The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, O ct ob er 10 ,2 01 9 | 8 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 80 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca editorial@waterloochronicle.ca facebook.com/waterloochronicle @wlchronicle WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Nelson Parreira nparreira@metroland.com Regional Director of Media Heather Dunbar hdunbar@starmetrolandmedia.com Advertising Representatives Cassandra Dellow, Jan Bodanka, Rebecca Butler, Matt Miller, Lisa Humphreys, Sheri-Lyn Blair, Chris Rego Regional Managing Editor Chris Vernon Reporters Adam Jackson Bill Jackson Namish Modi CONTACT US Waterloo Chronicle 475 Thompson Dr. Cambridge, ON N1T 2K8 Phone: 519-886-2830 Fax: 519-623-9155 Web: www.waterloochronicle.ca Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at waterloochronicle.ca Delivery For all delivery inquiries, e-mail customerservice@metroland.com or call 519-894-3000 OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA Every week, 30,000 copies of the Waterloo Chronicle hit the street and land on doorsteps across the city. Eight in 10 Canadians read a newspaper every week - either in print or online - including 85 per cent of millennials. And still, newspapers are in a battle for survival. Research has found 63 per cent of Canadians were unable to distinguish between legitimate news web- sites and fake news stories, and 65 per cent were wor- ried false information or fake news was being used as a weapon. Access to truthful news is under threat. For years, the credible, independent news reporting that news- papers provide has been funded by local advertiser support. But as readership moved online, many Cana- dian brands and companies transferred their adver- tising dollars to global conglomerates. Seventy per cent of Canada's online ad revenue goes to Facebook and Google - despite the fact that ads in either digital or print newspapers are the most trusted of all ad formats. This is National Newspaper Week in Canada. It is our chance to remind readers that a newspa- per is a snapshot of history. It is an accurate reflection of that moment in time - what we were all thinking, doing and experiencing. We asked some Torstar journalists to explain why newspapers are still essential. Here are some of their responses. Roland Cilliers, reporter "Newspapers give people access to worlds and per- spectives they often times wouldn't even be aware of. A world without community news is one with an ever more segmented population." Louie Rosella, online editor "Newspapers matter because residents want to stay informed through the objective and investigative lens that our journalism offers regarding the issues im- pacting their community, whether it's a crime in their neighbourhood, taxes going up, a new development project, the need for a stop sign and so on. Without the delivery of this important, local content, the conversa- tion dies. Change cannot be effected." Steve LeBlanc, news editor "Newspapers matter because we don't just pass the baton of information at any given moment. Often we explore and share how the facts of a single event fit into a greater truth." It's a clear consensus. Democracy depends on pro- fessional journalism. Without the journalism we produce, what would happen to the checks and balances that go hand-in- hand with the accountability we expect in our soci- ety? Please sign a pledge of support at newspapersmat- ter.ca and send a message to Canadian businesses, advertisers and all levels of government that newspa- pers matter, now more than ever. NEWSPAPERS ARE A SNAPSHOT OF HISTORY EDITORIAL LETTERS & COMMENTARY 'BEMUSED' BY CONCERN SHOWN FOR INJURED CYCLIST I was bemused by the concern shown for the per- son who wiped out while crossing railroad tracks at the wrong angle. This is a fact of life that I learned as a six year old when biking with my father back in the 1940s. I came up- on railroad tracks which an- gled at 45 degrees across Old King Street, just past the Hi- Way Market (now Zehrs) and close to the Freeport ar- ea of Kitchener. I saw the problem and instinctively knew that I had to cross the tracks straight on, however, there were cars close by and I could not risk swinging out into the road. I slowed right down and tried to cross them on the angle, however, the bike just slid right out and I, slowly, fell onto the road and slight- ly in front of a slow moving oncoming vehicle. Of course, my Dad panicked and dropped his bike and rushed to pick me up, but I was fine and the car driver was paying attention, so it was all uneventful. And I never encountered a similar issue over my next 35 years of bike riding. The concept of how to cross tracks should be self evident to anyone who ac- tually "learns" to ride a bike (along with always be- ing aware of car doors that may open unexpectedly in- to a biker's path). This train track "issue" is not the fault of the City or the railroad. It is simply a problem for inexperienced and inattentive bicyclists. TONY PIHOWICH WOODSTOCK, ONTARIO TAXPAYERS SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY FOR STREET PARTIES The biggest street party so far was St. Patrick's Day where we had 30,000 stu- dents out at a cost of $747,000 for police and oth- er emergency services. That's about $25 per stu- dent, all paid for by the tax- payer. Does that include the cost of the City of Wa- terloo's task force? All the city has to do is say 'no' to these parties. The other option is treat it like Oktoberfest and charge $25 per person, and maybe have pay toilets, too. If you live within the area, there would be no charge. If you don't want stu- dents to urinate on your front lawn or your shrubs, you could water your front lawn all afternoon or until the party is over. The city might have a bylaw that says you can only water certain days, but that should not be a problem. All you have to do is throw grass seed on your lawn and ask for an exemption. I don't have a problem with partying at all; in fact, I'm all for it but I don't want to pay for it. If I want to have 10 people over to party at my house, would the city give me $250 to do that? I don't think so. RON HAMMAR KITCHENER SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA