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Wednesday, October 31, 2012
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Volume 106, Issue 32
Fontana survives motion to step down Aaron Zaltzman News Editor Hurricane Sandy may have blown itself out over London, but one storm that won’t pass as easily is the one surrounding Mayor Joe Fontana. The RCMP is investigating the mayor over allegations he used taxpayer money for personal use while serving as an MP in 2005. At last night’s meeting, city council struck down a motion to ask Fontana to step down from his position. “The public is really upset,” Nancy Branscombe, the Ward 6 councillor who brought forth the motion, said. “They want him just to step aside until the investigation is complete, or the allegations have died down—no resignation or anything like that.” “It’s all everyone is talking about, and it’s starting to put a cloud over council, and our ability to do our work,” Branscombe explained. “If he clears his name, which he has a right to do, then he can come back and off we go.” “If due process is followed and something else happens, then we will cross that bridge when we
come to it.” Joe Swan, Ward 3 councillor, called the motion “inappropriate.” “This is an issue the mayor has to deal with, and he’s responsible for his own behaviour,” Swan said. “The actions of individuals are the responsibility of the police, and the courts. The job of elected officials is to address the people’s business, and to stay focused on that.” However, Branscombe said council had a responsibility to voice the concerns of the public, who are very concerned about the allegations facing Fontana. “There’s all this pent up anger and frustration and embarrassment about this. I take no great pleasure in doing this, but I have to give a voice to people who want some answer,” Branscombe said. “[Fontana] hasn’t voluntarily done any of this on his own, so we have to force the issue.” Though there is no legal recourse for city council to remove the mayor from his position, Branscombe hoped the motion would bring pressure to Fontana to “do the right thing.” >> see fontana pg.3
file photo
Sandy overblown and blown over in London Cam Smith News Editor
Compared to ‘Snowmageddon,’ it really wasn’t so bad. Though fears ran high about ‘Frankenstorm,’ the actual damage caused was relatively low—at least in London. While New York was hammered by incredibly high winds and experienced flooding, the worst London residents faced were power outages and flickering lights. The majority remained entirely unaffected. “In London, we did experience some power outages, but they were individual transformers and not major power outages because
of the storm,” Nancy Hutton, director of communications for London Hydro, said. Despite the relatively minor damage, London Hydro was prepared for any eventuality, one that they were lucky enough not to address. “We’re always prepared for whatever we get, and there’s no way to speculate what the damage will be, or if there will even be outages,” Hutton explained. “We’re ready for it if the weather continues to be poor, but there is no way of knowing what will happen.” On campus, only very minor damage was reported, which was promptly dealt with by Facilities
We’re always prepared for whatever we get, and there’s no way to speculate what the damage will be, or if there will even be outages. We’re ready for it if the weather continues to be poor, but there is no way of knowing what will happen” — Nancy Hutton
Director communications for London Hydro
Management. “Despite the high winds and heavy rains, very few incidents of damage were reported,” Gary Bridgens, director of operations and maintenance at Western, said. “I only received one report of physical damage. Several incidents of small tree limbs were also reported with no associated property damage.” While there were no major incidents, Facilities Management was also prepared for potential damage. “Ahead of a potential storm, Facilities Management does checks of catch basins, roof drains and other typical vulnerable points
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that can lead to flooding,” Bridgens explained. “Staff are placed on standby in case of any issues, and appropriate communication is made to staff. In the case of a severe rainfall incident, the water level of the river is monitored, and an emergency plan is activated close to the overflow level.” All in all, London and Western escaped relatively unscathed from the much-discussed, and anxiously anticipated, ‘Frankenstorm.’ “There were no call-outs of technical staff to attend to any unusual issues,” Bridgens said. “It seems that we were relatively unaffected by the storm.”