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Big Lake bravery
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by Cheryl Waugh
BIG LAKE---Saving a life is something most of us will never
experience in our lifetime, and yet for Brian Stapleton, 11, and
Chris Carrick, 12, both of Big Lake, it's one that they've already
gone through as both boys are credited with saving the life of
Bradley Stapleton, Brian's younger brother.
The story of the boys' actions was told last Saturday when the Big
Lake Community Association held a Buffet for Bravery dinner to honour
the three boys.
It had all started innocently enough. Last January, the three boys
headed out for a quintessential Canadian afternoon. They were going
for a skate on Big Lake. They had been warned to stay in the Bay, but
the boys had brought hockey pucks with them, which they were chasing
around the ice surface on the Bay. Their play took them away from the
safety of the frozen Bay into the bigger area of the lake, where they
found open water. Bradley, then seven, went over to investigate.
"He saw the open water and went over because he's curious, he's just
like that," said Brian about his younger brother Bradley.
Events took a turn for the worse when Bradley fell through the ice.
No one really knows how they'd react in a crisis situation. Would
there be panic or fear? For Brian, those questions never arose. "It
was an automatic response. I didn't even think. I just reacted," he
said.
Brian carefully crawled on his hands and knees over the ice to where
Bradley was in the water. "The adrenaline...it just flowed," said
Brian. "I don't know how I did. I really don't. I just grabbed him. I
just reached in and grabbed him and ripped him out."
In fact, Brian had 'ripped' Bradley from the frozen cold water so
hard and with so much strength that Bradley was set down in a
standing position. Brian was 10 years old at the time.
With Chris, then 11, helping out, the boys undressed a dripping wet
and very cold Bradley and redressed him with their own clothes. They
then skated him back to the safety of the shore, and took him home.
"It was like skinny dipping," said Bradley, of his fully-clothed
experience in the freezing water. "It was scary."
Brian and Chris were thanked 'a million times' over at the buffet
October 25 at the Big Lake School House for their efforts in saving
Bradley. All three boys received wooden trucks made by Glen Unsworth.
Brian's and Chris' trucks had plaques which commemorated their
heroism. Both Brian and Chris also received pocket watches , which
were inscribed with their initials.
And, Bradley shyly thanked both Brian and Chris for saving his life
that January day. |
Councillor demands apology
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MINDEMOYA - Central Manitoulin Councillor Derek Stephens has
requested an apology from reeve and council following
accusations he
had violated the Councillor's Code of Conduct.
At a recent meeting of Central Manitoulin council, Mr. Stephens
indicated he is considering taking legal action against Reeve
Mary
Nelder and council as a result of the accusations.
"Council is aware at the last meeting Reeve Nelder charged me
with
violating the Councillors' Code of Conduct because she felt I
had
made public some issues that had been dealt with in camera out
in the
press," he explained. "I denied having brought anything that had
been
dealt with in camera out in the public. I am challenging council
tonight to tell me how I broke the code of ethics."
Mr. Stephens said that if anyone had read the article in
question,
which appeared in the October 3 edition of The Recorder, in no
way
was it consistent with the accusations raised against him.
"Nothing in the article that I said came out of the in camera
meeting," Mr. Stephens stated.
At a previous meeting of council, Reeve Nelder had raised the
issue
of conduct of councillors around the issue of confidentiality.
Ms.
Nelder was quoted in part as saying that, "as you know, recent
problems in the Central Manitoulin fire department led to in
camera
discussions concerning the employment of our fire chief.
Although
various efforts were made to avoid it, the unfortunate outcome
was
that council felt we had to ask for his resignation (John
McNaughton). You will recall, I'm sure, how reluctant most of
council
was to have to take this step and how difficult a decision it
was.
Nevertheless the vote, when it ultimately came, was unanimous."
She continued, "Dealing with difficult personnel issues is one
of the
most unpleasant duties of municipal councillors. Few people
enjoy
making decisions that will negatively impact on the lives and
careers
of our staff. That is the reason that such issues are
traditionally
dealt with in camera. Imagine my dismay, then, to see the topic
explored in a front page article in one of the local newspapers.
Further, I was appalled to discover that one of the sources of
information for this article was a Central Manitoulin councillor."
