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4 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanvillc, Wednesday, January 5,1994 Rev. W. R. Climie, 1854-1878 Former Publishers M.A. James, 1878-1935 George W. James, 1935-1957 For 139 Years, Our First Concern Has Been Our Community Publisher - John M. James Assoc. Publisher - Richard A. James Plant Manager - Donald J. Bishop Ad. Manager - Brian G. Purdy Editor - Peter Parrott Production Rick Patterson, Ross Fisher, Laurens Kaldeway, Doug Lugtenburg, Sharon McMullen, Barb Patterson, Ralph Rozema, Jim Snoek, Vance Sutherland, Jim Tuuramo Advertising Laveme Morrison Editorial Brad Kelly, Lorraine Manfredo, Laura J. Richards Office CCNA PAID Produced weekly by James Publishing Company Limited Angela Luschcr, Junia Hodge, Grace McGregor, Nancy Pleasance-Sturman, Marilyn Rutherfoid P.O. Box 190,62 King St. W., Bowmanvillc, Ontario, L1C 3K9 905-623-3303 Fax 905-623-6161 May You Live in Interesting Times If there is room for optimism as we look towards another brand new year, it must be optimism of the cautious variety. There seems to be no shortage of forecasters who are willing to declare the last three years of economic difficulty as being officially over. They are ready to breà out the champagne and instruct the band to play a few choruses of "Happy Days Are Here Again." Well, we hope they are right. But, it might be wise to delay the celebrations until the economic indicators are a little more conclusive. Expectations of increased housing construction in 1994 or a soaring stock market do not necessarily mean a return to the kind of prosperity Canadians enjoyed for so much of the last three or four decades. And these optimistic predictions for a better year ahead have an even hollower ring to them because of the fact that we heard much of the same predictions about a year earlier. In fact, the year ahead promises to be a challenging one, at best. On the international scene, there seems to be little hope for peace in the war-tom wreckage of former Yugoslavia and about half a dozen other areas of the globe which are in a state of constant upheaval. And, although there are signs of hope for peace in the Middle East, it seems as though the number of ugly civil wars within countries or former countries is increasing. The former Soviet Union is a prime example of uncertainty and 'political chaos which could produce more conflict. And such nations cannot possibly contribute to the economic stability which the world needs so badly if it is to pull but of the recession. Closer to home, it remains to be seen whether the efforts by the new federal government to stimulate the economy and create jobs will have the desired effect. Likewise, it remains to be seen whether Ontario's New Democrats (who are drawing ever-closer to fighting a provincial election) will re-gain even a fraction of the popularity they held in the last election by listening to the voices of those who elected them. On the local scene,'the politicians will be gearing up for their own municipal election. Like all levels , of government, they will be trying to meet the new challenge of doing less with less. But, the year will not be uneventful. Look for the construction of a new, central fire station to begin by mid-year. There is a strong possibility that the long-awaited Courtice community centre will be started later in the year. And, a major Ontario Municipal Board decision on the future of shopping plazas in west Bowmanvillc will likely be rendered. For good measure, you might throw in the Durham Region's 20th anniversary celebrations and (if you are historically inclined) you will also want to celebrate the 200th anniversary of pioneer settlement in Bowmanville/Darlington. There is an old Chinese saying which reads: "May you live in interesting times." And, given the fragile state of our economy, our politics and our society in general, about all we might safely say of 1994 is that there arc "interesting times" ahead. Year of the Family It's the international "Year of the Family." j i The United Nations has declared 1994 to be the International Year of the Family because it believes issues surrounding families are of global concern and warrant special attention. "Together, we will emphasize the function families perform as a financial, nurturing, protecting, educating and cultural unit and how crucial that is in the development of individual members and their contribution to Canadian society," said the organizers of the Canadian committee in charge .of observing the year in Canada. Of course, you will be hearing more about the Year of the Family over the next 12 months. The Canadian branch of the project has attracted sponsorship from several major Canadian corporations, along with assistance from over 50 other national organizations who are partners in observing the year. Study and education with a family theme will be two of the major efforts undertaken in Canada. Look for a number of publications which will deal with topics affecting families. The subject matter will include: drugs and alcohol, violence in the family and at- school, authority and discipline, working students, working families, etc. Workshops, posters, and special events will be just a few