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Œjje Canadian Statesman 623-3303 Durham County's Great Family Journal Established 134 years ago in 1854. Also Incorporating The BowmanvIHe News The Newcastle Independent The Orono News Second class mall registration number 1561 Produced every Wednesday by THE JAMES PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED 62-66 King SL W., BowmanvIHe, 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. $20.00 a year -- 6 months $11.00 foreign -- $60.00 a year strictly in advance Although every precaution will be taken to avoid error, The Canadian Slaiesman accepts advertising in its columns on the understanding that it will not be liable lor any error in the advertisement published hereunder unless a prool 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 ease 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 ertbr bears to the whole space occupied by such advertisement Selling Candidates "The idea that you can merchandise merchandise candidates for high office like breakfast cereal...is the ultimate indignity indignity to the democratic process."- Aalai Stevenson. There are over 17 million Canadians Canadians eligible to vote in this year's federal federal election, and the three would-be prime ministers started with roughly 50 days to reach these voters with their various messages and promises. The obvious result of this staggering task is that elections barely resemble those of 100 years ago when people who wanted to lead this country would travel by train across the nation speaking seriously and spontaneously spontaneously on issues in detail and with passion. passion. Changes in our campaign procedure procedure are not implicitly wrong or harmful. Television is a powerful and useful tool which could be used by politicians and constituents alike to inform the country of the intentions of our leaders-to-be. Used intelligently and earnestly this most powerful of all media could do our democracy a great service, helping to reduce the vast distances between communities across Canada. Tragically, we see "soundbites" and "photo opportunities" crowding out sufficient discussion of the substance substance of the campaign. We see balloons balloons and flags first and hear of policies policies second, if at all. The television cameras zoom in with glee on a Shoving Shoving match or a boisterous heckler: news, afterall, is being made. But the real news, the thematic and thoughtful thoughtful contemplation of Canada's future, is crammed into a pitiful minority of the media's overall output of information. information. The few presentations of substantive substantive analysis are impressive in part because they are so rare. The irony is that commentators who do tackle election election coverage with a more intelligent and informative approach constantly raise these very concerns. Weekend television shows which offer more in- depth analysis feature speakers who act as though they are in no way related related to the nightly news broadcasts on their network. Coverage of television debates epitomizes epitomizes this phenomenon of superficial superficial coverage. It has been said many times during during this season of elections that "debate" "debate" is a misnomer for what Canadian Canadian and American politicians do. George Will said it best: "Lincoln and Douglas debated. Candidates today today hold simultaneous news conferences." conferences." Irrespective of the staged quality of today's debates, they are without question the single most important important moment in a campaign for any candidate. But what is it about them that is considered important? The answer is blunders and one- liners. Judging by the number, of serious mistakes or cutting wise-cracks one participant makes, the omnipotent media swoop into action and declare a winner. And the news coverage for succeeding days does nothing but enforce enforce the consensus of the media. So important is the initial media reaction reaction that all political parties now employ employ people who work in the press room during and immediately after the debate to put the proper "spin", on their candidate's performance before reporters file their stories and declare a winner. Policy statements and serious serious proposals, if mentioned at all, are discussed only after a winner is declared. Thus they are overshadowed overshadowed by the all-important verdict. Prepared for this kind of superficial superficial analysis by the media, candidates today resemble not human human beings, but robots--crammed full of prepackaged answers which they persist in reciting whether they address the query or not. Surely, it can be only a matter of time before the public, tired of condescension and vagueness, vagueness, will revolt not only against cardboard candidates but also against the alarmingly shallow coverage coverage the majority of the media continues continues to offer, with a smile. Pay Equity Woes Government, in general, has an alarming propensity to launch a barrage barrage of large and unwieldy programs at any situation it perceives as a problem. problem. Take for instance the very real problem of women receiving less pay than men who perform the identical job. Clearly, this is an unfair situation situation which should be addressed by government and by business both. But the Government of Ontario has gone well beyond any sensible policy on this issue and now stands ready to enforce enforce Pay Equity, defined as equal pay for work of equal VALUE. Not just the Liberals at Queen's Park, but both opposition parties too have failed to see the inherent difficulties difficulties and disasters which await the implementation of this policy. Soon, businesses in Ontario will be required required to adhere to a scale which rates various diverse jobs and dictates which professions deserve to be considered considered of equal value. It is a hopeless bureaucratic nightmare. An unanswered question is: who decides, and on