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Sona a IS NN SEN ------ "A Family Tradition for 132 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, September 15, 1998 - 7 I ETTERS Conflict is a government creation To the Editor: I would like to clear up a few inaccuracies regarding the current dispute between the high school teachers and the school boards as reported in the media. Nowhere in Bill 160 does it say that teachers must teach seven of eight classes; Bill 160 requires high school teachers to teach 1,250 minutes per week. This number was taken from the report made by the last education commis- sion. The intent of the report was to have students spend more time in the classroom with each teacher. Last year my fellow teachers and I in the separate school board taught three 76-minute classes each day. This works out to 228 minutes per day, and 1,140 minutes per week. We also average 76 minutes a week covering the classes of teachers who are sick, on field trips, or out of the school with a sports team. On top of this I spend 90 minutes a week doing remedial work after school with my students. If you ignore the 76 minutes we spend doing coverage (although we are standing in front of a class instructing students and this time does meet the definition of instruction as was recently described by the Education Minister, the board refuses to consider this instructional time), each teacher needs to spend 110 minutes more per week in front of a class. The school board's solution is to increase the teachers' workload by having them teach seven of eight classes instead of six of eight. This will increase my teaching load by one class per day, or 380 minutes per week. This flies in the face of the intent of the edu- cation commission by increasing my teaching load and not increasing teacher time with each student. The bottom line is that if [ have to teach seven of eight, my students will not get the program that they would have received last year. | simply cannot physically do it. For their part, the teachers have offered to extend each class by whatever is necessary to meet the 1,250 minutes (a bit less than 10 min- utes per class). The school board has rejected this, and the teachers' offer to go to binding arbitration before a government sponsored arbi- trator. The way that I see it is that this conflict is all part of the plan of the Harris "let's create a crisis" government to cut education spending and further centralize control over the education system. There are problems with education, but this fight over 110 minutes solves none of them. Kevin Barltrop, Port Perry Let's give truck drivers a break on Queen To the Editor: Once again the company I contract for has issued a directive for driving in Port Perry. This time its don't use Queen Street when going to Mother Jacksons Open Kitchens. Apparently big trucks cause congestion when they turn left onto Old Simcoe Road. We have been asked to come in via Reach Road, which is about 5 km out of my way. Other orders over the years have been don't park behind the building at night, and use the north driveway not the south, so as not to dis- turb the residents next to the factory. People who choose to live next to industrial areas and then complain are like city people who move to the country so that they can com- plain about the smell. I may be a little biased but trucks are the backbone of trade and commerce and have just as much right to roads as anyone. It would appear a person or persons in Port Perry don't have enough to do. May I suggest they get a hobby or, better yet, a life. Lyle Shantz, Baden, Ont. Big Brothers/Sisters thank supporters To the Editor: Special thanks to: Mark Course, Zellers Inc., Mars The Little Brothers and Bisson of C.I.S.S., Port Perry Fundraising, Reid's Sisters of North Durham would Star newspaper, Wolf Run Golf Independent, and the many like to send a very big and very Course, Goreski's Lakeside other businesses who contribut- special thanks to the individu- Recreation, KX96 Radio, Kraft ed to our events. als and businesses in our com- Canada Inc., Burgess Thank you for believing in munity who supported our 1998 Wholesale Inc., Maple Leaf and supporting our future. Golf Tournament and Poker Foods, Williamson Chev Olds, Run. The two events were a lot Framer's Gallery, R & L. Courier of fun, and raised a total of Services, J.D. Archery, Zehrs, Canadian Tire, Deer Creek Golf approximately $6,500. Jodi Hewett, Big Brothers/ Big Sisters Editor's Notepad by Jeff Mitchell GREAT EXPECTORATIONS Ready? A-one and a-two and a-Haaaack! Patooo! Yes, friends, the topic du jour is public expectoration, and the way it makes us all look to one another. Now, I'm not one who will typically jump on a soapbox over so seemingly trivial a matter, but a couple of instances just this morning have left me with a bad taste in my mouth (pardon me), and | realized that this is a matter which has troubled me somewhat -- albeit not greatly -- for some time now. So I'll just spit it out. Exhibit A: Friday morning, waiting in the car in the drive through line at the coffee joint. It's