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Orono Weekly Times, Wednesday, June 16, 1982, 9 eek in-week out Meals on Wheels Week in and week out Meats on Wheels in Orono and Newcastle has been pro- viding a service of hot meals for pensioners and con- volescents through a dedicated service of volunteer drivers and meals provided through Southaven Nursing Home. Although a provincial organization now exists the local service has been operating for years under its own'format. Meats consisting of juice, roll, hot entre, dessert and a treat arrive twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the noon-day meal. Until last fall User-Fees were sufficient to cover the cost of the meats but due to increased costs in containers and meals the price of a meat has increased to $1.50. This price does not cover the cost of the meal with the result that Meals on wheels are looking for some financial support through the generosi- ty of any local orgaization that may be interesting in providing such support. Such support would assure the continuation of the ser- vice within the two centres. If anyone is in need of fur- ther information please call the new convenor in the Orono area, Phyllis Lowery at 983-5477. Cobourg voter may Infants of centre. The rountin,,tests are given s m o k e r S shortly after birthi. "Normall1y, an Apgar more score of five or less means the chances are a child would be prone to receiving active car- diopulmonary resuscitation problem s iohesdnsae. room;" Dr. Children of women who "They may not be smoke as little as one package breathing normally, and that of cigarettes a day during may have an impact on later pregnancy have increased development." risks of breathing problems Previous research has at birth and of possible future already linked low Apgar disabilities, a researcher says. scores with increased risk of A University of Michigan disorders such as cerebrat Medical Centre study showed palsy and mental retardation. women who smoked three Dr. Johnston and other packages of cigarettes a day members of a research team were four times as likely as conducted the study from a nonsmoking women to give sampling of 43,492 birth to a baby with a low newborns. Apgar score, which measures If you would ike informa- how well the heart, lungs and tion on how to quit smoking, nervous system are function- Cati Durham Region Lung ing on a scale from one to 10, Association (The Christmas said Dr. Michael Johnston, a Seat people) at 723-315L Pediatric Neurologist at the vote on disarmamentNuclear power takes The Town of Cobourg council has given approval in principal to allow, a referen- dum on nuclear disarmament during this coming fali municipal elections. The question would be on a separate ballot as already ap- proved by 40 other municipalities across the country. Many other centres are now considering the same action for their residents. The idea of the referendum was first proposed by an Ot- tawa group, Operqtion Dismantle, which has asked all municipalities to take ac- tion to allow a referndum on the question for their voters. Results of such a vote would be sent to the prime minister of Canada and as well to the secretary-general of the United Nations. Town of Newcastle in healthy position The General Purpose Committee of the Town of Newcastle were given a review of the 1981 financial statement by a representative of Deloitte Haskins & Sells on Monday. The statement showed a surplus of $247,074 following the 1981 operation. The committee was told that population in the Town of Newcastle had dropped slightly from 1980 to 1981 and that the number of households had dropped to 10,618 in 1981 from 10,680 in 1980. The report points out that commercial and industrial assessment has increased as a percentage of the total assess- ment and now stands at 20.11 percent of the total from the 1980 percentage of 18.9 per- cent. There has been an in- crease in exempt assessment to the amount of $4,646 million. The Town of Newcastle has joined the trend as in most municipalities with tax Solina group seeks new park Herb Tink of Solina sought support from the General Purpose committee of the Town of Newcastle in the development of a new park in Solina. Tink pointed out to the committee that presently Solina had a park of some 2.47 acres which was part of the old school property. He 1 Solina park is now used arrears increasing. Tax ar- rears which in 1980 were $33.70 per capita has increas- ed to $39.48 per capita or 10.1 percent of the total municipal tax. The menibers of council were told they should watch the increase in unpaid business tax which was at the end of 1981 at $80,000. A municipality, it was pointed out, is not pro- tected under legislation for the lose of this tax as they are with property tax. Long-term liability at the end of 1981 is recorded at $52.93 per capita in the Town of Newcastle. In most cases within the Town of Newcastle expen- ditures were within budgeted figures for 1981 and a number of departments had reduced expenditures com- pared to 1980. It was stated that reserve fund's were getting healthier and that the cash position of the Town had improved over the year 1981. by one soccer team, three ball teams and a T-Bail team. He stated that Solina was about to form an Athletic Associa- tion with the view that more sports would be promoted in the area which in turn would require more adequate park facilities than existing at this time. Tink said it would be ex- pensive to further develop and enlarge the present site. He suggested that the pre- sent park lands be rezoned for residential use and a new park be established in con- junction with the Solina Community Hall. It was lead in hydro supply Ontario Hydro's nuclear power plants took the lead for the first time last year and made the largest contribution to the province's energy needs. Nuclear energy produced 36.9 billion kilowatt-hours in 1981, Hydro says in its 1981 annual report released today. In addition, Hyrdo reactors took seven of the top 10 places in world reactor per- formance. Water power generated 35.1 billion kilowatt-hours of energy last year. The re- mainder of Hyrdo's electrici- ty production came from coal and energy purchased from neighbouring utilities. Hyrdo Chairman Hugh Macaulay noted that the cor- poration has a challenging role to play in the future of the province. "We're looking a long way down the road. A lot of things can change. We've got to be ready for anything that comes along," he said. "The challenge that faces us is to play an