Deciding what's outrageous a matter of viewpoint
Letter to the Editor from Winston Magee
Cape Breton Post
Fri., Dec. 1, 2006
Sydney Tar Ponds Agency spokesman Parker Donham's comments pertaining to the
storage tank at the former coke oven site are not called for (Sludge Contained
in Storage Tank on Coke Oven Site Destroyed, Nov. 29).
I have to assume Mr. Donham has never heard of the saying: "Better to err on the
side of caution."
He claims that we have allowed people to make "outrageous overstatements about
Sydney's environmental problems." Does this insinuate that we should place a gag
on comments from the community?
He further states that the contractor doing the work found the job to be an
"ordeal." The contractor should have been well aware of the problems it might
encounter, or it did not do its research properly.
Mr. Donham, being a spokesperson for the agency overseeing the cleanup, needs to
be reminded that he is speaking for the government and thus for the people of
this community. He should choose his comments a little more wisely lest he be
judged outrageous.
Winston Magee
Louisbourg
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