a beautiful sunny day; it's the end of the week; there's joy in the air. | look up from fiddling with the radio dial just in time to see the gen- tleman in front of me lean out the window of his Hyundai and --- haaaaack! patooooo! -- a giant gob of matter describes a graceful arc to the curb, where it lies glittering in the morning light, collecting flies. Do | want anything to eat with that coffee? Uh -- no thanks. Exhibit B: Just moments ago. I'm sitting at my computer bashing away. The window's open and a gentle warm breeze wafts through. Birds sing. A tall young man in a leather coat with plenty of zippers on it opens the door of the insurance office next door, strolls into the pristine morning, and --- haaaack! patoooo! -- spits copiously onto the interlocking brick walkway that leads to the building. Exhibit C (and D, and E, and F, etc.): Walk along the streets of town at just about any time and you'll see the aftermath of our collective expectoration. Sometimes it's enough to leave you feeling vaguely nauseated, you know? In other municipalities, they've attempted to put laws on the books about spitting on the street. For all | know, it is illegal in some towns and cities. For all | know, there's some law on the books in Scugog that dates back to 1890-something that forbids public horking, and describes the appropriate punishment for those transgressors who just can't be convinced to avoid it. How's that old ditty go? "...Toreador-e a-doree, don't spit on the floor-e, use the cuspidor, that's what it's-a for- e. Yes friends, the devil walks among us, and he is spitting all over the place. Evil dwells in the backs of mens' throats, and they are anxious to dispose of it. Don't spit on the street, please. It's disgusting, it makes you look like a slob, and it makes us all sick. Thank you. Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten BETTER WATCH OUT! A new community venture aimed at creating awareness and improving the driving habits of J motorists using Scugog's streets got its official send-off last Friday. Known as "Road Watch" the community based pro- gram, which is endorsed by civic officials, police, busi- nessmen and concerned residents, aims to rid our streets of aggressive and dangerous drivers through a co-operative action. Under the program, any citizen can report what they feel to be unacceptable driving habits by filling out a form, giving as much information as possible about the incident. The information could include the type of inci- dent, the street, model and color of vehicle, male or female driving, and, if possible, the license number. When police receive the report, they will send a letter off to the perpetrator describing their unsafe driving, which organizers say quite often is all that is necessary. But, if the aggressive driving habits of the individual continue and he/she is reported again, police will then make a personal contact with the individual with a warn- ing. Further incidents from the same individual can result in enforcement action by the police. The aim of Road Watch is to reduce the risk to indi- viduals in the community who use our streets, either as pedestrians or as motorists. During the opening ceremonies, held under bright sunny skies at the lakefront gazebo, many people were credited with having spearheaded the efforts to get a Road Watch program under way in Scugog, but the one most often mentioned was former councillor Marilyn Pearce. So we congratulate Marilyn for getting the ball rolling, and all those responsible for continuing her efforts and bringing the program to fruition. If Road Watch is responsible for preventing one injury or the loss of one life on Scugog"s roads, it will have proven to be a very worthwhile program. DUMB MOVE OF THE WEEK If you haven't already noticed, you're probably one of those who've run the 'Stop' sign at Queen & Water St. The new sign was apparently installed sometime last week, and, as of yet, the only comments I've heard is how stupid it is to put a stop sign at that corner. | couldn't agree more. In the 30-odd years I've lived here, | can't remember a single accident at that corner, so it would appear the town's fathers are trying to appease visitors rather than the residents who are the heaviest users of the street. Three-way stop... couldn't agree more. Four-way stop...absolutely dumb!!! GOOD OLD DAYS Over the past few months I've solicited area resi- dents for interesting pictures and information, of which the response has been terrific. Recently, | visited with Hilda Michell who, many from this area will remember, along with her husband Eddie, built and operated Birdseye Park for over 25 years. Hilda generously loaned me some of her late hus- band's scrap books for research, and it was while scan- ning through some of these that | came across a very interesting letter. Actually, it wasn't the letter that intrigued me, it was the envelope. Addressed back in the 1940s, the letter was sent "To the lady with the cabins by the lake, the one with the swimming pool, Port Perry, Ont." And yes... Hilda did get the letter. Now that's service!