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PAGE 6 ♦ THE CANADIAN STATESMAN ♦ March 15,2006 Tim Whittaker Publisher Joanne Burghardt Editor-In-Chief Chris Bovie Managing Editor Fred Eismont Director of Advertising Eddie Kolodziejcak Classified Advertising Manager Kirk Bailey Distribution Manager Lillian Hook Office Manager Janice O'Neil, Cheryl Haines Composing Managers Clarington's Award-Winning Newspaper Since 1854 ®i)t Canadian JstatEs'mau Opinion | MARCH 15, 2006 aumemregion.coni Phone 905-579-4400 Classifieds 905-576-9335 Distribution 905-579:4407 General Fax 905-579-^238 Newsroom Fax 905-579-1809 E-Mail newsroom@durhamregion.com 865 Farewell St., Oshawa ON L1H 7L5 Publications Mail Registration No.!o7637 infodurhamregion.com EDITORIAL e-mail letters to ncwsroom@durhamregion.coni Let trustees increase salaries to reflect work It's an issue nearly every school trustee must deal with, especially when it comes time to decide whether to mn for office. That issue is the remuneration which has been paid to trustees trustees over the past three terms of office: just $5,000 per year. The Province has recently introduced legislation that could allow trustees to raise their salaries. salaries. Many believe the amount is a pittance compared to the many hours trustees put in every week in meetings and other business. And trustees also will quickly point to the massive budgets they have to handle each year: the Durham District School Board has a budget of about $550 million, million, compared to just over $700 million at the Region. However, when it comes to annual salary, regional council- ■ lors make eight times as much money as their school board counterparts. Even those who would admit school trustees were paid far too much in the past - Toronto trustees trustees made in the neighbourhood of $50,000 a year before the Province changed the law in the mid 1990s -- might concede it is time to look at the salary structure structure once more. éJJ. Part of the issue comes down to what the role of a school trustee should be. If a trustee's role is largely one of oversight, then the job should not require heavy compensation. But if parents expect trustees to spend long hours poring over reports, answering phone calls and e-mails and attending sometimes sometimes contentious, lengthy meetings, meetings, $5,000 a year doesn't seem like enough compensation. Add in the fact that trustees, if they face a challenge at election time, must spend thousands of dollars to get re-elected, it's a . wonder "many decide to run for office at all. Talk about allowing trustees to raise their salaries as high as ■ $20,000 per year seems a little much. - It constitutes a 300 per cent raise and would seem to put us back on course toward those outlandish outlandish salaries that forced the Mike Harris government to cut back in the first place. A reasonable measure would allow trustees to perhaps double their salaries so that there, is reasonable remuneration for the amount of time representatives put in. It might also convince some . people who would otherwise-not run to take the plunge and. offer voters more options. ISC i.. GIVE IT A PBM MONTH*. Toll voket, WRE AW SHOWING LPesES.- LETTERS TO THE EDITOR BACKWARD GLANCE Edmund Haggith, 1890s Photo supplied by Bowmanville Museum Edmund Haggith rode his bike from Bowmanville to Buffalo, then to Rochester. He then took a steamship to Cobourg and rode back. The bike is now on display at Sarah Jane Williams Williams Heritage Centre. Don't blame all local merchants for one bad experience To the editor: Re: Business .tests customer's i ; faith, ' Paul Seeley letter, ■■ March ..8:. , I'm sorry Paul Seeley had a bad experience at a possibly-less- than-reputable computer repair store, but I'm confused about his staunch belief of investing in his community versus his sudden distrust of all local business. Should the local hardware store pay the price for his bad experience? experience? The local barber? Perhaps the local grocer, florist or gas stations should be held accountable accountable as well. Surely the local restaurants must also bear some of the blame! Please, Mr. Seeley, get a grip and don't give up on your support support of our local merchants. One bad apple could never spoil such . a beautiful bunch. Sean Kirkwood Bowmanville City and residents must get involved with Regent Theatre To the editor: Re: Decision time here for the Regent Theatre, Howard Smith letter, March 1. I am in complete agreement with Howard'Smith. The fate of the Regent Theatre is up to the citizens of Oshawa and surrounding areas. We have to decide whether or not we want a community performing arts facility in Durham Region. The Regent Theatre has contributed contributed nothing to Oshawa's downtown for quite some time, e-mail letters to newsroom@durhamrcgion.com however it is the responsibility - of all of us to make that difference difference instead of always pointing our fingers at a few individuals who have actually taken time out of their days to at least try and make something of this building. building. I would like to see this type of facility be offered to the citizens: of Oshawa and. people in. our surrounding communities and I think this project is one the City should be behind, riot just as owners of the building but as partners in the renovation process, process, just as they are with many other projects that have developed developed in the last year. Ron McCullough Clarington GM workers not to blame for company problems To the editor: Re: Workers between rock, hard place, Tim Kelly column, March 8. As a General Motors worker and CAW member for nearly 30 years, my hat is off-to Tim Kelly. Mr. Kelly has hit the proverbial nail smack on and told it like it is. There are many of us getting extremely tired of being told we are at the centre of GM's woes once again. We have been told time and