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[ Editorial Comment Don't Mess with Moms - Recently, elected members of the - Northumberland and Newcastle Board of Education poked their ' noses into what can only be ' described as a hornets nest when they considered changing the hours of kindergarten classes. Somebody, with an eye on the more than $700,000 deficit the board accumulated last year, came up with a suggestion that would have saved a couple of hundred thousand in busing costs. The proposal was to have kindergarten students from the rural areas attend a full day of school on alternate days instead of 1 half days every day, thus eliminating the need for noon hour busing. Unfortunately, though the ideas on the surface appeared to be a real cost saver, the board and staff didn't realize they were dealing with a hot ; motherhood issue. But, they soon : Let's Make It In just a little over two weeks from : now, the celebrations in connection : with Bowmanville's 125th : anniversary will get underway with ; a big parade on the holiday, May : 23rd. Then an entire week of : celebrations and homecoming Open : Houses will follow for everybody's : enjoyment. Until now, the committees behind : the scenes have been working hard : making the necessary preparations : for the event, without too much : fanfare or assistance. They've done a great job and deserve a pat on the back for their efforts. Now, it's up to the general public to get into the found out as the word spread throughout the two counties and mothers from one end of the board's jurisdiction to the other rose up in arms and headed for the board meeting last week ready to attack any such proposal, with every verbal weapon at their disposal. Faced with such violent opposition, the board soon learned the error of its ways and backed down as any self respecting politician would do by agreeing to set up a task force to study the matter. Frankly, we doubt very much if it will ever surface again. The moral of the story is, of course, that when politicians are, dealing with anything that affects the routine of little Johnny or his mother, they'd better be very careful because upset moms are dynamite. a Good One! spirit of the event to make it successful and worthwhile. This town has come a long way in its 125 year history and newcomers will be able to learn something of its past achievements in a special edition of this newspaper on May 18th that will be packed with historical items as well as a detailed account of the town's industries and facilities as they are now. We have had great co-operation from many people in its preparation and we can only hope that it will be an item that will be kept and reread for many months to come. Let's make our birthday a glorious event that everyone will enjoy. f ~ By1ine... By Peter Parrott When the poet T.S. Eliot proclaimed that "April is the cruelestj month of all', he wasn't thinking- about income tax deadlines. After all, poets are seldom in the top tax bracket and furthermore, it's unlikely that the end-of-April tax scramble was a tradition when those lines were written. Poetic licence is about the only thing that the country's regulatory powers have not seen fit to levy a charge against. But that may come in the next budget. I read the other day that almost half of the income earned by the average employed person disappears into the tax-man's pocket. At first, the estimate seemed surprising. But when I thought about income tax, property tax, sales tax, federal taxes, and all the other pipelines into the pockets of the general public, I was no longer shocked. While we complain of all this government spending, I'm not sure that every complaint is justified. Far be it from me to defend the government; it has battalions of lawyers and public relations experts to do the job. But it occurs to me that government projects which burn up the tax dollars were not imposed by force. We willingly accepted the increased role of government in our lives because it seemed like a good idea at the time. And let's admit the fact that we want and need a certain amount of government services. It is, after all, the government which paves our highways, cares for the sick, enforces the laws, and educates children, etc. It seems to me that the only options open to the taxpayer are to halt blatant abuse of public funds and to perhaps think seriously about the long-range dismantling of some of the government - funded albatrosses around the necks of the taxpayers. Some government funds are squandered, as proven from time to time by reports of the federal auditor-general, for example. But I refuse to accept the idea that armies of civil servants are deliberately wasting tax dollars on a grand scale. If all the monies spent on government mistakes were added up, they would still amount to a fraction of the total tax load. No, the main problem does not lie with bungling government agencies, but with ourselves. We put the current system into place through the democratic process of electing our political leaders. There are some who will argue that it's time to elect other leaders who will bring down government spending. But we will have to pay the price of reduced spending by politicians through reduced services. Less government spending will mean more potholes in the roads, fewer books in the libraries, dingier hospitals, and a general decline in the level of service we have grown accustomed to. Contrary to what politicians say at election time, we cannot have our proverbial cake and eat it too. So as another April ends, we can console ourselves with the thought that even