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6- PORT PERRY STAR - Wednesday, May 26, 1999 " 188 MARY STREET - PORT PERRY, ONT. - LOL 1B7 PHONE (905) 985-7383 FAX (905) 985-3708 BUSINESS OFFICE Office Mgr.....Gayle Stapley Accounting...Judy Ashby, Janet Rankin Retall Sales....... Kathy Dudley, Heather Callan, Leslie West (Cha ocna EDITORIAL: ~Mall: perry. LJ X Pub ail: pont. Roglstrat ug gg TO Publisher...........c..... J. Peter Hvidsten PRODUCTION ] ADVERTISING Publications Mall Agreement No. 1389068 on General Manager ....Don MacLeod Trudy Empringham, Pam Hickey, Advertising Mgr. .......... Don Macleod Subscription Rates: e Managing Editor.....Jeff Mitchell Rhonda Mulcahy, Robert Taylor, ~~ Advertising Sales: Deb McEachem, 1 Year - $37.45 6 Months - $19.79 Foreign - $96.30 News Reporters .....Chris Hall Barb Bell, Richard Drew, Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, Gail Morse, Includes $2.45 GST Includes $1.20 GST Includes $6.30 GST Freelance - Heather McCrae, John B, McClelland Daryle Wright, Scott Ashby Lee Nowensky Editorial comment Looking for truth amidst the rhetoric It's tough, in the midst of all the rhetoric, to determine just what the plan of action is for the front runners in the June 3 provincial election. Instead of saying who and what they are, Mike Harris and Dalton McGuinty seem intent "on telling us what they each think the other is not. NDP boss Howard Hampton also has got in on the act of late, insisting he's not what the other two are. Confused? No wonder! It's a shame, too, because in this election, we need real answers on issues that are of paramount importance to us, such as health care and public education. These are once- strong public institutions that now seem to be under siege; their future is indeterminate, and we have every right to demand to know what to expect. GUESS WHAT! JUNIOR HAS >= DECIDED TO GIVE UP HIS SKATEBOARD! ~~ N . ELA fo 77 , 1 5" ) *. D co. - LIE . a . Conte ASS 4 ) = | OREN ( «" 7 = IX ( Ne odl | SEX STZ : A NT . -- NN rll his (fm of IIIT 9 2 TRAY Nima SEE NN / PERMIT, Sl A As for the local candidates, they stick to the party line, especially the Grit and Tory repre- sentatives, repeating passages from their = (5 0 pr RADOA PorT TERRY STAR = LL mo TE Seeing through the smoke screen To the Editor: Seems to be somewhat of a contradic- tion in Gord Humphrey's opinion of why our overworked teachers have no time for sports and other extra-curricular activi- ties (Star letter of the week - Tuesday, May 18) and those expressed by Rik Davie (Teachers ponder extra duties motion) in the same paper. In his article, Davie reports that those teachers having both the time and desire to be engaged in these many worthwhile extra-curricular activities are being encouraged not to do so by their peers. I wonder why? Could it be that the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation's direction to its membership is to "not participate" in any activity that is not clearly defined in their contract, as a means of punishing students in hopes that such action will be misinterpreted as yet another blow from the Harris gov- ernment? The public are fed up with the contin- uous whining and crying of teachers hid- ing behind the coat tails of the OSSTF. It's the kids that really matter, and teach- ers with their personal agendas have stretched the patience of many parents who are bright enough to see through the smoke screen. respective party manifestos and hoping that will suffice. The success of the Conservatives' Common Sense document in the last provincial election is the reason, of course. Voters liked having policy set out in black and white. Even though we know not every promise will be fulfilled and pledge acted upon, the presence of that booklet seems to lull some voters and sustain them in the absence of any real debate on matters of importance. With a little over a week to go, we are faced with a choice in a pivotal election. It all comes down now to whom you believe. Art Philp Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten BOARD SHOULD RECONSIDER CUTS Shame on the Durham District wil PR School Board for allowing our edu- IZA cational system to become so - unfair to some of the children who need help the most. It appears, starting this September, children who in the past have benefited from Learning Strategies class- es, will be integrated into regular classes. Talk about a step backwards. The board blames funding changes by the province as the reason for cutting the program, but we have to question why they would cut programs for the kids who need the extra help the most. ty be Sa AR FRA) Was any consideration given to making cuts to either the "gifted program" or French Immersion? Surely these two programs should be considered for cuts before dropping classes for kids with learning problems. It would seem to this writer, that children now enrolled in "gifted classes" would have far less trouble learning in an integrated classroom than the children who find learning difficult. Gifted students will be "gifted" no matter what their environment. Children with learning problems struggle even with the benefit of extra help, so imagine the negative impact if they are placed into mainstream programs. If, as suggested by one letter writer to The Star, the Director of Education for the Durham Board suggested "gifted children" have a right to their program; and that the needs of gifted children are exceptional and that the board is 100 per cent committed to them, we should all be appalled. What about the needs of struggling students? Have they now become second class citizens? What about the right of all students in the public system to an equal education? i's my understanding that many of the children in gifted and French immersion programs are in classes with as few as a dozen students. Kids challenged in learning need small class sizes a lot more than those taking gifted or French programs. Shame on the board for picking on the most vulnera- ble students... those who need it most. RETURN TO GHOST ROAD There seems to be an insatiable appetite for stories of Scugog's famous ghosts. Over a decade ago, stories about the phantom of the Ghost Road surfaced, and for a time locals as well as outsiders flocked to the Scugog Island road to catch a glimpse of the eerie white light floating across the dark- ened fields .... a lonely motorcyclist who lost his life in a tragic accident, according to folklore. Newspaper reporters and television crews from all over Ontario converged on the site to try and solve the mystery of the mysterious white light. But only one tele- vision show ever did claim to have solved the mystery, although locals dismissed it as pure bunk. - Then, about 10 years ago, area resident Jack Kane found the body of a man along Ghost Road, and once again the rumours about the ghost rider surfaced. Area residents tiring of the endless trail of curious sightseers and reporters knocking on their doors peti- tion Scugog Council for a change in the name of the road and less than a year after the body was found the road was changed to Mississauga Lane. But you can't keep a good story down, and during the past two months I've had requests for information about the legend of the ghost road. One of these came from the publishers of a magazine that deals with supernatural events, and the most recent from the BBC in England. So despite the name change, the lonely ghost rider continues to make his nightly trip along the lonely stretch of road cloaked in the darkness of night. Yes, the spirit of Ghost Road still lives...