Reader's Viewpoint _ Welfare for crying farmers " (bumpkin) 'cousin, ~fhat even To the editor: This letter concerns the welfare farmer of the great rip-off by your country Mr. E. Whelan 'and his Ontario counterpart, Mr. W: New- man, and all of the pro- vincial agriculture ministers for the provinces of Canada are well aware of the grant programs, a fancy name for welfare for the farmers. The grants listed here are not declared "as income. There is no tax.of any kind: they are an outright gift. The farmers keep crying, begging; grabbing and receiving more grants or welfare each year from the public purse. Now federal statistics: show over 65 per- cent of the farmers in Teacher retaliates Dear Editor: You are aware that the Region of Durham School Board voted against the con- tinuation of the kindergarten program for 4-year-olds. With this cancellation everyone in our Region has lost the opportunity to have this proven excellent pro- gram extended to their area - in the future. In the Ajax area a pilot program has been in oper- ation for the past three years with excellent results. Both teachers and parents are very enthusiastic about the success of the program and we feel it is a step backward to completely eliminate it. Especially as the nearby Metro school board has it in all their schools and the separate school board in Durham Region is also using it exten- sively. When we try to put into words why we feel so strong- ly about its success we can only say that when you have lived with a child going through this program, and seen him develop in it, you can't help.but be impressed. Our greatest concern is if the board couldn't have extended it immediately to the entire region, they should have continued the existing pro- grams and when funds were available expand it. Al- ready much planning, money and special training of the teachers has gone into it. We realize that Ajax's problems must seem very remote from yours, but if you are concerned about the loss of the 4-year-old pro- gram, please call the Board of Education and find out what the children in your area could have been exper- iencing in the future. Concérned Ajax Parents Canada have - another income and the percentage is greater in Ontario. A part-time farmer, who represents 65 percent of the people engaged in agricul- ture in Canada, will receive as rebate from the depart- ment of revenue 'all the income tax they have con- tributed during the year from earnings outside the farm to a maximum of $4000 to $5000. TU To 'write off his expend- itures incurred on the farm, millionaires, professional men, or anyone engaged in farming also have 50 per- cent of property and building tax returned to them and they never have to work the land. Now here is the beauty of the gift. The government has this so-called beef cow- calf program. The cows or calves are not required to be beef breeds. They may be Jersey or any other dairy breed, even culls qualify. The cow need not even have had a calf, Should continue program Dear Editor; I'd be willing to give Dean J. Kelly a B plus in Creative Writing, but he rates no better than a D in Reading Comprehension. His reply last week to my letter ap- pearing in the March 3 issue of your newspaper, reveals a definite weakness which can best be described as "missing the point". Now here is a Math prob- lem for him to solve: A total of $322,000. was paid to supply teachers (mostly ele- mentary) in 1975 in the Region of Durham. The basic wage for a supply teacher last year was $37.50 per day." There were approximately 1,367 elemen- tary teachers employed in Durham Region classrooms. (a) What was the average number of days absent per teacher last year? a. (b) How does your answer in (a) compare to employee absenteeism in other types of work? If Mr. Kelly isn't happy | with these rather superficial statistics, he can apply his research skills to determine all the Variables, and come up with a more accurate answer to the problem, if .indeed it is a problem. Sincerely, Eleanor Todd School Teacher The farmer may declare as many cows as, he likes and no one checks to see if he even owns any. But, the provincial department of agriculture sends them a cheque in the amount of $72.19 per cow. Many farmers in Ontario received over $30,000 of your money free. ' There were plenty who have taken advantage of this welfare program. The department of agriculture budgeted $11.3 million for this gift and without admin- (continued on page 6) PORT PERRY STAR -- Wednesday, Mar. 17, 1976 -- § No schooling for