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PAGE 4 THE CANADIAN STATESMAN, JUNE 18,2003 www.durhamregion.com Tim Whittaker Publisher Joanne Burghardt Editor-in-Chief Chris Bovie Managing Editor Judi Bobbitt Regional Editor Fred Eismont Director of Advertising Eddie Kolodziejcak Classified Advertising Manager Kirk Bailey Distribution Manager Lillian Hook Office Manager Barb Harrisçn Composing Manager Clarington's Award-Winning Newspaper Since 1854 Œïj e Canadian Statesman ■ ■ June 18,2003 Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd. Phone 905-579-4400 Classifieds 905-576-9335 Distribution 905-579-4407 General Fax 905-579-2238 Newsroom Fax 905-579-1809 E-Mail newsroom@durhamregion.com 865 Farewell St., Oshawa ON L1H 7L5 Publications Mail Registration No. 07637 infodurhamregion.com EDITORIAL e-mail Idlers to ncwsrooin@ilurliHnircgioii.coin Fraser report looks at just part of a picture I magine if you were ranked in a long list of your friends and family based strictly on your IQ score or by the numbers on your weekly paycheque. Now, you might have an understanding understanding of how students, teachers, parents and principals at elementary schools across Ontario Ontario feel today after the release of the controversial Fraser Institute Institute Report Card on Ontario's Elementary Elementary Schools. The report was made public Tuesday and looks at the Education Education Quality and Accountability Office Grade 3 and 6 test results from the past four years. It blends results in nine different categories and then spits out a number for each school from between between zero (lowest) and 10 (highest). Some would say such a rating system offers a fair assessment of the standing of elementary schools. After all, don't students across the province have to write the same tests each year? Isn't the scoring on such tests an honest honest way to see whether a school wears a collective genius or dunce cap? The numbers are an indicator but they are no more persuasive of the value of a school than are the aforementioned IQ or paycheque paycheque figures equivalent to the value of a person. For a school is so much more than a gauge of the proficiency of a given class at words and numbers. numbers. Schools are also about people, people, programs and pride. , The Fraser Report Card cannot cannot measure the extracurricular activities put on at a school. It cannot adequately account for the extra effort put in by teachers to help struggling students, nor can it deal with the innovations principals introduce to make school an enjoyable place to be. More than that, the Fraser Report Report Card doesn't make any effort effort to account for the obvious problems schools located in areas of low socioeconomic status status face. Talk to principals and teachers at those schools and they'll tell you about the high ■turnover they see in students year-over-year. They'll talk about the many students they see who come to school hungry each morning and who may have little supervision at home many nights because they have a single parent who is working to keep a roof over her child's head. In short, the numbers can't be taken very seriously because there is simply no level playing field with which tq fairly evaluate evaluate school against school. What is important is to see every effort made to improve results results within each school, year over year. Teachers and principals principals should not be worried about how their school is doing versus the school across town. They should be concerned about how their school is doing this year, versus how it was doing last year and the year before. It's hoped parents, students, teachers and staff lake a deep breath and not let the Fraser Report Report Card results get them down. For those schools which earned top marks - well, you know who you are and'. ÿqu deserve credit for your success. For those schools which did less well, we know you want your'students to improve and we're confident you'll take measures to do better next. time. It's a lot more than just about numbers. OPINION e-mail letters to newsroomtsUlurliamregion.com Dangers of Test Hill are real T est Hill. Even the name is intriguing. Unfortunately, 1 have yet to wander the great beyond, a section of the Oak Ridges Moraine on the border border of Clarington and Scugog. I can only imagine a world much like the one in Mel Gibson's Gibson's Mad Max movies, as bad as it was, with untamed villains ruling ruling the wasteland. Only, for Test Hill, it is thrill seekers stepping outside civilization for a time. Burnt and stolen vehicles left to rust in the sandy soil of the Oak Ridges Moraine. Motorcycles Motorcycles whizzing past not watching where they are going - sometimes sometimes even colliding with each other. Monster trucks plowing through gates put up by property owners, all in order to play in a part of the earth still untouched untouched and inaccessible inaccessible to most. Their off-roading Tun' has stripped vegetation, vegetation, destroyed wetlands, wetlands, caused erosion, soil contamination, and the land has taken its revenge. The thrill of acceleration and power has cost some their lives through fatal accidents. accidents. In a place where garbage is dumped and vehicles burned, it is not just goons trespassing onto the thousands of vacant, but privately privately owned, acres