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L 4 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanvillc, September 7,1988 €f)e Canadian Statesman 623-3303 Durtum County^ Great Family Journal 134 jrears ago In 3 locorpoftting 1854. Established 1 Also l The Bowmenvilt# News The Newcastle Independent The Orooo News Second class mall registration number 1561 Produced every Wednesday by THE JAMES PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED 62-66 King SL W., Bowmanvilie, Ontario L1C 3K9 ZÏ 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. $20.00 a year -- 6 months $11.00 foreign -- $60.00 a year strictly In advance Although every precaution will be laken.lo 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 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 if 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. Comment ham Problems With House Arrest Every so often a new idea for the incarceration of minor criminals arises. It goes something like this: In view of the fact that it costs so much to imprison imprison an offender, why not put individuals individuals guilty of relatively minor offences offences under a kind of house arrest? Rather than sitting in a jail cell for a few months, they could sit in their own living room. This would eliminate eliminate all the high costs connected with guards, barbed wire and meals. It would also eliminate the social ills which are frequently associated with institutions for criminals. For example, example, it is argued that by associating with criminals in jails, prisoners tend to remain criminals when they are released. The actual method of monitoring people under house arrest would be by means of a bracelet containing an electronic electronic device which would broadcast broadcast the individual's whereabouts. This concept sounds to us sort of like the idea of sending a child to his or her room when he/she is misbehaving. misbehaving. There are, however, certain flaws to the plan. For one thing, our justice system is by no means overly harsh in its punishment punishment of those who break the laws. Given the use of community service work in lieu of punishment, parole, jail sentences served on temporary absence programs, and suspended sentences, there are already a wide number of alternatives to jail terms. It seems to us that those who are serving time in jail are individuals - who really and truly deserve to be there. We're not talking about first time offenders whose only crime is jay-walking. We expect that the concept of "House Arrest" will be very quickly abused. Look at it this way: Before long, it will be decided that the criminal need not be confined to his or her house. He or she might be allowed to take walks into the neighbourhood neighbourhood for exercise. (After all, a healthy body is important.) And then, somebody will note that the individual under house arrest really shouldn't be cut off from helping helping to provide for himself or his family. family. (Meaningful labor is an important important part of rehabilitation.) So the prisoner confined to the home would soon be free to go to work. Next, it will be pointed out that the individual ought not to be robbed of the opportunity to go to church on Sundays or to play hockey on the weekends or to attend a movie. (Even in jail, inmates inmates are not denied the opportunity to attend chapel or participate in recreational recreational activities.) To the above list, one might add such activities as going on vacation with family or visiting visiting one's children's school for Open House and a whole long list of others. Before very long the individual under house arrest would be leading a life which is absolutely no different from that of his neighbour. In other words, if the criminal's offence offence is so minor that he could be considered considered for "house arrest" perhaps he shouldn't be placed in jail in the first place. We might add that the punishment of criminals would hardly be equal under the above-mentioned proposal. One criminal placed under house arrest arrest would return to a mansion, complete complete with servants and Olympic sized pool. Another criminal facing the same punishment would be sent to his home in a slum. At least a jail provides similar accommodation for everyone while they serve out their sentence." ivM ' ?j A And, of course, there are the problems problems of monitoring the prisoner through some sort of electronic device. device. Civil rights advocates will argue that such a piece of equipment worn by the convict will amount to an infringement on his civil rights. And it appears to us that supervisors monitoring the prisoners in their homes will find the task more difficult difficult than monitoring individuals in jail cells. For example, they'd have to check on the whereabouts of the prisoner every time his electronic monitor indicated indicated he had stepped out of line - a project which would be just as time- consuming as monitoring the prisoner prisoner in a jail cell, especially if you took into account the number of equipment malfunctions or false alarms. At first glance, this idea seems to have some merit. But closer inspection inspection suggests that it would never work. While some progress is being made on the Port Granby waste removal removal issue, much remains to be done. Let's consider the progress so far. First of all, as of June 30, the dump site was finally closed. That, in itself, itself, is reason to celebrate. But the next question centres around the issue issue of what to do with the waste that has been deposited there since the 1950s. On this question, there has also, been a suggestion of progress. First of all, the federal government has accepted accepted many of the findings of the recent recent task force which recommended clean-up. And now, there's yet another task force being established to locate a repository repository for the waste material which will eventually be removed from Port Granby. Actually, the clean-up of the site may be viewed as a three-stage process. process. The first step has been the shutdown shutdown of the Port Granby facility as an active waste management site. The second step is to choose the location of a permanent waste disposal area. And a third step will be the removal of the Port Granby waste (and waste from the nearby Welcome site) along with its transportation to the permanent permanent disposal area, It has taken something like 12 years to get the Port Granby site shut down. And the process of selecting a permanent waste disposal area and removing the waste to that location could be equally lengthy. Keep in mind the fact that these latter two activities activities must clear the various public approval processes which could include include prolonged environmental hearings. hearings. Now that there's been a decision to assign the job of finding a site to another another task force, some of us are Popular Sights at Ann ual Port Perry Fair i»u ■ , ; • *!