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

BE I atau 6 - PORT PERRY "WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2000 PUBLISHER................ J. Peter Hvidsten Aocna Member Ontario Community Newspaper Assoc. OFFICE MANAGER.... Gayle Stapley ADVERTISING MGR...Deb McEachem REPORTER................. Chris Hall Freelance Writers- Heather McCrae, John B. McClelland PHONE (905) 985-7383 FAX (905) 985-3708 E-MAIL: port.perry.star@sympatico.ca EDITORIAL POLICY: Opinions Published every Friday by the Port Perry Star Company Limited, 188 Mary Street - Port. Perry, Ontario - LL 187 Distributed free in the following communities: Port Perry - Uxbridge - Sunderland - Little Britain - RR Lindsay Janetville Oakwood - Manilla - Seagrave - Greenbank - Brooklin - Ashbum - Columbus - RR Oshawa Caesarea - Blackstock - Raglan - Nestieton - Yelverton - Prince Albert by columnists, contributors and letter writers are not necessary those of The Port Perry Star. Letters must be sigged end the telephone number (which vill not be published) included. Requests that a nama be withheld wil be honoured only if there is a compeling reason 1 do so. Errors wil be corrected if brought to the editor's attention. We reserve the right 1o edit or refuse publication of any material submitted. ADVERTISING POLICY: The publisher is not liable for sight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher is not able for other eors or omissions in connection with any advertisement in any subsequent issue or the refund of any monies, paid for the advertisement. All claims of error in publication must be made by Wednesday, noon, prior to the next week's publication, and, if not made, will not be considered. No claim will be allowed for more than one insertion. Canadian Dudley, Janet Rankin, Lesley West Newspaper ¥ CNA ADVERTISING: Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, Association Gail Morse, Heather Mack, Linda Clarks, - BUSINESS OFFICE: Judy Ashby, Kathy Janet Archer, Malcolm Lennox PRODUCTION: Trudy Empringham, Pam Hickey, Daryle Wright, Arlene Cheel, Robert Taylor, Richard Drew, Scott Ashby "OPINION Another waste of time Trustees with the Durham District Board of Education once again found themselves Monday night in the midst of a lengthy debate, with little hope of a solution in sight. They were discussing a motion by Oshawa trustee Susan Shetler, who's using questionable logic and, at best, anecdotal evidence in a fight to lock school entrances against trespassers. She's pushed ahead with this effort despite assurances from staff that there is no need for alarm on the issue, and the asser- tions of other trustees that neither teachers nor students have raised significant safety concerns with regard to trespassing. At one point, Pickering trustee Ruth-Anne Schedlich paused to note that a student with a learning disability had been limited to a few minutes of the board's time earlier in the evening, then said, "I am very disturbed that we can spend this much time on a question like this one." Right on. ' It is becoming increasingly troublesome to see instances in which this board is hung up by one or a few trustees with axes to grind, or agendas to promote. Sure, every trustee has a right to put forth issues of concern. And all members of the board should contribute to debate on matters affecting schools and students. But this particular matter could be dispensed with by seeking reports from staff - which apparently has been done - and deciding whether further action is necessary. There are more pressing issues facing the board. Emma Alpe, 7, of Blackstock, was all decked out to welcome the new year, as this photo by Patty Alpe attests. If you have an interesting photo we could use for Photo of the Week, please drop it by The Star office, or give us a call at 985-7383. MOUSE! THERE'S A 'HELP! ASSISTANCE! WHERE ARE THE DARN MOUSE TRAPS! MOUSE IN THE HOUSE! (EASY DOES IT DAD, IT'S") [Tiere ARE WAY Too {| JUST TATER, MY.GUINEA [MANY PETS IN THIS HOUSE] Drive Clean should target trucks To the Editor: The latest stats just released state that 98 per cent of all cars manufactured since 1993 passed the clean air test. Instead of forcing motorists to shell out $30 plus tax they should have started with diesel trucks and buses that are the major polluters. Cars that fail the test for even a minor detail can spend up to $200 and drive away with a conditional pass - still pollut- ing. When the testing was introduced there - were only 52 garages that had the expen- sive equipment for testing; 6,950 other garage operators were prevented from issuing the tests. The poor dedicated small businessman was left out in the cold. According to Drive Clean documents the auto repair industry stands to gain about $800 million in revenue, mainly to the big chain operators over the next six years. There are at least 200,000 diesel vehi- cles polluting Ontario highways, plus out of province ones. I was on the radio discussing this issue and revealed that a new test of exhaust gases can be done simply with a light aimed at the exhaust pipe can analysis pollutants. No need for even hooking the car up. It could be done from the roadside by government tests. The bottom line is that we are ripped off by a poorly thought out program for millions of dollars. What rubs motorists is the fact that one third of the cost of the test goes to the government. In U.S. states where testing is done, the cost is only $5. Dean |. Kelly, Port Perry Something on your mind? You can e-mail the editor: port. perry.star @ sympatico.ca ----