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ements tea i LH 5 MHEG AA I Sati FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2000 REPORTER................. Chris Hall Freelance : Heather McCrae, John B. McClelland, Rik Davie PHONE (905) 985-7383 FAX (905) 985-3708 E-MAIL: editorial @ portperrystar.com advertising @ portperrystar.com Newspaper Assoc. EDITORIAL POLICY: Opinions expressed by columnists, contibutors and letier writers are not necessarly hase of The Port Perry Star, Letters must be will ba corrected if brought to the editor's attention. We reserve the right to edit or refuse publication of any material submitted. ADVERTISING POLICY. connection with any advertisement in any subsequent issue or the refund of any monies paid for the advertisement. All claims of error in publication PUBLISHER. (fe ster ividmen . BUSINESS OFFICE: Judy Ashby, TOR ony \act.sod 11 INIT TRAX Member Kathy Dudley, Janet Rankin, Lesley West MANAGING EDITOR.. Jeff Mitchell Qocna AVY, JAN CED. ST JA 24 Fuso Bikly/Dudiey; Janet slo We OFFICE MANAGER... Gayle Stapley w Fohbedetby ray conmuiy Me CNA ~~ ADVERTISING: Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, ADVERTISING MGR... Deb McEachern Member Ontario Community ------ fo Noworeeer of GR SE ------ ra Association 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 Oakwood - Manilla - Seagrave - Greenbank - Brooklin - Ashburn - Columbus - RR Oshawa Zephyr - Udora - Leaskdale - Sandford - Caesarea - Blackstock - Raglan - Nestleton - Yelverton - Prince Albert signed and the telephone number (which will not be published) included. Requests that a name be withheld will be honoured only i there is a compelling reason 10 do so. Errors The publisher is not liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher is not kable for other ers or omissions in 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. Gail Morse, Sandra Spears, Linda Clarke, Janet Archer, Malcolm Lennox, Lisa Monk PRODUCTION MANAGER: Pamela Hickey Production Staff: Trudy Empringham, Daryle Wright, Arlene Cheel, Richard Drew "OPINION More money for schools The provincial government has overlooked an opportunity to provide much-needed funding to an essential service with its huge, $1.4 billion budget surplus: Education. Finance Minister Ernie Eaves announced plans earlier this week to spend more on health care, and to dedicate a billion dollars of the surplus to the provincial debt. Those are wise moves, but the education system is also crying out for more funding. The finance minister is most likely responding to health care concerns because they're most loudly expressed by the people of the province. And it is a responsible move, to restore some of the money that's been slashed from medicare. But what about our schools? They too have seen a massive upheaval in the way their funding is structured. The government's rigid funding formula allows school boards little say in the way in which funds are spent, and trustees work under threat of having money taken back by the province if it's not used in the manner dictated by the ministry. ~ Here in Durham, trustees have had to dip into reserves and use other creative means to prop up special education. The education ministry has made a few attempts to direct money toward special ed to help stave off crises, but the programs continue to be threat- ened. Elsewhere, supplies are short, buildings are going without the maintenance they need, and teachers have to fight bitterly for even the slightest wage increases. There's room in the budget. More money for education, please. MOM'S PUTTING UP MOoM'S PUTTING LP DA KWISTMAS TWEE! DA KWISTMAS TWEE! MOM'S PUTTING uP Jl MOM'S PUTTING LP DA KWISTMAS TWEE! DA KWISTMAS TWEE! By Walt Radda HoTo OF THE WEEK Boys, in casg you did not know, can really, really eat. This photo was submitted by Brian Kavanagh of Port Perry. 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. Mom's SWEEPING PA FLOW! MOM'S SWEEPING DA FLOW! LETTERS Farmers can sympathize with MPPs To the Editor: I read with interest MPP John O'Toole's column in the Port Perry Weekend Star (Nov. 24) clarifying the government report on MPP salaries. I can certainly sympathize with you with regards to others receiving more remuneration for a similar work load and personal investment. From that view I would like you to insert on the list of salaries, that of the Ontario Grains and Oilseeds (crop) farmers. An estimation of personal income for an Ontario Crop farmer for the year 2000 after all business expenses will likely be a neg- ative figure. Most will only survive by living on equity they and previous family generations have built into their opera- tions. Others will be forced out of business completely. The loss of a business entity is not uncommon and a small percentage turnover is expected every year. However, the alarming trend is the esca- lating farming input costs with all time low commodity prices. The low commodity prices can be accounted for in part due to the United States and European Governments recognizing the value of a healthy agricultural economy and support- ing their primary producers. Although this is a federal issue there are also other provinces within Canada who value the direct and spin off benefits of agriculture more than Ontario. Job cre- ation and economic growth through the exchange of goods and services is always achieved with a healthy agricultural base. As the provincial and federal govern- ments lamely try to level the 'free trade' playing field, both nationally and provin- cially many good farm managers are leaving the business and very few young future farmers are entering. The governments at both levels need a long term vision for agriculture if as a society we wish to have control over our own food supply. If Ontario and Canada wish to rely on a food supply outside of their borders, we as farmers need to know. We can quit trying to protect farm land and encourage the highest value use for our land. If the governments are not prepared to ensure that farmers receive a reasonable remuneration for time and investment, we need to move on to other jobs and careers. Dennis Yellowlees, Nestleton