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. The new program, announced Thursday, will commence next spring and is part of the ministry‘s plan to make the province‘s roads the safest in North America. Statistical evidence shows that inexperienced drivers pose a serious safety threat to themselves and others and the ministry wants to neutralâ€" ize that situation. Under the scheme, all new drivers will enter a twoâ€"level process lasting a minimum of 20 months. ho oo Te e s on e ie Ne O PP Among other stipulations, this program would see new drivers being allowed to drive only cars, vans or light trucks and be accompanied by a driver with four years‘ experience. These new drivers will also operate their vehicles with zero alcohol levels and won‘t be allowed to driver on 400â€"series roads or some urban expressways. They will also be restricted from driving between midnight and 5:00 a.m. and be required to display a vehicle sign identifying themselves as a new driver. This phase will last one calendar year but can be cut to eight months if the driver has successfully completed an approved driver education course. ho s e ie se The second year wC driver can operate the driver accompany the | year. Both the Ontario Provincial Police and the Halton R know all about the problem with new drivers. The region I of needless fatalities involving new drivers in the past year week in attempt to revive his party‘s flagging popularity. Preston Manning, leader of The Reform Party of Canada, was trying to rally support for his cutâ€"theâ€"deficit program. The trouble is that the two mainâ€"line parties, the Progressive Conservatives and the Liberals, have both declared the deficit as their own priorities. And while some people might embrace his plans to cut government costs, such as the reâ€"structuring of the "obscene" MPs‘ pensions, other ideas such as the reducâ€" tion of federal transfer payments, would only force provinces to up taxes. Who wins in this scenario? ’- nother smoke and mirrors political campaigner blew into town this past i l o Lt L1 d 1 2110 00 0c 4.A About 1000 people turned out to hear Manning‘s Oakville message but with the prime minister resigning, the Constitution a dead issue and all parties trumpeting their fiscal policies, The Reform Party will find itself the political loser in Ontario as the province polarizes around the Grits and the Tories. Whatmeasures could Ontario Premier Bob Rae take to help reduce the deficit? Premier Bob could reduce the deficit by holding his meetings at 1ESS pOSH resorts than the Delewana Inn, Bayviewâ€"Wildwood, Queens Landing for some examples. Also, he could cut government costs by eliminating Toronto apartâ€" ments for MPPs paid for by the taxpayers. Their overly generous tax free allowance should cover these. Premier Bob should clean up his own waste first EDITORIAL he Ontario Ministry of Transportation is to be congratulated for i introduction of graduated licenses for all new drivers. Still hoping Good move 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 $45â€"3824 Fax: 845â€"3085 S would see no driving time restrictions or where the he vehicle. The provision for having an experienced ie new driver, would also be eliminated in the second AKVILLE BEAVEKR | the deficit by holding his meetings at less posh ‘QUESTION OF THE WEEK Do you think there is any merit to having a 12 month school year? Give us your opinion on this topic by calling 845â€"5585, box 5012. All callers are allowed 45 seconds to respond and must provide their name, address and phone number for verification. A samplihg of the best answers will be published in the next Weekend edition of the Oakville Beaver. he Halton Regional Police The region has had a spate he past vear and these new Kay Brown he hardest work I ever did, as I think I‘ve mentioned in this space before, was roofing. Tar and gravel. Searing heat, noxious fumes, endless wheelbarrows of crushed stone and preâ€"dawn starting times to avoid the wrath of the midday sun. Toughest job I ever had. So I guess it follows that the toughest man I ever met was a roofer. His name was Leon, but everybody called him Frenchie. He had eyeglasses held together by friction tape and fingers that looked like he could drive spikes with them. The skin on his face was the color of saddle leather. He was tireless. The rest of us constantly moaned about the heat. Not Frenchie. He never took off his shirt (smart roofers don‘t) â€" didn‘t even undo the top button or roll up his sleeves. But he could work from four in the morning ‘til after the sun went down without breaking into a sweat. Then he‘d go out and drink a case of beer, play his harmonica into the wee hours, and do it all over again the next day. I often think of Frenchie when I‘m faced with something I don‘t think I can handle â€" be it next© week‘s column, an unfriendly dog, or a stretch of white water in my canoe. Then I imagine what Frenchie would do. How he‘d take his index finâ€" ger, poke his eyeglasses a little more firmly into the bridge of his nose â€" and then just go Too many Ph.D theses are much ado about nothing ahead and do it. After which I give it my best shot. I was thinking of Frenchie again the other day when I was reading over the latest selection of PhD dissertations. You know about these things? Scholars who want to be able to scribble a ‘p‘ an ‘h‘ and a ‘d‘ after their name are required to work up an exhausâ€" tive document that explores some hitherto neglected knotâ€" hole in the groves of Academe. It‘s a chore that customarily takes years to accomplish. Most theses run to about 75,000 words â€" somewhere between 250 and 300 pages. That‘s a good sized novel... but there‘s one important difference between a novel and a doctoral thesis. People generally read novels. Nobody ever voluntarily reads PhD theses. Small wonder. Listen to some of the titles turned in this year: Elvis Presley: All Shook Up; Communication Use in Motorcycle Gang. And my personal favorite â€" People got aegrees one that deserves a Guinness Trees died for this? Book of Records listing just for Sure glad I don‘ its title: T Am You; You are »explain it to Frenchie. A Philosophical Explanation of the Possibility That We Are the Same Person. We never talked much about dissertation topics on our lunch breaks, Frenchie and I, but I can imagine what he‘d say if 1‘d brought up the subject. Frenchie would say, "What da ‘ell good are dey?" He‘d have a point. Here are some dissertation topics that earned their authors PhDs over the past few years. I‘ve also included the profound conclusions reached in each case: The Enthusiasm of Aerobic Dance Instructors As a Factor in Student Reenrollment. (Finding: Class scheduling and location are more important). Sociable Speech in The American â€" Slumber _ Party. (Conclusion: Girls at slumber parties tell ghost stories and use ‘ritual insult‘ as a form of humor, saying things like, ‘You remind me of a dog‘s rear‘). The Characteristics of Rock Climbers. (Finding: Expertise in rock climbing is significantly related to frequency of practice and years of experience. Finding Number Two: Inexperienced climbers prefer easier ascents, while expert climbers favor more difficult ones). People got degrees for this? Trees died for this?? Sure glad I don‘t have to