The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Section Two The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, February 13,1985 3 [ Editorial Comment ] Clamps Coming for Video The long arm of the law is finally catching up with the booming video industry. Regulations announced by the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Commercial Relations last week indicate that all video retailers and distributors distributors in Ontario will have to be licensed by April 1 of 1985. In addition, work is underway to give videos the same kind of classification classification and identification currently currently attached to movies viewed in public theatres. The Ministry announced that within eight months there could be classification stickers on every video made available to the public. These would match the four film classifications used for several years in Ontario: Family, Parental Guidance, Adult Accompaniment and Restricted. Videos would be classified according according to community standards, and recent legislation would curb those that are considered pornographic, pornographic, degrading, and violent. No doubt there will be considerable considerable debate over exactly what is considered to be an acceptable community standard. And there's bound to be disputes over the conflict conflict between artistic freedom and the need to uphold public morality. But, when all is said and done, there's little doubt that these regulations regulations will be welcomed by most citizens. Many have been concerned that values shown through art and entertainment entertainment have a certain effect on public behavior. There's been a suspicion that violence and other anti-social behaviour in the make believe world of entertainment will result in similar actions in the real world. The tightened regulations on video tapes will not suit everyone. Some will argue they are too lax and other will complain of government government censorship. But the sensible majority will consider the recent announcement a step in the right direction. Farmers Voicing Problems Time was, when it was enough for farmers to plant their crops, harvest harvest their orchards, and tend their livestock. But today that's changing. They are finding that just doing their job is not sufficient. They are having to protect their industry by lobbying government and by communicating with the public in general. This is a different role for farmers. farmers. Historically, they have tended to be independent souls who were not given to banding together in pressure groups or professional associations. associations. But when they are faced with the twin evils of low prices and high costs who can blame them for becoming becoming more vocal? The farm is one of the last bastions of independent enterprise because of the simple fact that plants and animals do not operate on industrial time clocks. Farms are, by nature, best operated by small family groups or partnerships. partnerships. Attempts by communist countries to foster large collective farms operated like an agricultural factory have generally been doomed to failure. It's pretty obvious that the family farm should be protected not only because it's a desirable lifestyle but also because it is probably the world's most efficient way of putting putting meals on the table. And that's why it's exceedingly important that today's agriculturalists tell their side of the story to all who will listen. listen. The politicians at local, provincial, provincial, and national levels must be told. And so must the non-rural consumer consumer who often seems to believe in the absurd notion that food grows on the local supermarket shelf. Representatives of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture met last month in Ottawa to relay their message message to the federal authorities. And judging by their sympathetic hearing, hearing, you can predict that more such presentations will be made by farm spokesmen. Here are just a few of the things they probably pointed out to elected officials: Farming provides one out of every five jobs in Canada and therefore therefore supports steel workers, assembly assembly line employees, meat packers, and a wide variety of other occupations. occupations. Canada's food costs may be the source of complaints from a few consumers. But we should realize that compared to other countries we're lucky. The cost of food in relation relation to consumer income is less here than in almost every other nation nation of the world. For example, we spend less than 15 per cent of our disposable income on food. In Ireland, Ireland, the percentage is 32. In the United Kingdom it is 29.8% and in Sweden, it's 27%. Yet in spite of the success of farming farming in Canada, the nation's agricultural agricultural resources receive scant protection. protection. It is estimated that in Canada Canada enough topsoil is eroded each year to cover 14,800 acres to a depth of 14 centimetres. Moreover, much of the nation's choicest farmland is located within southern Ontario where production is threatened constantly by housing developments, highways, parking lots, and airports. The encroachment of non-farm residences in rural areas further hinders successful farming. It's ironic that the protection of farmland is not first on everyone's list of priorities. Because, of all industries, industries, agriculture is the commercial commercial enterprise which is most vital to the survival of a hungry world. Not everybody drives a car or buys furniture or purchases a home or acquires any of the vast array of consumer goods offered in today's modern world. But one can rest assured assured that everyone eats. Therefore our strategy should be to start with the preservation of agriculture and then aid other industries with whatever whatever resources are left over. So the next time you hear that a group of farmers is making a presentation presentation to Queen's Park or local government or even the MPs of Ottawa Ottawa listen carefully. Their message makes a lot of sense and it's one that deserves our attention. A