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4 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, December 28, 1977 Mbt Canabl'an btate,«man NCNA Durham County's Great Family Journal Established 123 years ago in 1854 Also Incorporating The Bowmanville News The Newcastle Independent The Orono News Second class mail registration number 1561 Produced every Wednesday by THE JAMES PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED 62-66 King St. W., Bowmanville, Ontario LiC 3K9 JOHN M. JAMES JOHN E. JAMES Editor - Publisher General Manager GEO. P. MORRIS Business Mgr. BRIAN PURDY Advertising Mgr. DONALD BISHOP Plant Mgr. "Copyright and-or property rights subsist in the image appearing on this proof. Permission to reproduce in whole or in part and in any form whatsoever, particularly by photographic or offset process in a publication, must be obtained from the publisher and the printer. Any unauthorized eproduction will be subject to recourse in law." $10.00 a year - 6 months $5.50 foreign - $21.00 a year strictly in advance Although every precaution will be taKen to avoid error, The Canadian Statesman accepts advertising in its columns on the understanding that it will not be liable for any error in the advertisement published hereunder unless a proof of such advertisement is requested in writing by the advertiser and returned to The Canadian Statesman business office duly signed by the advertiser and with such error or corrections plainly noted in writing thereon, and in that case if any error so noted is not corrected by The Canadian Statesman its liability shall not exceed such a portion of the entire cost of such advertisement as the space occupied by the noted error bears to the whole space occupied by such advertisement. Your Weekly PaperL A lot has changed in the 123 years The Canadian Statesman has been publishing. One thing that hasn't changed is the commitment we have to the community. This is the local paper for all the residents of the area. We try to report the news without slant, speculation, or sensa- tionalism. There are no 'favors', no exaggerations, nor unjust criticism in our pages, just journalism with responsibility to the community. Occasionally we take a stand on an issue, and publicize our opinion on the editorial page. Sometimes we goof, and we hear about it very quickly from the readers. When we goof, first we feel very badly, and then we try to make damn sure that everyone is made aware of the error. This year we gave birth to a new newspaper, The Newcastle Inde- pendent. The Independent is design- ed to provide information on events in the Area Municipality of New- castle, and to provide an identity for all of us in our new regional government structure. While the Independent is a totally separate newspaper, it operates under the same guidelines of responsible journalism as the Sta- tesman. Both papers are published here in Bowmanville, and are staffed by local residents who are de.eply involved in our community. These people are our biggest asset, and do double duty as our toughest critics. We are very proud of the James Publishing family, and thought you might be interested in a look at them. On this page you can see most of us gathered around the big Goss web offset press that prints both our papers, and several others in the area. If you look closely in the top right area, you'Il notice the bricks on the wall don't align. That's because Ad. Mgr. Brian Purdy was out co-ordina- ting details on an advertising campaign when the picture was taken. We took an almost identical picture with just him in front of the press later that day, and matched it up with the original as best we could. For those of you not too familiar with photography gimmick shots, the picture was taken by one of the staff. He managed to include himself in the shot by using a tripod and a timer release on the camera. Have a Happy New Year, every- one, and thanks very much for all the support in 1977. See you next year! The Year inReview If you can remember big snow storms, conversion to metric measurements, and a multi-million dollar agreement on a multi-billion dollar Ontario Hydro project, you are remembering 1977. If you remember a Wintario draw, a provincial election, and well over $10 million worth of schools, arenas, water and sewer projects either underway or on the drawing boards, you are also remembering 1977. The storms, the elections, the upsurge in construction of schools and community projects all took place within this municipality dur- ng 1977. The following are some of the year's key stories arranged in categories and taken from the files of the Canadian Statesman. Municipal Affairs Newcastle'sbrand new 1977-78 council officially took charge on Monday, January 3 during an inaugural council session held in Bowmanville. In his inaugural speech, New- castle Mayor Garnet Rickard singled out improved communica- tions between the town and its citizens as one of his top priorities. He also indicated that a review of the tax system, the repair of Bowmanville's main street and the provision of more recreation facili- ties in the town were other important issues. In its first year of existence, the 1977-78 council set a budget of $7.6 million for local purposes and by the end of this