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2-rono Weekly Times. Wedneésday, December 7th, 1977 Orono Weekly Times WHERE ARE WE GOING It would be litt'iewonder if taxpayers in this area begani to ask, 'Just where are we going and at what cost'. Developments over the past two weeks surely point out that policy is lacking and any view of the future relating to residential development especially in the Bowmanvile area is divided between the two leveis of government. t ail can only lead to frustration on the part of the taxpayer and a distrust of elected representatives. At a recent meeting of the Courtice Area Task Force it was suggested by Mayor Rickard that the use of lot levy monies for the construction of a new community centre in Courtice was possible. This suggestion has aroused the eyebrows of some who recail that the Mayor has in the past been most supportive of plans whereby the local area residents provide fundmng through local individual support This policy has been followed in such cases as the Tyrone Commnunity Centre, thic Brownsville Community Centre, the two arenas and of course the construction of the proposed indoor swimming pool in Bowmianville. The Town of Newcastle. has set policy to collect lot levies and that a t iird of these monies are to be used to provide recreational facilities within the community. There can be no objection to the proper use of these funds but it must be used equally throughout the municipality. We would have no objection to such funds being used in Courtice if ther ares in the municipality were to benefit, in the same manner as would the Courtice areataxpayers. Although council has established a fund for recreational purposes they have yet to set a policy for its usiý throughout the whole of the municipality. Lets hope that it is flot being usedfto buy votes and that counicil does take a stand in its use and its distribution throughout the entire area. Last week the planning and development department of the region of Durham made public their report on a speciai study area to the west ot Bowmanvillle. In the report and the meeting the staff members of the department suggested that it would be more economicai to establish thîs westerni arca in Bowmianville for residentiaf development' rather than an area to the north and east of the Town. This proposai fromt the Regionait staff is contrary to plans by the Town who have been entertaining a plan for luture growth in Bowmaniville to the north and east. Again the Town finds itself in conflict with the Region and there certainfly appears to be no ]ne of communication between the Town and the Region. 0f course not so long ago the regional district plan aiso pointed to the north as the desirable location for residentiai development and here again local taxpayers must only becomne confused and deveiop less than confidence in their elected leaders. As we have reported before in this paper the Board of Education is confused over the plans for future deveiopmlent in the Town of Newcastle and especiaily so in the Bowmanviile and Courtice areas. To this end the Board is not to comment on any further deveiopment proposais and this is to carry on until a clear pattern is established. The Board couid well find itseif with a new school in an area with no pupils. Counc. Woodyard hias priva tely stlated that he has been considering a proposai to couincil that they cal a mioritorium for at least three mtonths on processing proposed developments in the Town. Thbis would appear a proposai with a lot of menit and perhaps the time freeze should be cxtended as services of water and sewers are still a t least two years off to carry any development of any sizeable nature. WORK-SHARING CONSIDERATION A work-sharing plan proposcd by the federal governrnçnt was reccntly publicly rejected by the United Steel Workcrs of Amerîca as totally unacceptable. The plan was proposd i an effort to heip off-set iay-offs at the Inco plants at Sudbury and Thoinpson. The work-sharîng plan is one that would cstabiish a shortcned work week se that ail workers in a plant can rernain crnployed rather than have some laid off so the majority can work full time. t seems as a logical solution to thc present uncmployment problem and thc incrcasing number of.employees being laid off duc to soft markets both outside and inside Uic nation. Such a plan lets ail in thc country contribute to Uic restoration of equality and at ieast kecps more people working even if at a reduccd number of hours. Through co-operation with thc federal government in offering to suppiement lost income so that workers may only lose $10.0 to $15.00 a week thc plan becomes more and more feasible. Although the United Steel Workers of America turned down the plan for Uic Sudbury plant it lbas accepted the same proposai for cmployecs at Brunswick Mining and Smeiter Corp. in Nova Scotia where proposed iay-of fs were about to corne about. The workers have been rcduced to a 32 hour week and wiUi federai assistance wiil only Jose about $10 a week. If the economy of Canada and the rest of thc