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Page 4 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanvillc, September 30, 1998 III t Canadian talesman Of Former Publishers and Partners Rev. John M. Climie and W. R. Climie 1854 -1878 M. A. James, 1878 -1935 • Norman S. B. James, 1919 -1929 G. Elena James, 1929 -1947 • Dr. George W. James, 1919 -1957 Produced weekly by James Publishing Company Limited Also Publishers of The ClariiigtoulCourticc Independent P.O. Box 190,62 King St. W., Bowmanvillc, Ontario L1C 3K9 Tel: 905-623-3303 HOURS: Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Fax: 905-623-6161 Internet - statesmanQocna.org Publications Mail Registration No. 07637 For 144 Years, Our First Concern Has Been Our Community Publisher - John M. James Assoc. Publisher - Rick James Plant Manager - Rick Patterson Ad. Manager - Brian G. Purdy Editor - Peter Parrott Production Supervisor - Ralph Rozema, Suzanne Bennett, Tim Bowers, Kevin Britton, Sharon Cole, Laurens Kaldeway, Barb Patterson, Sean Pickard, Tyler Sellick, Jim Snoek, James Stephenson, Vance Sutherland, Jim Tuuramo Advertising Editorial Laverne Morrison Brad Kelly, Lorraine Manfredo, Jennifer Stone Office Supervisor - Angela Luscher, Junia Hodge, Grace McGregor, Nancy Pleasance-Sturman, Marilyn Rutherford, Libby Smithson Farewell to Local Government? You don't have to be a rocket scientist to suspect that the days of our two-tier local government may be numbered. numbered. Or, to put it in more practical tenus, we could see the Bowmanvillc Town Hall closed, Clarington's local government government disbanded and some form of mega-region calling calling the shots. It may sound far-fetched, but this scenario has already been played out in Toronto, where municipalities much larger than Clarington or Oshawa bit the dust. In fact, if the current provincial government is reelected, reelected, you can almost bet on some kind of amalgamation amalgamation for municipal government. This observation is based on the track record at Queen's Park. Remember, these are the people who cut the number of school boards in half, who closed and amalgamated hospitals and transformed transformed Metro Toronto's municipalities into a single city. The creation of a Greater Toronto Services Board is officially nothing more than a way to help Toronto and the surrounding municipalities work together. But, does anyone really believe that it will not lead to more consolidation? consolidation? In the future, we could very well see an end to either ; the local level of government (such as the Municipality • of Clarington) or the upper-tier government (That would 1 be the Durham Region.) 1 If the trend set by the amalgamation of Toronto is any indication, it's most likely that the local municipalities ! would be on the chopping block. Rather than having a ; mayor and six councillors and an independent municipal ; government, Clarington would find itself a ward in the • Durham Region with, at best three councillors to repre- 1 sent the communities of Clarington. 1 In our view, local grassroots government is not some- ! thing that should be sacrificed in the name of greater ; efficiency. There's no evidence that, in the long run, ; mega-municipalities will be more efficient than the local government of a small village or township. And, even if there were improved efficiency, citizens would lose their sense of community and local input if they lost their local municipal councils. X_ Getting rid of grassroots government to increase effi- "^ciency is like getting rid of elections for the same reason. Holding a provincial, local, or federal election every 10 years would also save money. But, most citizens would argue that the principles of democracy should out-weigh : such concerns. In any event, the wheels are in motion to create a ; mega-board which will oversee government in the ; Greater Toronto Area. A mega council consisting of • Toronto and its neighbouring municipalities in the 905 1 area code may not be far behind. I And that would leave Clarington lost in the crowd. About the only way to halt the process would be to 1 make the preservation of independent local municipali- ' ties an election issue in the next provincial election. Whenever that election occurs, this is one topic that ( should be debated. If, after a thorough debate, the public sees merit in opting for further consolidation and amalgamation, then ■I that's fair enough. ! But, the issue requires public debate. 