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Round andRound We Go It's a brand new week with the sun shining, grass growing 'and the weather warming up. The striking custodians in the schools are back at work, happy to be off the picket line after seven and a half weeks. Even the board of education appears to be pleased to have parents, students and health authorities off its back. And we haven't heard a word about scabies since the dispute concluded. We wonder who won that strike? Or if anybody did? Seven and a half weeks' lost pay piles up pretty quickly in debts and certanly cuts into savings, if any. Even with the new rates, we would think it would take quite a while to get it back. And they still didn't achieve their main objective of equality with colleagues in the Durham Board of Education schools to the west. But, they seem to think the work stoppage was a good effort although certainly they didn't expect to be out so long. In our opinion the board is to be commended for not knuckling under quickly to the demands they felt were excessive. Chairman Andy Thompson, acting as spokesman throughout, came under considerable flak at times from excited parents, pupils and strikers, but we think he acted responsibly on behalf of the entire board and the taxpayers in keeping the schools open so students could complete their year's education without stretchng the term into July or August. A weak board might well have given the strikers whatever they demanded and saved themselves a good deal of grief. After all, it wasn't their money they were dealing with, it was the taxpayers'. What the overall cost to the taxpayers of this area will be bas not been released to date, but there's no doubt it will be a sizable amount. However, it will be paid as the price for peace and we can chalk up another minor round on the inflation scale. Ann Cowman Column Dear Sir, telephone ring, urging the council to jup into the stîli muddy financial As I recline among my pillows, and administrative deptbs of their perusing the newspapers with my pool. pneumonic eyes, I read in the I suppose the same thing Statesman how the Bowmanville bappened two or more years ago Chamber of Commerce has been wben the Orono and Newcastle meeting with the Mayor in the building committees led the council presence of the press and that 'they' into interim financing 1.5 million have decided that the council must dollars worth of arena's... be urged to buy Pine Ridge School If this system continues it can only and that Splash might be foster resentment, antagonism, and accommodated at that location.an If the council does not take this cooperation on the parts of both advice states Mr. B. Colwell, then council members and these groups. "the council will have made their Council should go firmly on record bed and they can lie in it." Hmmm' as believing that "be who pays the How interesting! Veiled threats for piper caîls the tune." the next municipal election I Notwitbstanding the interest, suppose. concern and selfless effort Here I am, sick for ten days and contributed by volunteer board waking up to find that the Chamber members, wbo administer sucb apparently is attempting to run recreational services, sucb boards municipal affairs. ARE NOT answerable to tbe Next, no doubt they will be taking taxpayers for expenditures that tbey their turn at the popular sport of authorize. Therefore tbey are only turning council meetings into inclined to examine needs as tbey candidates meetings. Rolling in with see them witbout a corresponding lengthy, dubious petitions and analysis of ail resources. several speakers, that generate Yet despitethis fact, at times, a 'loud cheers' from the audience, few members of such groups persist, while such weighty matters as a by almost hysterical insinuation, complete new zoning By-Law for the attempting to demonstrate that Village of Newcastle and the Budget elected officials are prone to accept pass without a murmur due to the only fiscal responsibilities to the lack of time as the 'delegations' exclusion of buman needs. have used it all up. This, quite simply, is not true. Perhaps the Mayor's time might Council sbould perhaps, take the be better spent meeting with his own position tbat tbey endorse the council and telling them all the principles and pbilosopby's of the secrets of Pine Ridge School. After various boards and committees that all, we poor elected town fathers it bas recognized and assign-tbem know no more about the disposition certain priorities based on an of that property except what we read analysis. in the press! Perbaps Pine Ridge Scbool may It seems to be coming more and be the catalyst for sucb an analysis. More apparent that quasi- We need a comprebensive inventory independent bodies of 'appointed of services provided to date, citizens', urged