increasing role in the life of the province while continuing to provide electricity to our customers in an efficient, reliable, and af- fordable way." Hydro's 75th anniversary last year was also highlighted by: A record depnand for elec- stated that there was land available to the present hall property which would be suitable. One parcel of ten acres could be purchased for $55,000 and another parcel was available with price being negotiable. He said revenue from the three possible lots at the pre- sent park could be used to assist in purchase of land for the new park and that grants were available as well as monies from Wintario. Tink asked that the Town consider the proposal and come to some agreement for the establishment of a new park in Solina that would centralize recreational ac- tivities around the present Solina Hall. The Town committee sent the request to staff for a report. tricity in Ontario, 101.7 billion kilowatt-hours, an in- crease of 1.5 per cent from 1980. Hydro and its 324 associated municipalities pro- vided electricity to nearly three million customers in 1981; An increase in exports. In 1981, electricity export sales, mainly to the United States, earned a net profit of $190 million for 11.1 billion kilowatt-hours. The sales reduced consumers' electrici- ty bills by 6.5 per cent; A commitment to cut acid gas emissions from coal-fired stations in half by 1990, while meeting increased electricity demand of 32 per cent over the same period; Ongoing studies to further develop Ontario's northern rivers and take advantage of water power; A 12.8 per cent increase, over 1980, in the cost of pro- ducing electricity to $2,755 million. Hyrdo President Milan Nastich said soaring inflation and interest rates, increased fuel costs and a general decline in economic growth pushed the price of electricity up last year. He noted that Hydro,"iike the rest of the world, is facing harsh economic challenges and realities... "Cost effectiveness has to be the key work for Ontario Hydro in all its endeavours. Every expenditure, whether long-term or short, will need to be scrutinized to ensure the to be scrutinized to ensure that it is needed and workable," Nastich said. The drummer of the Spring woods Woods, Water and Wildlife By: Ron Reid, Federation of Ontario Naturalists As you wander through the spring woods, chances are good that you will eventually hear a muffled drumming off in the distance. At first, it sounds a bit like distant thunder, or perhaps an old- style John Deere tractor be- ing started. In fact, it's one of nature's most distinctive sounds - the drumming of the ruffed grouse. The drumming is part of a spring ritual that establishes this woodland chicken's home territory, and attracts a female for a mate. A male grouse hops on his favourite drumming log, sits down crossways with his tail fanned out, and draws his wings back in a series of short, rapid strokes. The strokes in- crease in tempo, each one producing a distinct "thump", until the sequence ends with a loud whirr. The grouse then shakes his feathers back to normal in readiness for the next drum roll, which may take place within a moment or two or days later, depending on the season. What cause the sound? The American Indians used to believe it was the wings striking the drumming log. Other naturalists thought the wings struck each other, or against the side of the bird's breast. In fact, when high- speed photography solved the riddle, it was discovered that the wings strike nothing but air, and that the sound results simply from the compression of air by the grouse's cupped wings. Dumming grouse are easiest to find in the spring, since they use the same log repeatedly. However, the sound is deceptive, since a drumming grouse which is quite close sounds much the same as one a quarter mile away. Since the drumming sound'is so low on the scale, at about 40 cycles per second, we are lucky to be able to hear it at ail. (Some natut'alists claim that they "feel" the drumroll, rather than hear it.),Amazingly, the great horned owl, which is the main predator for grouse, is foiled by this territorial signal. An owl can hear the high squeaking sounds of mice, up to 7,000 cycles per second, but its lower hearing range extends only to 60 cycles, so that a grouse drum- ming right below its tree would go unheard. To an owl which depends largely on its keen hearing for locating prey, such a grouse might as well be invisible. By W Roger Worth Canadians are concerned about the salaries paid to the nation's one million or more civil servants, and with good reason. While economists for the various sides in the on-going debate on the issue provide contradictory statistics in- dicating public sector wage in- creases are ahead of or behind those in the private sector, it's clear our civil servants are doing very well indeed. No one argues, for example, that public sector increases in Canada are double those in the United States. The big difference, of course, is that Canada's civil servants have the right to strike, allowing them to shut down whole sectors of the economy, and they've been using this power to win big gains. But the public's patience with public sector unions may be wearing thin. The Quebec government, for example, recently opted to effectively hold the line on civil service raises, a policy that appears to be winning widespread public support. This is heady stuff for a Parti Quebecois government that receives heavy support from the province's unions, and indicates the depth of the problem. British Columbia and New- foundland have also placed restrictions on civil service wage increases, and even the federal government is making noises about toughening its bargaining stance, In fact, Ottawa recently won a court battle giving the federal gov- ernment the right to name large numbers of civil servants as "essential employees", ef- fectively watering down the strike weapon. Taking a different tack, Ontario is about to publicize the names and salaries of civil servants earning more than $30,000 per year, allowing the public to reasonably assess the value of some government workers. For the average Canadian faced with layoffs, unemploy- ment and untold suffering through a difficult economic period, it's difficult to under- stand why civil servants who aren't about to lose their jobs won't accept a little less. Finally, governments are learning that a lot of Cana- dians will support them when they instigate such beit tightening schemes. CFIB Feature Service Getting tough with the civil service