&.. . . -*r~, / ! Slow Progress on Port Granby _ Il \ I : i Vf- j ■ vv breathing a little easier. But lets remember that the creation of committees and task forces will, in itself, solve nothing. A cynical person person would note that government often uses committees of citizens as a way of marking time and delaying action. action. A government which does nothing nothing can justifiably be criticized. But a government which has a committee investigating a particular issue is applauded applauded for being sensitive to the wishes of the people, even though it may not be accomplishing much. There are really two reasons for establishing committees. They can be set up to produce actions or they can be established as a public relations gesture gesture in order to give the illusion of action. action. We're willing to give the government government the benefit of the doubt and to believe believe that the establishment of yet another another task force to discuss the disposal of nuclear waste is an honest attempt to resolve the problem. But we might also remind the government government and the committees that progress on the Port Granby clean-up has been agonizingly slow. Indeed, after more than a decade, less than one third of the total objective has been achieved. And it goes without saying that if there are changes in government over the next few years, the progress could be slowed even more while the new government considers whether or not it will take actions any different different from those of its predecessor. Let us hope that it will not take 20 years to discover a suitable repository for nuclear waste and to move all of the Port Granby garbage to that location. location. Is progress being made on resolving resolving the Port Granby problem? The answer answer to the question is both yes and no. Or, if you prefer, it's a definite "maybe". , mm-/-. \ v ÂX \ 1V t >*/" v. • • <' \ ; '.'A, t \ ' * ; i. T • /L ' X IF ykr* KM i ? ; . : - , ! ■ n r,i X i I - : / Mr / Iff l M . • < ' '1 M3.3:V :3M3 7 ; -'V-V ; On Saturday afternoon at Port Perry Fair the showers kept the audience on the grandstand to a minimum, but the track events continued in spite of the downpour. downpour. This single horse and rig had just won first place and was heading for cover cover when this photo was taken. rr by Carolyn Hepburn ipmi Painted faces and clown costumes were in evidence at Port Perry Fair on Saturday Saturday and they weren't confined to age groups. Our photographer found some young ones and a couple of older ones too. The older ones appeared to be having a' much more enjoyable time. A World Without Risk The air show tragedy in West Germany Germany last week has produced demands demands for a wholesale ban on all aerobatic aerobatic displays. It's an understandable reaction. But the calls for an end to air exhibitions exhibitions are not entirely based on reason. reason. Those who would ban air shows are arguing that certain human activities activities are so hazardous that they ought not to be permitted. This may be true. But one has to ask whether air shows are any more hazardous than many other practices in which we willingly engage each day. Are air shows especially hazardous hazardous or only one of many human activities activities whicn contain some element of risk? It seems to us that those who would ban air shows ought also to set their sights on automobiles whiôh surely kill and maim far more people than do aerobatic displays. While it's true that some of the motorists are the cause of their own misfortune, many auto accidents claim innocent victims. victims. And while we're at it, vve ought to also ban commercial airliners of every description because they too have been known to crash and to kill not only their own passengers but also innocent men and women who were on the ground. As with all similar tragedies, the airplane crash in West Germany will result in greater caution and concern for safety. Let's, by all means, improve those safety margins. But let us not take away from citizens citizens the option of attending displays of aerobatics and air shows. Keep in mind the fact that there is no one forcing forcing the public to attend these events and those who are nervous about aerobatic aerobatic exhibitions can protect themselves themselves simply by staying away. Every human activity has certain risks associated with it. We suppose that by banning these activities we would eliminate some of those risks. But the list of harmful activities would be a long one and might include include not only airshows but also most professional sports, auto racing, freeway freeway driving, midway rides, commercial commercial air travel, and consuming junk foods. In short, we could take away certain risks but we would also take away many freedoms. Would we wish to live in the world ' that would result from such actions? This is it! Whàt you're about to read is my last "Outlook" column. O.K., hold the cheers and jubilation. You don't have to be that happy about my departure. It is with many mixed emotions that I attempt to summarize my months of work at the newspaper. Actually, summarize isn't quite the right word. When I think of leaving leaving Bowmanvilie and the Town of Newcastle (hereafter referred to as Newcastle) there are so many wonderful memories memories that I'm fortunate enough to take with me. Although" 'it -wouldn't be right to name any names in ; this'column, I do wish to give some credit where it is due. Firstly, to my family and friends. I would be totally selfish if I tried to let on that I had made it on my own in the past year. My family, and particularly my parents, nave helped me immensely immensely and without their continued support and love I wouldn't be moving