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â€"The Waterioo t hrotucke is published |_ every Wednesday by the utw | Group, owned by City Media Group Inc . a submidiary of lorstar Corp Th | content of this paper is protected In copyight and may be used anly for personal nun commercul purpuses | _ All other rights are reserved and commercal use is probrbited To make use of tus mitenial you must | _ Nest obtaim the perriussion od the 1 owner ind the iopyaght WATERLOO CHRONICLE editormale@waterloochronicle.ca sports@waterioochronicle ca sales@waterloochronicle.ca composing@waterloochromcte xa 279 Weber St., North, Suite 20 Waterloo, Ontario N2J 3H8 The views of our columnists are thes own and do not necessarily represent those of the newspaper Phone: Hib: 2630 I W Rob Leuschner . Owayne Weidendart Group Publisher | Group Sales Director/ __ Manager 623â€"3050, Ext. 208 623â€"3050, Ext. 210 tcanadian Pibbcatmins Matl Siles Pror: uct Agreement Number hi Py4 published Submissions may be edited for length. so please be brief Copyright in letters and ather materials submitted to the Publisher and accepted for publication remains with the anthor. but the publisher and its licensees may freely reproduce them in print, electronic or other forms Ouat mailing address is 279 Weber S1 N [Unit 20. Waterina. N2TIP2 Special Projects _ Special Projects The WaterIco Chronicle welcames letters to the Editar They should be signed with name, address and phone number and will be verified fat accuracy. No unsigned letters will be Retail Sales Advertising Manager, Ext. 230 Sales, Ext. 223 Intermational Standard Senial Number Andrea Bales Editor. Ext. 215 soww watertoochronmcle Gerry Maticr Lyna Bartol Bob Zarzycla Letters Policy Ext. 222 Sales, Ext. 228 ISSN 0832â€"3410 40050478 Associate Publisher Bob Vrbanac Sports Editor, Ext. 229 Audited circulation 27.538 Narma Cxca Advertising Matr Miller Bill Prhura HHts 4484 he majority of Waterloo city council voted to withâ€" I hold their support of a new private members bill trying to bring transparency to local public matters. Bill 123, proposed by MPP Carolyn Di Cocco, would demand that council and other local public bodies pass more stringent tests before going inâ€"camera on issues of public interest. It would provide a paper trail for those who want to challenge the legitimacy of taking a meeting out of the public eye, and would put more teeth in enforcement. Councillors and other public officials could even be fined if they were found to have flouted the new law. While Waterloo council said they supported transâ€" parency, most also said they couldn‘t support this version of the transparency act. The lone holdout was Coun. Gary Kieswetter who was comfortable with the guidance that council currently gets from the city solicitor on these matters and didn‘t particularly fear this call for greater scrutiny. The rest of council, however, dodged the issue by sayâ€" ing the new legislation is confusing, and it would be best served if it was included within the existing Ontario Municipal Act which governs how local governments are run The Ontario Municipal Act is currently undergoing a review, and perhaps tightening of what constitutes closedâ€"door meetings would be a welcome addition to the existing legislation. But that doesn‘t take away from the proposed new act, which would also apply to local school boards and other public committees. If it makes just one public body pause before taking a matter behind closed doarts, it‘s done its work. New act not that complicated FIVE.. FOAKMAeE.... T HREE.... | T WO ... "...just because I choose to choose something: else over the tranisparency act, it doesn‘t mean I‘mâ€" *Js 80 hfi CHRON * c }IEWPOINT ORIA] a t o ari" ;i‘ riving along what Dwi!] one day be known as Ira Needles Boulevard, now referred to as Glasgow Street, in Kitchâ€" ener, a small yet colourful shrine stands at the side of the road in memory of a life taken too soon. For the last month, warm and cool breezes have proâ€" pelled a handheld windmill during the day, while canâ€" dles that seem to mysteriâ€" ously ignite from dusk to dawn,. help light up a framed photo of happier times. Friends of _ Chris Hinsperger, a funâ€"loving 20â€" yearâ€"old who attended high school at the same time as my sister, and died early Oct. 9 at the very bend in the road the keepsakes now line, created the memorial the day of the car crash. Now, more than four weeks later, it still stands in tact, likely stirring up just as much emotion as it did when those with heavy hearts first put it together. Roadside memorials can be helpful and harmful It truly is a beautiful sight. and a fitting tribute to someone who ebviously touched many lives. Yet, some are questionâ€" ing the safety issues that surround roadside memoriâ€" als, and whether people have the right to turn public land into private gneving 's')fl(’(‘ There are a number of safety concerns people have in regards to such roadside The list includes: people stopped at the memorial site could be in danger of being hit by a car; some memorials could inflict seriâ€" ous damage if hit by a vehiâ€" cle; and memorials could create a distraction for motorists that could result in other accidents. memorials. Some good points, but how do you tell grieving loved ones who‘ve put bours of time and sadness into these markers that they have to take them down. especially when one of the reasons behind building such a sight is to encourage passersâ€"by to drive safely. me Yet, does the need to gneve outweigh the poten tialh risk to someone else‘s life? It seems rather cold to There are alternatives, one being standardized roadside memorial markers that are placed as close as practicable to the site of the fatal crash in a safe location. Another, that‘s currently implemented in the U.S. state of Missouri, encourâ€" ages victims‘ families to participate in the state‘s adoptâ€"aâ€"highway program, which recognizes victims with a sign. The families sign a threeâ€" year agreement to clean litâ€" ter from and maintain the landscape at their adopted site. Not a bad idea. And a new program in this province, funded in part by the Ministry of Transportation. plans to subsidize a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) campaign to install small rectangular signs that bear the name of the deceased. The decision shows that our government has recogâ€" nized that placing such markers at the scene of a fatal crash puts a face to the tragedy, and hopefully arouses a sense of poignanâ€" cy in other drivers. While the plaques may not be as pretty as the perâ€" sonal memorials, and they may not hold as much senâ€" timent, they will continue to honour the memory of the departed, and possibly prevent similar tragedies from occurring on our roads.