PUBLICATION The Halifax ChronicleHerald
>DATE Sunday October 25, 1998, PAGE A6
>BYLINE Tera Camus
>Fights 'poisoning' cleanup group
>Sydney Less infighting and quicker action were among the pleas on
>Saturday from volunteers working to find a solution to Sydney's
>toxicwaste problems. Sydney Less infighting and quicker action were
>among the pleas on Saturday from volunteers working to find a solution
>to Sydney's toxicwaste problems.
>
>But that may not be possible, given the dynamic of the group, which
>includes 20 citizens, three levels of government and dozens of other
>representatives from community organizations and unions.
>
>"There's a lot of infighting right now, which is poisoning us," said
>Eric Leukert in a short speech before failing to dethrone Bucky
>Buchanan as chairman of the Joint Action Group for Environmental
>Cleanup.
>
>At one point choking back tears because cancer has come "knocking at my
>door," Mr. Leukert said people are desperate to see the cleanup, but
>their voices may not be getting heard.
>
>Before winning a third term as chairman since the group was born in
>1996, Mr. Buchanan admitted there have been some difficulties.
>
>"It's not been easy," he said.
>
>The cumbersome pace of decisionmaking and membership frustration was
>clearly demonstrated at Saturday's meeting, which ran two hours late.
>
>The biggest problem seemed to be a list of volunteers wishing to
>represent the community. It exceeded the limit of 20 by four people.
>
>A heated debate ensued, lasting well over an hour.
>
>Several members questioned the group's governance model. Marlene Kane
>suggested expanding the citizenelect number to 24.
>
>But the group's lawyer, Gary Corsano, said it would require an advanced
>notice of motion to consider any change to the model.
>
>Several others offered suggestions which led to further debate, such as
>whether an aboriginal member could represent island Mi'kmaqs, or
>whether a Frederick Street resident could be a special interest group.
>
>When those ideas were dismissed, a debate on whether a remedial option
>group really existed ensued because one man on the list said he was a
>member.
>
>Minutes were dug up from 1996 and read to the group following repeated
>requests.
>
>"Let's get on with this and vote," said one member in frustration.
>
>Eventually, a motion was adopted to elect the 20 citizens. The four
>left out were to be deferred to a subcommittee.
>
>But when nominees were all tolled, there were only 20 there to accept.
>They were all acclaimed.
>
>Reaction from the crowd consisted of a few grunts and snorts. Some even
>laughed while others just shook their head or rolled their eyes.
>
>The second half of the session didn't go any more smoothly.
>
>At one point, it was argued three members from the Cape Breton Regional
>Municipality were not eligible to vote.
>
>Recreation director John Fraser, who chairs the JAG governance
>committee and has the right to vote on the committee's behalf, stood
>and tore up his ballot.
>
>"I'm tired of playing games," he shouted. "I'm not going to give them
>an opportunity to declare the vote null and void," he said before
>dumping the shredded paper in front of the acting chairman, Mr.
>Corsano.
>
>"This is not right," another person shouted.
>
>A new executive was finally elected. The vote counts were not released.
>Joining Mr. Buchanan is vicechairwoman Slana Lamont, secretary Sandy
>Woodill, treasurer Terry Mulcahy and steering committee members Eric
>Leukert, Glen Hanam, John Steele, Shirley Christmas, Ms. Lamont, and
>John Martell.
>
>Following the meeting, Mr. Buchanan said JAG's biggest accomplishment
>is the memorandum of understanding signed by three levels of government
>in July. That agreement gives no dollar commitment or time frame for a
>cleanup.
>
>"It took a lot of time and effort. It put the formal structure in
>place," he said.
>
>"Secondly, which continues to amaze me and this community should be
>proud of, is the number of hours volunteers are putting into their
>community E We estimate between 16,000 to 20,000 hours."
>
>Among the other work completed since 1996 are several studies including
>a mortality analysis, which shows residents here have a shorter
>lifespan.
>
>A dumpleachate study, a new fence, sampling at the coke ovens site and
>80 per cent of the first phase demolition of the coke ovens site were
>also completed.
>
>But the cleanup of Sydney's infamous tar ponds, which contain more than
>700,000 tonnes of toxic sludge and the more toxic coke ovens site, has
>yet to be tackled. The size of the cleanup site is a mammoth 120
>hectares.
>
>Mr. Buchanan said residents living around Sydney's toxic waste sites
>shouldn't expect to see any drastic changes next year.
>
>"At the coke ovens site, we're trying to put in place the safeguards to
>address some of the concerns of the people of Frederick Street."
>Residents of the street complained last March they were getting sick
>from exposure to airborne toxins. Studies revealed elevated levels of
>toxins on the street and potential harm to residents if airborne toxins
>are not controlled.
JAG's chair sets priorities
By Laurel Munroe, Cape Breton Post, 10/26/98
The Joint Action Group for Environmental Clean-up (JAG)
has a new executive, elected Saturday during the group's
annual general meeting at the Steelworkers Hall in Sydney.
Dr. Carl (Bucky) Buchanan was named to his third
consecutive term as chair; Dr. Slawa Lamont was elected
vice-chair; Sandy Woodill was chosen secretary and Terry
Mulcahy was elected treasurer.
Lamont, Eric Leukert, Glen Hanam, John Steele, Shirley
Christmas and John Martell were chosen as additional
members of the JAG steering committee.
Twenty citizens-at-large were elected to the JAG
roundtable, which also includes representatives from the
three levels of government along with various unions and
community organizations.
Buchanan said now that JAG has a signed memorandum of
understanding (MOU) which commits no dollar amount
to the clean-up of the area
with the three levels of government, a number of priorities
must be addressed.
"We've got to take action on the coke ovens site clean-up
as soon as possible and put safeguards in place to address
the concerns of the Frederick Street residents," he said.
JAG Chair urges support from community
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