Reading the news of a large drug bust in St. Anthony makes one wonder how bad the situation is. According to some the prevalence of drugs in the local area is widespread. In my opinion I don’t see much evidence for this opinion.

The latest charges are as a result of a search warrant and nabbed three according to the RCMP. The names of these people were not published but if you were so inclined you could attend court on April 17th and ascertain the identities of the accused.

The real question in my mind is why is so much in the way of resources being used to arrest, detain, charge and try those using drugs and distributing them. The camps on both sides have positions on the use and legalization of drugs.

I find it interesting that the use of alcohol does not meet with more of an outcry as it is more widely attributed to major social and economic problems in our community. The government makes so much money from the sale of alcohol they would never make the mistake of criminalizing the use and sale of this legal product.

Just recently I went to the Irving station to fill up a snowmobile and was informed that someone was killed while drunk on a snowmobile. The news story did not mention the use of Alcohol as a contributing factor but who is to say whether it is a rumor or factual.

The news story said the driver was found after a search and the cause was under investigation. I was more than hopeful that this person was not using alcohol and was just the victim of a very unfortunate accident that killed him leaving his family behind to grieve. I was very sad to hear the news another person was gone at such a young age.

Regardless of the truth of the story that was related to me, I was very disappointed that the rumor had been so openly related without concern for the family that just lost a father who they loved. The real issue is that life is precious and can end in the blink of an eye and as such we should be thankful for every day and have respect for those who are still living. We should not be jumping to conclusions without having facts to back them up and we should maybe be very careful about how we relate information.

Popularity: 11% [?]

OPINION:

I don’t want to be drummed out of Newfoundland for saying this but here goes. The seal hunt is not sacred and is subject to the same forces as all other traditions. It is able to end without the world ending for those involved.

When the world faced major changes in traditional methods in the past it seems it was always an uproar. Consider the advent of major innovations like the car. Those who sold Horse and Buggy were impacted with the loss of a job that they relied on. This did not stop the advent of the motor car. There were lots who complained about the loss of work and they saw it as catastrophic. The march of time, however stops for no one.

The seal hunt though intrenched in our culture here is one that has a long history of negativity outside of our province. The scenes publicly promoted by animal rights groups, of men chasing small helpless seals only to bash their heads in has done a lot to give our province and in fact our country a bad name. I think part of this negative result is due to bad Public Relations. If you say something over and over even if it is not completely true it is begun to be believed. I am not asking the seal hunt to end, I am just realistic about its prospects.

Right now it appears the industry will self cease as a result of the cost of pelts. The reduction of price to less than $20 per pelt is leading a natural end to the industry. This in my opinion will have some positive. Maybe Newfoundland and Labrador will see an increase in tourism that will pump even more money into the economy. I do feel for the folks in the industry that obtain a large portion of the yearly income they make from this industry. However when a large portion of the world has stopped buying a product and has declared it to be not acceptable you can’t just bury your head in the sand and ignore it. This will lead to no good in the end. Sealers will go the way of many in jobs that the world and time has made obsolete.

Of course who knows what may come. The Car which had major impacts that were less than positive in the long run and many today may feel that it’s takeover of the environmentally friendly horse and buggy has done little to advance our lives when you take it all in to account. That being said who among us would give up our reliable transportation?

What concerns me the most in this whole debate is the lack of freedom to bring up this issue without fear of reprisal. The MP who brought it up was unfairly attacked in my view and should have the right to discuss this. Anyone can plainly see it needs debate as it is having an impact on everyone in the province not just the sealers. The largest industry after oil in our province is reliant on a good Public perception of this great province and comes from those who decide to visit here each and every tourist season.

Popularity: 12% [?]

The essential transportation service provided by Marine Atlantic will increase in February and it is going up more than 4%. This was the announcement made today by Marine Atlantic Vice President, Don Barnes.

An increase in inflation and the cost of goods and fuel is sited as a contributing factor in the decision to raise cost to passengers using this service. The Vice President stated the increase is completely in line with the increase faced by the service in goods and services and therefore is reasonable.

The hikes also include a $50 increase in the fee for trucking companies for drop trailer management.