Corner for Poets Lagging ME in Winter Deep winter snow lovely to eyes Of those with nothing much to do But watch the work and tries, Of those who must cope with it. In it, and because of it, Some bird or creature dies. Unlike birds and bears Who can cope with this bitter white, I and the sqv' and hares Must wait with forward straining- sight And sharply cocked hearing For the first signs and sounds of Spring. Rose A. Lilley ®1 je (Eanabtitn gtatcaman Durham Counly's Greet Family Journal 623*3303 Established 130 yeara ago In 1654. Also Incorporating The Bowmanville Newi The Newcastle Independent The Orono News Second class mall registration number 1561 Produced every Wednesday by THE JAMES PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED 02 66 King St. W„ Bowmanville, Ontario L1C 3K9 (*ck V L ► JOHN M. JAMES Editor -- Publisher GEO. P. MORRIS Business Mgr. BRIAN PURDY Advertising Mgr. RICHARD A. JAMES Assistant Publisher DONALD BISHOP Plant Mgr. All iayouli and composition ol 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 ol the publishers. $16,00 a year -- 6 months $6 00 strictly In advance foreign -- 145.00 a year Although vvvry montullon will bn Inkrm to ovoid urinr, Iho Cnnmlmn lîlnln'imim oernphi odvnrliung in ih volumnu on Iho undvrrd.imling thnl It will not bn Imblo Ini nny mini in Iho mlvnilisninnnl pnblitihnd hmounrlnr iinlny. n |imof ol •turh ndvpili'.nmonl is iHiuostnd in willing try |hn mivnrlisnr nnd inhum'd lo Iho (\maduio filnlounun busmoss otlir.n duly signori by Iho ndvoilmoi nnd wdt» such mini or coiimdioni plnlnly nolod in willing Ihoioon, nnd in Ihnl enso d nny mini so nolod is not conoc.lod by Iho Cnimdutn ülnloumnn ils liability shall nol o»roml sui t* n podion ol Him ontun cost ol nui h odvmhslmonl ns iho npaco orcupiod tiy iho nglod mini bmus to Iho wholo Spai n vmipiod by Mill» ndvvihsi'moni Glistening Sunshine on Snow and Ice SUGAR and SPICE Weekly Newspapers By Bill Smiley Have just been reading a story in Canada's so-called national newspaper about the plight of weekly newspapers, or community newspapers, as they now, rather swankly, call themselves. They have fallen, or are falling, on harder times, due to the usual causes: inflation, high interest rates. These factors are decreasing advertising revenues and increasing costs at an alarming rate. It is my considered opinion that a community without a spry, lively, intelligent and sometimes irreverent newspaper is lacking a vital substance of its existence. If the people in town don't say, "Well, it said in the Echo (or Times, or Free Press, or Advocate) that it's all the mayor's fault," then there's something wrong with the newspaper. If they don't know the editor of their local paper; if he is a gray anonymity in the community, then there's something wrong with the editor. But if they don't know that he/she is working 60 hours a week, and the paper is headed toward bankruptcy, then there's something wrong with the community. And if that's the case, it doesn't deserve a decent newspaper. I've been the whole road. It's gone through a weird cycle in the twenty- odd years since I left the business. Flat, boom, and potential bust. I entered the fraternity in the flat period. It shouldn't have been flat. The Canadian economy was healthy in the post-war euphoria, circa 1949. But newspaper editors were supposed to be dedicated, like teachers, not wealthy. They were supposed to work any given amount of hours, belong to everything in town, shell out handsomely for every charity, and give free advertising from everything from a church bingo to. a Lions' Club carnival (I'm not picking on the Lions. The other service clubs were just as cheap.) But even they weren't as cheap as the merchants. A twelve-dollar ad for a Grand New Opening was supposed to be automatically accompanied by a front-page story describing in glowing terms the 20- foot concrete block addition somebody had made to his business. A half-page ad, with everything crammed in but the kitchen sink, and no wasted white space, which took half a day to set in type, was a phenomenon. Grocery stores and five-and-tens ran the big ads, two columns wide by eight inches deep. Oh, boy, how the money rolled in. With a partner, I bought into the weekly newspaper business. We didn't have 20 cents each, but managed to raise the down payment of five thousand by putting the heat on all our relatives and a few businessmen. The rest was a mortgage of twenty-one thousand, at five per cent. "Don't weep any tears for him," you say, "at five per cent interest, when I'm paying 20." But don't forget coffee was a dime, beer 20 cents a draught, a hamburger 20 cents, a movie ticket 50, an apartment 45 dollars. For the first six months, my partner and I took home 10 bucks a week, out of the till. I had a small service pension, and he lived at home. After that, we took $30 for him and $35 for me (I had a wife and kids). Our machinery was ancient (some of it run by water power, if you can believe.) Our staff was loyal but underpaid - total wage packet was $33 a week for linotype operator, $30 a week for journey-man printer, about $20 for bookkeeper-secretary. But we put out a pretty good, lively paper. It was respected, and we were. I might add that we were both lousy businessmen. We didn't have the killer instinct. We hated raising subscription and advertising rates. With that huge mortgage, we didn't have the guts to expand. Well, we missed the boom. New methods of printing sprang into being, cheaper and better-looking. Photography and a sharp pair of scissors replaced the pain-staking layout of real printing. The guy with a shrewd head replaced the haphazard business methods of the gifted amateurs who mostly made up the business. Came the supermarkets, with their full-page ads, and the sudden discovery by other merchants that it did pay to advertise more than a three-dollar Christmas greeting ad. Revenues soared. Subscription prices kept pace with inflation. Printing costs were cut. i Younger publishers expanded, built up a small chain of two to five weeklies, even replaced