year, it expects a surplus of about $250,000. Taxes in 1977 rose an average of 6.9 per cent according to the budget adopted last spring. The figure was considerably below the 13.8 per cent increase indicated when councillors first sat down with budget documents. The town of Newcastle approved a 1,000 unit subdivision project for Courtice last February 1. The project could add another 3,500 to 4,000 residents to the Courtice community. But even though the Town of Newcastle approved this project in principle, the City of Oshawa didn't. The city has objected to the developments on Nash Rd., north and south of Highway Two and final approval of the subdivision will be up to the Ontario Municipal Board when it re-convenes January 9. Some residents of Courtice have also opposed the Courtice Heights subdivision, arguing that it will have a detrimental effect on thîe Courtice community. Some developers with interests in the Oshawa Courtice area have also objected. The Town of Newcastle took steps to beef up its staff during 1977 and reports commissioned by the muni- cipality indicated that another il employees will be needed in order to cope with increased growth expect- ed to occur in the municipality. Continued Next Week (intended for Dec. 21) Do you find it harder and harder each year to get revved up for Christmas? You have company. When the advertising begins right after Thanksgiving, and the Santa Clauses become ubiquitous by mid-November, and the carols are mere cliches by mid-December, it's hard to reach that peak of emotion that combines Christian joy for the birth of Christ and pagan revelry to celebrate the equinox, by -the time Christmas itself rolls around. One of the trite remarks of modern life is that Christmas has become commercialized. But don't blame the merchants. Blame ourselves. We can call this a plastic age, but it is we who use the plastic, whether it be in the form of goods, ideas or entertainment. It is we who scurry madly through those overheated stores, going slightly paranoid over the business of buying gifts for people who don't need them. It is we who eat and drink too much at Christmas, which, if the truth were told, should be a time of fasting and purification, until our heads were as light as our hearts. Wouldn't it be much more appropriate if, on Christmas Eve, instead of having people in for eggnog and goodies, we threw out that pagan image, the Christmas tree, turned off the lights, except for a candle or two, turned tfie furnace right off, and sat around in the cold and dark, transferring ourselves to a stable in Bethlehem on a winter night? No? You don't think much of that idea? Neither do I. It's like saying that in the face of the coming energy shortage we should all blow up our cars, stop using hot water and deodorants, grow our own food in the back yard, and chop down all the trees in the park for firewood. Whether we like it or not, we are caught up in the headlong race of the human species toward its goal, whether it be suicide or glory, and there's no turning back. So get that tree up, buy a fat turkey, spoil your children rotten with an overwhelm of gifts, and stuff yourself silly as a Roman senator at an orgy. This year it's the Mounties. Next year the government may do away with Christmas altogether because it cuts too deeply into increasing our Gross National Product. My old lady and I almost gave up on Christmas this year. We thought of all the work to get ready and flinched. I suggested going south for a week to play some golf, letting our daughter and her brood take over our house and have their Christmas here. She was all for it. Then we had The Boys for a week, and hastily revised our plans. We etters JOYOUS ENERGY? Dear Editor: Christmas. The Mass or celebration of The Birth of Christ, Jesus of Nazareth. A holy time, a joyous time for most Christians. Why not ALL Christians? Because in some parts of the world, some of 'the joy' is dimmed by the difficulty and danger, not only in being a Christian but in being called a Christian. Just as 2000 years ago, sone Christians are being scoffed- at and abused. One doesn't have to go far in our own society to find "the scoffing". Isn't that a breath-stopping and a joy-stopping thought? For all of us, in the rushing-ness and busy-ness of preparing for Christmas in traditional but secular ways, buyng with joy, gifts for those we love, and even remember- ing to give to church funds and charities. cooking, baking, making big, set plans, how many of us are keeping or have kept the central FACT, central in mind, of this joyous time - - Christ? Not as many as should be among Xtan, church goers; but Jesus did not attempt or even inadvertently make peo- ple feel guilty, so that is not the point of this thought. However, to arrive finally at Christmas Service, so tired from all the planning and preparing of traditional things ("because, oh my, what would Aunty Mary or whomever think, if we didn't?") so tired, so fatigued, that kneeling or sitting is just "plain REST"! Of course giving thanks and worshiping is the purest and to surest form of "rest" and what we were promised when "weary". Still, possibly not that kind of "weary"? Couldn't we, shouldn't we, perhaps slow our pre-Holy Day activities, enough so that when we