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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 Canada Periodical Fund for our publishing activities." Wednesday, November 23 2011 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 - Roxanne Johnston Classified/Sports - 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. R-E-S-P-E-C-T The Concise Oxford Dictionary, 8th edition published in 1990, defines the noun "respect" as: deferential esteem felt or shown towards a person or quality. This weighty tome may be a more modern dictionary than my recently acquired antique pocket Highroads Dictionary, published in 1951, but the definition of the word respect as a noun was, even then, listed as: a looking up to; honour paid to worth; reference (to); regard. But if nothing much has changed in the dictionary regarding respect, it would seem that in day-to-day life much has changed. Respect seems to be a particularly apt topic for a week when Regional Chair Roger Anderson is being accused of disrespect to the taxpayers of the Region of Durham for hosting an ill-advised $75,000 ground breaking ceremony for the garbage incinerator in August. Mayor Adrian Foster and Councillor Wendy Partner are being called on their treatment of a constituent who asked Foster to explain a private jet flight he took last month. Foster is being criticized for not answering the constituent's question until after he had forwarded her emailed inquiry on to the police, and Partner for derogatory comments she made in emails pertaining to the issue. In his defense, Foster claimed that it gave him a "creepy feeling" that someone saw him at the desolate private airport when he and Anderson disembarked on October 2nd. He said he felt like he was being stalked. There is now more than enough disrespect to go around. Councillor Partner says her "nut bar" comment was in reference to the death threat she received shortly after she was elected. Which brings us to the adjectival use of respect: to avoid interfering with, harming, degrading, insulting, injuring or interrupting. Maybe we should get back to that. People elected to public office are held to a higher standard and expect to be treated accordingly. But respect is a two-way street. What can we learn from this issue? Respect has to be earned. Councillors should not be referring to constituents as nut bars. Olynyk should not be faulted for her lack of respect toward the Mayor. She had no idea her initial question would trigger the reaction it did and her subsequent letter of apology bore that out. When Councillor Partner stated in her email that the police should be informed, Olynyk responded, "Heavens no." She said that she was just wondering what the trip was all about. "Sorry to have alarmed you," Olynyk stated, "No malice was intended. Not at all." However, Mayor Foster could have shown more respect to a constituent by contacting her - to calm his fears that he was dealing with a potential stalker - before notifying police. Councillors are more susceptible than the average person to potential threats and harassment, and if Foster was having a bad day he could be almost forgiven for his reaction to Olynyk's letter. After such a harrowing first experience, we only hope that Olynyk can still have some respect for the political process. A simple "I'm sorry" from Foster and Partner would go a long way to smooth the waters and restore respect to all parties. Aretha Franklin had it right when she sang, "I got to have (just a little bit), a little respect." r ! !" ! From The House At The Centre Of The Universe Milking the socialized medicine cow by Tracy Tonkinson A couple of weeks ago my son left a great impression. Regrettably it was on the floor of a TTC bus, precipitating a telephone call no mother wants to get at 4:00 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon. It went something like this: "Hi Mom, it's me." "Oh, Hi son, what's up?" "Don't freak out. I'm in the hospital." Thirty minutes later his dad broke all land speed records to get from Markham to Etobicoke General after getting a panicked call from me. So much for not freaking out. His description of coming to was that as the fog cleared he could hear people talking. It seemed that someone on the bus had passed out. He remembers thinking to himself, "I wonder who that is then?" At this point his vision cleared and, as all he could see was a close up of the mud on the bus floor, he gathered it was him they were talking about. After apologizing to the TTC driver and his fellow passengers for making them evacuate the bus so it could be taken out of service, he walked to the EMS wagon and chatted with the paramedics, who were bummed that they were not declared an essential service like the TTC, as it would make on average an $18,000 a year increase to their paycheques in recompense for not being able to strike. Fortunately their disappointment didn't impair their efficiency. As it turned out the worst that the son and heir sustained was a clanging headache and a tiny bruise under his left eye. But he wasn't allowed home before the hospital had expended much time and resource on blood tests, heart monitoring and CT scans to determine that his fall from grace on a crowded bus was likely as not the result of not MEDICINE COW see page 5