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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 Aid to Publishers - Canada Periodical Fund toward our mailing costs." Wednesday, October 13, 2010 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 - Roxanne Johnston Classified/Sports - 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. What kind of government do Clarington residents deserve? It will soon be decision time again in Clarington. Municipal elections will be held on Monday, October 25th, and unlike the municipal election four years ago, there are some tough decisions to be made this time. Four years ago voters were motivated to turf Mayor John Mutton out of office. As a result Jim Abernethy, a first time candidate with no previous political experience, won a large majority, and is now the person to beat. Prior to the beginning of this term of office, the municipality was on the verge of a number of large infrastructure start-ups, i.e. new reactors for the Darlington nuclear power station, and the completion of Hwy. 407 across the top of the municipality to it terminus at Hwy. 115/35. Four years later, the 407 has been put on hold indefinitely, as have the new nuclear reactors. At the beginning of this term of office, very few people knew what an EFW (energy from waste) facility was, now it is a household word in many circles, yet most people like to call it what it is, an incinerator. The four Clarington council members who voted in favour of the incinerator are now trying to distance themselves from that issue, which did dominate the past term of office. Although they try to spin their decisions with statements like, "I didn't vote for the incinerator, I voted for the host community agreement," and "I didn't vote for the incinerator, I voted for the process," Mayor Jim Abernethy and councillors Mary Novak, Gord Robinson and Charlie Trim all supported the process, which if the Minister of the Environment approves, will bring a garbage incinerator to Courtice. When the municipality's own lawyer said he had concerns with the arrangement they made with the Region as the host community for the York/Durham incinerator, these four council members voted not to hear what the concerns were. This lapse in judgement could very possibly have a huge cost to the municipality down the road, if and when the incinerator is ever built. If you ascribe to the theory that the job of the mayor is to create relationships with fellow councillors, upper tier levels of governments, and other organizations and agencies to create a constituency that must be listened to, you have to ask, "What was accomplished this term?" Are we in Clarington better off than we were four years ago? Keeping in mind that we did weather an economic downturn that no one could have foreseen at the beginning of this term. One has to admit though, that the Clarington council chambers, for the most part, are kinder and gentler than they were four years ago. Ward 4 electors have a choice of seven candidates to pick from to replace Gord Robinson as their next local councillor. Of all the candidates, only Cecil Mackesey has any prior political experience, having served a term as School Board Trustee. And yet everyone in political office has to start somewhere, and a local council position is a good place to start. Anytime you have a public candidates' meeting, a lot of interesting opinions are kicked around. It is really sad though, with all we've been through with the incinerator this term, that some candidates figured that we could go back to weekly garbage pick-up if that's what the residents want. It is a fact that the move from weekly garbage pick-up has reduced the amount of garbage at the curb. With the introduction of the weekly green-bin for organic waste and blue box collection, waste diversion has increased in Durham Region. Anyone with any interest in the local political issues would know that a move to weekly garbage pick-up would be a huge step backward for waste diversion, unless you need more fuel to keep an incinerator burning. There is an old saying, "You get the government you deserve." The articles on the candidates in this week's edition are meant as a brief synopsis of where they stand on the issues. If you don't like what you see, or want to know more, get in touch with the candidates and get them to tell you exactly where they stand. When you mark your ballot on October 25th, do so with the confidence that you voted for a council that reflects your views, and is committed to doing what is best for the community as a whole. Incinerator not "either or" situation To The Editor: I was amazed at Mayor Abernathy's public statement that the energy from waste (EFW) facility would reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He has not yet told the residents of Clarington the truth about EFW. The proposed facility to handle 140,000 tonnes of garbage will spew thousands of tonnes of very toxic ash and tens of thousands of tonnes of air pollutants into the air, of which approximately 50 are cancer causing and will be dispersed over Lake Ontario and Clarington -- causing health problems and contaminating farmers' crops and animals and our water supply. The toxic ash will be transported to New York State until they realize what they are getting and close the border (like Michigan) and we will have to bury this toxic mess somewhere in Clarington. So, with the EFW we get both, incineration and landfill; not either/or as Abernethy says. EFW see page 5 Get out and vote To The Editor: Election time is slowly closing in on us. Ward 4 usually has a very good voter turnout. That is something to be proud of and I encourage everyone to go out and vote. Take the time to find out where your voting location is and go out and make your mark. If you don't vote you really have no say in what is going on in our Municipal government. If you don't like what is going on, then vote for change... if you do, then vote for those who have represented you for the last 4 years. But don't, when it is all over, say I didn't bother to vote because it won't change anything. That to me is a travesty. With all the debates, hand shakin', door knockin' and pie buying there is still a group of voters who aren't making their mark. The young people - the 18- to 30year-olds. I encourage parents, teachers, pastors, coaches.... you get the idea, to take a young person to the polls. Make your mark on Oct 25. Sharon McCartney Orono Curious advertisement To The Editor: While reading last week's Orono Weekly Times, I noticed an advertisement for Paul Adams. I am curious about the organization that paid for his advertisement: the Ontario Federation of Small Businesses. I have tried to locate this organization, which is Newcastlebased, but there is no website, just a telephone number. Who is the Ontario Federation of Small Businesses? Helen Bajorek-MacDonald Bowmanville, ON The Ontario Federation of Small Businesses is a group organized by the owners of the former Yummy Pleasures eatery in Newcastle, who claim they were forced to go out of business after a sales tax audit which they say was "unfair." -- Editor