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2 - Orono Weekly Times Subscriptions $38.09 + $1.91 GST = $40.00 per year. No Refunds. Publishing 48 issues annually at the office of publication. "We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) toward our mailing costs." Wednesday, October 28, 2009 ORONO WEEKLY TIMES - 5310 Main St., P.O. Box 209, Orono, ON L0B 1M0 E-mail: oronotimes@rogers.com or Phone/Fax: 905-983-5301 Publisher/Editor Margaret Zwart Production and Display Advertising - Donna Wood Classified Advertising - Sue Weigand The Orono Weekly Times welcomes letters to the editor on subjects of interest to our readers. Opinions expressed to the editor and articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Orono Weekly times. Letters must be signed and contain the address and phone number of the writer. Any letter considered unsuitable will not be acknowledged or returned. We reserve the right to edit for length, libel and slander. If your retail or classified ad appears for the first time, please check carefully. Notice of an error must be given before the next issue goes to print. The Orono Weekly Times will not be responsible for the loss or damage of such items. Unbelievable "Unbelievable!" That is what was going through this reporter's mind last week as she attended the Newcastle/Bondhead Ratepayers' monthly meeting. Clarington's two Ward 4 Councillors, Charlie Trim and Gord Robinson, were featured guests at this meeting, where they gave their annual municipal update. There was a time municipal councillors supported each other, as members of the same team. Apparently those days are gone, and it is each man for himself. Ward 4 Regional Councillor, Charlie Trim, a 13-year veteran of municipal politics, took the opportunity at that meeting to criticize fellow Councillor Willie Woo, who was not in attendance that Monday night. Trim said Woo had taken an unusual step by addressing Regional council, where he had said he would not be opposed to a stabilized landfill site in Ward 3, when Woo himself was a resident of Ward 4. These comments were made in response to a line of questioning from a Regional Councillor. Trim was counting on the fact that none of the Newcastle/Bondhead ratepayers actually attended the Regional council meeting in question, because if they had, they would know his comments were taken out of context and were in fact inaccurate. Trim also said that there are no successful stabilized landfill sites, and that catching 65 percent of methane gas does not a stabilized landfill site make. During this term of office, Durham Region taxpayers paid, not once but twice to send councillor Trim on a tour of the very successful, world renown stabilized landfill site just outside of Halifax. I also toured that site, (on my own dime) and know that Councillor Trim is being very deceptive every time he spreads negative information regarding that facility. The Halifax Waste Authority is seen as a world leaders in waste management for its stabilized landfill site. Councillor Trim defended Councillor Robinson's pro-incineration stance, and said he was unfairly criticized for flip-flopping on the issue. Up until June, when Robinson voted to support the incentive package the Region offered to Clarington for hosting the incineration, Robinson, along with Clarington's other three local councillors voted as a block, in opposition to the incinerator. In fact, Robinson had asked some anti-incineration people in Ward 4 to help him get his message across, by holding a public meeting in his ward. That meeting was held at the Newcastle United Church on May 26. By the time the meeting was held, Robinson had voted in favour of the host community agreement, and the removal of Clarington's "unwilling host status." Robinson led the charge at the beginning of this term of council to declare Clarington an "unwilling host" for the proposed incinerator. That most definitely is a flip-flop by any definition. He was a no-show at the meeting held at his request. In an attempt to defend his actions, Robinson told the Ratepayers that during the "in camera" meetings held on the Host Community Agreement, every councillor except for Councillor Adrian Foster supported the contents of the agreement. Divulging to the public what went on in a closed-door meeting is most certainly a breach of trust on Robinson's behalf. He is going to have to give a better explanation than that, for changing his position on the proposed incinerator. He told the ratepayers he supported incineration because the Region agreed to service lands in Clarington's future Science Park at Bennett Road and Bloor Street in exchange for Clarington's willingness to host the incinerator. What the Region agreed to, was to "Commence an environmental assessment process to support the provision of municipal services to the east Bowmanville science park." That statement is nothing more than a commitment to look at maybe providing services sometime. The anti-incinerator people of Ward 4 feel betrayed by Robinson. As he has not yet given a sound reason for why he changed his anti-incineration position to one of support, we are left to imagine what could be gained with this turnaround. With the next municipal election a whole year away yet, things could get downright dirty before we get to mark a ballot at the poll next November. Letter To The Editor Did Robinson really "Flip-flop & F-lie" ?? Re: Article "Robinson Defends `Flip-Flop'" in the Wed., Oct. 21 issue To the Editor: How much credibility can the Public really afford these people? At the recent Newcastle Ratepayers Association meeting, Councillor Charlie Trim indicated that the proposed Courtice Incinerator (EFW facility) was a very contentious issue -- well, he was correct on that front. But he then goes on to add that the only part that Clarington played in the whole matter was whether they would be a 'Willing Host' or not. This in the face of the fact that it was actually the three Clarington Regional Councillors (Abernethy, Trim, Novak) that cast the deciding votes to push the totals (16-Yes, 12-No) in favour of building the Courtice Incinerator. If these councillors had voted with the people's best interest at heart, they could have ended this debacle there-and-then with a vote of 15-NO, and only 13yes. I can well imagine that you'll be seeing some serious 'back-peddling' from these councillors in the near future, especially with an election fast approaching! And, did Councillor Gord Robinson really 'flip-flop'? Did he vote on Jan. 28, 2008, to make Clarington an 'Unwilling Host', and then, on May 15, 2009 reverse himself by then voting to rescind the 'Unwilling Host' status for Clarington. And did that 'second' vote occur in an 'emergency meeting,' hastily-called to hear Councillor Robinson explain his 'change-of-heart,' and cast that fateful vote. (Flip-flop?). Some interesting questions on what actually constitutes a 'flip-flop'. Bert Kortekaas Courtice R- E- S- P- E- C- T find out what it means... To the Editor: A few months ago, I attended a council meeting at which councillor Mary Novak stood up and complained she was detecting a huge decline in the amount of respect council was getting from the public. I've been watching since then, and I have to agree with her. When one watches the delegations to council there is a noticeable decline in the respect given, particularly when it comes to incinerator issues. There is definitely a noticeable drop in the respect that is given our elected politicians. The dictionary defines respect as "to regard highly," or "to hold in esteem" - it is a state of mind - so what causes this state of mind to change? It is easily possible to respect a hero, but you can also respect a man dying of cancer doing his best, or respect a thief who stole food for his family to eat. How can that be? I think you can only earn respect by doing the right thing, making ethical choices in hard situations, making the hard decisions, and both learning and admitting when you're wrong. Those are the values society holds dear, and we hold those who follow them in esteem. RESPECT see page 3