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2 - Orono Weekly Times, Wednesday, January 15,2003 > ^ Subscriptions $29.91 + $2.09 GST = $32.00 per year. Publications Mail Registration No. 09301 • Agreement No. 40012366 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. " Orono Weekly Times 5310 Main Street, P.O. Box 209, Orono, Ontario LOB 1M0 Email: oronotimes@speedline.ca • Phone/Fax 905-983-5301 Publisher/Editor Margaret Zwart 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 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. Fire protectlin ip in snoke? By Anita DeVries On two occasions last week it took it took firefighters 15 minutes to respond to emergencies in Orono. The rural standard standard is 7-10 minutes. Over half of Orono's firefighters right now are inexperienced, inexperienced, rookie firefighters. Does that make you feel safe? Firefighting is a job where seconds count--a small spark can turn to flames and then into an inferno in minutes. It's not like we don't have the equipment or the man power to get to fires on time. But it's politics that's stopping the system system from running smoothly. The IAFF (International Association of Firefighters) doesn't want us to be able to use their experienced firefighters firefighters due to health and safety issues. Well, what about those who work in construction and volunteer their time on the side? They face the same health and safety issues, and there's no experienced full-timer at their side saying, "Watch out, that's composite material that could be very toxic." Or, "Don't go in there." Why can't full-time firefighters, like other people, have the choice to accept the risk of fighting fires in their community? community? I understand the union's official position, and they do have to take care of their workers. Obviously it is safer not to be a volunteer firefighter, but that goes for everyone. But still, what the union isn't going to admit to, is that there is, obviously, a perk for the union if more of these volunteer departments became full-time, that means more members in their union and more money for them. But maybe they have a point. Last year Newcastle Fire Department had 400 calls. That's a lot of calls, considering there are full-time stations that only have 200 calls a year (those small full-time stations stations generally have three full-time firefighters and a number number of volunteers). I think it would be nice to have at least one full-time person managing our small fire departments. One person who is experienced and makes it his ambition to man the hall. But on the other hand, do we really have to spend the extra money? Especially since Bowmanville backs up every call that Orono gets, so if Orono isn't there, eventually Bowmanville will be. The biggest question though is what happens if we have a life and death emergency and our guys can't make it out, and Bowmanville is busy? How much is a life worth? Ill ALEBT www.dolighon.com Viewpoint by Alex Shepherd, MP Durham Campbell's drinking and driving British Columbian premier Gordon Campbell made a grave error last week when he chose to get behind the wheel of a car after consuming enough alcohol that Hawaiian authorities considered him to Letter to the Editor "Owner pleads with Senator fans" Toronto sm ioj an . os Dear Editor, Our Superior Court... 09 Jan. 03 ...granted bankruptcy protection and the sealing of "sensitive financial information" information" - to the debt-ridden Ottawa Senators NHL hockey club. They owe hundreds of $millions, including $50.7 million to bankrupt Covanta Energy Corp, in the US and $37.5 million IdCIBC. Shareholders are paying the freight for corporations' mismanagement of profits. They have become "delusional "delusional entrepreneurs" (Jennifer Wells)--with our money for their own personal pleasure. Professional sports will be forced to address their "in- house" absurd wages. A 600% NHL players' T4 increase since 1990 is beyond ludicrous. ludicrous. Big business and gov-j eminent hi list share as/ the. engine ...driving this out of control, no accountability, wallet-draining monster to financial destruction. Make no mistake--you and I subsidize "their" many billions of dollars dollars a year toy--their own created created artificial world, their entertainment business. The Romans live on. Sincerely, Kelly Adamse s Orono ty be a drunk driver. I am not judging the man and how he leads his private life. Mr. Campbell has apologized apologized for his conduct and we must accept this. We all make mistakes and hopefully learn from them and carry on. But there is an old adage that says some people are so good that nothing a leader can do will make them better. Others are so incorrigible that nothing can be done to improve them. But the great bulk of the people go with the moral tide of the moment and the leader must help create that tide. Having said that all of us have witnessed a change in the way society views the act of drinking and driving. Like smoking, it not only has consequences for the people people who have the habit, but consequences for those innocently innocently subjected to it. Therefore it has.been deemed # • >• ' t t A 7* / < • ■ ,Vt i, " , • .< j as socially unacceptable. The bulk of Canadians will not accept drinking and driving driving because we now shudder to think of what the consequences consequences can be. An innocent child killed on the way home from school; a grandparent's life taken after leaving a grocery store; a mother or father taken away from their family forever when they were on their way to their kid's hockey game. These are activities all of us carry out each and every day. We never dream that it will end, forever, at the hands of a drunk driver. It must be absolutely devastating devastating when families have to deal with a death caused by someone who was driving drunk because that death never had to happen. Those who hold elected office are no different than anyone ' else. We are all Continued page 3 i ,i\