of land. Test Hill lias also become a place for families, many unaware they are even committing an offence. Mom, dad, little Johnny and Susie, all pile into the big 4X4 to have fun on the Moraine's intimidating intimidating trails and to battle the sand walls of Test Hill's giant belly, However, it's dangerous. Imagine stepping out of a truck to lake the little one to the bathroom when suddenly a motorcycle motorcycle zips across the trail just missing you, the continuous hum of dirt bikes buzzing in the distance. distance. With property owners absent for the most part, much of the area is unpopulated because of strict building restrictions pertaining pertaining to the Oak Ridges Moraine. The wild and willing have been left to do pretty well as they please. It will not be so easy for much longer. Strict provincial legislation to protect Hie moraine only allows low recreational activity in the sensitive area, which does not include include motorized vehicles. Municipalities Municipalities have to deal with the problems destroying destroying the moraine and in Scugog they have already started. A Test Mill Task Force has been set up to keep people away. Joining representatives of Scugog Township are Durham Regional Police, the City of Oshawa, Oshawa, Municipality of Clarington, Kawartha Conservation, and the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority. They are working together to find a longterm longterm solution to keep people out. So far, Clarington and Scugog have turned sections of Boundary Boundary Road near 1 Iwy. 57 into noparking noparking zones on both sides. Police Police have also been cracking down on trespassers, those with no insurance and other offences committed by those entering Test Kill. As the task force continues, a more solid solution will hopefully hopefully he found. Every person kept off Test Hill is one less possible disaster. Crystal Crimi Staff Writer CLICK AND SA Today's question: Is the Province offering enough in terms of compensation compensation for people affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)? □ Yes □ No Cast your vote online at infodurhamregi Oft. com Last week's question: Do you agree with the Durham Regional Police position to not charge anyone anyone caught with less than 30 grams of marijuana? □ Yes 74.7% □ No 25.3% Votes cast: 430 HAVE YOUR SAY Question What is your favourite place in Durham for summer fun? LETTERS TO THE EDITOR e-mail letters to ncwsroom@(l iirhamregion.com Courtice library could have more To the editor: Being an avid user of the library library I thought I might visit Clarington's new central library on Tuesday, June 10.1 have one word: disgusting. Ceramic tiles line the entrance, entrance, lots of smiling staff, thousands of books, I counted 36 flat-screen computers and 180 DVD titles on display! New parents were meeting and talking. I didn't even get to the upper levels. So what's not to like? I live in Courtice. Our branch has a paltry eight DVD titles on display. Six of the titles are there almost every week -1 know, I've already watched them. Courtice branch has just 12 computer terminals, old bulky things with small screens, and on Tuesday one was 'out of service.' One of the two doors of the only entrance to the library library has been broken for about a year. It's not reasonable to expect Courtice residents to make a 20-kilometre round trip to browse through a good selection selection of material. Why not place some of that material in other branches where other people, not just those in Bowmanville, can see it? I think the people in charge of our library need to make a serious effort to ensure all Clarington Clarington taxpayers benefit fairly from the services they're all paying for. Mark Stanisz Courtice Bowmanville Zoo director defended To the editor: On a recent Sunday, I happened happened into a local park. There was a soccer practise in progress. Siblings, pets, and parents milled about, watching. One such couple was Michael ITaekcnbergcr and his wife, Wendy. Like other families, they walked to the practice, and brought their pels. They brought two elephants, who lolled about in the long grass, munching happily. Like good 'house pets', Mr. Hackenberg- er's elephants accompanied him to soccer practice because they were obedience-trained, and they respond to voice commands commands implicitly. Recently it has bothered me to read the uneven stories carried carried in newspapers broadcasting broadcasting the 'allegations of abuse* against Michael 1 lackenhcrgcr. The incident was regarding a Bowmanville Zoo elephant, on loan to a Winnipeg Zoo, who attacked its handler. Mr. Ilaek- enberger flew out, and at some point, purchased a low-level, electronic prod. Whether this instrument was ever used in conjunction with the elephant in question, was never indicated. Imagine a 2,000-plus-pound 'adolescent' pushing, or challenging challenging a keeper. Unchecked, what would happen to this elephant? elephant? It may eventually hurt someone and then the question would be posed, 'Should this animal be destroyed?' Properly managed, this animal will lead a happy, integrated life, surrounded surrounded by people and other elephants. Unmanaged, this;,animal this;,animal risks death. Current, accepted methods of animal training allow for the measured use of electronic devices. devices. Field dogs that