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Homeschooling Group visits the Times Alex Shepherd report 0 0 0 from Ottawa A Homeschooling Group from the local area paid a visit to the Orono Times operation Iast week in search of information on the publishing and production of a weekly newspaper. They were given a tour of the sinail plant and an outline of what Laates place to get the weekly Orono Times out on the street on Wednesdays of each week.- The group represents five farnilies in the cornmunity with some fourteen children in the process of homeschooling. 1In speaking with Trudy Douma she said that tbe trend of homeschooling is growing and that a number of groups do exist in the area and district. t was said there are a number of reasonsthat parents would undertake homeschooling. Mrs. Doumna said it is a privilege and duty for parents to educate their children in a way Lo equip the childre.n to, serve the Lord and their cdrnmunity now and in the future as adults. 1She said that the local group visiting the Timcs office does interact witb otber sirnilar groups in the comrnunity and there are get-togethers. ILt was said that tbere is a great deal of material available for hornescbooling where the child will work at bis or ber own speed and as well can to work on their own. Mrs. Dourna said inspectors do corne to tbe borne to cbeck out tbe process and wbat is being taught. She also said those involved in hornescbooling can bave tbe local school board corne in and test the children as to the ir level of kçnowledge. It was said tbat horneschoolcd children do well in tests - "tbey excel". Tbrougb tbe use of class videos the bornescbooling children arc able to continue tbeir education througb secondary scbool and pass tcsts to enter Community College or University. "We do find it rewarding to work with and educate our own cbildren", said Mrs. Dourna. t was noticed, a few days later, tbat t he sarne group was on a visit to Bowrnanville Veterinary Clinic. l'rn feeling an uneasiness about our Canada pensions and how the civil service manages tbem. l'in flot trying to alarm anyone, l'Il be accused of that, but last week at a Public Accounts Committee meeting - which 1 vice-chair - 1 asked an assistant deputy minister appearing bMfre us what the unfunded liabiity of CPP is. The unfunded liability of CPP is the money needed to pay future pensions. He couldnt tell me. 1 was shocked. I told hirn to go figure it out and tell me this week. It is disconcerting to discover the so called "managers" of our pensions are not thinking about the future. The premiums you pay to CPP are placed in a fund and out of that cornes the benefits. Good plan - as long as more people work and pay into it then collect. Unfortunately Canadas population is aging. That means more people collecting than paying. In order to continue paying what is currently received premiums will have to triple by the year 2015. That is equivalent of a 300 per cent tax increase on employers and their ernployees. Furthermore, anyone born after 1980 will receive less rnoney frorn CPP than they contributed. Clearly CPP is not a smart investment for them. Once they are adults, they will probably tell govemnment they are not going to pay CPP. Why keep the generation going who mismanaged the fund and stuck thern with the bill. In other words those 15-year-olds you see around you, and those younger, are gomng to want private'pension plans. The portion of CPP invested is also rnismanaged. CPP money is invested in provincial govemment bonds paying interest a full three per cent less than that paid in private institutions. If you feel the money is safer with' provincial governrnents think of this. If CPP money was invested in private institutions it would be insured by the federal government. Investing in provincial governrnents is only providing the provinces with a subsidy at your expense. I find the administration of CPP funds also sadly lacking. Over $250 million is lost each year to people who applied for disability pensions, received thern, are now back to work but still getting pensions. That's a $250 million loss annually. Somethmng else 1 find strange: 40 per cent of all CFP disability dlaims are rejected. Yet 60 per cent of these are allowed on appeal. Something is wrong. I wîll be discussing these issues with Hon. Lloyd Axworthy, Minister of Human Resources Development. He is flot a fool witb your tax dollars. I'm risking being called an alarmist but you have a right to know about the future of your pension plan and any future problems. After all we want to fix problerns, flot compound them. The purpose of a trip to Presquile Point on Sunday, south of Brighton, was with the hope of possibly viewing one of the rock sandpipers, the Purpie, tbat rnay be hanging around the shoreline. t is common that tbe bird does show up at Presquile at this time of year and indeed the log book at the entrance to the provincial park stated tbat it bas been sighted. This bird is sornewhat restricted to eastern rocky coasts and may travel soutb to the Florida area in the winter. Tbe summ er is spent in the far nortb. Althougb we did patrol a goodly portion of the shoreline we were not succcssful in viewing the bird. Two other birders were more successful in that they had sigbted four Purpies and on two occasions in the same section of the shoreline. The birds, bowever,,arc not always in the sarne place ahl the tirne. A flock of at lcast 200, Snow Buntings did make up for the lack of Purpies. These birds arc common in the tundra in the summer and are sigbted in small flocks in our area in open fields and beaches during late faîl. t had to be a flîgbt soutb for these birds because tbey were vîgorously bathing in the sballow waters and then scouting about, on the sborcline, in a rnost busy rnanner. 0f other intcrest at Presquile was the sighting of a number of Homned Grebe, well off shore into the lake, as were numcrous rafts of 50 to 75 BuMfehead ducks. One minute the Buffleheads were in sigbt and next aIl would bave disappearcd as they dove into tbe deptbs of the lake for food. t was as if a cornmand bad been given and ail tbe Bufflebeads had rcsponded to the commrand. t was ratbcr a nice day to foot tbe beaches and shoreline at Presquile for it bas been sorne tirnec that Bill and 1 hadi been down that way for birding. Tbrec Red Tails wcrc sightcd on the way down andone Rougb- legged bawk was sightcd in flight within the park. TUESDAYS Fish Dinner, $11.95 Fish Dinner for Two $2 1.95 WEDNESDAYS Chieken Dinner $11.95 THURDAYS Chicken Dinner for Two $2 1.95 FRIDAYS SATURDAYS Wing Night Pork'Chop Dinner Pork Chop Dinner for Two Steak Dinner Steak Dinner for Two $12.95 $22.95 $13.95 $24.95 Prices do not include taxes or gratu.ilies. Ail dinners include salad, potato, vegetable, dinner roll, dessert, cofféeetea. Reservations recommended 623-3373 ~ Dinner Served 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Flyilng DOutchmnan Hotel, 401 and Liberty St, Bowmanville 'Y 0OU Slit> --j1