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

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 20, 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. Last minute campaign tactics disappointing Just a few more short days and we will have a new council in Clarington, and then what will we write about? There is nothing like a municipal election to provide editorial fodder for a local newspaper. While Municipal Clerk Patti Barrie is optimistically hoping she will be home before midnight next week Monday -- election night, I'm not so sure. Counting a federal or provincial election ballot which has the maximum of four or five names on it by hand is one thing. Counting a municipal ballot with 14 names (as in Ward 1 and Ward 4) plus a number of candidates for the four different school boards and a referendum question is not going to be a breeze. This hand counting is going to be done by poll staff who has already worked for 10 hours. If the ballots are as hard to mark as Times reader Louis Bertrand claims, poll staff might have some difficulty making a clear decision as to which candidate's name was marked. With the opportunity for scrutineers to challenge their decisions, election night 2010 has the makings of a long night indeed. There is nothing like the last edition before Election Day to bring on the letters from campaign workers. We received several such letters this week, and in the interest of promoting the principles of free speech, we opted to publish all the letters we received. By all accounts, the new election sign by-law has played a roll in reducing the proliferation of election signs on our roadways and public spaces. While we were expecting a huge amount of election signs in Ward 4, with 14 candidates running for council here, there are considerably fewer signs used in this election than the last one. This election is so different than the municipal elections held in Clarington over the last 10 years. With the Vote-By-Mail system of voting used in Clarington since 2000, the campaign period ended early as voters were urged to get their marked ballots into the return mail 10 days before voting day. Now in the final days leading up to voting day, campaigns are still in high gear, and candidates are still actively out there seeking votes. Up until today it would have been a fair assumption to say to the political observer, it appeared all the candidates were putting up a fair fight. After Tuesday's special council meeting, I would have to say I am really disappointed in the mayor. Mayor Jim Abernethy, who campaigned so hard four years ago against all the tactics used by former Mayor John Mutton in his last campaign -- including his use of municipal recourses for his personal benefit, has learned a few tricks of his own. Tuesday's Special Council meeting to discuss fire safety in Clarington was, in my opinion, an absolute waste of municipal resources, an attempt by the Mayor to get his message out. The result of the meeting was a resolution to refer continued implementation of the Master Fire Plan to the next council. That has been the policy of all councils since the Plan was first endorsed in 2003, and it would have continued to be the policy of future councils, with or without the special council meeting. Municipal staff has not heard from the public that they were concerned about fire safety in Clarington, so there was no need from that aspect, to have called the meeting. It is unfortunate, nothing was gained by the meeting, a whole lot of staff time was wasted by the holding of this meeting, and nothing was accomplished. This was no different than John Mutton using his column, the Mayor's Corner on advertising pages paid for by the municipality, to promote his campaign in the last election. This was one of the 32 apparent contraventions found by the forensic auditor in John Mutton's 2006 campaign finance report. In our election system, to the victor goes all the spoils. When you win, you win big; when you lose, you lose big. Many of the candidates are having the fight of their life, with much at stake. After Monday they might have a job, or they might find themselves without a job. But if a candidate uses their commitment to openess, transparency and integrity as part of their campaign platform, when they fall off the platform, they fall pretty hard. Let's hope it is smooth sailing for the rest of the campaign period, and that we will all be home by midnight on the 25th. Businesses hurt by "tax grabs" To The Editor: "A tax grab by any other name still smells as bad" Sorry Mr. Shakespeare. I read Wes Knapp's story in the Orono Times and had to respond. What comes out of this story is what occurs every day to small businesses throughout Clarington. First, Mr. Knapp is told he must prove the property was used for a commercial enterprise prior to 1979. This was proven with an affidavit. When this failed to shut him down, the "city" then told him that he had to prove a small engine repair shop existed on the property before 1968. Mr. Knapp could overcome this stupidity with his own affidavit to that effect, plus a few worn receipts. And as usual the city has no record of its previous approvals. This is an BY-LAW see page 5 Candidate's record To The Editor: Re: "Candidates Square Off at Public Meeting," October 13, 2010 I would like to thank the Orono Times for co-sponsoring the October 6th candidates' debate at the Pines. It was a very informative evening and a great opportunity for citizens to learn more about the candidates and their platforms. We need more opportunities like this in each ward to hear how candidates handle questions from the public. I would also have liked to hear from the mayoralty candidates, but I understand the time constraints faced by the organizers. Readers of the Times October 13 might have been puzzled by the "???" (literally) question marks in the paragraph on Ward 4 Candidate Cecil Mackesey's background and experience. I hope this was just a proofreading oversight. For the record, Cecil has FOR THE RECORD see page 7 Forgotten but not gone To The Editor: "Aging landfills jeopardize Ontario's water and air quality" trumpets the headline this week in Solid Waste and Recycling magazine. According to Environmental Commissioner of Ontario Gord Miller in his recently released 2009/2010 annual report, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment has lost track of hundreds of aging landfills. As pollutants enter the ground and surface waters and decomposition produces noxious LANDFILL see page 7 Read More... Page 4