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Speedway is exactly what this town needs, says reader

Dear Editor, I would like to comment on a Letter to the Editor from the October 1st edition of The Fort Erie Times titled "Congrats to the EDTC on bringing jobs to town." While it's nice to see yet another call centre move in above the bingo hall, (is that the third or fourth call centre to move in there in the last 15 years?), it simply astounds me that the author of the letter believes the Infocision Contact Centre "represents a brighter employment situation than anything we could expect to see from a costly new development such as the proposed Canadian Motor Speedway." The author goes on to say that since Infocision will be utilizing existing space, no costly infrastructure upgrades need to be paid for by the tax payer, something that would happen before the speedway project goes ahead. First, as a tax payer, I would rather see my tax dollars go to costly infrastructure upgrades in Fort Erie than 90% of where my tax dollars are going right now. Next, I can't get too excited about any announcement that a new call centre is coming to town that plans on hiring dozens and expects to hire hundreds. It's happened several times in recent memory and these call centres seem to be quite temporary. Has any of them lasted more than a couple years? Maybe in some places, but not Fort Erie. Don't get me wrong, I'm pleased that Infocision has created 35 jobs and plans on boosting that number to 100, but those minimum wage jobs are not even close, not in the same league, not even in the same universe as the hundreds, if not thousands, of well paying construction jobs that the Canadian Motor Speedway project will create. And once the speedway is up and running, there will be hundreds of full time and part time jobs in Fort Erie, not just at the speedway, but the surrounding local businesses that are existing, and those that will be created as a result of this massive project. The Canadian Motor Speedway will attract thousands of people that will eat in our restaurants, stay at our hotels, shop at our stores, and perhaps visit our horse race track and beaches while they are here. How many tourists will the call centre bring to town? I am a small business owner in Fort Erie, and I welcome major development so my kids will have a future here. Unfortunately, a small group of residents want this town to be a BANANA Republic (Build Anything? Not Anywhere! Not Anytime!) I simply can't understand the selfish mentality of the residents that want to keep Fort Erie a quiet, small picturesque town. If they keep opposing development, they will get what they asked for: Fort Erie will become a ghost town....can't get much quieter than that. Dan Harkins Fort Erie

The

TIMES

Asks

Sandy Penny "Nothing special planned. I'm just spending time with my family." Joe Picard "My granddaughter invited me to dinner. It should be a nice day." Saturday, October 8, 2011 * Fort Erie Times 7 Hilda Armstrong "Yes, we're going to Peek'n Peak Resort. It's a family thing." How will you be spending your Thanksgiving weekend? Nancy Hesse "I'm going to enjoy being with my children, my grandchildren and my husband."

What do you think?

E-mail: editorial@forterietimes.com or call 905-871-3100, ext. 207

Condo project is not how it appears, claims summer resident

Dear Editor, If it is on the Internet it must be true . Except in the case of the Crystal Beach Gateway website. When one views the site, information is changed only when residents opposing the project make it an issue. For

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the rest who are not as engaged in this lack of transparency, the distortion continues. Case in point - the pictures showing the Toad Protection Area to be roped off were abruptly changed after FEWPA ran an advertisement. The "Proposed Site Plan" shown on the same section of the website does not include the area that will be off limits that is in the plan being voted on by the council. As long as the misinformation continues, the only thing that is certain - if this project is ever built, it will not the same as is being represented. Doug Heussler Crystal Beach Summer resident

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