of the ways in which family issues will get a higher profile this year. Coming, as it does, after "The Me Generation," it is nice to see some official recognition of the fact that human beings do not exist in a self-centred vacuum, but need the inter-dependence of a family and, in a larger context, the local community, the city, the province and the nation itself. Of course, official government decrees or United Nations declarations cannot, in themselves, change very much. But, they can highlight those things which world leaders believe to be important. And, in this case, we suspect that efforts to recognize and encourage family relationships will strike a responsive chord in many. It is a return to our roots. And it is long overdue. DURHAM REGION CELEBRATES TWENTY YEARS os-94 "With eight mayors and 25 councillors there should be no shortage of wind to blow out all the candles' by Laura J. Richards L Letters to the Editor m 3 Dear SirlMadam: - I would like to send my heartiest congratulations to you for the banner headline that read "MERRY CHRISTMAS" on the recent issue of your paper and to the advertisers who wished their many customers "Merry Christmas." I am sick and tired of being told by the airhead politicians that we must not offend a few people in this country because they don't happen to like things such as the Christmas tree, nativity scenes or school Christinas concerts. These customs and.traditions have been celebrated in this country since its founding and have been a contributing contributing factor in making this country the greatest country in the world. For years there has been a movement movement to discourage racism in this country which I support wholeheartedly, wholeheartedly, but I cannot sec a greater force to encourage and foster racism than this "politically correct" nonsense that we are constantly being bombarded bombarded with. Before anyone applies to come to this country they know that the Queen is our head of state, some of them don't like that idea. They know A that this coutitry was founded on Christian ideals, principles and customs customs and they don't like that idea. They leam that some organizations have rules and regulations that have . been in place and accepted by the membership for many years and they don't like that idea. Well, I for one say that that is too damn bad. If anyone anyone is unhappy with this country with its traditions, customs and beliefs, ■ there is a veiy large airport in Toronto Toronto that can handle all those who would like to leave. I have not read lately of any Canadians Canadians leaving this country and applying applying for refugee status or political asylum asylum in any other country, so we must have been doing something right. I don't know of any country that would welcome me into their arms that would appreciate me telling them that I did not like their customs, traditions traditions and beliefs and that I thought that they should change them to suit me. K. Armstrong Bowmanville Mills' Staff Still Celebrates Christmas by Rick James - Dear Editor, In his latest Thoughts Unlimited column, Rick James states that the provincial government "has the power power to not acknowledge Christmas" and implies this power was exercized . by the current government. This is ! incorrect. Mr. James failed to check ' his story. This government has not issued any directives with regard to Christmas. Christmas. I work in Gord Mills' office and I have neither seen nor heard any directives directives with regard to Christmas. Every year, Mr. Mills and the staff in ' the Bowmanvillc office go out for a Christmas lunch which Mr. Mills pays for personally. As a group, we decided against the exchange of gifts and instead donate to a food bank. I buy the modest Christmas deco rations for the office and this comes out of my pocket. We have a banner surrounding the office which unequivocally unequivocally states Merry Christmas. I grew up in a somewhat more egalitarian egalitarian society where, in addition to the national holidays such as Independence Independence Day, Republic Day, Emancipation Emancipation Day, and Labour Day, we had religious religious holidays such as Good Friday, Easter Monday, Whitsuntide, Christmas Christmas Day, and Boxing Day as the Christian holidays, Divali and Holi as the Hindu Holidays and Eid-ul-Fitr and Hoscin as the Muslim Holidays. I have no problem wishing someone Mciry Christmas, going out for Christmas lunch and decorating my Christmas tree and I am a Muslim. Merry Christmas, Jenny Farida Yorgason Photo Radar We've heard from everyone, it seems, who is against the photo-radar that will be brought into being this year along the 115/35 Highway. We've also heard from those who arc in favor of it. Now, for something a little different. different. As a reporter, me and my photo equipment get around a lot. I would love to be able to "shoot" the speeders who zip past me along country roads, going above and beyond beyond the recommended speed limits. Speedsters along the 115/35 are in for a shock. Imagine zipping along the 115/35 in the summer on the way to the cottage. cottage. It's a beautiful, sunny day. The radio is blasting your favorite tunes and you're bopping along with the music. You spy a car up