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Section Two The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, Wednesday, March 16,1994 3 Concern Over Cuts The Hospital Council of Durham Region (HCDR) is greatly concerned about information received indicating that the Province may be further reducing reducing hospital operating funding by province-wide, across the board cuts. Such cuts will seriously threaten the muit ", quality of health care available to rcs- at clcN dcnts of Durham. Co Government sources indicate that these reductions could be as much as three per cent across the board. Each reduction of one per cent translates to the loss of 40 jobs. A three per cent cut would represent the equivalent of a funding reduction of about $5 million million for Durham hospitals. The result of these job losses (up to 120) would ,M. Reports 35% Increase Sales of All New Vehicles On S ■ tic United funeral of the sanctuary ley Rogers, was the anthral Motors of Canada new choir. Revesalcs continued to climb in preached they, increasing by 35 per cent Will Not Letj same month last year. Easter Me . dered through v ™ s ", Ch T evrole t Lumina Oshawa P? 0 ' P° ntiac Trans Sport and March 15 at mid-size - increased Reverend Stili 80 P cr ccnt - a clc F indica " as chair of PrF customers arc becoming Npurrp warc °*" the value pricing strat- rNewC^ vc j 0 p C( ] f or [} 1CSC vehicles and hey understand these seven and I passenger people-movers offer Lomarc features and better value than Norrish-s competition," said Tom Mason son 1?M of Canada's vice president of Kathleharkcting. Wrigl 203, Shir) 202 V«r : '-™: HB "We arc particularly pleased with the 37 per cent gain in passenger car sales this month. Sales at Satum-Saab-Isuzu Truck retailers continued to grow, with Saab sales more than double those of February last year and Saturn sales up over 15 per cent. "We see evidence of growing confidence confidence in the small business community community as the Canadian economy continues continues to expand," Mason said. "Sales of regular cab full-size pickup trucks, which are bought primarily by small and medium sized businesses, ir creased over 46 per cent in Februaq We arc encouraged by the upwa: trend of "work truck" sales, which"' also evident in other commeri small business vehicles," said Mr so , ion de- here be :et item? sot 111 Oi Each of theWüüjlf . p.J„.!» d Jn trustees is paid an annual honorarium of about $7Ma) -- an amount which' hasn't been increased in four years. There arc 16 trustees on the public school board. Even if you eliminated half of the board of education trustees, you wouldn't save an amount of money equal to the salary of just one senior educational administrator. Dropping one or two trustees earning $7,000 per year is not a major cost-cutting move. On a. big school board budget, there is probably more spent annually on chalk or erasers. As Clarington Ward Three School Trustee Bob Willsher pointed out in an interview with The Independent,last week, there are 125 various township, and town elected officials, in the same area served by the Northumberland Clarington board's 16 trustees. No mention has been made of trimming the numbers of municipal councillors. If anyone suggested cutting back on the number of councillors serving Ontario's municipalities, there would be howls of outrange and concerns over watering-down the process of democratic representation. Let's also keep in mind that there was always the option of reducing each trustee's salary rather than eliminating positions altogether. You have to wonder if the reduction in the number of trustees is evidence of an even bigger decision\yet to come. The entire concept of elected representatives serving on public and separate school boards is seen as obsolete in some quarters. There are some who might argue that we don't need a level of government to control our school boards. It might be suggested that education should be the sole responsibility of professional educators, with public input from interest groups such as parent committees, or employers. Before weakening the position of school trustees, and reducing their numbers, the provincial government should at least wait until the findings of a province-wide educational commission have been received. As we read the mood of the public, there is a demand for greater accountability to the public by the educational system. If anything, we •might find in the future that we need more trustees, not fewer. Although any organization can stand a certain amount of fine-tuning and no system is perfect, we cannot think of a better way to ensure accountability than to hold elections for school board posts. Trimming the number of persons serving on school boards will only increase the workloads of those who remain. And that will mean poorer representation for the very same taxpayers who are demanding greater involvement in educational matters. "So, how's your Father doing?" In response to the most-asked question of the week, as of Monday at noon he was feeling much better, after going 15 rounds with a severe case of pneumonia. In