though this is the cruelest month of all, much of that cruelty is self-inflicted. As a well-to-do, North American democracy, we have called an expensive tune; and now the piper must be paid. Silt Canadian States man Shoulder to Shoulder Fishermen at Vanstone's Pond This is neither an Old Home ( Week nor a Remembrance Day column. It is merely a desperate attempt to catch up with my correspondence, triggered by a week's holiday, in which, I, at first tentatively, then frantically, pawed through the unanswered letters on my desk. Oh, yes, I have a secretary. But she's not worth a dibble. She's great on emptying ash-trays, sorting my desk until I can't find anything, and telling me I'll never be a writer until I learn to change a typewriter ribbon. She also serves a great cup of tea when I am scriptorially constipated, and fending off phone calls when I sit before the infernal machine in a catatonic state. But she simply won't get down to it, and write my column for me. What's the point of having a secretary if you have to do the dirty work yourself? Especially when she's practically a blood relative: your wife? Back to the letters. We'll work from about now back through a year or two. A letter from Orest Woychuk of Wainwright, Alta., hit me where it hurts. He'd read a column in which I referred to his brother, Roman, "Chuck", an old P.O.W. buddy. Chuck is dead; flew into a hill down in Quebec in 1957. We'd planned, in our young romanticism, to go to Yucatan, Mexico, when we got out of prison camp. Chuck was reckless and violent. I could have predicted his end. I was reminded of him when I read a dedication to a novel: "To the victims of the Great War; among whom are the survivors." One of his favorite sayings was, "If you sleep fast enough, you can get five or six hours sleep in two hours." Orest says, in understatement, "He was very restless on his return from overseas -- there's no need to explain why -- you both were there and went thru it all." Chuck had three wives, and his brother says they, "Had a hard time catching up with him", because, "My home is where I hang up my hat for a few moments." Poor girls. Poor Chuck. Another old ghost turned up recently: Don McCuaig, former private in His Majesty's forces; former newspaper editor, the scourge of the upper Ottawa Valley. For some reason, this idiot and I have an affinity that transcends almost everything. We can meet after ten years and thoroughly enjoy each other's company. Silly duffer is in France, living in a village, taking an immersion course in the language. I can just hear that Ottawa Valley Irish coming through the French. For example, "terrible". In French it comes out, "Terreeb", with a little guttural on the "r". In Ottawa Valley it comes out, "Turbul." Here's one from Jack Seeley, Hay River, N.W.T. Yes, Jack, I'm guilty. I am the guy you worked with on the old Hamonic on the upper Great Lakes in 1937-38-39. But I am no longer the fellow you recall as "A handsome and intelligent young man from Perth, Ontario by the name of Bill Smilèy." We were both stupid to be working for one dollar a day, twelve hours a day, thirty days a month. And I am not handsome, merely distinguished. You were the handsome one, with your lean face, blond hair. Remember Peachy diving off the hurricane deck? Remember Capt. Bill Taylor flouncing around like a French gigolo, wooing the lady passengers in an aura of sweat and booze? He wound up as a bar-tender, after the S.S. Noronic burned. And another from Bob Love, somewhere in Alta, (envelope lost), a long and friendly and warm letter of reminiscences and shared experiences. And another from Mïs. Jay Webster of Lake Francis, Man., which tells a lot about the state of Canadian publishing, book-selling, and Winnipeg as a cultural centre. "Would enjoy reading the books you mention, Boys, Bombs and Brussels Sprouts by Doug Harvey, and Terror in the Starboard Seat, by Dave McIntosh. After asking on the average of once a month in the Cole Book Stores in Winnipeg. I was told it wasn't on the order form so couldn't be ordered. Somebody must be failing in their job if these books aren't available west of Toronto." Somebody is, lady. Canadian publishers, notoriously timorous, would rather spend money on public relations or their name than pushing books with merit, but without a big- name author. Canadian booksellers are generally subsidiaries of American or British chains. Most of thfem couldn't name ten Canadian writers to save their souls. In line with that, I recently received word, via my principal, that the school board wants me to write a "rationale" for two fine Canadian books I put on my list: "Lives of Girls and Women", by Alice Munro, and "The Wars", by Timothy Findley. Both of these have been widely acclaimed. Both are works of art. Both were printed and written in Canada by Canadian writers. And I must write a "rationale" for their acceptance. The Board doesn't have to write a "rationale" for questioning them. I do, for suggesting them. So much for supporting Canadian writers. More letters. A card from my daughter, almost three years old. "I was thinking of you a lot as your 60th birthday approached. I love you a lot. Always have. Always will. I have just begun to be aware of the things you have taught me: strength, erseverance, tolerance and umour." Thanks a lot, baby. Just went through the old cheques. Sure enough. And eleventy-seven other letters. I'll get at them during the summer holidays. But don't let that stop you. I need nourishment. Drop a line and let me know that my secretary is not the only one who reads this column. Durham County's Great Family Journal Established 129 years ago In 1654. Also Incorporating x The BowmanvIlleNews The Newcastle Independent The OronoNews Second claaa mall registration number 1561 Produced every Wednesday by THE JAMES PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED 62-66 King St. W., Bowmanvllle, Ontario L1C 3K9 JOHN M. JAMES RICHARD A. JAMES Editor -- Publisher Assistant Publisher GEO. P. MORRIS BRIAN PURDY DONALD BISHOP Business Mgr. Advertising Mgr. Plant Mgr. All layouls and composition of advertisements produced by the employees ol The Canadian Statesman. The Newcastle Independent and The James Publishing Company Limited are protected by copyright and must not be reproduced without written permission of the publishers. »15.00 ■ y»«r - a month» *8.00 | 0 „|gn - $45.00 » y.