to British Columbia. Columbia. I know it'll be quite an adjustment for all concerned, but I look at it this way: Mom and Dad, now you have an excuse to travel to the beautiful west coast. Next in line for the firing squad are my coworkers. coworkers. It has been a pleasure knowing each and every one of you. Some of my good friends have already left the newspaper, and I'm leaving still more behind. behind. Saying good-bye to The Statesman and the people that make it the newspaper that it is will probably be the hardest part of leaving Newcastle. Newcastle. Although I know you'll miss the heavy phone hang-ups and the computer bashing, I suspect suspect that the lunch room will be a little quieter with my absence. That is, until you bring the new reporters onstream. onstream. I understand that one is just like me, so you really shouldn't have any adjustment at all. Running a close second second to bidding adieu to my desk and computer are the good byes and thank yous that I have to make to so many people in the various communities. communities. Throughout the last year and a half I have met many folks and it is impossible to express just ■ how easy they have made my job. From the first day I went to the Community Community Care office, to my final final council meeting last night, I have felt at home in Newcastle. There arc so many incredible incredible organizations in this town. If I had one special wish it would be that the volunteer groups such as Big Brothers, Community Care, Durham Durham Distress Centre, Block Parents, and so many more, continue to receive the support they deserve and have earned. As well, I would hope that the Newcastle administration administration continues to understand the importance importance of the cultural spots in its various areas. Now is the time to make a move and boost the financial financial and personal support to the museums, the Visual Arts Centre, The New and Improved Bowmanvilie Zoo, the Tyrone Mill and the many more unique and worthwhile places. As I try to purge and pack my apartment for my move to B.G. later this year, I am continually continually reminded of the good times I have had in Bowmanvilie. As I wade through cartons of paper I see a program from a high school drama production, production, or find a button from a protest rally. I look back at past columns, columns, all clipped for my enjoyment in later years (at least I hope it is enjoyment). enjoyment). I find letters from people who have written to thank me for an article article or simply to pick a bone with one of my opinions opinions that has appeared in this mass of words over the months. Everywhere I turn I see proof of 18 months well spent in an ever growing "and changing community. And that, my dear readers, is what I will miss most. Not the upcoming upcoming elections (al-, though I will bet they'll be more than entertaining), or the waste disposal fight (still near and dear to my heart if not my garbage can) or even the opening of the new administration administration building and arena. What I can safely say I will miss the most is the change that is coming to, Newcastle. There is so poi it really is mind boggling. boggling. With the right degree degree of planning, Newcastle Newcastle will be THE place to be in a very short while. The change is coming and there is no use fighting fighting it. Why not plan for it and reap the many benefits it has to offer? Give serious thought to the downtown areas, and the parks and creek- lands in Newcastle. Decide Decide what is more important, important, homes or farmland. Attract some more decent industry to the Town and catch up the servicing that is needed to go along with all the new homes. Once you decide where Newcastle is going, nothing can stop you. Don't think that a vote this fall in the municipal elections is useless. A vote this fall is a vote for the future of Newcastle. Take an interest in the Town, don't let the many good things that have made a place for themselves themselves here dwindle, move away or simply die. It may be presumptuous presumptuous of me to say these things knowing that this time I won't have to answer answer for them, but, as usual, I'm saying them anyway. If in the last 18 months you have read even one "Outlook" column then I have succeeded. If you have laughed, not agreed with me, been forced to consider .an alternative, or even felt obligated to sit and write a letter, then I have succeeded even more. I do know that I won't be able to look again. (I suppose I should have known bet- : ter in the first place). There will be two new faces coming out of this office starting tomorrow (September 8). I only ask. that you treat Andrea and Chris as fairly, honestly honestly and considerately as you have treated me. Just think, a totally new perspective on life could be just what the doctor or- ' dered. After all, one can only handle so much from an outspoken, often stubborn and terribly opinionated individual (no one I 'know, of course). Kate The Car and I leave Newcastle with no regrets. I have done much living since my arrival straight from college last April. I discovered discovered that there is night life in Bowmanvilie, Bowmanvilie, and that total strangers can often turn out to be best friends. I ' have matured and grown and set a new set of goals for myself. At this moment those goals happen to include wrapping up a whole pile of boxes for shipping to the west coast. I have nothing but excitement in my future plans. But, I also realize that my future future wouldn't be happening happening if not for my 18 months of daily experiences experiences in Newcastle. If I don't get a chance to say goodbye to everyone everyone I should, or say the proper words that snould accompany my departure, departure, then please consider consider it done with this column. column. Simply driving out of Newcastle won't mean that I'll never be back or that I won't think of this place quite often. In fact, I have plans already to return for a wedaing next May! No, leaving will only mean more changes and experiences. Of course, it'll also mean I'll have to travel a few thousand miles for my usual "ham, cheese and mayo on a kaiser." For those that I'm leaving behind I have one simple word of ad vice: If you don't write or call, I'll be back sooner than you can say "Is the town hall ever going to be completed?"