"I believe that a serious event has occurred that potentially
could
have very negative consequences, both for the former fire chief
and
for council," Reeve Nelder stated. "I think I speak for most of
council when I say that when we agreed to ask John McNaughton
for his
voluntary resignation, it was with the understanding that the
issue
would be resolved honourably, in a manner that would hopefully
have
no negative repercussions on his career. To then air the manner
of
his resignation in the press completely gnats council's
intention and
is nothing short of vindictive in my opinion. John McNaughton is
owed
an apology. Council is owed an apology. Councillor Stephens, you
have
breached a code of ethics that all conscientious politicians
accept.
I am calling upon you to do the honourable thing and apologize
for
your indiscretion."
"As I told reeve and council some time ago, we are not protected
under parliamentary immunity if unfounded comments are made,"
Mr.
Stephens pointed out.
He cited Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and
Ontario
Municipal Management Institute (OMMI) Municipal Law documents on
libel, slander and defamation, which state, "It is important to
realize that the concept of parliamentary immunity or privilege
which
protects politicians from action on the basis of things that
they say
with the House does not extend to the utterance of councillors
in a
council meeting. At best, there is a qualified or limited
privilege
in public debates at the municipal level. Councillors are
protected
only if they have an honest belief in the truth of the
statements
being made. There must be an absence of malice. A careless or
reckless regard for the truth may result in successful court
proceedings being taken against a councillor."
Mr. Stephens indicated he has contacted legal counsel, and is
considering legal court proceedings against the reeve and
council.
"However, I feel a suit against the reeve or council would then
have
to be supported by the municipal ratepayers, and I certainly
don't
know if I'm ready to take that route," he noted.
Mr. Stephens pointed out, "In the reeve's accusations, she
actually
brought out in camera meeting information on information she
accused
me of making. This is directly against the code of conduct that
she
is accusing me of having violated, and I am not going to take
this
lying down. I believe she owes me an apology. I am asking for an
apology for myself and Tom Sasvari (editor of The Recorder). Her
comments were unfounded and uncalled for. I feel she should make
a
full apology or resign as reeve."
"I have no intention of apologizing or resigning," Reeve Nelder
stated.
Councillor Sarah Bowerman also indicated she would not
apologize.
"I don't think I challenged you. I was surprised to see this
issue in
the paper, and feel it was unfortunate that maybe council did
not
appoint a spokesperson on council, such as the reeve, to make
any
statements to the press on contentious issues."
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Park boundary expansions concern rural
businesses and developers
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by Michael Erskine
WILLISVILLE---If a business wants to expand their operations or
build
in a rural area, they must conduct an environmental assessment
to
determine what impact their plans will have on the flora and
fauna of
the proposed site, but if government wants to expand provincial
park
designations or declare conservation buffer zones, they do not
have
to formally take into consideration the economic impact those
decisions will have on local residents and businesses.
Residents from Espanola to McGregor Bay gathered at a meeting in
Willisville recently to hear more about the extension of the
boundaries of Killarney Provincial Park, and even more
importantly
the impact the inclusion of a huge tract of land into a
protected
area will have on their homes and businesses.
Although no members of the Ministry of Natural Resources
attended the
meeting, it was still an important opportunity for residents to
express their concerns, said committee chair Dan Brunne.
"If we don't voice our concerns strongly," he said. "They will
take
that as an endorsement of their plans and go ahead with them."
Mr. Brunne and his fellow residents expressed some pessimism
over how
likely it is the MNR will listen to, or take into account, their
concerns. A pessimism they say is based on past performance.
"We gave a lot of input into the Living Legacy process," said
Mr.
Brunne, "but when the final report came out it was as if they
hadn't
heard a word we said. They just went ahead and did whatever they
wanted to."
Mr. Brunne has a strong stake in the issue of the conservation
buffer
zone around the newly expanded park. He is a mining prospector
with
extensive claims in a forestry conservation zone within an area
that
is clearly slated to be included in an even larger expansion of
the
park's boundaries, and he stands to lose a great deal of money,
and a
large part of his life's work because of what he says is a
chilling
effect the conservation buffer zone has on potential investment.
"There is a significant body of platinum and palladium-based
metals
there," he said. "These are the metals that will be used in the
new
fuel cell technology that will help protect the global
environment,
we need those metals."
While Mr. Brunne has an obvious vested interest in the issue,
and
other residents were concerned about the resale value of their
properties and businesses, that is the exact point that had the
residents concerned. They feel their interests are not being
taken
into account in decisions made in urban offices.
The economic impact on residents is not clear and easily
quantified,
said Mr. Brunne, but that does not make it any less real.
