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♦ 4 2 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, January 16,1985 Section Two Editorial Comment Local Government Week This is the week that elected officials officials across Ontario are hoping you'll drop over to the town hall to see how local government operates. And it's time we took them up on their offer. Because government at the grassroots grassroots level sometimes gets ignored by a public which believes the House of Commons or the provincial provincial Legislatures contain the only kind of government that matters. Mass media is one reason why we're more conscious of government government at the international, national and provincial level than we are here at home. TV networks or giant newspapers can't have correspondents correspondents in every little township and village. So they concentrate their resources in Ottawa or at Queen's Park where the daily activities of Question Period or news conferences conferences become the generally accepted accepted idea of what is going on in our democracy. This narrow viewpoint fails to take into account that there is a whole world of government outside the big, gothic buildings that contain contain our national government and provincial assemblies. We are referring, of course, to the most immediate form of government government in existence -- the government government which is literally next door. From the town hall and other local government headquarters, a small army of public employees do everything from patching pavement to teaching children. This level of government is most responsive to the wishes of the public public and is most accessible. On any given day, you can probably get an appointment to see a representative representative of local government. When meetings are in progress, you can walk in and observe. If there are problems, you or your neighbours can personally air your complaints at a council meeting and if your ar-, gument is persuasive, action will be taken. It's true that all levels of governments governments move slowly. But local government government tends to be the place where decisions are made in a fashion fashion that is most direct and closest to the people who are served. Just consider the amount of red tape the citizen would encounter approaching approaching Ottawa with its ranks of civil servants or even at Queen's Park. MPs and MPPs do their best to serve their constituencies, but who would really consider taking a complaint complaint to Ottawa in the same way he might consider taking a problem to town council or the local school board? Do we see cabinet ministers at our arenas or can we talk with senior Ottawa civil servants in the local coffee shop? Of course not. But local officials are almost always always available. Compared to Ottawa, with its closed-door cabinet sessions and caucus meetings, and orders-in- council, local government operates in a goldfish bowl. Of course, one has to make a small effort to attend meetings, study council agendas, read newspapers, and generally follow proceedings. Since this is local government week, we would do well to remember remember that the citizens of Ontario elected 4,850 municipal representatives, representatives, compared to the 125 who sit in the provincial legislature and the 95 elected to Ottawa. There are more than 2,000 local boards and committees in Ontario, most of them staffed by volunteers. Municipal public works systems alone employ 24,000 Ontario residents. residents. In fact, the total number of municipal employees in the province province numbers over 75,000. Local government spending in Ontario exceeds $14 billion. And, of course, local government deals with things that have the most immediate impact on our lives. Things such as schools, hydro lines, streets, and recreation centres are almost entirely under the control of local government. Moreover, legislation at the Provincial or Federal Federal level often gets its start at the local level where elected officials see a problem and seek higher government government authority to correct the difficulty. In view of all this, it's almost comical comical when you think how we carefully carefully follow the activities in Ottawa or Queen's Park even though we have little effect on the eventual outcome of anything that goes on there. And at the local level, where the interested citizen can make his ideas known, the level of participation participation is often less than wholehearted. wholehearted. During Local Government Week, let's make a start towards understanding understanding and participating in local politics. Why not end the apathy towards towards local government? Let's, for once, let the mandarins of Ottawa and the provincial legislatures legislatures take care of themselves. Let's get to know the government next door. A Corner for Poets Close Communion I cannot look at your eyes As you read this But I know someone Who can. You may or may not be sensitive To His presence But He is with you. And 1-Ie is your biggest fan. He wants you to succeed. He can and will inspire you To do that which is His perfect plan. All you need do is be open to receive. He gavç you His life. Yes, He died for you. That's how much He loves you. He wants to lift you up. He knows when you're discouraged. Others may not be sensitive to your need But he never overlooks a thing. He rose again and has paid the price For you to enjoy abundant life. He wants to fill you with love, joy and peace. You know his way is best for you So don't run because his ways really do satisfy. There are twenty-four hours in each day. Will you discipline yourself accordingly In order that you may spend the first hour In close communion with him? He will be your guiding light, your strength, And because you put him first, and his righteousness All these things shall be added unto you. Who is "he"? He is the unseen , quest in every room Jesus Christ! (Matthew 6:33) -- Linda Blumbergs ŒIje (Kanaùian Statesman 623-3303 (*5Na Durham Counly's Great Family Journal Established 130 years ago In 1854, Also Incorporating The Bowmanville News The Newcastle Independent The Orono News Second class mall registration number 1561 Produced every Wednesday by THE JAMES PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED 62-66 King St. W„ Bowmanville, Ontario 11C 3K9 vl* «» m JOHN M. JAMES Editor -- Publisher GEO. P. MORRIS Business Mgr. RICHARD A. JAMES Assistant Publisher BRIAN PURDY Advertising Mgr. U L* 1 PETER PARROTT Associate Editor DONALD BISHOP Plant Mgr. All layouts and composition of advertisements produced by Ihe employees of The Canadian Statesman, The Newcastle Independent and The James Publishing Company Limited are protected by copyright and must nol be reproduced without written permission of the publishers. $15.00 a year - 6 months $8.00 strictly In advance foreign -- $45.00 a year Although ovory procmilion will ho taken to avoid r-rror. The Canadian Statesman accepts advertising in its columns on the understanding that it will not ho liable for any error in Ihe advertisement published hereunder unless a proof ol such advertisement Is requested in writing by the advertiser and returned to Thu Canadian Statesman business olfice duly signed by the advertiser and with such enoi or corrections plainly noted in writing thereon, and in that case if any error so noled is nol corroded by Thu Canadian Glalesman ils liability shall nol exceed such a porlion ol the enlire cost of such 'Hiver hstmnnl as the space occupied by Ihe noted error bears lo Ihe whole space occupied by such advertisement Winter Can be Beautiful SUGAR and SPICE The Price of Things It's pretty difficult these days to ignore inflation, unless you live in a cave, have a good, warm wife, a root cellar full of spuds, turnips and carrots, and a private income of about $200 a week. But somehow, I've managed, though I've done my share of whining, until recently. I've done some shopping, and for a change looked at the prices. My conclusion is that capitalism is a lost cause. I know it dates me, but somewhere back there in the murk of my mind, I still had the idea that a loaf of bread was a dime, a pound of butter two bits, a quart of milk 10 cents, hamburger was something you ate a lot of, but was cheap, coffee was 10 cents a cup, beer was about 15 cents a pint, and cigarettes had shot up to about 35 cents a package. I knew better, nut I pushed it to the back of my mind, as one does thoughts about death. Back there in that foggy area, I still felt that bananas were a nickel apiece, lettuce, carrots, cabbages and radishes were something you grew in the back yard, and eggs ran about two or three cents each. On Sunday you killed a chicken, and had a big dinner, for a total cost of about 85 cents. On Saturday night you went to the movies, and it cost you about 75 cents for two, and they threw in a piece of china or something. After thé show, two hamburgs, two pies, two coffees for 60 cents. Well, my dreams have been dispelled, and I know now that, after working for 35 years, I have no money in the bank, no cattle out west, and it costs me about five dollars a day to avoid freezing. I asked about the prices of sonjg staple items, and almost went into a coma. My mother used to send me to the butcher's for two pounds of hamburg, "and tell him we need some dog bones." The hamburg was a quarter, or 25 pennies, and the dog bones, with hunks of meat on them, were free. We made soup from them. Today, if there were such a thing as a real, live butcher (they are now meat-cutters), the hamburg would cost me about four bucks, and the dog-bones, without a shred on them, another 60 cents a pound. Poor Rover. When I was a kid, we "put down" a barrel each of Macintosh and Spy apples, in the cool cellar. They lasted most of the winter. Today, with four ordinary Delicious apples going at a quarter each, you'd have to take a second mortgage to do that. Since my boyhood, butter is almost 10 times as much, bread the same, milk the same. Eggs are only about six times as much. Hamburger is up more than 10 times as much. I wouldn't even guess on cheese, which used to be about 20 cents a pound. A head of lettuce is no longer something you feed the rabbits. Recently it was running about $1.50 a head, and there was almost a riot when a local store offered some at 48 cents a head. Pastry white junk, full of water. Celery was something you used to chomp by the stick, maybe with some cheese tucked into its cleft. Now you hoard it, and eat the leaves in soup and serve it in little curls, keeping an eye on who is hogging it at the party. Party? What party? About 20 years ago, people still had parties, and supplied all the food and booze and coffee. Nowadays, the acronym BYOB has crept into the language. It means bring your own booze. And a salad, or a hot dish, or buttered rolls, or a dessert. Perhaps it's a good sign. Instead of everyone trying to out do everyone, by having a bigger and more lavish party than the last couple, we've got back to the pioneer potluck idea. And nobody seems to suffer. Ten years ago, backyard barbecues were the thing, and people vied to see who could cook the thickest steak. Nowadays, you've got to be practically one of the jet set to see steak once a month. The rest of us just see it as we walk past the meat counters, looking for some stewing beef or a nice bit of brisket or tripe. Twenty years ago, we could go to a hotel in the city, spend $22 on a double room, take in a theatre, top quality, for eight bucks, and order delicious cold roast beef sandwiches from room service, for about $1.20 a throw, with all sorts of chips and pickles and a pot of coffee for 50 cents. Today, a similar room would be about $85, the theatre $50, the sandwiches $10, the coffee $5. We scarcely ever go to the movies any more. Seven bucks for two and mini chocolate bars, stale popcorn at about 50 cents a rattle. No wonder people watch re-runs of I Love Lucy. No wonder our doctors and lawyers and politicians need about $100,000 a year just to keep up. They can scarcely put bread on the table. And no wonder old people are eating eating dog-food. They can't even afford a can of beans. Letters to the Editor January 8,1985 Dear Editor: The 25th Anniversary Reunion of Rideau District High School in Elgin, Ontario, is planned for May 17, 18 and 19, 1985. All former students and staff members are invited to attend and may receive further information about this event by contacting Ron Dobson, Rideau District High School, R.R. 2, Elgin, Ontario, KOG 1E0. Since we believe that