their creaking, old, groaning buildings. They bought new equipment. They borrowed money to buy it. They got themselves deeply in debt. But never mind. The money was rolling in. God was in His Heaven. And if things were slow, they'd sell a couple of pages of ads for National Clean Up Excrement Day, supported by a lot of small advertisers, with a pile of excrement in the middle of the page. I used to twist arms and stamp on toes and appeal to the tiny glint of humanity in merchants to sell a two dollar ad. Well, the bubble has burst. The younger publishers have worked just as hard or harder. But they have finally realized that the sKy is not the limit. The interest rate is. They have my sympathy. It's a tough game. But one chap in the article I mentioned went into bankruptcy because he had a $70,000 mortgage. That's chicken feed compared to the one we took on. At today's interest rates, ours would have been $120,000. We didn't go bankrupt. We just carried on. Like idiots. Letters to the Editor 140 Ontario St. Bowmanville, Ontario Feb. 9,1985 The Editor l're-Budget Comments Dear Sir; After reading the last edition of The Statesman in which a letter appeared from Morgan, I must say that it is encouraging to know that someone else is wondering what is going on at city hall. The question of the mileage payment is still unanswered in my books and I think that this matter should he fully explained explained to the taxpayers by the Mayor so we as taxpayers can proceed further if we are not satisfied with his reply. At this time I will not discuss discuss the above matter any further, but 1 will have more lo say at a later date, Mr. Editor, on receiving a notice of the schedule of meetings for the budget, I decided to see wlmt we could expect In the way of i\ tax increase this year and starting with the attendance of our elected members, I find the following: First, I wondered whether they were really interested or were just going along for the pay cheque and as I watched the attendance I noticed that some people came regularly and that one member never showed up at a single meeting, but no doubt that person will show up on pay day. The excuse that might be made doesn't hold too much water in my opinion as the same person seemed to have time to attend other functions not connected witli council duties. So, I would have to ask is this person really Interested In our tax dollar or just the pay cheque that goes with it? Now to the Budget and by the lime this letter hits your paper it would be my guess llml the council will have passed il as a meeting is being called for after the Council meeting on Monday, February 11,19115 and 1 suspect they will pass the budget at that time. As I seem to have a way of getting documents, I would like to make some observations observations on the budget. It would appear that we will have a surplus of around $449,999 and this should bring the 1985 mill rate in at about one percent lower that last year. But then when we add in $399,990 for a Building levy (that is not the one the Mayor lias at New Year's) it looks like about a six percent increase. You might say that it is the workers who are costing us the extra money (and by tills I mean union workers) but as I read the different papers, I can sue where the increases are coming from. On page 27,1 notice an item called The Mayor's Office and I notice that last year we budgeted for $50,315 but only spent $44,937 so tills year Hie paper calls for a figure of $51,1114,99, Tills is mi Increase of approximately $7,099. No doubt the Mayor will advise us poor people what the increase is for and how much of that is salary, mileage and entertainment. Then, as wc look further we see an account headed Members of Council and the budget for last year reads $84,821 but the actual figure used was $59,514, so this year they budget for $04,185. This is an increase of approximately $8,000. Now, there arc eight members of council and it doesn't take a chartered accountant to figure that increase increase out. The town clerk's budget, according to the paper shows an increase approximately approximately $28,099 while the Finance Dept, shows an increase increase of approximately $42,999. No doubt they will say that the surplus was because of good management but my opinion is that the surplus was caused by several factors as follows: The budget was put away too high to start with (padded) and this was proven at a meeting last year that I attended, when Conn, Hobbs stated openly that the budget was heavily padded ( or words to that effect) and he was successful in getting $109,000 deleted nnd then Conn. Cowman moved that another $19,000 be taken out and lo and behold where did they take it out of, Unclassified Administration. Administration. so now 1 look at my sheets to that section and lo and behold lhey are wanting to increase this section by $800,091) over the actual for last year. No doubt I could go on with their figures but time or space would not permit. The other reason for the surplus, surplus, in my opinion, is that with all the absenteeism of some people there were mil enough hours left to spend it all, While 1 am on the subject of absenteeism, don't gel the idea that it is the ordinary typist or clerk, (they are on the job but go into city hull someday and you will see wlmt I am referring to,) Well, Mr, Editor, 1 will close for now but I did think that I would like to comment on the upcoming budget before it was passed. Yours Truly Ken Hooper Council Briefs In a letter to the Town Clerk, Solicitor General George Taylor has assured the Council that "they will receive all possible assistance assistance and cooperation" from his Ministry in developing emergency plans for the area in the vicinity Mr. Taylor referred to the recent revision and updating updating of the Provincial Nuclear Nuclear Emergency Plan and said Hint this plan, through the Region of Durham, would guide emergency planning in this area. He added that discussions discussions would start soon although although Darlington will nol lie generating power until late in this decade.