"If investors are scared off by the proximity of the park and
the
conservation buffer zones," he asked, "how can you complete the
work
you need to develop the property."
Further, he noted, if a mining claim is not renewed, or has been
lost
due to the development work not being completed on time, the
land is
removed from staking.
The chilling effect on any new development is clear to Mr.
Brunne as
a mining prospector.
"Would I have put 16 years and half-a-million dollars into these
properties if I had known they would be surrounded by a
conservation
zone? No I probably wouldn't," he said.
Even what public consultation process there was followed an
entirely
inadequate time-frame, said Mr. Brunne.
"They sent us a letter giving us 30 days to respond," he said.
"That
letter arrived five days into the 30 days. How do people without
the
resources of the government or a huge corporation respond that
quickly to complex issues?"
Mr. Brunne said he contacted the local MNR offices, asking for
an
extension to 60 days, and was told that should not be a problem.
But
a letter from further up the bureaucratic food chain soon
followed,
saying that there would be no deviation from the stated
time-frame.
"How can you trust them?" he asked. "The decisions are being
made for
political purposes, not for what is best for the local
community."
Mr. Brunne noted that for nearly a third of a century he and his
neighbours have been drawing water through a local pumping
station
built by INCO Limited.
"Now they have told us we have to dig individual wells at a cost
of
around $5,000 apiece," he said. "Why? What is contaminating the
water? There is no industrial development upstream from us. What
there is, are 10,000 visitors to Killarney Park every year."
Park visitors have little positive impact on the local economy,
suggested Mr. Brunne. Unlike mining and forestry jobs that would
be
there for generations.
"The park visitors come up from the city with their SUVs filled
with
groceries, because they don't want to pay the high prices up
here,
they have extra gas in the back, because they don't like the
price of
our gas, they bring everything in with them," he said. "They
aren't
taking it all back out with them either, so where is it ending
up?"
Anyone looking at a map of Ontario might ask what the big deal
is
about the tiny extensions to the park boundaries, it is a big
province. But Mr. Brunne counters that those extensions are
taking
place close to settled areas. There is a lot of Ontario that can
be
protected and taken out of circulation that won't negatively
impact
the economy of significant numbers of people.
Ongoing disputes between the MNR and local First Nations are
also an
issue that Mr. Brunne says wind up impacting local residents
unfairly.
"Just because they are having a fight with a local band, doesn't
make
it right for them to take it out on us," he said. He cited
fishing
disputes as one of the leading causes of new slot sizes and fish
limits being imposed on anglers.
"The whole thing is absurd," he pointed out. "You can be fishing
in
the mouth of the Spanish River, and have one limit, and then
move out
into the lake and have a different limit. How are Conservation
Officers supposed to enforce that? They are just turning their
hats
around and calling it a day and who can blame them?"
Algoma Manitoulin MPP Mike Brown, who admitted he was returning
the
call surrounded by moving boxes in his new office as
Parliamentary
Assistant to Dave Ramsay, Minister of Natural Resources, said he
could not comment on the specific details of the residents
concerns
until he could learn more about them.
"The issues and concerns were raised by my constituents during
the
campaign," he said. "I just don't know exactly what can be done
about
them yet. Some of the Living Legacy stuff really wasn't well
thought
out. The people doing it were not great on the details, they
were
more of the big picture kind of people. Obviously we hope to do
better."
The commitment to better communication is endemic through out
the
McGuinty government he said.
"The government hopes," said Mr. Brown, "one of the hallmarks of
our
government will be open dialogue with the people we serve."
He encouraged Mr. Brunne and the Killarney Provincial Park
Impact
Committee to send letters, e-mails and any other form of
communication they wish to use.
"It will all be very helpful to us," he said.
Once he and his staff clear the boxes out of the way, chuckled
Mr.
Brown, they would undoubtedly be in better position to answer
questions and address concerns.
Mr. Brunne and his committee are currently preparing a letter to
Mr.
McGuinty, copied to Mr. Brown, in which they outline their
concerns
about the impact of the parks expansions and the impact of the
Living
Legacy program across the North.
"Tens of thousands of people living in the North are being
directly
impacted socially, economically and possibly violated
constitutionally," said Mr. Brunne, likening the past arrogance
of
the Ministry of Natural Resources to the land control strategy
used
by early European aristocrats. "The Living Legacy Policy,
without
question, is creating undue hardship on Northern people."