1 It might be argued that it should be the number one ! priority in the next provincial vote. ; No Solution Yet I; The back-to-work legislation for Ontario teachers is !; only a stopgap solution. ' It brings bodies back to the classrooms. However, ;• there is no guarantee that it will bring peace to Ontario's ■! education system. In fact, the back-to-work legislation I may give the illusion that the crisis is over when, in fact, I it continues. I The legislation paves the way for endless negotia- ; lions. All the while many (if not all) high schools will be • without the voluntary services teachers have traditional- • ly provided. 1 Frankly, we cannot see how a resolution can be - achieved unless the provincial government takes an I active role in hammering out a deal. Remember that ; there are a new set of rules in operation. School boards ; cannot call the shots independently because they arc now • tied to a set of rules imposed by Queen's Park. For • instance, a school board couldn't opt to hire more leach- .' ers and raise more taxes because Queen's park lias : tighter control of the purse strings and has ordered ; school boards not to incur deficits in their budgets. : We're not sure whether this solution has been looked ; at, but maybe it would be worth a try to include work ; high school teachers sec as "voluntary" in the extra 25 • minutes per day of teaching time prescribed by Queen's Park. In other words, instead of adding another period of ' teaching per day, why not credit teachers for some of the ; unpaid hours they pul in. This wouldn't allow the Ontario government to trim the number of teachers in the high schools. However, it ; might clarify exactly what work by teachers is voluntary ; and what is not. Since most teachers, parents and students agree that I time spent outside the high school classrooms on extra curricular programs and after-school help is valuable, ( why not give teachers credit for it? The understanding ; would be, of course, that such "voluntary" activities ; wouldn't be subject to work-to-rule actions in future • negotiations. ; It's just a suggestion. • It is certainly compromises like that which Ontario > will have to look at in the future. - In fact, they've already done so. • To enact the speedy passage of back-to-work legisla- I lion, the provincial government had to reach a compro- ! mise with opposition parties. The same spirit of give-and-take should be brought to the negotiating table, Where are the Butterflies? That's the question this young naturalist might be asking as he scans the field near the new butterfly meadow at Ontario Hydro's Darlington Nuclear Generating Station. On Saturday, volunteers planted about 300 perennials chosen to attract butterflies to the meadow on the Ontario Hydro property. -Photo by Nancy Pleasance-Sturman Letters to the Editor Thanks For the Concerts To everyone who had any part in providing the great entertainment at Rotary Park in Bowmanvillc this summer: You did it again! What a wonderful thing for the Town of Bowmanvillc and surrounding areas. We did all look forward to Thursday evenings when we could sit under the stars, and enjoy such a variety of musical entertainment. entertainment. We all know that anything anything that good doesn't just happen. Thanks for a job well done. - Eileen and Lloyd Down Quilt Winner Announced To the Editor: The Officers and Members of Beehive Rebekah Lodge #125 wish to thank all people who attended our Annual Bazaar and Draw on Saturday, September 26, 1998. The weatherman was kind to us and the attendance was great. Winner of the Quilt was Mrs. June Siebarth of 85 Prospect St., Bowmanvillc and of the Afghan was Mrs. Dorothy Edmondson of 80 Hunt St., Bowmanvillc. Congratulations! Doris L. Wollstein Secretary THAT'S ROCK AND ROLL -- The Graceliners, a team of female Elvis impersonators impersonators who combine Elvis tunes and line dancing, were special guests at the Big Brothers Talent Show on Saturday at Archibald Orchards. But, don't ask them to perform on a farm wagon. Such a wagon had been set up as a temporary temporary stage, but the Elvis impersonators opted to dance on solid ground. It seems as though there was another performance at another site where the dancing actually caused the wagon to begin rolling down a hill. Must have been an incredible sight! A runaway wagon speeding downhill while a half dozen or so Elvises scrambled for. safety! TAKING THE HEAT -- Nobody will be able to say Councillor Jim Schell can't take the heat that goes along with his job as the Ward Two representative. representative. The councillor councillor responsible for Clarington's fire department department took time to attend a training session on Sunday at the Wesleyville firefighter