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2 - Orono Weekly Times, Wednesday, February 10, 1999- QRONO WEEKLY TIMEs Subscriptions $23.36 + $1.64 G.S.T. = $25.00/year Publications Mail Registration No. 000368 Publishing 50 Issues Annually at the Office of Publication 5310 Main Street, P.O. Box 209, Orono, Ontario LOB 1MO E-Mail Address: oronotimes@speedline.ca Phone/Fax (905) 983-5301 Publisher/Editor Marg Zwart A Casual Society by Roy Forrester In a recent bag of tricks from Queen's Park comes a proposal to bring peace and order to the educational classroom and school play yard. The proposal is the possible introduction of school uniforms. No doubt there are statistics on both sides of this issue and these will surely be heard if it goes much further. My bet, at the present tirne is, "it vill not happen." We are a casual society and not wanting to put only square plugs in square holes and likewise for round plugs in round holes. It would be "monkey do as monkey sees." Like peas in a pod. It would mean I may never again see that kid on the street wondering if those baggy pants, crotch below the knees, are going to drop. Nor never turn a head again for a passing mini-skirt. The future would be all Scotch plaid. But with students in uniform it would only be fair that staff followed suit with an identity for teachers, janitors and office staff. And what about the bus driver. Fair is fair especially when a good example must be set. As to our casual society just visit your local hos- pital. Pick out the nurses and your doctors. What happened to the white uniforms and the candy strips. Best we take the Tories for a tour of Wal-Mart and make it early morning for the rousing rally song. Where are the kids with the droopy pants and the mini-skirt. As to the effectiveness of a uniform dress code check the legislature when on camera the next time and ask yourself "has the dress code of Blue Serge brought a more compassionate and honest government?" I think not! and Municipal Government co-exist? Can the taxpayer afford another tier of govern- ment? Whatever happens, the importance of Ratepayers Associations, Citizens Groups, or Community Associations may take on the voice of the people and with a greater importance in the gov- ernance of their Community. One has to look back to last year when Patsy Scott capa- bly lead a delegation from the Newcastle Ratepayers Association to the March 23rd Council meeting. Patsy made an excellent presentation that the Council should adopt Option #2 which is, 'That the Municipality of Clarington advise the Province of Ontario that it does not want a Charity Gaming Club to locate within the boundaries of the Municipality of Clarington." The Newcastle Ratepayers Association was not alone in its resolve to see the issue of establishing Charity Gaming Casinos dot- ting the map of Ontario defeated. The standing Provincial government has now reconsidered this whole matter of Gaming and Gambling. Community Associations provide the forum for community issues to be discussed and timely information to be shared. Elected officials find this to be an advantageous way to dialogue and consult with their constituents. As the Newcastle Ratepayers Association has shown, by working together, we can ensure that the quality of life which we enjoy will continue on for the years ahead. For those of you in the Village of Orono who wish to be able to contribute in a pos- itive way to your Community, I would urge you, even if you are mildly curious, to attend the Community Associations first meeting on February 11, 1999 at 7 p.m. in the Orono United Church Hall. Sincerely Willie Woo January 30, 1999. We are being bombarded daily with media reports on the devastation of our public health care system. Ambulance redirects, long waiting lists and bed shortages are now commonplace in Ontario hospitals. For those people relying on Community- based care or Homecare (tout- ed as the panacea for the dras- tic reduction in hospital care) where no fees are charged, under funding is creating a serious problem in the rationing of nursing visits. When patients point out that they are not getting sufficient services they are told that they can "top up" the services for a fee. Nonprofit agencies some- times charge on a sliding scale (depending on income) for these top-up services, but that is not the case with for-profit providers. Disturbingly, some patients are being readmitted to hospitals even sicker than before! This new version of Homecare bears little resem- blance to the past. It is truly a new concept - an acute care hospital in the home, but with- out adequate funding and mon- itoring. It is important to note that unlike hospital care, very few home services are gov- erned by the Canada Health Act. There is absolutely no doubt that the drastic reduction in the govemment funding has created a crisis in health care. Mike Harris, in his 1995 elec- tion campaign, guaranteed he would not close any hospitaYet, his decision to slash more than $1 billion from the health care budget and order the clo- sure of 35 hospitals is serious- ly compromising the integrity of our public health care sys- tem. The Ontario health care crisis is creating tremendous opportunity for the private sec- tor who are only to willing to help us out. For-profit health care companies (the majority of which are large US based), are rapidly gaining footholds in the public system. Businer reports show stocks e Homecare companies are sky- rocketing and profiteering is rampant in the hospital sector as services such as dietary, laundry, maintenance and lab services etc. are being quickly contracted out. At Oshawa General Hospital,' for instance, the laundry lias been contract- ed out and many other services are seriously threatened. Studies consistently indicate the privatization of the public services does not result in decreased cost but just the opposite. Just look south of the border. US health care (continued page 3) Letters to the Editor Dear Marg: I read with great Interest your editorial in your February 3rd edition titled "The squeaky wheel gets the grease.": I would like to personally applaud Rev. Russell's efforts in taking the first step towards establishing a Ratepayers group or Community Association for the Village of Orono. There is much to be said in organizing concerned citizens to "address some very local issues and present a united front. One only has to look at the importance School Councils now play in our school sys- tem. School Councils do not just focus on fund raising or hot lunches but are making a big impact and contribution on issues dealing with cur- riculum and school policies which directly influence the quality of our children's edu- cation. I have the privilege of sitting on the School Council at Clarke High School. This is a vibrant group of parents along with a former school board trustee ably coached by Kaye McOustra. The admin- istration at Clarke High School is very supportive of this partnership as is our School Board Trustee, Mr. Bob Wilshire. The School Council is working together in trying to get the best out of a system which is going through enormous changes. 1999 celebrates the 25th anniversary of the informa- tion of Regional Government. 1999 also heralds the begin- ning of the Greater Toronto Services Board. Can the GTSB, Regional Government . RývtýKY »Z4