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SECTION TWO WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 3,1990 s&t Canadian statesman Durham Region's Great Family Journal Established 136 years ago in 1854 Also Incorporating W i m The Bowmanville News ■ *WLNA The Newcastle Independent VJ ^ The Orono News Second Class mail registration number 1561 Produced weekly by James Publishing Company Limited 62 King Street West, Bowmanville, Ontario L1C3K9 416-623-3303 Fax 416-623-6161 cn John M. James Editor - Publisher Richard A. James Associate Publisher Peter Parrott Associate Editor Brian Purd' dy Donald Bishop Advertising Mgr. Plant Mgr. All layouts and composition of advertisements produced by the employees of James Publishing Company Limited are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. j Subscription Rates Six Months --$11.00 One Year--$20.00 Foreign -- $60.00 per year Although every precaution will be taken to avoid error. The Canadian Statesman accepts advertising in hs 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 H any error so noted is not corrected by The Canadian Statesman its liability shall not exceed such a portion of the entire coet of such advertisement as the space occupied by the noted error bears to the whole space occupied by such advertisement. Editorial Comment No Easy Solutions to Getting Rid of Trash By now, thè verdict of the public is obvious and crystal clear. The general public does not want garbage dumps here, there, or anywhere else. And who can blame them? No matter how much study and research research and consultation you do, there will come a time when a pin is stuck into some place on a map. And that place becomes a potential landfill site. That's the time when - to re-phrase an old expression -- " the, trash hits the fan." Citizens will react with justifiable anger because who wants to live next to a landfill operation? Who really wants the noise, the trucks, the decreased decreased land values and the potential for pollution of the countryside? The ongoing anger over the recent choice of sites for a Durham-only landfill landfill operation is predictable. At a meeting meeting in Blackstock and a similar meeting meeting in Kirby, the outcome was the same: "We don't want dumps here." The next move, on the part of the Durham Region, will be to either embark embark on the fiendishly expensive process process of selecting one of the five candidate candidate sites or to try for another landfill location. But, perhaps there's another possibility. possibility. ~ ' "■ Perhaps, Durham should do nothing. nothing. It's an option which may not be as crazy as it may, at first glance, appear. If we are really serious about cleaning cleaning up the environment, perhaps it's time to draw the line now and to say that the existing garbage sites will be the last dumps ever. Maybe it's time to kick the garbage habit cold turkey. You know, in one sense, a waste disposal disposal site simply extends the garbage dilemma a little bit longer. The situation situation is not unlike the drinker addicted to alcohol or the smoker hooked on nicotine. nicotine. Sometimes, the best solution is not to cut down but to quit. You can bet your bottom dollar that the elimination of landfill sites is going going to produce considerable hardship among members of the public. But you have to ask yourself this question: "Would the hardship be offset by the benefits of a cleaner environment?" Let us briefly , work through the "No-New-Dump", scenario. \ If the Durham Region abandoned its quest for a Durham-only landfill operation, we would eventually run out of space to put our trash. It's somewhat somewhat difficult to estimate exactly when that would be because of the fact that existing landfill sites seem to have an imprecise life-span. Sites that were predicted to close_ years a^o are still accepting as though the w trash and it would seem there's always room for one more load. Eventually, however, the padlock' will start to go on the gates of existing landfill operations. And that's when things should really start to get interesting. interesting. Since (in our imaginaiy scenario) Durham has opted out of the landfill issue, it will have no local site to fall back on. One would hope, however, that the Region had used the funds it would have spent on developing a landfill operation to promote recycling, composting, and all the other waste- reduction alternatives. At any rate, the Durham Region would have to put a reduced amount of trash somewhere or other. And the solution solution would probably be to truck it large distances to remaining landfill sites which might be in Northern Ontario Ontario or perhaps even outside tho province. province. At this point, it will probably cost about $25 per bag to dispose of trash. (Remember. We arc constructing a hypothetical hypothetical situation and tho price wo have noted is only a guess. It might ho higher or it might be lower.) No doubt this increased cost of disposal would result in n reduction in garbage. But, for n while tho impa* 1 -- *' ment would ncLunlh wo had a local landfill That's right. Wo said worse. You see, what would happen is this: A considerable number of people would continue to produce garbage, but they would try to avoid tho costs of getting rid of it by tossing it into ditch- Writer is Critical of Swim Registrations ly bo worse than if Ini es in the countryside or pouring things such as paint thinners down the drain. Perhaps, illegal operators would open unlicenced dumps arid try to make a quick profit by burying trash on their property. It would become necessary to prosecute prosecute individuals trying to flaunt the new environmental ethic and there would be considerable costs in policing the placement of garbage. However, on the other hand, one has to assume that if places other than Durham Region were taking an equally equally hard line against landfill sites, there