The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

VIEWPOINT K by John B. McClelland Eile. HLETTERS TO EDITORS GOOD NEWS AND GRAVEL 'TRUCKS......... If there is one constant critici8m of the media it is that newspapers, TV and radio constantly "play up" all the bad news. And when something "good" happens, it ends up buried somewhere on the back pages or at the end of the newscast, if carried at all. The criticism is valid. There is no denying it. Even a casual scan of the front pages of large and small newspapers would reveal that "bad news" stories far out-number the other kind. The reasons for this are simple enough. News by its very definition is something out of the ordinary, and out of the ordinary invariably will have tragic, negative or unhappy overtones about it. Responding to the criticism, some newspapers in recent years initiated a conscious effort to put some "good news" stuff on the front page as a form of balance. It was pointed out to me recently that a good case in point on how the bad news gets the front page and the good news gets tucked away in a back corner of paper involved an announcement by General Motors in Oshawa that it will be running two shifts in No. 1 car plant this summer. Previously GM had announced it would get rid of one shift this summer, a reduction that would have impacted on 1450 workers who make the Chev Lumina and Buick Regal. The two shift announcement was made by GM April 8 in a four- paragraph news release. The Oshawa papers gave it front page coverage of course, but the Toronto dailies barely covered the story deep on inside pages. One GM employee mentioned this to me in a casual conversation, noting that if the announcement had been that GM was cutting bott shifts it would have been "big news" in Toronto. I couldn't help but agree. (The Citizen, by the way, ran the story on page three. The reason it was not on page one was because the announcement came on a Thursday, five days before our weekly goes to press. Had the announcement been made on a Monday, the story most likely would have found its way to the front page) The fact that GM will be keeping those 1450 workers on the job this summer and fall is indeed good news for all of Durham Region. Let's be honest, Durham has not had too much to cheer about the last couple of years, especially in terms of saving or Sidewalk needs work To the Editor: I am writing to the attention of the Township council and the Works department re the dangerous conditions that confront pedes .ans at the north end of Water Street in Port Perry. The sidewalk on the west side extending from North Street toward the Bank of Commerce is in terrible shape. The neighbours (mostly seniors) in the condos at the north end of Water Street plus all those visiting the Pool or Library use this sidewalk. When ice and snow are added to this broken down creating jobs. And General Motors is still the heart of the engine that drives the economy in this Region. Hopefully, that April 8 announcement (no matter how the Toronto papers feel about it) is cause for renewed optimism in the local economy. GM would not be keeping two shifts on the job this summer if the company _. felt it was not to its economic" advantage. In fact in that four- paragraph news release president George Peapples says "the current forecast for retails of Chev Luminas and Buick Regals in Canada and the US"s more optimistic, and along with a noticeable strengthening of the economy, has given us the opportunity to continue with two shifts in Plant # 1" That, for a change, is a bit of good news. * GRAVEL TRUCKS....... Just a few short summers ago, gravel trucks were rolling along Highway 7A at a furious clip. These trucks are big and loud. They spew black exhaust and seem to take up more than their share of the road. Driving behind can be dangerous as the big tires kick up stones that find their way to headlights and windshields. Most motorists hate the sight of these giants, not to mention those people who live along a well travelled truck route. But have you noticed that the trucks have all but disappeared from the highways in Scugog Township? And their disappearance dove-tails with the economic downturn of the last couple of years. When the gravel trucks roll, it means people are working: drivers, pit loaders, weighmasters, brick layers, carpenters and so on. Things are getting built like houses, office buildings, shopping malls, roads, bridges and even Domed Stadiums. Money is circulating for everything from wages and materials to tire repairs and oil changes on those big trucks. Most people, myself included, have at least once cursed a gravel truck. But never again. When (if) those big trucks start rolling along Highway 7A it will mean that something is happening somewhere. The deep rumble of a diesel hauling 25 tons of gravel will be music to my ears. As for black exhaust spewing into the air, we can either live with that or live with half the country on the dole. For me, the choice is easy. Next time you see a gravel truck on the road, give the driver a thumbs up instead of a middle finger. walkway, it becomes doubly dangerous. A limb from a large tree hangs over the