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Wednesday, September 12, 2012 1937 - 2012 · Celebrating 75 Years Orono Weekly Times - 9 Basic Black by Arthur Black The honeymoon is over Here's a headline to catch an old-timer's eye: TEEN DRIVERS NOT DRIVEN TO GET LICENCES. "The world has changed," says Mary Baracco, director of Young Drivers of Canada. "When baby boomers were growing up in the `60's and `70's, 16-year-olds were more apt to get their licence right away. Today it's not as high a priority for young people." Well, I certainly didn't get my first driving licence when I turned 16 ­ but only because my birthday fell on a Sunday. Come 9 AM Monday morning you could find me with my nose pressed flat against the glass door of the Driver Licensing Office, waiting to get my hands on that precious document. When I was in high school, getting your driver's licence was as sacred a teenage rite of passage as sneaking a smoke under the bleachers or buying your first tube of Clearasil. Getting your licence meant freedom! No more plodding like a foot soldier from home to burger joint ­ or worse, riding your dorky CCM threespeed. Nobody hoping to appear cool rode a bicycle after they were old enough to get a driver's licence. That little piece of paper was like sprouting your own set of wings. It wasn't really. Most of us still didn't have a car and getting permission to take out the family clunker involved Kissingeresque negotiations with the Keeper of the Keys, but we imagined we were free as birds. So what's different between the kids of today and kids back then? Well, the driver's test, for one thing. When I got my licence back in the Stone Age, all I had to do was wheel once around my one-horse town with a municipal clerk in the passenger seat and try not to hit anything. Nowadays new drivers have to thread their way through Learners and Novice levels. each with a host of restrictions and provisos that would daunt all but the most determined contestants. Then there's insurance. If you're under 25, insurance companies treat you with all the compassion and understanding they would extend to any alcoholic serial-killing speed freak. They're more than happy to extend a policy to you. Don't forget to bring your wallet. Speaking of wallets, best enrol in a qualified Driver'sEd program before you take the test. That'll set you back another few hundred bucks. There is one other major modern development that's put driving a car on the back burner for many young people, and it's so small you could fit a couple of dozen of them in the glove compartment. The cellphone. Think about it. The cellphone does for kids of today what a car did for kids of my generation. It puts them in touch with their peers (and more). It's available around the clock and it doesn't get flat tires or speeding tickets. Sheryl Connelly, a manager with Ford Motor Company has seen the writing on the windshield: "The car has been displaced by the cellphone," she says. "Digital devices transcend time and space. You can feel you're with your friends even when you're not with your friends." Well, maybe. But when my 16-year-old hormones were looking for a `friend' on Saturday night, text messaging was not what was on my mind. And there's something about the ambience of sitting in a big old Dodge with its hood ornament pointed at a Drive-In movie screen, a big box of popcorn on the dashboard and your sweetie beside you that all the Steve Jobs and Bill Gates in the world haven't figured out how to replicate. Yet. Region looking for youth leaders Letters of interest are now being accepted from youth who wish to be considered for volunteer membership on the Durham Environmental Advisory Committee (DEAC). Youth membership is open to Grade 11 and 12 students, who have an interest in environmental issues. DEAC is a volunteer advisory committee that provides advice to The Regional Municipality of Durham on environmental planning matters and is involved in environmental awareness and outreach activities. DEAC is composed of 17 members, consisting of citizen members and a representative of the Regional Planning & Economic Development Committee. Membership on DEAC exposes students to current environmental issues, as well as the functions of regional government. Interested Grade 11 and 12 students are requested to submit a letter of interest, including a letter of reference from the student's school and a letter of support from his or her parent or guardian. Submissions should be sent to The Regional Municipality of Durham by Friday, Oct. 12. A decision on the appointments will be made by Durham Regional Council by the end of November. Appointed youth members will be expected to attend an evening meeting, once a month, at The Regional Municipality of Durham Headquarters at 605 Rossland Road East in Whitby. Submissions can be sent by email to deac@durham.ca Additional information regarding DEAC is available on the Region of Durham's website at www.durham.ca/deac or by contacting the Planning and Economic Development Department at deac@durham.ca.