would be an eventual change in our society. If it cost $25 per bag to get rid of our trash, we would begin to buy only products which were unpackaged or packaged in materials that were safe enough to throw on the compost heap when we were finished with them. We would recycle regularly rather than only when we felt like it. There would be a greater market for recycled material since recycling operations operations would not have to compete with garbage dumps as the final destination destination of materials from our throw-away society. Businesses involved in repairing and refurbishing items such as household household appliances would spring up overnight overnight as consumers learned the importance importance of keeing what they had rather than throwing it away. Similarly, consumers consumers would learn to buy things that lasted rather than merchandise designed designed to be tossed out after a year or two. Every household would become involved involved in composting some of its waste and possibly growing its own food in the back yard. And actions such as taking a reusable reusable cloth or string bag to the local supermarket or shopping mall would become the norm rather than an exceptional exceptional practice limited only to environmentalists. environmentalists. There would certainly be some jobs lost as a result of this switch in priorities. priorities. But at least some of these would be offset by new business opportunities. opportunities. Finally, the problem of landfill sites would have been solved forever. Basically, Basically, there would be no more landfills needed. However, since even the most environmentally environmentally conscious society can't recycle, recycle, or re-use all its waste, there would likely be residue which would have to be placed somewhere. Keeping in mind the fact that (in our hypothetical example it costs $25 per bag to recycle trash), the development development of a garbage disposal site might actually become acceptable in some communities. In fact, some towns might welcome a site which was properly-engineered properly-engineered and demonstrated to be environmentally safe. A few places where trash is accepted accepted might actually become very wealthy as "garbage czars" willing to accept the dwindling amounts of trash still remaining in an environmontally- conscious society. Perhaps, our scenario is far-fetched. It's possible that the public, being fickle, would begin to protest once tho cost of getting rid of garbage hit tho stratosphere. Some of tho individuals who might protest a dump today would probably chastise the Durham Region for failing to develop a now site in tho future. But, given tho overwhelming overwhelming opposition to a dump sito anywhere, could anyone blnmo Durham Durham if it bowed to public opposition and simply left its landfill plans on n shelf. , , Wo doubt that Durham will do so. It will probably continue to search for a dump sito and may eventually develop ono nt n cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. On the horizon is an endless round of hearings and legal battles. Some would argue that the No- Dump" scenario wo have described hero is downright irresponsible, However, we cannot help but won- dor if that option isn't the only choice available. Certainly it is the only option option acceptable to tho public Town of Newcastle Community Services Dept. 40 Temperance St. Bowmanville, Ont. L1C 3A6 Attn: Director' Community Services, Joseph P. Caruana Dear Sir: It is now the day after that unforgettable evening I spent registering my children children for swimming lessons , at the "Newcastle Fitness Centre". I believe I was. one of the experimental subjects used to test a new registration registration system. Suffice it to say the new system is a flop. I arrived at approximately approximately 6:15 and to my amazement amazement joined the lineup about 20 feet from Liberty St. at the west end of the entrance to the Newcastle Fitness Centre, having parked my car one block south of the entrance. Two hours later, at 8:20, I was in the doorway doorway of the building. At 9:05 I had my children registered and was on my way home. In all, I spent 10 minutes less than three hours in this experiment. Needless to say I was somewhat disappointed, disappointed, as was everyone else in the lineup around me, with the new and improved system. system. I feel the following issues should be addressed as part of the review of this system: •should the registration take place at this venue since parking appears to be a problem? •the stairs made it impossible impossible for the handicapped and very difficult for older people. •the public should be forewarned about how long the process can take so proper proper clothing can be worn. Many people were freezing. •the people in the lineup should be told frequently which classes are full. I was told nothing until I reached the building last night. Editor's Mail Dear Editor: REUNION '91 50 Years on the Goose Since 1941, hundreds of thousands of military and civilian civilian personnel have lived for a time in Goose Bay, Labrador. 