there could be former staff or students living in your area, we would appreciate your including this in your Letters to the Editor column. Thank you for your assistance to us and your continued service to the people of your community. Yours very truly, Ron Dobson 25th Anniversary Reunion Committee Dear Johnny: When I was in public school I was considered a fair writer. In my last letter, comparing residential taxes to commercial taxes, I wrote - "that is a boss of another color." When it came as "a loss of another color" I knew tilings had deteriorated I Like many other people I received a Government of Ontario cheque for $50. I also had a hydro bill, so with my cheque and bill I arrived at the hydro office prepared to do business. I was very surprised when they refused to accept the cheque in payment of the account. I think this is really stupid and I hope the commissioners will correct things at their next meeting. See we got a rate increase from hydro again this year just below 9%, if my memory is correct. We had friends visiting us (from Mississauga) Mississauga) and their increase is considerably less than ours. They must have had a surplus to cushion the blow. They also have a son who worked for Ontario Hydro and later for an engineering firm which does a lot of work for Hydro and presently has his own business. They said, purely matter of factly, "Ontario Hydro is overstaffed and overpaid." The headlines read, "Council Feels Fire Hall Needed" and I was explaining this to wifey, I said the matter was first raised, I think by Councillor Taylor, perhaps two years ago. The councillor seemed, at the time, to be more concerned with the extra charge for fire insurance than with the lack of fire protection. However, the matter was discussed and council decided a fire hall in the northern section was not needed. Not loo long ago we hired a consultant who said council was correct and a new fire hall was not needed at this time but could be when the population around Enniskillen increased by 15%. In discussing this report, council decided they were in error two years ago, the consultant was in error as of now, and a new fire hall was indeed needed. This is known as going all the way around the block to get to the house next door. It was also interesting to hear the Mayor (who thinks we need a Town Hall extending from Temperance St. right through to Silver St.) reminding council that our total growth since 1974 is 2% and indicating the figure of a 15% increase might never be reached. Councillor Woodyard thought the people affected should be given tax relief, As a wee lad, Woodyard lived with the Halfacres whose house still stands north of Hampton and east of the old Scugog ltd, near the creek. So Woodyard is on familiar grounds and if his suggestion had been adopted it would have made a delightful comedy. Someone would have pointed out that the majority of the taxpayers affected are farmers who are reimbursed for 50% of their realty taxes, This would be corrected as someone would point out that the reimbursement reimbursement has been raised to (30%. So, as Woodyard would have it, now farmers would get a tax relief of 100% of some figure, farmers would get 40% of the same figure and the provincial government would get a refund cheque which would cover 60% of this tax relief for all farmers. Now, Queen's Park had never before received such a cheque so there was considerable disagreement disagreement in the treasury board as to how it should be processed. It was finally agreed to credit it to a/c 1985 S.F. which is a "slush fund." Meanwhile, a farmer has a fire and part of his barn is destroyed before Newcastle Fire Department arrives. It was explained they would have been two or three minutes earlier only Enniskillen is an uphill run; on the other hand if they had had to use the old Scugog Road, no telling when they would have arrived. This raised a question as the farmer had now received a service for which he had not paid: so the chief administrative officer was asked to come up witli a solution. He suggested our friend, the farmer, would be hilled $40. and the Ontario government $80. - which was done. The government was rather taken aback and finally sent a junior to find out what was going on, He had a nice day and enjoyed his coffee break in Hampton, He ultimately found our farmer who did not wish to become involved and advised junior lo go to Newcastle. The day was nice and the • mileage allowance was more than adequate so junior decided to visit Orono en route and see the forestry station. Then heading south he came to Highway 2: sign pointing left said Newcastle and the town hall wasn't hard to find being right on the main drag. He was impressed with the hall but couldn't understand the lack of people. Finally, someone asked if they could help him and he explained his mission: to be told he was in -Newcastle Village rather than the town of. He was told he would have to go to Bowmanville and he insisted he wanted Newcastle and he was told that when lie was in Bowmanville he was in Newcastle and this was too much for junior who saw a sign and made his way to 401 and the safety of Queen's Park. They say he still mutters at his desk and while no one is certain it sounds like "those weird people down east." Morgan January 12,19115 Dear Mr. James The Board of Directors of Port Hope and Hope Township Community Care would like to thank Hie Town of Port Hope and Ihe Port Hope Kinsmen and Kinetics for the enjoyable "Open House" at the Ruth Clarke Activity Centre last week. We are particularly grateful to Council and the Management Management Committee of the centre for providing such a fine facility for Seniors in our community and to the Kinsmen Kinsmen and Kinetics for their generous contributions to the furnishing of the kitchen. Community Care is very pleased to have been given office space in the new centre. The opportunity to have direct contact with an increased number of Seniors will undoubtedly allow us to expand our present services as well as develop new programs programs which will benefit our clients. The interest and support which Council has shown toward Community Care is most appreciated. Sincerely Dorothy Strong Chairman, Community Care Board of Directors 6tie from the Heart. CuiwtumHv.iithiniL