Mr. Brunne and his group are calling for an immediate moratorium
on
further changes, to allow sufficient time for proper
consultation
with the people most affected by the Living Legacy Land-use
policies.
For Mr. Brown and his Liberal government colleagues, there will
be a grace
period as they struggle to reconcile the policies of their
predecessors in government with their own vision and priorities,
but
for Mr. Brunne and his neighbours, that period won't be long. |
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Anti-drinking and
driving group forming on Island |
by Michael Erskine
MANITOULIN---January 23 is a date that will remain etched in
Kathy
Senior's mind for the rest of her life, that is the day the
phone
rang at 3:20 am with the message that her brother had been
involved
in a near-fatal accident.
"They told us it was too early to tell if he was going to live,"
she
said, still visibly shaken with the memory. "In fact they didn't
give
us any hope that he would ever be the same even if he did pull
through."
Her brother had broken every bone in his face.
Her brother was heavily intoxicated at the time of the accident,
as
was his supposed 'friend' who was driving the car. The 'friend'
left
him to his fate.
"We almost lost him," she said. "He wasn't supposed to live."
But live he did, and aside from the headaches and some plastic
surgery he still needs, her brother is almost completely back to
normal.
Many families are not so lucky, and with the death of a loved
one,
there is often a time of acceptance and closure, but for Ms.
Senior
that closure hasn't come.
"I felt I needed to do something," she said. "At first I thought
maybe doing something at the high school. You see MADD (Mothers
Against Drunk Driving) doing things at schools all the time."
So Ms. Senior looked into the MADD program, made some calls, and
now
has received clearance to start a Manitoulin Island chapter.
"When you look at the statistics," she said. "The Island is
number
one in nearly all of the bad ones."
The early seeds of MADD were sown in 1979, when
five-and-a-half-month-old Laura Lamb was left a quadriplegic
when she
and her mother, Cindi, were hit head-on by a repeat drunk
driving
offender traveling at 120 mph. Less than a year later, on the
other
side of the continent in California, 13-year-old Cari Lightner
was
killed at the hands of a drunk driver. Two days prior, the
offender
was released on bail for a hit-and-run drunk driving crash. He
already had two drunk driving convictions with a third
plea-bargained
to "reckless accident." At the time of Cari's death, the drunk
driving offender was carrying a valid California driver's
license.
Candace Lightner, Cari's mother, and some friends gathered at a
steak
house in Sacramento to discuss forming a group named "MADD-Mothers
Against Drunk Drivers."
In the next two decades, the organization grew to encompass
millions
of members and hundreds of chapters in every nearly every
country in
the world.
One of the most familiar icons of the MADD movement are the 'Tie
One
On For Safety' ribbons.
Ms. Senior has already begun placing the familiar red ribbon
boxes in
local stores and restaurants.
The Red Ribbon campaign was initiated at the 1986 Candlelight
Vigil
of Remembrance and Hope in San Diego. Attendees were asked to
take
the red ribbons around their vigil candles to their automobiles
and
"tie them on" as a reminder not to drink and drive. Renamed Tie
One
On For Safety, this public awareness campaign is MADD's most
recognizable and longest-running national program.
A candle light vigil similar to the San Diego event has been
running
in Toronto for a number of years now.
"MADD is completely volunteer and donation driven," she said.
"The
banks have the boxes through a national agreement, but we are
putting
them into other businesses locally as well."
The first big event to drum up local support is planned in
conjunction with the OPP, as MADD will be part of a November 14
assembly at Manitoulin Secondary School.
In the 1980s, MADD popularized the concept of "designated
drivers."
Today, it is a household term, and bars and restaurants
nationwide
ask patrons to "designate a driver". In recent years, MADD has
also
taken on a youth-oriented focus, to nip the impaired driver
phenomena
in the bud. It is no longer 'cool' to drink and drive.
There are plans to hold a 'town hall' meeting sometime in
January,
where the chapter representative will be coming up from
Mississauga.
"We will have the entire community affected by drunk driving out
for
it," she said. "Lawyers, police officers, emergency services
workers,
everyone who is impacted at their jobs by drunk driving," she
said.
"We have everything in place. Now all we need is the community's
support."
Any dent that can be made in the number of tragedies like that
faced
by Ms. Senior's family will be worth the effort.
People in the community interested in joining the MADD effort to
stop
impaired driving can contact Ms. Senior at 368-0840. |
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