what basis, that a secretary secretary and a truck driver are performing performing equally valued work. And what of a maintenance worker and a title searcher? The confusion which such judgements will create is without without end. Bureaucratic pork will grow and prosper as advisement departments departments are created, enforcement agencies are unleashed, and appeal boards are convened, all, the government government reminds us, with the best of intentions intentions in mind. Before considering whether this is the best solution to the, ahem, problem it is proper to analyze the premise of the legislation and to challenge Premier Premier Peterson's assertion that this is a problem. Is it a problem to let market market forces determine the value of a given job? Is it wrong for individual companies to structure their own salary salary scales, thus introducing competition competition in salary packages between companies companies and giving employees increased options in the overall labour labour market? Is it not counterproductive counterproductive toward the stated goal of raising women's stature in the professional world to reward them for staying in the routine secretarial world from which they might aspire to leave if a higher wage awaited them? The Premier has not answered these questions. Employees deserve to know that their wages are based on the work they do and not on a completely completely arbitrary scale cooked up in a civil servant's office. The belief upon which this Draconian Draconian action is based is that action, any action, by government is inherently inherently good. To be spending money and creating committees, laws, and regulations is productive work of government, government, notwithstanding the results. results. If nothing else ever has, Pay Equity surely must dispell this myth. In stark contrast to this increased regulation in Ontario is the action the Mulroney government has been taking taking during its four years in power; While not always consistently, the federal Tories have recognized that in some cases government's best course of action in relation to business business and the economy is to stand back and not interfere. A poll taken of members of the Canadian Canadian Federation of Independent Business in September found that government regulations and red tape were second only to taxes as the major restriction on operations. The rate of federal regulation has been falling since 1985 and has been a contributing contributing factor toward the 1.3 million jobs that have been created in this country in the last four years. Ontario has prospered much more than any other province during the current recovery, yet it is the Ontario Government which seems anxious to choke off economic growth in this province. The enormous tax increase in the last budget has not yet killed the growth, and by itself this latest inane regulation dictating wages will not do it either, but much of the increased government interference is a substantial substantial drag on the Ontario economy. economy. Area Farmers Learn More About Tillage Techniques United Way Drive Nears $1 Million At the half-way point in the United Way s 1988 fund-raising campaign, $962,500 has been donated. donated. r *. * * '-wife. -m « v .vv V» Local farmers gathered in Newtonville last Wed- ara ] farm machinery manufacturers were on hand nesday for Tillage Day, an event sponsored jointly to demonstrate their equipment. p by the Soil and Crop Improvement Association and was the latest in til age equipment which allows the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Sev- farmers to max,mize their SQl1 Productivity. Rob Owens, public relations relations officer with the United Way, said said last week that the latest total is 35 per cent of their $2.7 million goal. He said the United Way expects to be closer to the goal next week because because : several large workplace canvasses weren't completed when the totals were last recorded. recorded. A number of donations donations from the Town of Newcastle were included in the most recent tally. Mr. Owens said Goodyear Goodyear Canada Inc., in Bowmanville, made a corporate donation of $4,000 and Hampton Village Village contributed $150. by Peter Parrott Statistics listing the 500 richest men and women in the world prove that being a millionaire millionaire is no major accomplishment accomplishment any more. In fact, the definition of a millionaire may soon include anyone who has outright ownership of a home in the City of Toronto. Toronto. Yes, inflation has certainly enlarged the boundaries of financial success. Forbes Magazine, which annually publishes publishes a list of the richest people people in the world, records only those men and women with assets over $225 million on the roll- call.of the super-rich. That's further proof that millionaires these days are a dime a dozen. Or, with inflation, perhaps perhaps that ^should read a dollar a dozen. Actually, I would imagine imagine that the number of people worth over $225 million is even larger than those on the Forbes list. After all, the magazine magazine is only printing the names of people whose known wealth fs in that astronomical range. The list doesn't include people who may make their money in rather questionable or illegal businesses or those who successfully hide their true income. I can think of a lot of good reasons not to want everyone to know that you're worth $225 million. million. I would think that once your wealth is publicly revealed as being in the nine digit range, you are immediately beseiged by requests for favors from distant relatives, high school classmates, exgirlfriends/boyfriends, exgirlfriends/boyfriends, and many others who can claim some thread of acquaintanceship. JfThen there would be therequest<from charity organizations Hin dire straits. The statistics containing containing the list of the world's richest human beings reveals reveals that the wealthiest North American and the third-wealthiest