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Co 6 - PORT PERRY "WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2000 h ! PUBLISHER................ J. Peter Hvidsten GENERAL MGR.......... Don Macleod MANAGING EDITOR.. Jeff Mitchell 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 ocna Member Ontario Community Newspaper Assoc. Published every Friday by the Port Perry Star Company Limited, 188 Mary Street - Port Perry, Ontario - L9L 1B7 Distributed free in the following communities: Port Perry - Uxbridge - Sunderland - Little Britain - RR Lindsay Janetville Member Canadian Cc ! Newspaper Association Oakwood - Manilla - Seagrave - Greenbank - Brooklin - Ashtum - Columbus - RR Oshawa Caesarea - Blackstock - Raglan - Nestleton - Yelverton - Prince Albert EDITORIAL POLICY: Opinions expressed by columrusts, contributors and letter writers are not necessary those of The Port Perry Star. Letters must be signed and the telephone number (which will not be published) included. Requests that a name be withheld wil be honoured only i there is a competing reason 10 do so. Erars wil be corrected f brought to the editor's attention. We reserve the right 10 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 fable for other eors or omissions in # CNA BUSINESS OFFICE: Judy Ashby, Kathy Dudley, Janet Rankin, Lesley West ADVERTISING: Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, Gail Morse, Heather Mack, Linda Clarke, Janet Archer, Malcolm Lennox PRODUCTION: Trudy Empringham, Pam Hickey, Daryle Wright, Arlene Cheel, Robert Taylor, Richard Drew, Scott Ashby OPINION Welcome to the crisis There can be little doubt that once again Ontario's educators and the government at Queen's Park are on a collision course, and the result could well be more disruption next fall. The tension was ratcheted up a notch or two this week, when different unions, representing both public and separate school teachers, released polls showing their membership's disapproval of the Education Accountability Act: Almost 100 per cent of the thousands of teachers polled disagree with the government's plan to pass legislation that will make extracurricular activities mandatory. So the union heads decry what they see as draconian measures, and the government steadfastly declares it will follow through with its intentions. Neither side is willing to blink, nor will they, until another battle erupts. That means strikes, folks, and if you thought the battle over Bill 160 was bitter, you ain't seen nothing yet. The Tories have fostered such a poisoned atmosphere of mistrust and resentment among the ranks that when the crisis comes, there will be no fast, easy solutions; just more legislation, aimed at fixing the leaks in the system caused by the preceding laws. What we're left wondering now is not just whether or not the kids will be in classes come next fall; we have to question if the public education system will ever recover from the turmoil it has undergone these past few years. The Tories promised a crisis. Welcome to the crisis. By Walt Radda HOME TEAM NEED A)FIRST I JWANT TO | HEAR THE IH) ny; 7 Wi 1) WN COME NOW MARIE! THERE WILL BE NO PUSH UNTIL IT HEAR -- 174!' V/A Hil, 77 Wi Tj in Wi Wi 7 7 (~ Im UIAI00100L 0 0, 4, 1 14! 7 7 ~ fo -- --- Sarr N 2 -- P-- RG ---- --- NAN oO o 1 NEED SOME TYLENOL. I = 0 WHAT'S THE MAGIC WORD? 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. PHoto OF THE Two-year-old twins Ben and Victoria Scott display different approaches to showing affection. If you have an interesting picture we could use for Photo of the Week, please drop it by The Star office, or give us a call at 985-7383. LETTERS Poverty flourishes, even in good times To the Editor: There isn't a day that goes by in the media that we are not reminded of how well our economy is doing. All levels of government are either freezing taxes or reducing them. Even our provincial govern- ment is going to send cheques out to all taxpayers, that's a first. Everything seems to be quite rosy. The Loaves and Fishes Food Bank in Uxbridge recently purchased a copy of The Community Wellness Study of Durham Region dated January 2000. It is the result of interviews, questionnaires and focus groups within the region. It reveals the darker side of the picture. Affordable housing was a concern in all areas of the region. In 1999, according to the Durham Department of Social Services, the maximum shelter allowance for two people on social assistance was $511. The average one bedroom apartment in Uxbridge rented for $646 a month in 1998. Subsidized housing needs are rising but no money is being spent on this. Renters are being pushed from having housing afford- ability problems into homelessness. The homeless gravitate to Toronto where 22 died on the streets over the past year. There is something wrong with this picture. The number of people on social assis- tance in Durham Region is declining from a high of 40,625 in 1993 to 22,694 in 1998 but despite this the number of people living below the poverty line is increasing proba- bly due to changes in eligibility to get social assistance. The Loaves and Fishes Food Bank has had a fairly steady number of users, approx- imately 130 a month since 1997. Half of this number is children. We are in the process of working with local schools to help provide milk or healthy snacks for these children. In a society that on the one hand is so affluent and on the other so needy, you really wonder do we have our priorities straight. The Food Bank depends on many dedi- cated volunteers. If you would like to join the team give Lillian Page, our coordinator, a call at 852-8873. The Uxbridge community have faithfully supported us over the last 10 years. The regular donations of food and money from individuals and groups is really much appreciated. For those new to the community we are located in St. Andrew's- Chalmers Presbyterian Church, corner of Toronto and Church Streets. We have drop boxes at Zehrs and Sal's Grocery. The Food Bank is open from 2 to 4 p.m. every Wednesday. Bruce Beveridge, Uxbridge