The Canadian Gazette was honoured earlier this week with a plaque to mark 30 years of work with Welcome Wagon in Almonte and Carleton Place. Photo by Katie Mulligan
Feb 26, 2010
Welcome Wagon
The Canadian Gazette was honoured earlier this week with a plaque to mark 30 years of work with Welcome Wagon in Almonte and Carleton Place. Photo by Katie Mulligan
Home game
Here's a bit of video from the Canadians vs. Hawks Family Day game. Carleton Place won the match 6-1. They play tonight against Nepean. The Canadians' last game of the season is March 6 at home.
Do or die
Tonight could be the last night for Jr. B hockey in Almonte for the season. The Thunder play the Blue Wings tonight in playoff action. Perth leads the series 3-0.
Feb 25, 2010
Digging into a good book
We like to publish cute photos of local kids.
But something tells me we shouldn't have this one go to print.
Canadian Gazette reporter Erin Fitzgerald captured this moment today at R. Tait McKenzie Public School in Almonte.
A matter of principle
One of the changes I've made since I came on board here in September was to remove the names of people accused of crimes from our police briefs.
I know it's not a popular idea, but there's reasoning behind it.
The police regularly send us press releases saying a person was arrested for, let's say, drunk driving. They outline the basic details, name the person and then say if there's a court date coming.
Here's the problem.
While many small Canadian newspapers readily print the name of the accused, they don't necessarily follow the case to court. So while we tell readers someone has been accused of a crime, we don't say if they've been found guilty or innocent before a judge months later.
Sure, we could devote more resources to court coverage. But for small papers, it's difficult.
Many times we go to court and spend a good part of the day waiting for our local case only to learn it's been put off a month. As an editor, I'm not pleased that my reporter just wasted a whole day and is returning without a story.
So here's our compromise.
We tell readers the details of an arrest and don't print the name of the accused. However, if the story is of importance, we print the name and then dedicate a reporter to follow the case through the courts.
We're doing that now involving a Carleton Place man who's facing Internet luring charges. He had a court date in Perth earlier this month, which resulted only in getting yet another court date.
While it may not satisfy all readers, it's the responsible thing to do. I think it also avoids the very real possibility of publicly accusing a resident of a misdeed and not telling the public he was later found innocent.
That would be a crime.
I know it's not a popular idea, but there's reasoning behind it.
The police regularly send us press releases saying a person was arrested for, let's say, drunk driving. They outline the basic details, name the person and then say if there's a court date coming.
Here's the problem.
While many small Canadian newspapers readily print the name of the accused, they don't necessarily follow the case to court. So while we tell readers someone has been accused of a crime, we don't say if they've been found guilty or innocent before a judge months later.
Sure, we could devote more resources to court coverage. But for small papers, it's difficult.
Many times we go to court and spend a good part of the day waiting for our local case only to learn it's been put off a month. As an editor, I'm not pleased that my reporter just wasted a whole day and is returning without a story.
So here's our compromise.
We tell readers the details of an arrest and don't print the name of the accused. However, if the story is of importance, we print the name and then dedicate a reporter to follow the case through the courts.
We're doing that now involving a Carleton Place man who's facing Internet luring charges. He had a court date in Perth earlier this month, which resulted only in getting yet another court date.
While it may not satisfy all readers, it's the responsible thing to do. I think it also avoids the very real possibility of publicly accusing a resident of a misdeed and not telling the public he was later found innocent.
That would be a crime.
Feb 23, 2010
Hearts and minds
Here's the Feb. 25 editorial:
Judging by the turnout at a recent sewage treatment plant meeting, residents of Mississippi Mills are not happy.
More than 100 people gathered at Almonte’s Old Town Hall to get the latest news about the proposed plant.
The new plant will replace the lagoon system the town presently relies on and is projected to be running by 2012.
At a cost of $27 million, the municipality will need to find more than $5.1 million to fund its portion of the project.
While no one likes increased fees or higher taxes, it’s clear the town has not been able to win the hearts and minds of residents on this issue.
With infrastructure funding being offered now – thanks in no small part to the state of the economy – politicians are worried if they don’t act, they’ll have to fund a much higher portion later.
“If we turn this money back, we’ll never get it again,” Mayor Al Lunney warned the crowd. “We’ve got the money. We’re ahead of the curve.”
And there’s the question of growth. For the municipality to accommodate new growth there has to be treatment capacity there, the crowd was told.
Both are good arguments.
But we’re worried on a couple of fronts.
We hoped the town would be able to convince residents to get on board a decision of this magnitude; a decision that will hit the pocket books of many.
If it really is the right time and right move, why aren’t the hearts and minds being won?
We are also worried the plant proposal could become a wedge issue in the fall election. Will voters cast their ballots based on where candidates stand on the plant? While accountability is a corner stone of our electoral process, we have some concern the election could become a quasi-referendum after the fact.
Hopefully the many other issues of the day will not be lost in the shadow of the treatment plant debate.
Our hope is the town will be able to either convince residents this is the right thing, or reevaluate its plans altogether.
Have your say. Write a letter to the editor via e-mail at roger.leblanc@metroland.com or via post at the address below.
Judging by the turnout at a recent sewage treatment plant meeting, residents of Mississippi Mills are not happy.
More than 100 people gathered at Almonte’s Old Town Hall to get the latest news about the proposed plant.
The new plant will replace the lagoon system the town presently relies on and is projected to be running by 2012.
At a cost of $27 million, the municipality will need to find more than $5.1 million to fund its portion of the project.
While no one likes increased fees or higher taxes, it’s clear the town has not been able to win the hearts and minds of residents on this issue.
With infrastructure funding being offered now – thanks in no small part to the state of the economy – politicians are worried if they don’t act, they’ll have to fund a much higher portion later.
“If we turn this money back, we’ll never get it again,” Mayor Al Lunney warned the crowd. “We’ve got the money. We’re ahead of the curve.”
And there’s the question of growth. For the municipality to accommodate new growth there has to be treatment capacity there, the crowd was told.
Both are good arguments.
But we’re worried on a couple of fronts.
We hoped the town would be able to convince residents to get on board a decision of this magnitude; a decision that will hit the pocket books of many.
If it really is the right time and right move, why aren’t the hearts and minds being won?
We are also worried the plant proposal could become a wedge issue in the fall election. Will voters cast their ballots based on where candidates stand on the plant? While accountability is a corner stone of our electoral process, we have some concern the election could become a quasi-referendum after the fact.
Hopefully the many other issues of the day will not be lost in the shadow of the treatment plant debate.
Our hope is the town will be able to either convince residents this is the right thing, or reevaluate its plans altogether.
Have your say. Write a letter to the editor via e-mail at roger.leblanc@metroland.com or via post at the address below.
Feb 22, 2010
Septage meeting
I was just editing a story about the recent public meeting in Almonte about the plans for a new sewage treatment plant.
More than 100 people showed up and they weren't happy.
While we'll be writing a story that talks about news from the engineers, I think it's just as interesting that people are still fuming about this.
The Town of Mississippi Mills is not winning hearts and minds on this one.
I wonder if this could become a wedge issue in the upcoming municipal election?
Tell us what you think with a letter to the editor. E-mail me at roger.leblanc@metroland.com.
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