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2 - Orono Weekly Times Subscriptions $38.09 + $1.91 GST = $40.00 per year. No Refunds. Publishing 48 issues annually at the office of publication. "We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) toward our mailing costs." Wednesday, July 22, 2009 ORONO WEEKLY TIMES - 5310 Main St., P.O. Box 209, Orono, ON L0B 1M0 E-mail: oronotimes@rogers.com or Phone/Fax: 905-983-5301 Publisher/Editor Margaret Zwart Production and Display Advertising - Donna Anderson Wood Classified Advertising - Sue Weigand The Orono Weekly Times welcomes letters to the editor on subjects of interest to our readers. Opinions expressed to the editor and articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Orono Weekly times. Letters must be signed and contain the address and phone number of the writer. Any letter considered unsuitable will not be acknowledged or returned. We reserve the right to edit for length, libel and slander. If your retail or classified ad appears for the first time, please check carefully. Notice of an error must be given before the next issue goes to print. The Orono Weekly Times will not be responsible for the loss or damage of such items. Midsummer dreams? We have once again reached that time of the year set aside for vacation. This is the last edition before the annual summer shut down which occurs during the last week of July and the first week of August. There is a tendency, when closing a chapter, to reflect on the half year since our last break. Recession talk still prevails, with the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs in Ontario, and the future of the local auto related jobs either in limbo or disappeared altogether. . Our neighbours to the south are staving off the economic recession with stimulus packages that have thrown that country into a national deficit worth trillions of dollars. Last November, the Harper administration produced an economic statement that promised a surplus, which led to the threat of an overthrow of Prime Minister Steven Harper and his Conservative party by a coalition government. Weeks later, in Janaury they introduced a budget with a $34-billion deficit, and by May that deficit had grown to $50-billion. At the benining of July, the parliamentary budget officer reported that Canada is likely facing a five-year cumulative deficit of $156-billion. Our local politicians are also facing a budgetary shortfall, as the construction of new homes has slowed down, and with it, the revenue derived from the development industry. New housing starts for 2008 were 593. As of the end of May 2009, there were only 84 housing starts in Clarington. For years, Clarington has banked on the steady inflow of development charge dollars, and building permit revenue, and has in fact borrowed money to build facilities, depending on development revenue to make the loan payments. To his credit, Mayor Abernethy asked for monthy reporting of revenue streams at the begining of the year, so council could be on top of the situation as it unfolded. Council asked the municpal CAO, Frank Wu, to recommend at the end of August, what steps need to be taken to minimize the impact of the budgetary shortfall on taxpayers. As municipalites are not allowed to run deficits, any budgetary short fall has to be made up either by reserve fund dollars or higher taxes. The announcement, a few weeks ago, by the province that it was putting on hold its plans to build new nuclear reactors at Darlington is a blow to the local economy. All our future economic development plans hinged on the expansion of Darlington. The good news is that the project is on hold, and not cancelled altogether. Clarington's 2010 budget could be a tough one. To avoid what could possibly be a double-digit tax increase in an election year, councillors will have to decide whether to make deep service cuts or deplete reserve funds. The argument could be made that reserve funds are monies set aside for a rainy day, and this just might be that rainy day. We have already seen the elimination of the unused portion of the $85,000 budgeted for snow removal service for Clarington's seniors and physically disabled population for 2009. As of May 31st the actual expenditure for this program was $27,491. Seniors and disabled persons who have availed themselves of the snow clearing service in the past will now have to make other arrangements or rely on the good will of their neighbours to shovel their walks and driveways. Without snow clearing services, some seniors will be unable to continue to live in their own home. Granted this is a service the municipality is not mandated to provide, but neither is the travel allowance for our politicians, nor the $3,000 plus per quarterly session for attending Veridian Hydro board meetings. Mayor Jim Abernethy made a recommendation this spring, that councillors give their Veridian remuneration to the Muncipality. The Mayor and Councillor Adrian Foster received a total of $35,500 in 2008 for attending Veridian Board meetings. That motion was tabled until the next term of office. The Mayor has donated his Veridian remuneraion to the hospital redevelopment fund since he was elected in 2006. The travel allowance for councillors was voted into existence during the previous Mutton administration. Last year, that travel allowance totalled $48,672.01 - add that sum to the Veridian amount and it would pay for snow clearing services. With gas prices lower this year, travel expences may not be so burdensome to councillors. Every year Clarington council sets aside $1 per capita in a Municipal grant fund to assist volunteer organizations such as sports organizations, horticultural clubs and the groups who organize the summer concerts series in local parks across the municipality. As all municipal programming is under review in an effort to stop the bleeding, the municpal grant process could disappear next year. Some tough decisions will have to be made by councillors in the months to come to make up the shortfall. In the meantime, we are doing some cost cutting measures of our own. We are shutting down for two weeks, and stopping the ink bleeding. We will publish again on August 12. Good-bye till then. Letters to the Editor Mayor Abernethy notes budget shortfalls.... Dear Editor: At Clarington Council's final meeting of the summer, Mayor Jim Abernethy had occasion to express concern over some rather severe budget shortfalls already becoming apparent. He cited a drastic reduction in 'Developers Fees' as the root of their budgetary woes. In my view, some of this shortfall may indeed be self-inflicted. Planning to put a 400,000 tonne-per-year garbage incinerator in the middle of Clarington's most highly developed South-West sector can, from my perspective, do nothing but detract from further residential or commercial development in this area. Mayor Abernethy and three pro-incinerator councillors (and I hope you know who they are), may now be thinking that they may have "Shot themselves in the foot" by going down this incinerator 'route', but, I fear that they may, instead, have "Put a poisoned arrow into the heel of Clarington's development champions." With 20 local area schools, and their young students, directly under the 'fallout plume' of this proposed incinerator, I cannot fathom why any prospective new-home buyer would want to add their children to this group of hapless souls. Bert Kortekaas, Courtice beware" list. The Ombudsman also called for posting notices at illegal private career colleges when they present a risk to the student consumer and for rigorous enforcement of the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 to the full extent of Ontario's powers. In addition, Ombudsman André Marin also called for Bestech students to receive compensation, as warranted. There is no question that private career colleges fulfill a need in providing opportunities for training and employment. However, as with any major purchase, the principle O TOOLE see page 10 Staying in Touch MPP John O'Toole had offered gas technician training, but the unregistered school closed after about two years. Complaints from former students led to the Ombudsman's investigation. While the investigation was confined to one private college, the Ombudsman's recommendations would affect all private career colleges. One recommendation was for warnings to be made public on a website "buyer Province Must Enforce Career College Standards More than 27,000 students attend private career colleges in Ontario. This month, Ontario's Ombudsman released his report into an investigation of one small career college, Bestech Academy Inc., with facilities in Stoney Creek and St. Catharines. Bestech