world' continues at the present level it may wcli be that thc work-sharing system may become more important and more acceptable by labour. There are many adverse conditions carried with unempioyment and the work-sharing plan could well offset SAM AT QUE With the new year fast approaching there are two areas of legislation that have been introduced into the House which will prove to be of interest and conccrn to you, my constituents. Last April, Treasurer Dar- cy McKeough presentcd Ont- ario's Budget ini which he announccd that fees for motor vehicle registrations would be raiscd. Effective for the 1978 regis- trations would be raised. Effective for the 1978 regis- tration ycar, the annual fees for passenger cars wili be as foliows: 4 cylinders - from $23 to $30 6 cylinders - from $32 to $45 8 cylinders - fromn $40 to $60 The reason for Uic increase was due to Government road related expenditures growing faster than revenue derivcd f rom road users. This is borne out by a recent study which indicates that since 1972, the last year in which registrat- ion fees and fuel taxes were raised, the share of road costs sustained by road users has dcclined steadily to an unrea- sonably low level. In identifying the need to raise registration fees, how- ever, it was also recognized that the operation of a car in Northern Ontario involves substantiai costs over and above those experienced in the southcrn parts of the province. Consequently, 1978 registration fees for northern drivers are reduced to $10 for ail passenger cars.and motor- cycles. This is not to say, however, thlat the increase for southern drivers is a form of subsidy to the residents of the North. t is important to keep in mmnd that, eveni if the Government did not introduce a rate reduction in Northern Ontar- io, the additionai $12 million in revenue from ,the registrat- ion fees would stilil eave the percentage of expenditure borne by road users at the lowest level in the past several ycars. I might add that personally, 1 was hoping that the Treasurer's increas- es would more closely rcfiect the generai increases that wc, as consumers, have been accustomcd to. Secondly, a new bill was passcd in the Legisiature' which is aimed at stoppirng tax discounters who give cash for tax refunds. Ln other words, discounters who set up makeshif t operations to offer consumners instant cash in return for the purchase of income tax refunds will be put out of business. The ncomce Tax Discount- ers Act, 1977, wil liniit Uic amount of the discount to 5 per cent. Thus, Uic discounter will have to pay the tax payer at lcast 95 per cent of Uic expccted rcfund. Five other provinces have enacted such legisiation to force this type of operation out of business or to reduce excessive profits by limiting the amounit of Uic discount. Because thcy found it difficuit to su rvive in other provinces, these operations moved into Ontario where there was no legislation. The federai governmcnt's proposeýd Borroweprs' nd ýE N'S PARK transaction and would have limited the amount of the discount. But due to thc fact that it appeared uniikely thnt this Act would have corne into effect in time to protect those who, because of urgent financiai need, become prcy to this form of exploitation, Uic Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations intro- duced its own bill. The legisiation defines a "discounter" as a person including an agent or broker, who, acting in thc course of business, acquires from a taxpayer the taxpayer's right to a refund which is due or wiil become duc to the taxpayer". This legislation wili not affect legitimate services that help prepare income tax forms for a reasonable fee. And before this year had ended, it certainly was a pleasure for myscîf and Agriculture Minister, Bill Newman, to have met with Mr. R. Bryson, Chairman of Protcstîng against Uic sys- tem of justice seven persons convicted of trespassing at the Darlîngton nucîcar sta- tion have chosen to spend thrcc days in jail rather than pay a fine of $15.00 cach. The seven along with five others wcre convictcd of trespassing last wcek in provincial court. Five of Uic twelvc will pay their fines. Ail twelve .wcrc given fourteen days to pay the fine which time is up today, Wednesday. The sevcn were informed last wcek that they would have to wait the fourteen days before serving their jail sentence. Arrest warrants wiil have to bc issued to those not paying the fines. A spokesman for the group said thcy would lîke to appeal the sentence even thougli to appeailias become much more difficuit. In appealing Uic demon- strators cited a section of the Petty Trespass Act wliich states that a person has Uic 'riglit to enter private proper- ty if lie believes immediate danger is apparent. The demonstrators do dlaim that Ulic Land Division Commîttee of Durham and its members at an informai meeting a wcek ago. We discusscd a variety of Uings, but mostly centrcd our attention on land division policies. This certain- ly was a timciy meeting for me as my Private Members' Bill deaiing with such policies was introduced