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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 Canada Periodical Fund for our publishing activities." Wednesday, November 2 2011 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. Nuisance by-law nothing to spit at If Clarington's proposed Nuisance By-Law is approved next week, it will finally be illegal to spit in a public place. The list of nuisances covered under the proposed Bylaw include: soliciting, fighting, screaming, yelling, using profane or abusive language or gestures, and defacing public or private property. Other, less defined nuisances included in the proposed By-law are: "anything which is injurious to human health, or indecent, or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property; and any other activity or conduct that is disorderly, annoying, unpleasant or obnoxious." The proposed By-law is in response to a request from the Durham Regional Police for assistance in dealing with acts of general rowdiness and unacceptable conduct, which according to a report from Clarington's Clerk, are on the rise. Creating a by-law making public nuisances an offense, makes it easier for police to respond to these situations. Collecting these offenses in a by-law gives the police an option of proceeding with charges through the Municipal Offences Act rather than laying criminal charges. Councillor Corinna Traill said she was concerned that the proposed by-law was overly broad and moved to remove screaming and yelling from the list of offences. Traill said she was concerned that spectators yelling at sporting matches could be charged under the proposed nuisance by-law. Mayor Adrian Foster, defending the proposed by-law, said, " At some sporting events you can see things happen that shouldn't be happening and someone should have the legal right to say, `Knock it off.'" As with almost any amendment to legislation proposed by Traill, it was not supported. Councillor Joe Neal moved to delete the section that would make anything that obstructs the free use of property so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property an offense. According to Neal, with this clause, anyone protesting at the incinerator groundbreaking this past August could have been arrested for interfering with the comfortable enjoyment of property. "We shouldn't be interfering with anyone's democratic rights because they are seen to be disorderly," Neal stated. "That is the whole idea of a protest." Like almost all of Neal's proposed amendments to legislation, it was not supported. One might almost be excused for thinking that Neal and Traill's caution with this type of legislation is overblown, that fear of police overstepping their jurisdication is unfounded in this, our home and native land. However, in August of this year, a Toronto judge ruled that "adrenalized" police officers acted as aggressors at a peaceful political rally that led to dozens of arrests during the June, 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto. Justice Melvyn Green's comments were made in response to charges against one protester, Michael Puddy, which according to Green were "completely without justification." The zealous exercise of police arrest powers in the context of political demonstrations risks distorting the necessary balance between law enforcement concern for public safety and order, and individual rights and freedoms, he said. Far be it from us to suggest that Durham Regional Police would become adrenalized and charge someone for spitting on a Clarington sidewalk. However, the list of nuisances covered in the proposed by-law are discretionary, and must only be used in the interest of protecting public safety. Our rights and freedoms are fundamental to our society, and they must never be trifled with by police, adrenalized or otherwise. Help report speeders to keep kids safe To The Editor: Dear Mill Street Resident, My name is Austin, I am nine years old and I also live on this street. I wanted to ask for your help! Many cars, trucks and motorcycles race down our road. My Mom and Dad are worried that my little sister or I (or other kids and people walking/jogging on this road) could get hit! We also have an (old) dog that sometimes wanders onto the road and we are very scared that he will be hit. We have asked for sidewalks or speed bumps but the city doesn't think there is a problem on this road. This past summer a lady walking her dog was struck by a car, and last weekend a dog was hit. Both were just accidents and the cars weren't speeding, but the road is so narrow and in some sections there's lots of greenery, making it hard to see an animal or kid step out, if you are driving at 80100km! My little sister and I like to ride our bikes to the lake and my Mom likes to walk our dog, but we are always nervous because many vehicles speed behind us and then race around, past us. I am asking you to help keep our road safe. The police have done radar here before but only during the day, when everyone was at work! The evenings and weekends seem to be the worst. Here is the website so you can anonymously report any vehicle SPEEDING on our street: www.drps.ca. Under "What's New," click on Road Watch Online Citizen Report Form. The speed limit is 50km, and we only have ONE sign saying so... Thanks for your help, to keep us all safe! Austin Yates, Newcastle r ! !" !