time again, build a quality product product and you will have a job for life. Well, that is obviously what we do. We build quality, according according to J.D. Power, however the business, design, marketing and advertising of vehicles is not our job. Therefore, this time, someone else can shoulder the blame. Tony Sloggctt Oshawa Teachers acting for students too To the editor: I am shocked at the general attitude attitude of my fellow students about the strike. On a . radio phone- in show yesterday, student after ■ student ; slammed college!faculty ; for going on strike and causing a disruption in the academic-year. It is abundantly clear they are misinformed about the basics. Our teachers want smaller classroom sizes and less of a workload so that they are able to be more effective. Our government wants to keep larger classrooms while bribing the teachers witlva higher salary. Students will foot the bill when. our tuition is raised next year. A strike now should not come as a surprise: it has come about after a year-and-a-half failed negotiation process. And by the way, when we get out in the workplace and are being bullied by management, are we just going to roll over and let them walk all over us?. Mike Flynn Oshawa LETTERS We welcome letters that include name, city of residence and phone numbers for verification. Writers are generally limited to 200 words and one submission submission in 30 days. We decline announcements, poetry, open letters, consumer complaints, congratulations and thank you notes. The editor reserves the right to edit copy for length, style and clarity. The newspaper newspaper contacts only those people people whose submissions have been chosen for publication. FAX: 905-579-1809; E-MAIL: Newsroom ©durhamregion. com. Total Hockey needs to score fans A lot riding on Peter Puck collection's new interactive site If you've driven by the Garnet Garnet B. Rickard Complex lately, you may have noticed some construction construction going on out front, Almost as fast as you can say "Peter Puck," the outline of the structure that will house the new Total Hockey facility, set to open next fall, has popped out of the ground, By the time you figure in the purchase of long-time hockey Jennifer Stone commentator Brian McFarlanc's 1,300-piece collection, construction construction of the building, the displays, displays, consultants' fees, and other assorted costs, the price tag approaches $2 million. The facility has been defended as necessary with politicians saying saying they have to provide all sorts of amenities to the community, including cultural, It's been defended as practical, practical, providing a learning environment environment that can be attached to school curriculum. Supporters have said it .won't be a museum, but rather an inter-' active facility, where visitors will get a hands-on opportunity to participate in Canada's game, That could very well be. But there will be a challenge in terms of sustaining traffic through the facility. Though one marketing consultant consultant painted a Mayberry-csquc picture of kids on the street, hanging out downtown on Saturday Saturday afternoon, saying, "Let's head down to Total Hockey," I would argue that really doesn't sound like many teens I know. 1 just don't think it's a realistic depiction. Perhaps I'm being too cynical about it all. Many people go to the Rickard complex with a single purpose, They arc busy people, taking their kids to a game or practice, There is often little lime to slick around for a trip through a facility facility like Total Hockey, no matter how interactive. Perhaps tournament-goers will go through the facility, and to be fair, it would appear that pricing, which is likely to be in the $4-6 range, will be affordable enough to allow for that. Certainly, the facility could be tied to curriculum, but how many class trips would have to go through to sustain the facility? Total Hockey has its share of naysayers. Its price lag is large and there arc many who question its ability to attract a crowd. I'm one of them. But I'd love to be proven wrong, I'd love to see Total Hockey score, I certainly don't want it to he a total bust, Reporter Jennifer Stone s column appears every other Wednesday. E-mail jstonc(a}diirhamrcgion. com. CLICK AND SAY Today's question: Do you support Ontario's college teachers in their current strike? Yes No Indifferent ».q Cast your vote online-at infodurhamre@ion.com Last week's v ;: question: Do you support the move to a four-year term from the durrent three-year spart' for municipal politicians? No 72.3% Yes 27.7% Votes cast: 224 >y\' ■■.inii ■jiu'i >!-• m3 I- HAVE YOUR SAY .. V'/ , Do you think the federal government has explained why our military is in Afghanistan? ' r Jason Campbell "Not really. I don't think thëÿ have explained it enough>dnd reasons change as the situation situation changes." ' / Sean Laverty "I don't think so. I know thëÿ are there for peacekeeping but they are under attack." ' or:»: David Weber ]S;(! "To me I don't think we have been given any good reason. The only good reason could be if they declared war on. 0 Canada." B- Larry Wood "Not sufficiently, no." ' ij The Canadian Statesman lq one of the Metroland Printirjg, Publishing and Distributing 1 ; group of newspapers. The 1 ; Statesman is a member of < the Bowmanville Clarington!! Board of Trade, the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Corp-j merce, Ontario Community: Newspaper Assoc., Cana- ; dian Community Newspape'f Assoc., Canadian Circulé- \ lions Audit Board and the 1 Ontario Press Council.The; publisher reserves the right; to classify or refuse any ., < advertisement. Credit foriad- vertlsement limited to spfle^i price error occupies. Editpripl and Advertising contentif ; the Canadian Statesmaifclsj copyrighted. Unauthorizpp reproduction reproduction Is prohibited^ 4ocna ^CJVA Elsl 1 m 1 , I,