ahead, it is a familiar familiar black-and-white, or blue-and- whitc or whatever-and-whitc. You immediately immediately begin to slow down. It's a reflex, and we all do it, even if we are just slightly above the speed limit. You go by, thinking to yourself how well you handled that situation and wail a mile before picking up speed again. Then, you don't think of the incident incident again. Until now. Now we get to see photos photos of our speeding car license plates showing up in the mail. j Hmm! Isn't the privilege of having a car grand? The man in charge of the operation said the idea of the photo radar is not to pull in more money for the province, province, but to slow people down. Hmm. Sort of like the chevrons along the 401, near Whitby. As it is, most people drive at about 110 kilometres per hour along the 401 and about 105 along the 115/35. It would be nice if folks would get the hint and drive the speed limit and not drive bumper to bumper. ' And the killing begins for am, other year Over the weekend, we heard news from the Bancroft area that three women had been killed. Then another woman in Oshawa was killed. That is four women over a few days. Sort of blows the mind apart, doesn't it? Some people might say, so what?, But I look at this and say, "The Montreal Massacre really isn't the isolated isolated incident that people desperately want it to be." Think about it, folks. Elections are Coming What, exactly do local and regional regional councillors do? They go to committee committee and council meetings and to regional regional council and committee meetings, depending on whether they arc elected as local councillors or to serve both on the local and regional councils. They meet with people in their wards and try to come up with solutions solutions to dozens of different problems. And, of course, they attend various official official functions throughout the municipality. municipality. In November, 1994, we get the chance to figure out if the councillors representing us did a good job. During the last election, 45 people ran for 19 positions as public and separate separate school board trustees, hydro commissioners and councillors. Continued on Page 5 m Too much turkey, too many Christmas specials, specials, too much champagne, and one too many renditions of Auld Lang Syne. The holidays are over, the toilet brush artificial artificial Christmas tree will be packed away, and extra shelves have been made for the store room to accommodate more junk. And despite taking the house apart to decorate decorate and then un-decorate it, there is still no sign of our missing VCR remote control. With Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Year's all landing on the week-end, it provided provided a string of consecutive days off to catch up on a variety of chores and television spe- One special that I'm sorry I didn't miss was "A Very Brady Christmas." It featured a reunion reunion of the whole Brady Bunch clan and was pretty sappy stuff, except for the one observation observation I made that was missed in my younger years when I actually watched the show. Admit It guys, you all had a crush on Marcia and Jan too. Anyway, do you remember what the father in the Brady Bunch did for a living? He was an architect, right? He must have been one heck of an architect to build a house that only had two bedrooms and one bathroom for six kldsl Enough of the Bradys. My next project was to complete the bar in the basement, two years after the Initial construction. With a flur ry of hammering, gluing, tiling and staining, the project neared completion. With the stroke of a paint brush, the final coat of varathane was applied, just in time to hear a "Hi Daddy" and splat. Morgan should have no trouble adapting to finger painting when she starts school. One of the highlights of the festive season was the success of the various Christmas promotions we sponsored. For example, we had 36 people use our phones to call relatives and friends around the world and wish them a Merry Christmas. Our turkey counting contest was a huge success with close to 400 submissions. The correct answer was 61, and 25 people had their names drawn from among 100 correct responses. Our staff was very touched when one lucky winner picked up his voucher and thanked us repeatedly. He had been laid off, and if not for the contest, his family would not have had a turkey for dinner this Christmas. If nothing else, It certainly puts things in perspective, perspective, doesn't It? Our front office became extremely crowded leading up to Christmas due to the incredible response to our toy drive. It look two trips to the Salvation Army to transport all the toys. We also packed up boxes of treats for the cats and dogs at the Animal Shelter. And the best part Is wo got to do It all again In 354 more days. 0 D We Asked Have you made any New Year's resolutions? .. And You Said Una Miller Marten Van Dyk Shellic Nowak Clinton Brown Bowmanville Bowmanvillc Orono Bowmanville "1 haven't put any "Lose a couple of "Lose weight and do "Get out of Ontario down. 1 figured I pounds. My wife's a my homework." and go down to Nova was good enough." g(X )d cook." Scotia to retire." \r\t work's ijurstion: What nrr unir predictions lor IW-I? m