come to church at Christmas, we may come with spirits fresh, full of strong energy, to be able to sing-out and pray with meaningful strength for The Peace He brought us and died to Give? Mary Morris Dear Sir: I always feel sorry when I read "letters to the editor" complaining about something after it is too late to do- anything about it. It is too bad that people can't keep them- selves better informed so that realized that if those two were allowed to run unchecked for a week, we might as well put the house up for sale when we got home, or set fire to it, if there was enough left standing to make a blaze. If it weren't for that mob, going away would have been easy, both physically and emotionally. I could enjoy Christmas dinner in a hotel in Texas just as much as I do at home, where I have to stuff the bird, mash the turnips and wash 8,000 dishes far into the night. I think I might just possibly be able to forego having to find a Christmas tree, dragging it in covered in snow, and spending four hours trying to get the dam' thing to stand upright. It would be a wrench, but I might even be able to stand not watching my grandboys rip the paper off 48 gifts and go right back to beating each other on the head with a couple of drumsticks. Real ones, not the turkey kind. It's one of their favorite games. However, as the hired man said in Robert Frost's poem of that name, "Home is where, when you go there, they have to let you stay." And it looks as though that's the way my daughter feels. We tried to fill up the house with other people. But my son is in Paraguay, one brother and his wife in Costa Rica, the other brother way the their comments might be of more use. Better still, if instead of complaining, people took a more active interest, their opinions might be felt during the forming of policies and decisions that will affect them. I guess our councillors are used to taking flack about their decisions but I arn really more concerned about public- spirited individuals and groups who are subjected to criticisms when they see a need in the community and try to do something about it. For instance, there is a group of people who feel that it would be a great advantage to our community to have a phone-in service which would be available to all residents of the Town of Newcastle. This service would consist of an up- up at James Bay. So we're stuck with the kids, and Ill be happy if I see the New Year without being on my hands and knees. With that wrapped up, there's nothing left to do lut send my best wishes for the holiday season to all sorts of people, through this column. To my old friends in the newspaper business: hope you all got that big Christmas issue out without being hospitalized with total exhaustion. To my teaching colleagues every- where: hang in there; it's only six months until June. To the prime minister: dear Pierre, hope that other turkey doesn't turn up and spoil your Christmas. To all the people to whom we used to send Christmas cards: it's the thought that counts, and we think of you every six or eight months. To all those people who want a baby so badly: hope you get twins twice in the next two years. To all those people who don't want a baby at all: hope you don't get pregnant, not even a little bit. And to all the people who bother to read this column at all, whether you agree or not, a merry, merry Christmas, with a special thanks to those who write. God bless us, one and all. Editor to-date file of information which would provide the answer to or a referral to a number where the caller could find the answer to any question he might have relat- ing to his day to day life in this community. Information would be available on chur- ches, groups in the commu- nity, healtd ad recreation, governrment agencies, etc. A registry of community events would be established so that groups would know what other groups are planning so that duplication could be avoided. If a service like this is to be offered, an organizing group must be formed, funds solicit- ed from government and community, information com- piled and organizéd, an office and phone set up, volunteers recruited and trained to ans- J wer the phone and publicity organized. My question is this, "Is this a good idea worth the time, effort and money that it would take to make the 'idea' a reality? I would think that newcomers to the community would find a service like this invaluable. Am I right? I would think that those in 'people-related' jobs would find this service a great tine saver in their work of helping people. Would they? My last question is this. If a group of people through sheer perseve- rance and because they belie- ved that this was worth doing, were to actually get this thing off the ground, would the ones that sit back and judge, approve? Elaine Barber George Morris Peter Parrott John Geboers Don Bishop Mary Anne Richards Andrew Nesbitt Bill Hesson Fred Jensen John James Jr. John James Sr. rShawn Marshall Heather Lyle Sandra Stainton L. A 'Mac' MacDougal Don Howarth Sharon Caruana Liz PolleyBetty Bishop Leah Woodward Howie Bryan Brian Purdy Missing when the picture' was taken were Marjorie Hodgson, Dorothy James, Rick James, Lori Bishop and Tim Weekes. uC ar andSCRTMice CHRISTMAS CHIRISTMAS yd C à 1 MM ýl il'illoil' *00 z