sidewalk referred to and gives every indication it may fall at any. time. Pedestrian traffic on North St. is effectively blocked by vehicles of patrons in the newly opened pub/restaurant. Taxpayers must wonder why a Wilderness Park is more important than the safety of the Citizens of the Town. Some action on these conditions is needed, and quickly. N. R. Caswell, Water St., Port Perry. What about growth in the non-residential sectors? To the Editor: In the past month there has been a number of articles written in local papers~€oncerning the Region of ~Durham determining that Scugog's current sewage system could accommodate another 260 sites. Readers were also made aware that a number of housing developers are working with the Region in' an attempt to get these remaining sewage allocations for their own housing developments. This brings up two important questions. 1)How does Town Council plan on encouraging growth in the hotel/motel, retail, industrial, or other commercial sectors if all the remaining sewage capacity has all been given to housing developments? We must not forget that businesses pay higher taxes which helps to keep residential property taxes lower, and provides employment year around for local residents. 2)Why would the remaining sewage capacity be given to new housing developments prior to being offered to residents of Prince Albert? A number of Prince Albert residents expressed this concern at the town council meeting in Sept. of 1991 while opposing the Van Edward high density housing development. I urge the Region of Durham and Scugog Town Council to wait until the Region has completed its final report on whether the Nonquon River can accommodate future sewage expansion prior to awarding any portion of our T 8 P y Scugog Township wil suffer greatly should the expansion of the N River facility be years away (if capable of expansion at all) and all of our current sewage capacity is given to new housing developments alone. Steven Edwards' Prince Albert Learn to lead or get out To the Editor: I would like to say this about something that is bothering me. It doesn't seem to matter what level of government the elected reps work for, whether it is municipal, provincial or federal, the elected people seem to look after themselves very well. A few years ago the municipal government gave themselves about a 19 per cent raise when the taxes were raised about 19 per cent. Coincidence, good luck or good management? The provincial government has frozen wages while asking everyone else to take cuts or be laid off. The federal government, they don't even realize yet that there is a recession. They are all fat cats at the public trough without a cut in wages or anything else, while most Canadians are struggling with high taxes, layoffs, cuts in wages, unemployment, loss of income. It seems to me the leaders of the country and communities should either learn to lead or get out. I would like to see an elected official for once in my lifetime do something to show the people like me that they can see what is going on around them and will do something about it, like cut their own inflated wages. Mr. Mills (Durham East MPP) says there is going to be "tough medicine" for the employees of Ontario, except guess who? Vallie Lovering, Scugog Township. Keep Marsh Hill area beautiful and quiet ' To the Editor: As a citizen of Marsh Hill all my life, I am saddened to learn that Scugog Council is still pushing for the Operating Engineers School in Marsh Hill. The area is located in the northwest corner of Scugog Township and is the most important natural resource area of the Township, and is a source of pure water. The reasons being , it is one of the few remaining Class 1 wetlands of Ontario. Let's not gamble with our future for the sake of tax dollars or a few jobs. The wetlands are a priceless possession, let's keep it that way. As far as any revenue spin-off, it will be minimal as being an educational facility, the tax rate will be subsidized and so will the construction. Spin-off benefits will end up going to Uxbridge which is just a few minutes away. Another important fact of life is that once the balance of nature is upset, no amount of money will repair it, so let's not kid ourselves. y A lot of people who will be affecte. move this area because they like it-- peaceful, quiet, beautiful -- one of the Nature's Masterpieces. Now the council sees to fit to change all of this. We the people of the area pay of lot of taxes compared to the services we get: no garbage, higher hydro, less fire and police protection, no recreation facility in five to ten miles. We are prepared to pay higher taxes for the high quality of life in this area. If the council sees fit to lower this quality of life, then also be prepared to lower our taxes. Keith Bacon, life-long resident of Marsh Hill. Ditto says this writer To the Editor: My wife and I, my daughter, her husband and two teen-aged children reside in two houses on our property on 320 Scugog Line 12. We have seven registered horses, 12 registered ponies and six registered mini ponies. Our concern is that living right across from the proposed Operating Engineers Turn to page 10 N\