fact, his first question from the special care unit at the hospital was..."What's happening at the office?" After complaining for several days that he was having difficulty breathing, the pneumonia scored a knock-out punch on Friday evening, requiring the services of an ambulance ambulance crew and the emergency department at Memorial Hospital. Until you have used the services of our emergency and rescue crews, you cannot appreciate how professional and caring they really are. The ambulance attendants were at our door within two minutes of my 9-1-1 call. After assessing assessing his condition and administering oxygen, he was off to the hospital's emergency department where the doctors and nurses not only administered the same quality of care, but also kept me well-informed of his status. After three days of exceptional treatment, It appears the Energizer Bunny will be back at his desk within a week, still going and going and going... That is, if Mother lets him. The battle with pneumonia was a piece of cake compared to the war he'll have with Momma if he tries to sneak out the front door to come to work. As for me, I just hope he's released from the hospital before before the parking lot fee goes up to $2 at the end of the month. Looking back on the Incident, one thought keeps coming back to me. I have taken a CPR basic rescuer and first aid course, and I knew what to do In an emergency. This Is not an attempt to pat myself on the back. It's meant to encourage everyone to take a few hours and be properly trained In how to stay calm, take control of the situation, situation, gather vital information about the patient, administer administer first aid, and assist the rescue crows. You also have to know when to stay out of the way. Although basic rescuer courses are available from agencies agencies like St. John Ambulance and Durham Save-a-Heart, I've often thought that such Important life-saving skills should also bo taught In the classroom. If not In elementary school, It should be at least Included In the curriculum of high school physical education classes. It's not difficult and It doesn't take much time. Unfortunately, most pooplo won't make the effort until it's too late. St. John Ambulance -- 697-1825 Durham Savo-a-Hoart -- 666-0995 George W. James, 1935-1957 mpany Limited 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 CCNA PAID Laveme Morrison Editorial -- Brad Kelly, Lorraine Manfredo, Laura J. Richards Office Angela Luscher, Junia Hodge, Grace McGregor, Nancy Pleasance-Sturman, Marilyn Rutherford P.O. Box 190, 62 King St. W., Bowmanville, Ontario, L1C 3K9 905-623-3303 Fax 905-623-6161 Garbage Miner Newtonville, Canada *Rotarlans Meet* * * Irish Shoe Maker* * The legendary pot of gold doesn't exist, said a recent speaker at the Rotary Rotary Club. "So many people have tried, over the centuries, to trick me out of this so-called pot of gold," said Pat O'Rourke, an Irish Rotarian from Dublin. "I am one of the few remaining leprechauns who knows about the legend. legend. I can truthfully say it doesn't exist." exist." Dressed in an exquisite Irish linen suit, the 24-inch high O'Rourke spoke into the podium microphone while perched on a Toronto phone book at last week's Bowmanville Rotary Club meeting at the Hying Dutchman. With an unlit pipe in one hand, O'Rourke told the group how he rose among the ranks to own and run Cluri- caune Shoes Co. International, based in Dublin. "No one knows shoes like we do," he said proudly, in reference to the leprechaun's traditional profession. "Shoes are my life. It was my father's father's life and the life of all those before before him. "However, it took an enterprising lad like O'Rourke to look at the shoe market in a fun way." O'Rourke said the shoes his company company makes "border on the insane in colors and design," but that is simply the way the designers' moods are. "Most leprechauns are manic- depressives and all my designers are leprechauns," he explained. With tobacco and whiskey being the vices of most leprechauns, it is a wonder the little folk haven't had a higher death rate from lung cancer and cirrhosis of the liver, O'Rourke added. "It is also a wonder that my business business has progressed to the international international status it has," added O'Rourke. In the beginning, when O'Rourke decided it was time for the shoe busi- Letters to the Editor Cut Taxes Instead of Building Centre Dear Editor: I don't believe that Clarington residents residents want to pay still higher taxes to pay for a Courtice Recreation Centre Centre with a price tag of $5-million and an estimated annual operating cost of about $700,000. On the contrary, they want lower taxes! It is because of politicians who claim to know what Canadians need and want - only God knows how - that our Country is now so deep in debt, with some of the highest taxes in the world. We should learn from the misfortune misfortune of Metro Toronto. Businesses are leaving Metro in droves to escape from excessive taxation. The Claring- ton Council hired an Economic Development Development Officer, gave him a nice $40,000-dollar