«r strictly in advance Although every precaution will be taken to avoid error, The Canadian Statesman accepts advertising In Its columns on the understanding that It will not be liable for any error In the advertisement published hereunder unless a proof ol such advertisement Is requested In writing by the advertiser and returned to The Canadian Statesman business office duly signed by the advertiser and with such error or corrections plainly noted In writing thereon, and In that case II any error so noted Is not corrected by The Canadian Statesman lis liability shall not exceed such a portion ol Ihe entire cost ol such advertisement as the space occupied by Ihe noted error bears to Ihe whole space occupied by such advertisement. I-- . 623-3303 Dear Editor: On behalf of my colleagues here at City Hall and the citizens of Oshawa I wish to extend warmest congratulations congratulations on the celebration of the 125th Anniversary of the Town of Bowmanvillc. One hundred and twenty- five years of solid achievement achievement is a record lo be proud of, And we extend best wishes for success in the town's future endeavors. Kindest regard, Yours truly, Allan C, Pilkcy Mayor 80 Lawrence Crescent, Bowmanvillc, Ontario. April 27,108:). Dear Mr, James: On many occasions over the past few years, I have felt that your newspaper's reporting on School Board matters has been conspicuous by its absence. Fifty percent or more of our tax dollars is expended on our children's education, yet the most contentious issue to come before this Board in many months • that of Alternate Alternate Day Kindergarten, did not merit mention other than a few lines in Donna's column. The media constantly cry that it is their duty to keep the public informed. Surely this includes issues such as this one. You did not even see fit to publicize the date, time and place of the Board's special meeting called to deal with the Kindergarten matter. I am sure you would have better served this community if you had printed a notice of this meeting in Bits and Pieces instead of the trivia about a bird lover losing his cockatiel. Regardless of the outcome of tomorrow's meeting, I do not think that the Statesman will be able to take any credit for keeping the public informed informed on this issue. Yours sincerely, Mrs. Janice Slocombe. Editor's note: I must confess confess that 1 blew it on this one, The article concerning the meeting and the issue did appear- in our Port Hope paper, but in the rush of preparation preparation wasn't transferred to The Statesman as intended, Having admitted my negligence negligence for which there is no real excuse other than human error, I must say on reflection that the absence of the report apparently didn't deter many people from attending the meeting. There must have been a concentrated word of mouth spreading of the news from the size of the crowd of protesting parents. Also, from all reports, we doubt very much if some of those who were the most militant militant at the meeting have reason to be proud of themselves themselves today, To subject board members whose main interest was in saving taxpayers about $92,000, to abuse, threats, innuendo and scurrilous personal personal attacks must have left more reasonable people with a feeling of deep disgust. The group was successful in having having the proposal deferred by their tactics, which they may consider an achievement, but at what cost. I've taken the liberty of deleting your reference to other newspaper coverage. Incidentally, tne trivia about the bird lover did prove effec tive in locating it for the owner, so we did something right. Dear John I have been following an item of interest in the Canadian Canadian Statesman. Its the banning banning and enforcement of No Bicycles on sidewalks. Years ago I used to deliver the Toronto Star on both sides of King Street. I can't imagine what it would be like today with a ban on bicycles enforced enforced on the sidewalks. Don't get me wrong, I am not supporting supporting cyclists, I think the ban is good because it would spell disaster for me today if I was struck by a bicycle. I have a "food for thought question" for both the municipality municipality and King Street merchants, merchants, Could bicycle racks be installed on both sides of the street next to the curb at strategic spots to accommodate accommodate these bicycles? More and more people will probably be using bicycles as the town expands. I am quite sure most store owners do not appreciate bicycles leaning against the front of their stores. I know, when I was employed with Newcastle Public Utilities Commission, I was asked time and again to wash a black mark off the white stucco at the front caused by a parked bicycle, Where else can they park their bikes? Yours Sincerely Ken Kilmer Pitch-In and Keep Canada Beautiful