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( 0 The •' Rowmnnvillc, May 13, 1987 Section Two The Right to Know? .Much has been said over the past week about the rights of politicians to a private life. Indeed, people are wondering to what extent a political front-runner's private activities should become part of public debate. It seems to us that there's a fairly easy answer to this one. And although we hesitate to add more comment to the discussion surrounding surrounding the private life of former U.S. presidential contender, Gary Hart, we would make the following observations: . Any politician who has run for a political post higher than dog- catcher knows that his or her personal personal qualities cannot be separated from his or her ideas, beliefs, and policies. When you hire a plumber, you don't really care about his or her personal life. The only thing that matters is whether or not the plumber can fix your sink. Similarity, one might visit a doctor or use the services of a lawyer or accountant solely on the basis of one's confidence in that professional's professional's skill. For most of us, the private lives of any of the aforementioned aforementioned individuals is none of our business business so long as they break no laws. But when we come to the politician, we are operating on a different set of rules. His or her entire personality is usually placed on the soap-box, not just his or her intellect or ideas. This is especially true in the age of mass media when good looks or a reassuring reassuring voice are more important than political ideals. Politicians also recognize the fact that their entire life is part of the campaign. That's why they, frequently are ' photographed with wives and family members to convey the "image" they want to portray. Isn't it funny how these guys and gals won't object to positive facts about their personal lives coming to the forefront? Charming children, or a good-looking, devoted spouse are all used to full advantage by many aspiring aspiring politicians. But whenever the darker side of their personal lives is revealed, they tend to cry foul and demand the sort of privacy and anonymity which is available to everyone but those in the public spotlight. spotlight. There is little doubt that media have the right to report true statements statements about a oublie official's ori- vate life. We cannot over-emphasize the word "true", since it should be noted that we are talking only about documented facts and not random gossip. But then comes the question of whether such statements ought to be revealed. There's no easy answer to that topic, except to say that it depends depends on the prevailing public attitude attitude at the time. In Canada, we've tended to take a lenient attitude. For the most part, the media has adopted the position that a public official's private life should not be reported unless his or her activities would have an impact on how the public's business is conducted. conducted. Judging from the Gary Hart episode, it seems that the U.S. media prefers to take the facts to the public and let it decide on the merits or demerits of the case. In the final analysis, a political scandal needs two things: It requires a media to report the facts, and a public public to be morally outraged by the information information it receives. For various reasons, the media may choose to ignore the facts. And, even if the facts become common knowledge, knowledge, the public is free to make its own interpretation. Sometimes, personal personal setbacks in a politician's life may evoke sympathy rather than anger or scorn. When all is said and done, a politician's politician's personal life is judged in much the same way as is his or her political ideas. Both must withstand the scrutiny of the attitudes, beliefs, and convictions of the public at a particular particular time. Perhaps the day will come when we pay no more attention to the domestic life of a politician than we do to the personal life of a doctor, lawyer, or accountant. But it's pretty clear that the political arena does not yet operate operate in that manner. In the meantime, politicians will have to search carefully for skeletons in the closet. Young Home Show Visitor Inspects Town Hall Plans Outlook by Rob Savage By the time most of you read this, it should be common common knowledge what Durham Region's joint Finance Finance and Management Committees voted to do with the Regional headquarters headquarters proposals. Those proposals, for,anyone,who for,anyone,who hasn't, been fofjovy-: ing this issue, deal with thé possible location of ii J il*ew regional headquarters building in Oshawa or Whitby, or an expansion of the existing site in Whitby. Due to deadline restrictions restrictions on this column, I don't have the luxury of that information information as of this writing. However, I'm fortunate that I don't really need to know the decision to make my point. (Besides, why let a few unknown facts inter fere with my hot-headed views?). My concern is with the presumed importance of Friday's decision and the subsequent decision which must soon be reached by regional regional council. • Councillors, themselves will.teU y.ou.jDis a decision, of monuifientM importance. In facti in a disîcuçsion of the. selection of a headquarters last week, Osnawa Councillor Councillor Alex Robertson said the decision may well be one of the greatest made by regional regional council. He's not alone. In a recent progress edition supplement supplement in the Oshawa Times, Regional Chairman Gary Herrema is also quoted as saying the selection of a headquarters is one of the major items facing regional council this year., I hope they're both wrong. While many of the items before regional council often appear small, the mandate facing that level of government is quite large. Many of the important .parts of.quj: daily life come under the jurisdiction of regional council,. including sewage and water supplies, health and social services, planning planning policies and the Durham Regional Police Force. The decisions reached at the regional level in those areas should not be quickly overlooked. By contrast, the regional headquarters is just a building. Granted, a .building of luxurious appearance can have a significant impact on tourism and promotion of an area. For example, there are many post cards of Toronto Toronto which feature the City Hall on the front. And developers are betting betting that the location