office, and put him in charge of attracting new companies to Clarington. But Council should also do its part to enable the Economic Economic Development Officer to succeed by keeping taxes down. The more Labour Council Pushes for Work To be Done by Local Workers Dear Editor: _ . I am writing to you and other editors editors in the Durham Region. The Durham Durham Regional Labour Council wants to bring to the attention of your readers readers their concerns about outside contractors contractors doing business in the Durham Durham Region. It is felt by many members of the Council and its affiliated Locals, that these contractors leave very little of taxpayers' money within the Region when local workers arc not hired by them, and they continue to bring in workers from outside the Region. As approximately one in seven members arc out of work within the 'Region, they are not doing anything k help alleviate the unemployment problem within the region by bringing bringing in outside workers, These workers live here, pay taxes here, and buy items from local business business within the Region to help keep the economic cycle in motion. Whereas, outside workers contribute contribute very little to the local economy when local taxpayers' dollars are spent on local public works only to have monies paid out of taxpayers' dollars to leave the Region vis-a-vis the pockets of out of Region contractors contractors and their employees. Yours,lincercly, Wayne R. Shred, Secretary-Treasurer, Durham Regional Labour Council companies settle here, the more the commercial tax base will expand, and homeowners will get some tax relief. At present, too large a share of the tax-burden is paid for by residential taxes, and the total of all taxes paid to all levels of government has become oppressive. Raising taxes to build monuments will repel companies - not attract them. If our Council is sincere in its belief that the citizens of Clarington want another recreation centre, then it should be willing to put that belief to the test in a Referendum. This can be done at a minimal cost by putting the question on the ballot at the time of electing a new Council. Canadians are sick and tired of being being told by politicians what they need and what they want. The era of paternalistic paternalistic politicians who always know best is coming to an end. This is a world-wide trend. We have entered the Information Age, and Canadians are better educated and informed than ever before; they have learned to distrust distrust gifts from politicians because in the end the average Canadian always ends up paying die bill. During the referendum on Constitutional Change, in October of 1992, Canadians Canadians demonstrated they had more common sense than their leaders, and I am sure they will have no difficulty to come to a sensible decision, if given given the opportunity to decide the fate of the Courtice Recreation Centre. Sincerely, Evert Vroegh Dear Editor: The Bowmanville Toastmaster Club hosted an Area Speech Competition Competition on March 8, with Toastmasters from Oshawa, Ajax, Lindsay and Peterborough, Peterborough, and guests from as far away as Pembroke. Many of these out of town folk took a look through our scrapbook (which we always have on display) and commented on the wonderful coverage we have in our local paper. Their comments made me realize how fortunate this club is, and how communities and community groups ness to take pride in its leprechaun cobblers, the business only made shoes for the little people and faeries. In the early 1960s the business expanded expanded to incorporate the "bigs." That's the term the leprechauns use to describe people of normal height. "It was an interesting time for our business, with the flower children buying up our sandals and skin-tight boots in dazzling colors. Oranges, reds, and purples were winners as were black and white patent patent leather thigh-high go-go berets. These brought the Cluricaune Shoes Co. to international status. "Now we export to every country Continued on Page 4 often take their local newspaper for granted. I am taking this opportunity to thank you for that excellent coverage and for your interest in applauding the accomplishments of local people and announcing them to the public. Wc can all only benefit from your dedication to the community. On behalf of the Bowmanville Toastmaster Club, thank you! Sincerely, Slier Leetooze, ATMB Past President Bowmanville Toastmasters 0 We Asked... Are you satisfied with the 0% tax increase in the regional budget? .. .And You Said Doreen Cripps Bowmanville "No, because the assessment is way Penny Manion R.R. #4, Bowmanville Gail Johnson Bowmanville "I am glad they didn't William MacDougall Bowmanville toohigh 'for the sen- "They can keep it at "I guess I have to be." ra ' se them." vices wc get. I pay zero for as long as they nearly $3,000 in tax- want. It would be nice cs and it's too much. t0 ^ jf g 0 n lc 0 ;h cr But 1 am happy „ b there is no increase/' \.-\l u tvk's ipH'Mion Do von .tgnv with the nle.i ol mining ,1 l.unllill It)!' I'CYYt l.lhlvs.' B - i| Thanks from Toastmasters