on by the odd elected sbowing location, cost, services and person are attempting to run this benefits. An inventory of todays town. needs, and those anticipated by These bodies plan, evaluate and growtb. This would determine deliver their ideas, often without unused or unnecessary services. even the courtesy of consulting Then provision can be made for council let alone getting approval. services to fi identified gaps as Because they assume varying determined according to the degrees of 'fiscal responsibility' for financial resources. the capital costs and in some cases a Chamber of Commerce, your certain amount of annual participation in tbe towns affairs is expenditures they come to town and welcome but please do not 'sock it to turn on the emotional pressures. us' from the pages of tbe newspaper 'Splash' for example is at every wrapped in veiled tbreats because if meeting, at every social function, in you do, guess wbere you can... file every newspaper, at the end of every it. My old lady is back in the music festival business, after an absence of some years, and it's just like old times around here; hectic. We quarrel frequently about great issues such as who put out the garbage last week or whose turn it is to do the dishes. When these tiffs become heated, I am frequently told, in a typical wifely digression, when she is logically cornered, that I know almost nothing about music. It has nothing to do with the argument, but I hear, "You couldn't even find middle C on the piano," in tones of contempt. I cheerfully admit to that fact and the further fact that I don't give a dibble, which fans the flames. This always noncomplusses her, which is the object. But, when a music festival looms, and looms is the word, I suddenly discover that, "You have a good ear, and a great sense of rhythm and tempo", and I realize, with an inward groan, that I'm in for hours of listening to minuets and gavottes and sonatinas, and making judgements based on my good ear and great sense of etc. It all began about 20 years ago. Both our kids were taking piano lessons, and doing well. One evening I was sitting idly, reading my paper and wagging my foot in time to the sonatina my son was preparing for a music festival. My foot got going so fast I couldn't even read the printed word for the vibration. "Hey," I thought, "this kid isn't Chopin or Paderewski. That's a mite quick for a grade six piece." I made my wife sit down and listen. She checked the tempo in the book. He was playing about double speed. She brought it to the attention of his music teacher, who was a little shocked and embarrassed to realize that old tin ear was right. Happy ending. We got the kid slowed to half-speed, and he won first prize. That was the end of any peace for me, around festival time. Ever since, I've had to listen to dozens of kids play all their festival pieces, and come up with some enlightening comment about things of which I have absolutely no knowledge, like pace, tone, rhythm, tempo, appogiaturo, forte, crescendo and the like. I don't even know what the words mean. In self-defence, I've concocted a number of comments about as useful as the things teachers write on report cards. Things like: "perhaps the second movement is a bit subdued," or, "Yes, that's holding together nicely", or "don't you think the andante allegro is a bit turgid?" When you don't know an andante from an allegro, if one were to crawl out of your soup, it seems to do the trick. That worked pretty well when the old girl had twenty-odd students. And was churning out prize-winners by the dozen at every festival. She'd be satisfied that I was listening and would go right ahead and have the kid play the piece the way she knew it should be played. But this time around, she doesn't have the same old confidence, because she's been away from it so long. She makes me actually listen, instead of just appearing to. When I question the speed of a piece, she plays it at four different speeds,-and forces me to make a judgement. They all sound the same to me. Should I suggest that the minuet seems a trifle fast, she makes ne get up in the living-room, pretend I am a bewigged, bepowdered French gallant in tight pants at the court of Louis Fourteenth, and dance a minuet. It's hard to get into the mood when I'm in my bedroom slippers, painting pants and old sport shirt. Have you ever tried prancing around to the strains of a gavotte, on a Saturday morning, when you know your neighbors can see in the windows and are wondering what on earth Smiley got into at this hour of the day? Have you ever tried to "Bum-bum- bum" your way through a sonatina, at the same time trying to clap your hands to establish the time and to read the headlines about the coming election. It's nerve-wracking. Our social life has deteriorated, too, as it always has