in the Legîs- lature two weeks before. Speaking about the rural area of Durham East, on Saturday, November 26th 1 hiad the pleasure of present- ing Ontario Scholarship Awards at the Clarke Hligh School's Annual Commence- ment. Congratulations and best wishes are in order for ail the graduating clýrss. New conf idence for, SPLASH11 SIn speaking with Mr. Bob Stevens, a member of the SPLASH group in Bowman- ville promoting the construc- tion of an indoor swimming pool and squash courts in Bowmanviile, lie said there was a new spirit of enthus- iasmn generated for the group over the past week. Mr. Stevens was speaking of a special donation of $20,000 fromn the Tliomson Publi.shing Company which now brings the sumn over $100,000.0q. The group are hopeful of raising over $300,000 from public subscriptîon for the project. Mr. Stevens said the donat- ion lias brouglit a complete turn-around for the fund raising committee. He said lie was aimost ready to give up ,,n the project prior tQ the donation but now-lias ail the hope in the world that they wil succeed in raisïng' the necessary funds. He said the committee has nowv decided to postpone their door to door canvass until February. In speaking of the Trip-Of- The Month Lottery he said tickets were going reasonabiy well and that the first draw. would be held on January 4th as planned. There are thirty- six prizes in total with a trip for two, ecd month to a winner, to the south. Only five hundred tickets are being sold. Anyone wishing tickets are asked to contact either, Bob Stevens, Carson Elliot or E.H. Samuel of Bowmanville or Gord Simpson of Hampton. the construction of the nue- lear plant docs cndangcr future generations. The judgc at the recent hearing refuscd to accept this plea. The demonstrators did state that thcy wanuld be hâckt CHRISTMAS PARTY AT ORONO PARK (Continucd from page 1) continuing until four o'clock. Final details arc to be arranged this Thursday even- ing. The chamber is planning sieigh rides or wagon rides through the trce nursery as part of Uic cntcrtainmcnt for. Uic afternoon. Free coffec and hot chocolate will be scrved with provisions being made to provide hot dogs and hamburgs. Santa will also niake his appearance at the party with his mode of arrivai depending on the weathcr. Candy bags are being prepared to distri- bute to the children vîsiting Santa. Spend an hour or two this Sunday afternoon at the community Christmas party in the Orono Park. Accept jail for trespassers CONSIDER RESTRUCTURINCY AREA ~HYDRO SYSTEMS <Continued from page 1) would requfire thc amalga- mation of the Orono, Newcas- tic and Bowmanviiie utilities to form a single utility. Lt is also possible that such a utility could purchase thc assets of Ontario Hydro rural system and thus operate a utility servicing ail the muni- cipality. Lt was the opinion of numerous commissioners that if they took no action they would be iegislated into taking action towards cither a regional hydro system or a municipal system. At the present tîme most utîlities in the Region with the exception of the northern area have agrecd to a study to be conducted internaliy. The cost has been estimated at 10 cents per -customer or in Orono's case $40.00. A concensus of thc meeting in Bowmanv.ille regarding a study found Orono in favour Of the study stating they needed more information on which to base a final decision. Newcastle Village in the main wcre opposed to a study wishing to remain as they are now. Bowmanville was some- what split over the need for a study. On poiling individual commissioners the issue end- cd in a tic for and against a study., A regional meeting wiil be heid in the near future, January, at which time Uic issue of a study wili be considered by ail commis- ;sions within the Region of Durham. Lt would appear that few favour an upper tier regionai system. At the meeting on Thurs- day it was pointed out that the study was necessary in order Uiat the local commissioiis couid get the cost of purchas- ing Ontario Hydro's rural systemn. It was also stated that if Orono, Newcastle and Bowmanviile were to amaiga- mate and did wish to purch- ase rural hydro it would cost the new systemn at lcast three milion dollars. TOWN CLOCK BEING REPAIRED. (Continued from page 1) purchase kits for such dlocks and that it could be brouglit back into operation. A num- ber of others feit it was now time to paint Uic outside of Uic clock towcr to improve the appearance and as well to bring the striker back into use so that Uic hour could be rung out Uiroughout thc village. In spcaking with Mr. Mer- cer he said the striker could again be made operative aithougli it does take some effort to keep in stcp with Uic time. -He pointcd out that Uic dlock striker is run by hydro and cvery time it is off Uice striker gets out of tune with the dlock and makes it necessary to ciimb into Uic towcr to reset the workings of Uic striker. Maybe out of the vandalism some good will corne and we at the Times would support Uic painting of Uic Towcr on~ top of the hall as weli as i return of the striking of thi_Ž