KUDOS TO LUISA D'AMATO AND TO CITIZENS SENDING LETTERS TO THE EDITOR REGARDING THE FAILED ELMIRA WATER CLEANUP

 

Firstly despite the title above these are two different but serious issues. Today's K-W Record has an excellent Opinion piece by Luisa describing the abhorrent behaviour of the Waterloo Region District School Board in improperly punishing an elected trustee for vigorously doing his job.  They banned trustee Mike Ramsay from attending either public or private trustee meetings for three months because he publicly criticized the Board's stupidity in the Caroline Burjowski matter

The second matter is in regards to a four page long, overall very good article by Record reporter, Terry Pender.  Mr. Pender interviewed Lanxess Canada staff and many of their friends and fellow travellors.  I do not blame him for not knowing that everybody he interviewed were all on the same team as he did not have a program so indicating. Partly because of that but as well do to the simple fact that most of the participants are newbies such as Hadley Stamm and Nathan Cadeau and a few older ones may well have simply forgotten basic facts from twenty and thirty years ago plus. 

The Letters To The Editor included a woman from Listowel whose husband died as a result of taking toxic sludge from the former Uniroyal Chemical to off-site disposal. Another woman wrote that there was an "...utter lack of responsibility from industry and all levels of government.". She also appropriately puts Lanxess Canada mouthpiece Hadley Stamm in her place. A former Record reporter also sent in a Letter in which he mentioned Varnicolor Chemical, another serious polluter in Elmira. Only this year have we been advised what I have known for many years that Varnicolor added at least a half dozen chlorinated solvents to the Elmira drinking water aquifers. Finally Dr. Richard Jackson, the first Chair of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) explained clearly why the warning signs along the Canagagigue Creek were placed there by Woolwich Township against the wishes of our corrupt Ontario Ministry of Environment. Yes Woolwich's mayor was playing politics but also she was correct in doing so. The Creek is badly contaminated and so are the fish despite five minute wonder, councillor Nathan Cadeau's claim otherwise. Another gentleman from Cambridge also contributed a Letter and as well congratulated both Terry Pender and the Record for their efforts.