retrieve decoys, have these collars. Regulated Regulated to buzz instead of zap, an electronic device can tell a dog to field left or right in search of a decoy when the dog is too far afield to hear other commands. Similarly, the measured use of a low-level electronic prod gives a very modest reprimand to a thick-skinned elephant. Well- mannered elephants are ultimately ultimately happier and safer. Uncensored, Uncensored, you could end up with a very large, very dangerous, dangerous, brat. It is important to note that allegations allegations are unproven accusations. accusations. Allegations made by special-interest special-interest groups often have ulterior motives. They may represent represent an uneducated response or represent a lobby group for moneyed organizations with their own agendas. Michael and Wendy I-Iack- cnberger are gentle, responsible, responsible, decent people. Our noble, 100-ycar-old Bowmanville Zoo does not deserve to be smeared by special interest groups, or have its reputation tarnished by uneven, shock-style reporting. Denise Barton Bowmanville Stop unnecessary doctor visits To the editor: As we continue to recover from the latest strain of SARS on our already over-burdened health-care system and listen to what little money is available from our provincial and federal governments, I would like to offer a view that might help find dollars in the future. I would like to ask why our provincial and federal governments governments let our corporations continue continue to abuse our health-care system. Why is it necessary for workers who might he ill with a 24-lo-72-hotir illness which requires requires nothing more than a few Tylenol and lied rest to recover, to go to their family doctor or a walk-in clinic? The only reason for going to the doctor or clinic is to retain a medical note to lake to their supervisor supervisor on their return to work as proof they were ill. All these visits are paid for by OHIP, not by the corporation. corporation. Perhaps if the corporations feel the need to have this much distrust with their employees, they should be required to reimburse reimburse OHIP for these visits. Or why not pay for and set up their own medical clinics so that the employees they found honest enough to hire in the first place can go to verify that they are really really ill? If we were to look over OHIP's records for visits such as the above and put an end to this abuse, maybe we would not ir be feeling the pinch in our med- ■■ ical system today. When a truly necessary reason for going to our doctors or health-care facilities facilities arise then there would be funds available. Brenda Hoyne Orono Judges have too much power To the editor: For some time now, Canadian Supreme Court judges have sought to enrich our judicial system. system. Recently the judges decreed the definition of marriage ought to be changed. Before that, it was decreed by the good judges that racial profiling could be used to lessen the length of jail sentences, sentences, provided the criminals were members of certain preferred preferred minorities. During my stay at Queen's university, circa 1969, I recall a social science study done there at that time, which sought to measure measure the analytical capability of members of various professions. To the surprise of some, lawyers scored lowest among the professions. professions. So the mining engineer, English graduate, the doctor, and pure mathematician all scored substantially higher in terms of analytical capability than the lawyer! Yet our federal government government insists that Supreme Court judges must be appointed from amongst lawyers, and that these judges may never be (elected or appointed) from amongst the more analytical professions. The current method of Canadian Canadian judicial system enrichment, may well be dubbed "judicial enrichment enrichment by selective decree", not unlike the decrees issued by fundamentalist Islamic Mullahs. Unless wc Canadians begin to question the often "Mullah-like" pronouncements and decrees of Supreme Court judges, a vety small group of not particularly analytical people will continue to determine how the Canadian judicial judicial system ought to he enriched. enriched. Unfortunately, the common common law system, unlike the Napoleonic code, is vulnerable to change by "mullah-like decree." Perhaps our Parliament needs to reverse this trend at its earliest convenience. R.H. Posma Oshawa Tiffany Spencer "The Youth Centre, because you can hang out there and everyone knows where you are." Robyn Card "Liberty Park. It has shade, the kids love the water and there are washrooms." Taylor Faillites "The skate park because I like skateboarding skateboarding and it's cool there." Anastadjj inexpensive." ®ljc Cmmbimi S>tntc6inmi is one of the Metroland Printing, Publishing and Distributing group of newspapers. The Statesman is a member of the Bowmanville Clarington Board of Trade, the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce, Ontario Ontario Community Newspaper Assoc., Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc., Canadian Circulations Audit Board and the Ontario Press Council. The publisher reserves the right to classify or refuse any advertisement. Credit for advertisement advertisement limited to space price error occupies. 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