The new fee schedule shows that one-way fares for a family of four traveling between North Sydney and Port aux Basques will be $224.77, up from $209.38 last year. The one-way cost for the same family on the Argentia route increases from $509.45 to $536.84. On top of the increase a new security fee of $3.50 will be charged on each adult fare purchased.

Even though the Vice President made a huge deal about the 4% the actual cost in the above example is 6.84%. For the company to claim 4% and then give an example of the average that is more than that is incredulous. If you must pay a fee for security and it is new that is an increase and for complete honesty should be included in any quoted increase to the public.

Vice-president Don Barnes said while increasing fees “is never an easy decision,” Marine Atlantic needed to cover its own rising costs.

“We’re seeing that we need to introduce this as, really, a reality of inflation,” Barnes told reporters in St. John’s.

VIDEO OF DON BARNES FROM CBC NEWS

Marine Atlantic is not changing its fuel surcharge, which remains at 21 per cent. That surcharge has been controversial over the years, including a move four years ago in which Marine Atlantic tripled the rate.

Popularity: 11% [?]

The price of home heating oil jumped more than four-and-a-half cents per litre and diesel went up five cents per litre last night.

The Public Utilities Board’s maximum price for gasoline motor fuel increased by more than 1.5 cents per litre.

The chart shows how gas prices have changed compared to both changes in the national average for gas prices and the global price of oil.

Popularity: 11% [?]

If you have not visited the local library lately you might not be aware of the newest available feature now being offered at the St. Anthony Library.

A lot of e-book readers have now begun to be used in this area and it is great to be able to buy books from Amazon Kindle and Koobo and other services like that.

Now there is an option available to borrow a book for two weeks on your e-reader. This service is very easy to use and can be set up in as little as a day. The patron just needs to visit the library and have the card setup to download books from the Newfoundland Public Libraries service.

The system requires the download of software to view the book on your existing device and all this is free to use. Each person can sign out up to three books for two weeks and then they are returned so someone else can borrow the book.

This service does save time as going out to the library is no longer needed. However we still suggest you drop by on occasion to experience everything the Library in your local community has to offer. Check out the website at elibrary.nlpl.ca

Popularity: 16% [?]

Getting elected to run the city of St. John’s is a big deal and now it pays even more. When the economy is booming the money is flowing and the Mayor and all the councilors will be seeing a raise of 3.5 Percent now with another 4.5 percent in July.

This leads to some questions regarding whether those who serve the public should be doing so as a volunteer or a paid employee. For St. John’s it is clear it is a full time job with the mayor getting over $100,000 per year and councilors getting over $35,000.

There are many in the province who don’t receive this type of pay for full time work. For the person who is working for an hourly rate this would be $17 per hour. A pretty good wage.

This is all part of a new salary structure Councillors quietly approved as part of the budget. It ties their pay to the amount city management receives and will be adjusted each July.

Popularity: 12% [?]

The plan was to have the new arena opened sometime in March of 2012 but sources are telling us now that there could be some delays. Workers have begun to tell some in the area that they will not finish the construction on schedule.

There has been no change in the proposed opening according to the town newsletter that was distributed before Christmas but we have heard from two sources who state the finishing touches can not be completed by March.

No confirmation of troubles yet from the town but it appears no news is good news so far. Of course construction of the facility has been delayed before so any further delays would not be out of the ordinary.

The New Polar Centre is also something that the town hopes will be ready for the Come Home Year Celebrations in July 2012.

Popularity: 15% [?]

One has to wonder if a deadline is set what does it say when the deadline comes and they extend the deadline? For us here we hope it does not mean the response was not as good as hoped. This celebration is one that is good for everyone so it is a good idea to support the initiative of the town.

One- It raises money for the local community and this money is hard to come by and is well used. Last year the Come home year committee in Englee gave thousands of dollars to the fire department which is always needed and helps all in the community. Some also went to playground equipment and other great causes.

Two- It provides activities in a small community which helps to make life better. There is never enough to do when you live in a small northern community. Meals and entertainment are a way to make life more enjoyable and your registration helps to ensure there is lots to do during the celebration.