man in the world is Canadian K.C. Irving. The industrial industrial empire of the New Brunswick tycoon has a value estimated at $8 billion. billion. The two richest men in the world are Japanese Japanese tycoons who have assets of $18.9 billion and $18 billion respectively. respectively. In the United States there are a total of 51 bona fide billionaires - a number which doubled in 1987 but hasn't changed substantially in 1988. One cannot help but wonder exactly what life would be like as a billionaire. billionaire. I think one of the biggest biggest advantages to being a billionaire would be the fact that you could, with a clear conscience, throw away those mail-order sweepstakes forms which declare "You May Already Be a Winner" and go on to suggest that if you only reply to their letter, you could reap a cool half million bucks. Or is it possible that billionaires get special sweepstakes Tetters saying: saying: "Here's your chance to win $1 trillion". I suspect that being a billionaire would com pletely eliminate the temptation to indulge in an occasional lottery ticket. Winning $100,000 in Wintario or even a half million in The Provincial Provincial would be about as much fun as getting a free coffee. And, of course, you would feel quite justified in turning down all of the other get-rich quick schemes that so frequently frequently come along. "No tnanks," you could say, "I already have a billion dollars. Becoming a millionaire doesn't really really interest me." In fact,. I would imagine imagine that having assets of over a billion dollars would totally eliminate the need to think of money money at all. And, since the activities activities of most people are based in some way on acquiring acquiring or spending money, anyone who becomes becomes a billionaire would have to have some other useful way to occupy occupy his time. In fact, from the billion-dollar billion-dollar plateau, the world would look decidedly decidedly different. One would reach the point where money no longer had any bearing on one's life whatsoever - a state of mind common only to billionaires and small children. Such a sense of detachment detachment can be seen in a comment by the fifth richest man in the world, Sam Walton. He seems philosophical about the entire topic, even though he lost about $2 billion in last year's stock market crash and is reported to now have a mere $6.7 billion billion to his name. In a recent article about the richest people in the world, he is quoted as saying that his riches are "just paper". He claims that all he really owns is a pickup truck and a little stock in his Arkansas-based discount discount store empire. This man seems to have developed a healthy attitude towards the subject subject of personal finances. finances. Too bad it takes a few billion in the bank account account before the majority of us can develop a similar similar outlook. The Oshawa-Whitby- Newcastle United Way has approximately 2,000 volunteers working on this year's fund-raising drive. The United Way benefits benefits more than 40 agencies agencies which serve the public public in various ways throughout Oshawa, Whitby and Newcastle. This year's United Way brochures contain numbers which are used in weekly draws. Last week, the winning winning brochure number for a pair of Oshawa Generals tickets was 42728. If your United Way brochure has that number, number, you can claim your prize. Agricultural Calendar October 5,1988 OCTOBER 19 - 7:00 P.M. Sheep Producers' Workshop on crutching and hoof trimming trimming at Orono Fairgrounds. OCTOBER 20 -22- Canadian Canadian Greenhouse Conference. Conference. University of Guelph. Contact: N. Cain, Horticultural Horticultural Science, University of Guelph, Guelph Ontario NIG 2W1. Phone: (519) 824 4120. OCTOBER 21-23 -Jr. Farmers' Social Recreation Workshop, Scanlon Creek Conservation Authority, Bradford. OCOTOBER 21 - 6:30 P.M. District 7, Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency Annual Meeting in Latcham Hall, Port Perry. Pot Luck Supper. OCTOBER 23 - Jr. Farmers Farmers Car Rally - Starts at 1:00 P.M. OMAF Parking Lot in Bowmanville. OCTOBER 24-25 - Central Central Ontario Area Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario Ontario Convention, Royal York, Toronto. •OCTOBER 24 - Christian Farmers Meeting 8:00 P.M. Boardroom, OMAF Bowmanville. Bowmanville. OCTOBER 25 - Durham Region Federation of Agriculture Agriculture Annual Meeting will be held in Prince Albert. Dr. Michael, Comm, of Planning mil be guest speaker. OCTOBER 27 - 9:00 A.M. District 4-Fairs Association Annual Meeting, Conference Room, Lindsay Agricultural Office. OCTOBER 29 - 7:00 P.M. Port Hope Agricultre Society Awards Dinner, Bewdley. OCT. 31 - NOV 1. - Centennial Centennial Leadership Project. In conjunction with the Agri- Food: A Look Ahead Conference. Conference. Contact: Paul Pyntz, OMAF (416) 965-1858. Letters to the Editor Dear John: This will be the last time you will hear from me as an elected member of Newcastle Newcastle Hydro Commission. I have enjoyed the responsibility responsibility and challenge for the last eight years, but will not run again as a Commissioner. The reason I write to you is to encourage public minded minded citizens with some electrical electrical and/or business background background to run in the next election. The monetary rewards rewards are small but the satisfaction satisfaction of having input into a well run utility for outweighs outweighs the amount of time spent on Hydro business. When first elected eight years ago Newcastle Hydro Electric Commission was in the throes of change, having taken over Newcastle Village and Orono Hydro. Much time, effort and capital was [ tne expended to bring the smaller smaller utilities up to what was present in Bowmanville. This was done without raising raising rates above the provincial provincial average, but at the expense expense of cash flow. There were times in the past that we couldn't pay our bill for power from