training facility. We understand he was planning planning to put on the breathing breathing apparatus and ; firefighters' firefighters' gear for a trek into the smoke-filled training building. BANKS AND HUMOR -- Comedian Simon Cotter just couldn't resist poking some fun at the big banks last week at the Chamber of Commerce annual business business awards gala. He noted that each of the awards for, the Oshawa and Clarington Chamber's top businesses businesses and business people were sponsored by major chartered banks. This caused him to wonder out loud if we might expect to see some of those awards merged in the coming years. Thoughts Unlimited : by Rick James Nice Place to Visit, But... He's coming home, lie's done his time. Father has made yet another amazing recovery from serious illness and should be coming home from the hospital just in time for the baseball playoffs. Although I included a comment about the hospital care in last week's column, I would be remiss if I did not mention it again. The care from everyone at the hospital has been fantastic. During a meeting meeting on Tuesday morning to discuss his plans for his care at home, no fewer than eight staff members were involved in discussing what lie'll need. From his initial visit to the E.R., to the second floor, to the first floor, our family has been treated royally. Dr. Ed Notarandrca has been particularly helpful at keeping us informed about Pa's progress. Now that we've got him on the mend, other people and organizations organizations that have been invaluable include John Greenfield and Norm Baker of the Royal Canadian Legion who have supplied information, walkers and a wheelchair. Sally Barrie and the staff of Community Care have been busy setting up lielp for Ma and Pa around the house. In short, everyone has been wonderful. Although most people think they will never need help, it's great to know these agencies arc ready and willing to jump in when you need them. Not So Good Performances Although everyone has done their jolis properly at the hospital, 1 received an e-mail from my brother, John, about some employees who have not been performing at the level expected by their employer. employer. I have no way to determine if these are real, but according to the e- mail, the following quotations were taken from actual performance evaluations. Whether they're real doesn't matter, they're worth a chuckle. The next time your employer judges your performance, watch out for any of the following criticisms. 1. "Since my last report, this employee has reached rock bottom and has started to dig." 2. "Mis men would follow him anywhere, but only out of morbid curiosity." 3. "1 would not allow this employee to breed." 4. "This associate is really not so much of a has-been, hut more of definitely won't be." 5. "Works well when under constant supervision and cornered like a rat in a trap." 6. "When she opens her mouth, it seems that this is only to change whichever foot was previously in there." 7. "He would be out of his depth in a parking lot puddle." 8. "This young lady has delusions of adequacy." 9. "He sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them." 10. "This employee is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot." 11. "This employee should go lar-and the sooner lie starts, the better." better." 12. "Not the sharpest knife in the drawer." 13. "Got into the gene pool while the lifeguard wasn't looking." 14. "A room temperature I.Q." 15. "1-Iis brain is a like a six-pack of beer without the little plastic thingy holding it all together." 16. " A gross ignoramus -- 144 times worse than an ordinary ignoramus." 17. "Has a photographic memory, but the lens cover is glued on." 18. "A prime candidate for natural deselection." 19. "Bright as Alaska in December." 20. "One-cclled organisms out-score him in IQ tests." 21. "Donated his body to science before he was done using it." 22. "Fell out of the family tree." 23. "Gates are down, the lights arc flashing, but the train isn't coming." 24. "Has two brains; one is lost and the other is out looking for it." 25. "He's so dense, light bends around him." 26. "If brains were taxed, lie'll get a rebate." 27. "If he were any more stupid, lie'll have to he watered twice a week." 28. "If you give him a penny for his thoughts, you'd get change," 29. "If you stand close enough to him, you can hear the ocean." 30. "One neuron short of a synapse." 31. "Takes him 1.5 hours to watch "60 Minutes." 32. "The wheel is turning, hut the hamster is dead," And my favourite... 33. "Some drink from the fountain of knowledge, hut lie only gargled." gargled." y