of a new regional headquarters \yill .only be.tlie, start of,new growth in the chosen area. Nonetheless, neither of these reasons justifies the belief that the selection of a new headquarters is a decision decision of overwhelming magnitude. In fact, the only thing which is overwhelming about the new regional headquarters is the cost. While the numbers have varied over time, the anticipated anticipated price for a new headquarters headquarters should be somewhere somewhere between $16 million and $20 million, with the region region looking at spending about $9 million towards the project (in the Oshawa case, anyways). But if the'building is constructed constructed for an anticipated life-span of 50 years, the cost is not really overwhelming. overwhelming. Not when compared compared to the millions of dollars dollars spent each year by the region. And since it appears the region is prepared to spend at least $10 million on a headquarters regardless of the selection (unless they opt to do nothing, which has costs of its own), the impact on taxpayers will be an inevitable inevitable burden. Why, then, do some politicians politicians think the regional headquarters is such a major item? My worst fear would be that regional council may be losing touch with the community. How many people do you know who have been seriously concerned concerned about the new location location of the regional headquarters? headquarters? • -, Its only real effect'on most people is that it brings all regional politicians and staff under one roof. But it would be difficult to measure measure the real gain made from that accomplishment. I suspect most of us would hardly notice the difference. difference. Let's hope Durham councillors councillors make their decision on the new headquarters and then return to the many important items which exist outside of their own four walls. Stje Canadian Statesman 623-3303 Durham Countv's Great Family Journal Established 133 years ago In 1854. Also Incorporating The Bowmanvilte News The Newcastle Independent The Orono News Second class mail registration number 1561 Produced every Wednesday by THE JAMES PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED 62-66 King St. W., Bowmanvllle, Ontario L1C 3K9 JOHN M. JAMES Editor--Publisher GEO. P. MORRIS Business Mgr. RICHARD A. JAMES Assistant Publisher BRIAN PURDY Advertising Mgr. PETER PARROTT Associate Editor DONALD BISHOP Plant Mgr. All layouts and composition of advertisements produced by the employees of The Canadian Statesman, The Newcastle Independent and The James Publishing Company Limited are protected by copyright and must not be reproduced without permission of the publishers. $17.00 a year--6 months $9.00 strictly In advance foreign--$55.00 a year 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 lor any error in the advertisement published hereunder unless a proof of 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 il any error so noted is not corrected by The Canadian Statesman its liability shall not exceed such a portion of the entire cost of such advertisement as the space occupied by the noted error bears to the whole space occupied by such advertisement. The AIDS Scare There's an old parable to the effect that half the things one worries about don't come true. And half of the trials and tribulations we face were those that we never even had a chance to worry about. The moral of the parable is: Don't worry. Or, at least try to keep worry to the minimum. It's the sort of message that should be conveyed to those who arc showing undue concern over the virus popularly popularly known as AIDS. It would be irresponsible to suggest that this isn't a serious threat to public public health. But it would be equally irresponsible irresponsible to treat the virus as if it's the Twentieth Century equivalent to The Black Plague. In other words, we're suggesting that this is no time to press the panic button. Let's look at some of the known facts. For one thing some of us were quite surprised to learn a few weeks ago that the number of confirmed cases of the disease in Canada had only recently recently reached 1,000. The publicity surrounding the condition had led many of us to suspect that the disease had many more victims. Considering the number of Canadians Canadians who die each year due to illnesses illnesses such as stroke, heart disease, and cancer, AIDS is not a major threat. However, there arc some important differences between AIDS and a disease disease such as cancer. For one thing, the major killer diseases in Canada and North America are not infections which can be communicated from one person to another. AIDS is. Moreover, it's believed that there are many thousands of carriers of AIDS half of whom (based on past experience) experience) will develop the virus within five lo seven years. In the Toronto Toronto area alone, the estimate is 10.000 carriers of the AIDS virus and Canada may have 50,000. This threat of additional cases is perhaps the most frightening fact concerning AIDS. Bill, we must coniinuc to hear in mind the fact that AIDS is.si ill largely confined to high-risk groups, namely Homosexuals and intravenous drug users. Moreover, educational efforts concerning the dangers posed by AIDS and the means to avoid it are likely to prove successful in stopping the threat. Compulsory AIDS education education in the schools will begin this September, September, although a number of school jurisdictions are already teaching students about the cause and prevention prevention of this disease. AIDS is also a virus which is not particularly easy to catch, according to medical opinion. It's not comparable comparable to the common cold or flu in in terms of susceptibility. And, finally, as with any dangerous disease, there's the possibility of a cure or treatment. In short, it would seem that everything everything which can be done to ease the crisis is already being done. Indeed, that word "crisis" may be a misnomer because there's some doubt as to whether it really describes the AIDS situation. It's time people were informed that although the disease is certainly a health risk it does not appear at this time that it will develop into a fully- fledged epidemic. We cannot help but recall other cases in recent memory where certain certain strains of killer flu viruses were reported to bo threatening North America. Some of us will recall the famous "swine flu" threat in which mass vaccinations vaccinations