Three- It gives folks who used to live here a good reason to come back and see what is new and how our community has been growing and getting better. Also who can say they don’t like seeing folks we have not seen in a long time.

Four- It is a reasonable cost for everything you get in return. Please sign up as soon as you can and show your support for the event that will be to the entire communities benefit. For more information check out the updates at http://town.stanthony.nf.ca

Popularity: 15% [?]

Literacy Day activities were held today, Tuesday December 20 at St. Anthony Elementary School. The children were involved in activities during the day to commemorate Literacy Day.

This year the kids were asked to work on a goal of reading 250,000 pages during a two week period. The children managed to read over 100,000 pages but failed to get Mrs. Burden the Principal to have makeup on her face while blindfolded.

Some of the other activities included, Musical Books, Singing Christmas Songs, Poem Scavenger Hunt and some silent reading time. Literacy Day is a chance for kids to concentrate on the importance of reading in a time when more and more kids spend less time in books and more time in front of screens.

Popularity: 19% [?]

There has been a widespread reporting lately of Child Sexual Abuse among Clergy at least that is the impression one is left with after hearing the headlines that scream across the computer screen and newspaper lately. I must divulge that I am a member of the Catholic Church and as such have a slight bias towards defending the church I belong to.

I in no way think that the incidence of abuse should be downplayed in any way. I am just appalled at the apparent sensationalizing of these as somewhat more prevalent in the Catholic Clergy.

Getting to the truth sometimes is hard work and based on many studies it is clear that the safeguards against pedophilia in the priesthood are now among the tightest in the world. That won’t stop a steady trickle of scandals; but I think that objectively your child is less likely to be abused by a Catholic or Anglican priest in the west today than by the members of almost any other profession.

The real story in my opinion is the institutional cover ups that happen as a result of the incidents. According to Andrew Brown a columnist and a researcher,”These questions lead into a thicket of horror. The most detailed statistics on child abuse for the Catholic clergy that I can find come from the John Jay Institute’s report drawn up for the American Catholic bishops’ conference. From this it emerges that the frequency of child abuse among Catholic priests is not remarkable but its pattern is. Although there are no figures for the number of abusers in the wider population, there are figure for the number of victims. These vary wildly: the most pessimistic survey finds that 27% of American women and 16% of men had “a history of childhood sexual abuse”; while the the most optimistic had 12.8% of women and 4.3% of men. Obviously a great deal depends here on the definition of abuse; also on the definition of “childhood”. In some of these surveys it runs up to 18.”

The report goes on to say, “The Catholic figures show that between about 4% of priests and deacons serving in the US between 1950 and 2002 had been accused of sexual abuse of someone under 18.”

Of course one has to look at whether this statistic is larger than that in the general public or does the abuse rise as more newsworthy due to the level of trust that is given to a clergy member.

Brown went on to write,”This is vile, but whether it is more vile than the record of any other profession is not obvious. The concentration on boys makes the Catholic pattern of abuse stand out; what makes it so shocking is that parents trusted their children with priests. They stood in for the parents. But this isn’t all that different from the pattern in the wider world, either, where the vast majority of abuse comes from within families. The other point that makes the Catholic abuse is that it is nowadays very widely reported. It may be the best reported crime in the world: that, too tends to skew perceptions. There are, however, some fragments of figures from the outside world suggesting that not many professions do better. Last year, it was reported that half of the girls fostered in social democratic Sweden in the 50s and 60s had been abused; according to Camila Batmanghelidjh 550,000 children are reported to the social services in Sweden every year.”

The real issue for me is why is there such a concentration by the media and indeed the public at large in the Catholic Clergy? The answer is that the hierarchical structure of the church decided like most large institutions to not publicly disclose these transgressions but to in fact cover them up for so long.

Now however as the church looses it’s once unquestioned position in society it is finding it more and more impossible to keep these actions under wrap. The Church is now putting in place very strong and determined safeguards to deal with this issue. If you were to look at the activity in the local church you would find that there are actions, concrete and effective, being put in place to safeguard the children who are involved with the church.

Popularity: 19% [?]