Durham 4-yr. olds YVONNE Christie, Scu- gog Township trustee and chairman of the Durham Board of Education cast a tie-breaking vote which will see curriculun for 4-year- olds dropped by the board next year. The move, which took place at a recent board meeting, brought angry re- action from many parents attending the meeting. Presently the board pro- vides educational facilities for about 50 four-year-olds who are enrolled in Junior- kindergarten-type programs in 11 schools in Oshawa, Uxbridge, Ajax, Whitby and Pickering. No classes are held in Port Perry. There are an additional 2,200 Durham Region young- sters in this age group who are unable to enroll because of a lack of programs. According to Bruce Walker, superintendent of develop- ment, the region would have to acquire "an additional $497,000 for a region-wide expansion of junior-kinder- gartens. "The money would have to be raised in municipal taxes this year to support the project until the end of December," he said. Board trustees have pre- dicted a 36 per cent increase in education taxes this year, largely because of provin- cial spending restraints. Remember When..? 50 YEARS AGO Thursday, March 18, 1926 In the Seagrave news: Fri- day evening the young people put op the play "An Old Fashioned Mother". The play was very well given, uncovering some really good talent. Mr. Vic Stouffer ac-- companied by Miss Mellow assisted with several delight- ful numbers, At a meeting in fhe Arm- ouries Thursday night of local ex-servicemen an organization was formed called Port Perry Ex-service Men's Club. The futute plans are to, at a later date, make it a branch of the Dominion wide Canadian Legion just being organized. Charlie Chaplin in the "Gold Rush" is shown at Port Perry Picture Theatre at the Town Hall. All seats 27 cents for this picture. 25 YEARS AGO Thursday; March 15, 1961 Port Perry Lions Club pledges $500. to Scout Build- ing Fund. Rev. John T. Coneybeare, rector of the Church of the Ascension, Port Perry, has been appointed rector of the Church of All Saints, Niag- ara Falls, Ont., it was an- nounced by Rt. Rev. W.E. Bagnall, Bishop of the Dio- cesse of Niagara. Mr. Coney- beare will assume his duties May. 1st. Mrs. Z.M. Jackson and Mrs. Gertrude Jackson re- ceived recognition for their years of service in the United Church Sunday School, Fri- day. Mrs. Gertrude Jackson who has given generously of her talent has assisted in the Primary Department for 27 years, while Mrs. Z.M. Jackson headed the depart- ment for 50 years. 15 YEARS AGO Thursday, March 19, 1961 Doug McMillan, Port Perry defenseman, was injured during a game at Orono last Saturday. He was struck in the face by a flying puck, losing some teeth and cuts around one of his eyes requiring several stitches. Robert E. Walker, Port Perry, has just attended a three-day advanced training course in the planning, in- stallation and servicing of Pipe Line Milking Equip- ment and Milking Parlours at Babson Bros. Co., St. Charles, Illinois. The County mill rate in- creased from 11.25 in 1960 to 13.03 in 1961. 10 YEARS AGO Thursday, March 17, 19:6 Port Perry Intermediate Hockey Club (Tripp's Bull- dozers) wrapped up the Lakeshore Intermediate C Championship Saturday in Port Perry when they defeat- ed Little Britain Aces 9-2 to take the round in four straight games. Rev. R.C. Rose was form- ally introduced as Incum- bent of the combined Angli- can Parish of Port Perry and Cartwright on Tuesday, March 15, in St. John's Church, Cartwright. At a meeting of the Arena Board, Tuesday evening, it was decided to call tenders for the strengthning and con- struction of a new roof for the Port Perry Memorial Arena. Five Port Perry business establishments were broken into last week, but the would- be thieves got nothing for their efforts. Bill Smiley UNIVERSITY LIFE Some chaps' wives go off with a boy- friend, leaving behind them a broken home. My wife went off and came home with a boyfriend. So, at the moment, we have.a menage a trois. The home is not yet completely broken, but it won't be long. It's beings smashed bit by bit. As she threatened, she brough my No. 1 grandson home for a visit so that his mother could continue going to lectures and get her degree, tramping about the campus with No. 2 grandson strapped to her back. PORT PERRY STAR Company Limited Phone 5857333 Neal, Gon 3 (om) : "_-- Serving Port Perry, Reach, Scugog and Cartwright Townships J. PETER HVIOSTEN, Publisher Advertising Manager John Gas), Editor Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association