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2 - Orono Weekly Times 1937 - 2012 · Celebrating 75 Years 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, January 18, 2012 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. Overwhelming response to local tragedy Although we always strive to cover events in the community, we don't always get it right. When events are of a sensitive nature, we don't always know how to deal with them and as a result, sometimes situations do not get reported properly from a news-gathering perspective. Such was the case last week. Brian and Ruthe Colville gave us an open letter to the community which they asked us to publish in last week's edition. It was a very emotional thank-you to the community for the outpouring of support they received over the past few weeks while they grappled with an event that no parent should ever have to deal with -- the loss of one of their children. When we published the Colvilles' letter, it became apparent that for some readers we had left a gap in our commitment to serve the community, as not everyone would be familiar with the circumstances that led Brian and Ruthe to write that letter. On Christmas Day, around 8 p.m., Brian and Ruthe's 33-year-old son Kyle was putting his three young children to bed in their Bethany home, when his heart stopped and he died. In their letter to the community, the Colvilles stated they could never have survived this event without the strength and support of their many close, personal friends. Then, on New Year's Day, Brian and Ruthe came home to a severely smoke-damaged home. An electrical fire, which started in the kitchen when the Colevilles were out, had melted the solder on overhead water pipes, which had doused the flames - but not before creating significant water and smoke damage to the home, and claiming the lives of their own family pets, and a cat and dog belonging to Kyle's children and his wife Tracy. While the broader community shares some of the pain when one of their members is dealing with tragic circumstances, those not close to the family often feel helpless in their desire to be of assistance. As is often the case, people in the community want to help ease the burden of a hurting member, they want to help but don't know what to do. In any caring community, this is when people rally round, find a way to collectively show they care, and try to ease the burden. This is exactly what took place at the Orono Country Café on Saturday night. Brian told us he was overwhelmed with the support, hugs and kind words he received. We heard the word "overwhelming" from everyone we talked to about the evening. Mark Rainford and Paul Boundy helped Amin Rawdah of the Orono Country Café organize a benefit for Tracy Colville and her three young children. The roast beef dinner held at the Café Saturday night sold out fast, and auction and raffle items began pouring in. By the end of the night, the $16,000 raised had far exceeded their expectations, Rawdah told us. When Tracy was handed the proceeds from the fundraising event on Saturday night, she was very grateful. According to Rawdah, she said it was the single largest contribution to the children's education fund. Mark Rainford told us the event could not have gone any better. From the very instance the dinner tickets were put on sale, donations and prizes began pouring in. They had to add another seating because the two they had planned sold out, and everybody was so generous, he said. An amazing response from an amazing community. Water tower tales To the Editor: Has anyone in Orono noticed that we have our own leaning tower? Not Pisa, but our water tower, in the Orono Forest. The birds seem to flock around it, but I'm afraid it will fall sometime. I will miss it from the landscape as I look out my window. I remember it had a political poster attached to it in one of our elections. When a youngster, many people climbed it (including my husband, Gord) when out with friends for a Sunday walk. Signs were posted to forbid climbing, but it didn't deter many of our friends. "Meandering" Marj Lowery, Orono From The House At The Centre Of The Universe If you can't stand the heat by Tracy Tonkinson In 2007, Clarington Council like all councils in Durham Region handed down an edict, that future council meetings would not be cluttered up by members of the public raising their concerns for longer than five minutes once every six months. In 2011, Council gave the public an extra five minutes to make their case, but the rules are still mind-bogglingly convoluted around presentations. Last week, Oshawa resident Bill Steele showed up at the Oshawa council chamber with duct tape over his mouth silently declaring his concerns on a livid yellow sign for all to see. At a time when politicians seem to believe their best defence against criticism is to muzzle the public who feel moved to express any, Mr. Steele may well have opened a door to circumventing the Region's 5 minute rule. There is no doubt that it is wrong to verbally abuse our representatives and we have all found ourselves a little nonplussed by the individual who takes up endless council time on what we may think is trivia, or even in some extreme cases madness. But we supposedly live in a democracy that pays councillors with our taxes to listen to those concerns, however trivial or crazy when the need arises. So it seems only right that this gag order on the public should be challenged for the attack on our rights and freedoms that it is. Sane people believe that being a councillor is a priviHEAT see page 4