THE LAST WORD A friend of mine who is an avid nature lover expressed some serious concerns about a somewhat forgotten County beauty spot and wonderful resource. What might that be [ wondered when they started to talk about this concern. Well, much to my surprise it is The Black Creek estuary and river that lies adjacent to what is probably the most popular of all County places of visitor interest: The Black River Cheese Factory. The problem? This person explained that here we have a river which will possibly cease to exist in the next decade or two if nothing is done to clean up the weeds and herbage that is quietly and progressively taking over, caus- ing the river currents to slow and silt up the main channel in the process. This ziver which is the ONLY serious river in The County used to be navigable right up to Milford. Schooners used to ply their trade using its waters from Milford to all parts south, west and east. I asked why they thought this had happened? I was told that it seemed to simply be a case of ignoring a need to MAINTAIN a re- source of great value, great beauty and an existing and fia- ture unique asset. Further explanation seemed to centre round the lobby which says that wetlands should be allowed to ma- ture naturally and become what they are to become. When 1 gave this further thought I reasoned to myself that here in the County we have more of our share of so called 'wetlands' than many places in Ontario. In addition, as a community that is surrounded by water, this summer has PUZZLE 16 BROCD i8 S-TALE - SOLUTION 20 GRANDIOSE (anag. organised) sTelelali i Ivialaluli]olnlv] 23 ROM-BA Ngo SEE NEN SEC 24 TH-RIVERS o{Ni Tg 3[NIOIN[1{Si3|TIO[H| 26 HOLES-IN-ONE {anag. he is on | BB BE DBR DOAN ala[ali[ulnl LE viaininiy Jose} MB 8B 0 8 KE 'slolilainly 4 offs lv 1s| 28 A-NOT-HER = VES TH 29 AT-TESTS iololu|g Lid] {H|s{a]vin 3 BN BB RN ND DOWN llviojgin TiVIN|OI1|9D]31d 2 NI-(E)-CE Bs Eo BL Bo 3 ROUT- (IN) -E rhe EO E 4 ABSINTHE (anag. bathes in) divio(3|olt Livi{3|¥|1|N]|3 6 CATS-UP 7 CON-TOUR ACROSS 8 PO- (SIT) -IONS 1 EN-TREAT 9 PRO - (LIFE) -RATION 5 I-C-E CAPS (space rev.) i5 AFTERNOON (anag. ant for 1 BE-A-U one) 11 SCRU - (TIN) - ISE (anag. 17 ANGRIEST (anag. a stinger) cruises) 19 L-(1-MP)-EST 12 RE- (GI) -ONAL (anag. leaner) 21 IN-VOICE 13 U-BOAT {anag. about) 22 FAM-(N)-E 14 MAKE - SHIFT 25 RECUT (anag. truce) proven that we are in the odd situation of having more homes with suspect or zero water supply than most areas of Southern Ontario. I see thousands of acres of what was previously shallow lakes now drying up as they become covered in bulrushes and other water weed, making them unusable and inaccessible. Do we really need yet another few thousand acres of weeds; yet more breeding grounds for mosquitoes and the likes today, tomorrow and in ten or twenty years time? Personally I don't think so. also do not think that it is beyond the wit of our Council to take this natural asset called The Black Creek, into serious con- sideration for re-habilitation into the beautiful river that it once was, making it an accessible beauty spot from Mil- ford to Lake Ontario. So what about it our Council? So what about it cur Conservation Authority? So what about it all interested parties. Are you concerned in saving what is one of the greatest beauty spots in The County and preserving it for generations to come? If you are then why not e-mail your thoughts to bill yates@sympatico.ca or d. marcille@sympatico.ca and we will share them, both in October's Mirror, and possible the local dailies. seoksok okskok kok eck skkokok kk ek sk kok kokskekk Rokk I can't let this month go by without speaking about a flyer that arriver through my mailbox today from our MP Mr. Daryl Kramp headed: "THE HEALTH CARE STATUS QUO ISN'T WORK- ING" 1 am reluctant to say this but I smell a big RAT and it 1s called PRIVATIZATION. We have a situation in Alberta, a Conservative heartland area, in which the premier has been quietly, it seems to me, been pushing an agenda of permitting private medical clinics to set up shop. We al- ready have a shortage of trained medical staff throughout Canada and I cannot help but wonder where the doctors and nurses are going to come from to staff these new fa- cilities. The numbers of doctors qualifying in Canada in recent years seems to have been strictly controlled through student recruitment which was far less than the needs of the country (scarcity makes for higher salaries) and also making qualification of immigrant doctors to practice within our Provinces a very slow and, it is to be believed, a difficult process. So Daryl, your FIVE point flyer is full of innu- endo, and we ALL know where the Conservative Party and yourself are going with this: "The very best medical treatment for the highest bid- ders and the rest of us will have to settle for what is left.' Private medical insurance for a small family can Continued on page 19