at festival time. Instead of going to sparkling parties where all the guests are full of repartee, among other things, we sit in the living-room with her pounding the piano, and me waving my foot. It's not enough to keep the mind alive. Oh, we do take a sashay into high life occasionally. On Easter weekend, we really lived it up. We went to see Great-Grandad, who is recovering from an operation, and came home the next day to help Kim, who arrived with Batman and Robin, as they call themselves, figure out her income tax. Naturally, she didn't have half the information. And Balind, three, asserted that he was no longer Robin, but the Incredible Hulk, whatever that is. But The Festival is right up there like a bill board, with all its infighting, anxiety, lousy adjudicator (if you lose), teachers teetering on the verge of a coronary, and mothers tearing their hair out in clumps. Next year, I hope the old lady takes up karate or sky-diving, or something sane and sensible and safe. Music festivals are murder. Dear Editor: Stop Worrying, Start Thinking The direction we are facing has a lot to do with our destination. In short order (if not already), we will be deluged with brochures, posters, radio and television commercials from the various political parties, all making outlandish promises and equally outlandish accusa- tions regarding their opposi- tion. Well, when your work speaks for itself you shouldn't interrupt. The Liberals have given us a budget deficit that boggles the mind, the Conservatives have given us Regional Government, a self admitted mistake, the N.D.P. have given us, well lets see, oh yes, they gave us Ed Broad- bent, the Communists can give you what you deserve if you did vote for them (sorry, i tried hard not to write that), the Social Credit gave you a fifth party to consider and the Libertarian Party (not to be confused with the Liberal Party) have given you a list of proposals and questions, which visibly shake up all other opposition when they are asked to comment on any of the Libertarian Party's proposals. This letter to the editor was prompted by some literature, very clear cut, in plain English, which I received from this party (upon request, I might add) and found their platform to be sound, practical, a no frills approach to giving us an alternative course of travel. Once again, I repeat, look where we are headed should we continue on our present course. Federal Government expenditures la 1978 of forty nine point eight billion dollars, up from twelve point seven billion in 10 years, $2.050.00 for every man, woman and child in Canada. Now the three major parties are pronising more money spent here, more money spent there, to help this cause and that problem. we can't spend our way out of debt, my friends, and it's your money they are promising to spend here and there. Now, I apologize for letting my political bias show, but after looking into all the platforms of the various contenders (including the Communist Party) the choice remains blatantly obvious. So you see, it is not a case that one is as bad as the other, whichever way you vote, the fact of the matter is, there is an alternative, and I suggest everyone read some informa- tion regarding the Libertarian Party and have a clear conscience when you do vote, that you at least considered all the alternatives. Remember - A person who doesn't read has no advantage over a person who can't. Terry Ker, Newtonville. Dear Mr. John; We thank you very much for sending the Statesman down here through the winter. Its arrival was just like a letter from home, although sometimes it did not come for several weeks and then we would get several at a time. I am sure that you did not publish the editions that way. I enclose a composite photo which will give some idea of our activities here. I have often wished that I could have a group of the Bowmanville boys and girls who used to sing for me, to demonstrate what young people should be able to do. I always look for the news about people, the schools, and the departments of 25 and 49 years ago. Yours sincerely, Gertrude & t'rancis Sutton P.S. We expect to be at 429 Kingston Road, Toronto on April 7th. Dear Editor: Would you please print the following announcement in your newspaper: Queen Elizabeth Collegiate and Vocational Institute Kingston, Ontario, Canada, will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its opening with a reunion to be held May 30, 31 and June 1, 1980, in Kingston. Former students and staff members wishing further details on this reunion should forward their present address to the Seek and Find Commit- tee, Q.E.C.V.I., 145 Kirkpa- trick St., Kingston, Ontario. K7K 2P4 (613-546-1714). Thank you very much. B. G. Beckwith, Publicity Co-ordinator, Q.E.C.V.I. Birch Trees at Pine Ridge School ugar and Spice Musie Festival