Published every Wednesday by the Port Perry Star Co Ltd, Port Perry, Ontario Authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Oltawa, and for payment of postage in cash Second Class Mail Registration Number 0245 Subscription Rafe: In Canada $8.00 per year Elsewhere $10.00 per year. Single copy 20¢ Things have certainly changed at the universities these days. When I went to college, we lived in a monk-like residence for men. Females were allowed in the building once a year, for a cocoa and buns party on a Sunday afternoon. It was extremely well chaperoned. We were allowed to come in at any hour, but anyone caught with anything as lethal as one bottle of beer in his room was kicked out of residence. In the girls' residences, things were even tougher. They had to be in by 9:30 or some early hour, and sign in under the grim supervision' of a house mother. They got to stay out until midnight once a week, and had a "late pass" -- until 1 a.m., once a month. Nobody -- but nobody going to university was married, including most of the younger professors. Entertainment consisted of an occasional well supervised dance, totally dry, and the odd movie. It was a fairly sterile, far from murky life, not exactly bohemia, but we were so naive we thought we were happpy. Today, university life is so different, you'd think you were living in a different era, a different civilization. Almost every campus has at least one pub, some of them half a dozen. Drinking in residence is tolerated, if not encouraged. Some campuses have co-ed residences, where you can live in an apartment, or in sin, or in anything else that's the current fad. Smoking in classrooms is common- place. And there are thousands of married students. Babies everywhere, despite the Pill. The Lord knows what they live on, in these inflated times -- grants and loans and love, I suppose. . Somehow, I can't get too incensed over the new freedom. In fact, occasionally I find myself thinking wistfully that I was born a generation too soon. In my day, the universities produced some fine graduates, but on the whole, they were a dull bunch of sticks, narrow, self-righteous and with a sense of superior- ity because of their degrees. Then, the universities were basically elitist, whatever you may hear about people working their way through college. From the small towns, the sons and daughters of the local doctors and lawyers and teachers might go to college. The children of the so-called working class hadn't a chance. Today's mixed bag is a refreshing Change. Anyone with the intelligence is able to go to university. There are gaping breaches in the rigid walls of the old, hide-bound university traditions. Standards in the universities have been lowered, but I think their end-product, the graduate, is just as bright, a whole lot more sensitive, a good deal more tolerant, and far more articulate (even though badly spoken), then the large majority of my contemporaries. Today's students are not as polite, but they are far more honest. They are not as "moral", but they are far less inhibited. They are not as steady, but they are far less afraid. They are not as couth, but they are far less prejudiced. They are more likely to kick over the traces, but not as likely to be led by the nose. Perhaps that's why about 80 per cent of the male population of Canadian univer- sities vanished into the armed forces after the war began. It was like getting out of prison. Courses were excellent, but narrow. Most professors were pompous and few were teachers. Students were, for the most part, not taught to think, but only to regurgitate. It was a rather shallow and snobbish in-world, out of the main stream of life. Not so these days, Rigidity has been shattered, channells have been widened, and experimentation is welcomed, perhaps too much so. There are fresh winds blowing. And one of the freshest is the new status of women on campus. In my day, the females were, with a few exceptions, grinds grimly head- ed for a spinster's life in a classroom, or rich girls there to have fun and get a husband. Not so today. There are thousands of young women of all colors, shapes and sizes heading with determination for the bench, or the operating room, or the newspaper offices, or whatever, but heading for a freedom to be a person. I'm glad my daughter wasn't a mother of two 30 years ago. She'd be stuck at home, "keeping house" and bringing up the children, instead of swaggering off to lectures gallantly, baby on back. The Argyle Syndicate Ltd.