were recommended, since a large number of deaths were feared. Thankfully, the swine flu never materialized. True, one can't compare the AIDS outbreak with a flu epidemic. But still, it's about lime that we looked at the threat realistically. AIDS is at the stage where we might call it a major worry. But let's not proceed proceed to panic or hysteria -- especially especially when all the evidence suggests the illness can be curtailed. Like we said at the beginning of our comments here, half the things that people worry about never develop into the sort of problem they had feared. Remember that, next time you read another "horror story" about AIDS. Ontario Group Helps F amities Cope With Bereavement The tragic loss of a child and the emotional after-affects on parents were the subject of last week's meeting of the Bowmanvillc Rotary Club, as Marilyn Shaw of "The Bereaved Families of Ontario" gave the guest talk. Seen here with Ms. Shaw are LI. Rick Shirran ofthc Salvation Army and Rotary President Bill Hall. by Rob Savage "You spend years planning planning for a child. Hoping. Dreaming. All that's snatched away from you when they're gone." Those sentiments are just one example of the feelings parents undergo after the tragic loss of a child. In fact, the experience can be so traumatic that some parents parents actually believe they are going insane. It's for that reason and others that "The Bereaved Families of Ontario" was formed 10 years ago lo offer support to the suffering parents. parents. The Bereaved Families of Ontario is a support group which allows parents to speak to others who can identify with their loss. Marilyn Shaw, chairman of the Durham Region chapter, chapter, told Bowmanvillo's Rotary Rotary Club last week that the loss of a child can be more traumatic than any other loss. "I believe that experience experience even surpasses the grief ol'losing a parent," she said. She added that the situation situation is worse for our society because we are trained to gain things, not lose them, She said our society is "ill- prepared" to handle losses. "Society is very ill-prepared ill-prepared to grieve," she told club members. Ms. Shaw's association with "The Bereaved Families of Ontario" began in 1977 when the organization organization was first founded at Sick Kids' Hospital in Toronto Toronto where she worked as a nurse. When she moved to Durham Region, she saw a need for the same type of support group and began the local chapter. She admits that she has never suffered the loss of a child herself. But at the same time, she is learning of the pain suffered by those who are bereaved. "I thank God I have not had to deal with that pain," she said. She says it is best for parents parents who are suffering a loss to talk about their feelings. "We have learned it is healthier healthier for all of us lo be able to express and deal with our feelings." In that light, the support group can help because some parents in the group have had more time to deal with the tragedy. Ms. Shaw said most friends and relatives are sympathetic but do not want to hear about the deceased youngster for long. By contrast, contrast, every birthday, holiday holiday and special occasion continues to remind the parents of the deceased child. "Each of these occasions is flooded with memories of days gone by," Ms. Shaw said. That means they must turn to others who will let them continue to talk about their feelings. She argued the mourning can often last more than one year. She said there arc two basic stages the grieving parent goes through. The first is "numbness" where daily functions become become automatic and are carried out without any thought. During that period, Ms. Shaw said people can often reach the stage where they think they are going insane. insane. "The pain is so intense and they have so little control control over their lives that they often feel they arc going crazy." Following that is the grieving stage where the purpose of life is questioned. questioned. "There is a desire to be with the dead child even though there are other living living family members," Ms. Shaw said. After those stages, the parents learn to cope with life after the child. Ms. Shaw said friends can help by allowing the person to talk about the child and by avoiding cliches themselves themselves during discussions. And she said co-workers and associates can help by: not turning away from the 1 parents. Eventually, she said people adjust and even accept accept some of the joys that can still be found in life. She advises that people just have to give parents the time to reach that stage. ■ "Allow them time to grieve and don't expect it to be over in a few months." A Humane Answer Collisions between animals and vehicles arc a source of pain and suffering suffering for countless animals each year. In addition, these collisions sometimes injure or kill the motorists themselves. An item which came across the desk this week reveals that many of these mishaps could be eliminated with a simple device known as a "Ilobi" animal alert. At speeds exceeding exceeding 30 miles per hour, the animal alert emits an ultrasonic sound which is inaudible to the human car but can act as a warning to animals. It operates on a principle similar to the dog whistle. And it runs on wind power alone, so installation is quite simple. The Ontario Humane Society notes in a news release that the animal alerts were developed and tested in Europe with excellent results. And they arc already used by a number of bus lines and truck drivers. The Humane Society adds that it is selling the devices for a little under $20 each.(Excluding postage and' handling). It doesn't say whether the animal; warning equipment will be heard by all animals. We're trying to remember remember our high school biology classes in order to understand: whether the hearing of all animals is; greater than that of humans or whether only some of them have a, more highly-developed sense of hear-, ing. But the device docs appear to be, an excellent idea for not only the protection protection of animals but also the protection protection of human beings. We wonder if the day is coming when these could he installed cheaply as standard equipment on cars and trucks. And the Ontario Humane Society suggests that insurers should offer reduced reduced premiums to drivers who equip theirvehicleswiththe.se units. There's no word yet as to whether the country's insurers will respond to that suggestion.