff gave to the Acton Leathertown Festival. As you know, the event was very successful and from = what everyone said, “just what Acton needed!” On behalf of the Halton Hills Tourism Committee, thank you. Jo Lister Acton ns a riendly, graphic mase' It, ‘Safety Bus, will help drive the safety ents and students alike.