Ontario Hydro, but had to defer payment until a later date. Eventually, through restraint and economics economics the situation ' changed whereby to-day your Newcastle Hydro Commission Commission is in a good financial position. Newcastle Hydro is a Public Utility buying power from Ontario Hydro at a wholesale rate ana distributing distributing it throughout Bowman- ville, Orono and Newcastle Village with annual revenue close to eight million dollars. The cost of power purchased in 1987 was 82.6% of revenue, revenue, with the expenses of building lines, reparing services, services, trimming trees, office and administration are loss than 17.6% of total revenue. I leave this organization knowing that it is under good management with an excellent staff, both office and line crews. Unlike most Hydro Utilities, Utilities, we in Newcastle have very little debt. Our long term, debt or debentures with the town, of $92,000.00 works out to be less than 1% of our total assets. This is a very favourable position to be in. At the other extreme is Ontario Hydro which only owns 15% of their assets, or borrow 85% to finance their buildings, equipment and hydro lines. We went through tough times to pay for our new Newcastle Hydro-Headquarters Hydro-Headquarters on Lamb's Road, but paid for it ($600,000.00) out of earned revenue. To-day, you are paying lower hydro rates because because of our_low interest payments on debt. There are many challenges challenges ahead. The major hurdle facing your local utility is the possible and even probable amalgamation of the surrounding surrounding area, now served by Ontario Hydro, under one utility. The problem is not in serving Courtice area, but in serving all the north where customers are sparse. It is more economical to serve 40 customers on Car- lise Ave., in Bowmanville, than the same 40 customers spread over the Long Sault area. The last assessment in 1986 if Newcastle Hydro P rovided service to all of the 'own of Newcastle our rates would go up 15%. Would you be willing to pay 15% more in order to enable the people of Courtice to be served by our local Utility? Our estimated cost of purchasing purchasing the Utility now served by Ontario Hydro is 14.5 million dollars. In order to hold our Newcastle rates at the present level, wo could only acquire one million dollars dollars of additional debt. Can the town afford to grant Newcastle Hydro 13.5 million million dollars in order that wo can servo the people of Courtice? Courtice? My conclusion is that we cannot afford to take over the Courtice area until such a time as there are § - ants either from Ontario ydro or the Town of Newcastle Newcastle to enable us to do this without raising rates to our own customers. One more challenge facing facing your local utility is a change in rate structure forced on us by the Ontario Energy Board in order to conserve power and/or delay delay the construction of more nuclear hydro plants. With the present rate of increase in consumption of hydro we could run out of power in the 1990's unless we either conserve conserve power, or build more generating capacity. Only this year in the heat of the summer we were faced with a brown out, and asked to conserve power due to an overload. This will become more prevalent in the years ahead. Under time-of-use rates, customers of Ontario Hydro will be paying more for winter power than sum mer, and also more for power power consumed in the daytime, compared to the low usage night consumption. Will you be willing to wash and dry your clothes after 8 p.m. to lower your hydro bill? The more I travel the more I am aware of how fortunate fortunate we have been to live in Canada, Ontario and most of all, Newcastle. We have been endowed with some of the most beautiful, most productive, productive, and stimulating country in the world. At this time of the year let us all give thanks for our many blessings. blessings. Thanks again for the opportunity opportunity of serving this community, and may I plead with the electorate to encourage encourage the capable people of this community to run for election and give a little in return return to your town. Respectfully yours, Robert L. Stevens, Vice-Chairman, Newcastle Hydro. More Letters on Page 2 Medal of Merit Goes to Local Scout Leader Dan tioniKowsky been awarded The Medal of Merit for his outstanding work and service to Scouting. Scouting. The Council for West Durham District Scouts presented presented him with the award last Wednesday for, what District President Roger Lee- tooze called, "especially good service to Scouting." The medal is awarded by the National Council and recognizes Dan's contributions contributions as a leader, and in many other capacities on Council. He has been instrumental instrumental in affording opportunities opportunities for hundreds ofboys to participate in Scouting at both the local level and at National Jamborees. An engineer with Ontario Hydro, Dan came to Bow- , manville when ho was transferred transferred from Port Elgin to work on the Darlington project project nearly five years ago. Ho continued his work with Scouting which ho had started started in Port Elgin, serving first ns President of Council, and then as Past President and Council Advisor here in Bowmanville. Dnn is now n représentative représentative on the Provincial council for the Region of Quinte. Although Although this position uses up a lot of his spare time, ho still works in West Durham as a liaison between Council and the various Group Committees Committees and as a trainer for the non-uniformed members of the local movement. Congratulations Dan! And thanks for your 20 years of giving. Citizens like you are what make Bowmanville Bowmanville a nice place in which to live. Shown above is Dan Bonikowsky, recipient of The Medal of Merit in recognition recognition for his outstanding service to Scouting for over 20 years. District President Roger Leetooze (right) presented Dan with his medal last Wednesday evening.