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4 PAGE 2THE CANADIAN STATESMAN, MARCH 14,2001 'The best weapon is not a gun, a stick or some sort of spray. It's your mouth': bylaw officer BHnWWSffFVM 1 1 fl I 1 | i l [ ft THE from page 1 lating a bylaw). It gets really really annoying, and galling, when you know this is all it is." Officer Creamer recalls an incident where bylaw complaints led to restraining restraining orders after one party tried to run the other down with his car. Then there arc those people who like to think of themselves as lawyers when it comes to veering around municipal bylaws. A few years back a Cour- ticc man wanted to bum- some painted logs after he discovered the cost to dispose dispose of them was too prohibitive. prohibitive. When the fire department department arrived and warned him he could not burn the logs, he asked what kind of fire he was allowed allowed to have, recalls Officer Officer Creamer. The firefighters firefighters explained he could only have a fire for cooking. Sure enough, soon after, the man was back at it, burning the logs. When Officer Creamer arrived on the scene, the man "shoves a sausage on a stick" and held it over the fire. When asked what he was doing the man said he was cooking cooking his dinner, to which Officer Officer Creamer replied, in that case he should eat it. "He took a bite and it Bylaw Officer Leu Creamer posts a notice on the door of an abandoned home. was charred on the outside and raw' on the inside," laughs the officer. As Officer Officer Creamer proceeded to reach for his ticket book, the astonished man asked what he was doing. "Charging "Charging you," Officer Creamer replied. "It doesn't matter that I'm cooking?" he recalls the man asking. "Nope," said the officer, upon which the man threw away the remainder remainder of the sausage and spit it all out. "I still see him occasionally occasionally and we still laugh about it." Not everyone is so easy to convince they're on the wrong side of the law. Many people do not realize the authority the bylaw officer officer brings with him or the penalty for accosting the officer. By the time a successful candidate reaches Claring- ton for the job of bylaw officer, officer, he or she will likely have taken a community college course in law enforcement, enforcement, have at least two years on-the-job experience, experience, and have been through -- or be willing to go through -- the certified property standards officer program, Despite these credentials, credentials, it's not unusual for people to question the officer's officer's authority. "Most MLEO's arc not in full uniform," when they attend a call, Officer Creamer explains. "We want it to be absolutely crystal clear when we're on somebody's property we do have a right to be there. But a uniform like a police officer's officer's can work against you, too. You do have to negotiate negotiate with people," he explains, explains, and officers want people to have a certain comfort level with them. Uniform or not, citizens should make no mistake. The bylaw officer's powers can be far reaching "even including ripping down your house," if the property is considered to be a public safety hazard. And some property standards infractions infractions can carry hefty fines, up to $50,000 for commercial commercial properties and $25,000 for residential, for repeat offences. Still, throwing their weight around is usually the last resort, says Officer Creamer. "It's something we're taught in police college college and it's certainly true here. The best weapon is not a gun, a stick or some sort of spray. It's your mouth. You need to be able to talk and negotiate with people." And, oh yeah, in this job, "it helps to have a sense of humour." SPRING Sears Oshawa - Retail Location Only! EXTRA All, Already Reduced Men's, Women's & Children's Fashion Clearance Including Fashion Accessories & Footwear • While quantities last • Offer does not apply to previous purchases • Cannot be combined with any other savings offer Transit study rolls TRANSIT from page I says, noting it could mean better access to community services for residents in outlying outlying areas like Mitchell's Comers. Interestingly, she says, she has not personally heard comments from residents residents on the need for more public transit. However, she adds, residents residents served by the already- existing Oshawa Transit loop into Courtice which runs east from Townline Road along Nash Road, south on Courtice Courtice Road .to Hwy ; 2 and bade tcjlIltià^jfiavis^beèn-.Very-' •pleased with the service. ^Côiinf Rowe' points out, however, the current loop is not costing the municipality anything because the Oshawa Oshawa bus was idling for 15 minutes at Townline Roald V prior to introducing the loop, so the transit authority offered offered to add the service without without "charge to Clarington in . order to generate some revenue revenue with increased rider- ship. Any new routes introduced introduced through this new plan would be "a whole different enterprise," she says. Coun. MacArthur says he believes the demand is there •to sustain some new routes. Any Bowmanville or Courtice Courtice routes would serye as a pilot, he says. Employees to pay for checks EMPLOYEES from page / . ing," he says. "But, pathetically pathetically insulting. Surely to goodness they (the government) government) can come up with something better than that." Mr. Tompsett says teachers teachers are caught between a rock, and a hard place when it comes to the initiative, since "anybody who opposes mandatory police checks makes it look like they're bad people trying to hide themselves." themselves." Mr. Langlois questions whether volunteers will have to submit to the check, since "we have as many volunteers as employees at any one time." As well, he says there is some concern about local police departments, which administer the screening, being ' able to provide so many checks quickly. In. Clarington and Northumberland, individuals requiring police checks for employment purposes are required required to pay between $20 and 25 for the service. That cost is to be borne by the individual individual employee, says Education Education Ministry spokesman Rob Savage. Having new employees submit submit to a police check is fine, says trustee Bob Willsher, chairman of the public board. But he wonders whether if need apply to all employees. "It's still a puzzler as to why a teacher who's due to retire has to have a police check," notes Mr. Willsher. "But you can't argue with the concept in terms of providing a safe environment for kids." FAMILY OPTOMETRIST Dr. Kristina Klaas Family Optometrist New Patients And Walk-ins Welcome Tues. 2:00 ■ Thurs. 10:00- 7:00 1:00 219 Suite 3A King St. E., Bowmanville 905-623-5538 6 month closed* -g. 6.30% 6 month convertible 6.40% 1 year closed 6.30% 3 years closed 6.30% F«&| 5 years closed 6.60% Let us help finance your dreams! DUCA Financial Services Oslniwn & Bowmanville Branches, Manager Paul Muller 15 Charles Street 136 King Street Bast Phone: 905-728-4658 Phone: 905-623-6343 E-mail: tluca.info@tluca.coni Internet: www.thicn.com *Iiales subject to change without notice