1991 will be .the olden anniversary of "the Joose" and we're extending a special invitation to all former former GOOSE-ITES to come back for a visit. We're, sure • your newspaper has former GOOSE-ITES among its readership and we'd like to tell them about our party through your medium. The Town of Happy Valley-Goose Valley-Goose Bay will be hosting hosting REUNION '91 from July 19 to August 5, 1991. Two weeks of activities will include include the North West River Breach Festival, the Canadian Canadian Armed Forces Airshow, the Labrador Canoe Regatta Regatta and lots of opportuni- ties to reminisce with old friends and re-explore the g area. Former GOOSE-ITES are encouraged to let us know if they're thinking of coming. Were building our mailing list and have information to send about events, how to got there, where to stay, registration, registration, and more. We r d like to hear from them soon to give us an idea of how many visitors to expect nt REUNION '91. Please write:: REUNION '91, Station A. Happy Valley-Goose Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador, AOP ISO Or call: Carolyn Maybee, Tourism Cooordinntor, (708) 896-5431 Yours sincerely, Carolyn Mnyboo, Tourism Coordinator • the people should be told that there are different lineups for adult classes. Two older people behind me were told by some other registrants registrants that there was no lineup for adult classes. They had already been waiting waiting for at least 1.5 hours. •there was only one table for youth registration. There was enough space in the room for at least 10 more tables. tables. This would have speeded speeded up the process tenfold. • why not use the high school gym? •The Town should be brought kicking and screaming screaming into the 20th century and perhaps use computers to speed up this process. ' «The Town should get out of its small town mentality mentality and prepare properly for the population it is there to service. Staff should investigate investigate how other municipalities municipalities handle the process as there are better systems out there. It seems curious, but I registered my children under under the old system for the last five years and it seemed to work just fine. I hope some of the above suggestions will be followed up on and am looking forward forward to an improved system, for the winter session. People People will not be able to line up like this on December 17th. Looking forward to. your reply, I remain Yours truly, Dick Vreugdenhill Dump Site Selection Will Mean More- Emphasis On Recycling And Reducing Dear Editor: Last week our communi- 1 ty was selected as one of five possible sites for a Durham- Only Landfill Site. Obviously the citizens of the Town of Newcastle were upset, angry and frustrated. They have every right to be. The Region of Durham has a problem. People, you and I make truck loads of garbage and we expect the Region to take care of the problem. But where? The MacLaren Engineering Engineering Company's answer is a ■ landfill site, and so they put one community against another. another. All communities feel they should not be the recipient recipient of the waste from all of the region. What is the Region Region to do? I think we are not approaching approaching the solution from the proper perspective. Why not hold a contest to see who gets the dump? The rules are simple. The community which produces the most garbage gets the dump. Any community which produces the least amount of garbage is taken off the list of potential host communities. communities. In this way, the Region solves two problems simultaneously. simultaneously. Those communities who do not want the dump are in control of their own destiny. No one forces them to take the Dump except the wasteful wasteful living of its own people or their lack of interest in their environment. Perhaps the competition for the dump will spark some genuine genuine interest in Reducing, Reusing and Recycling and will ultimately lea to tne realization realization of the Region's goal of waste reduction of 50% by the year 2000. J. Veldhuis, Hampton Winter may be fast approaching, approaching, but the heat already generated in this area over the latest landfill landfill controversy is going to make furnaces seem redundant. redundant. Since September 23, the word "garbage" has been on the lips of many of my Clarke Township friends. It reminds me of the N1 fight of two years ago when I first started at this desk., I'm somewhat more informed informed about garbage, landfill, the environment and politics since ■ that green (pardon the cheap enviro grab-word) reporter reporter started to report. I know about the Gan- araska area. The advisory advisory committee to the Minster Minster of the Environment had a number of comments comments to make about the Oak Ridges Moraine and 14 different recommendations. recommendations. One of those recommendations recommendations included the MOE urging the Durham Region to put a temporary temporary (moratorium on OP (Official Plan) amendments amendments in that area until studies pertaining to wildlife, the nature and extent of surface water resources and ground water water resources had been examined. Another recommenda- tion was that the province province should implement an effective means of ensuring ensuring interim protection of the Moraine until a comprehensive comprehensive approach to land use planning in the area had been established. established. So what of all that? It indicates that this area in the Ganaraska, is being questioned because of the possibility that it is being threatened by residential development. And if a special advisory committee committee to the Minister of the Environment believes it ■ is an important area and if David Crombie included included it in his royal commission commission on the watershed, then why is it being considered considered for garbage? I understand all about the constraint mapping that took place. I listened to the engineers engineers speak at a meeting last week. While they were very knowledgeable about matters I don't even pretend to understand, understand, they lost me when they talked about the difference difference between a constraint constraint and a considéra-: tion. The hydrologist said the Oak Ridges aquifer wasn't a good area on which to put a landfill site. However, this wasn't a constraint, it was something something considered. Well, if it isn't a good area what were the reasons reasons for considering it and still going with it? I don't know much about groundwater, wells or surface waters. I come not from the city but close enough. My family, while not great environ mentalists, is learning and changing. But that doesn't mean I don't know anything about that area. I know what happened when the trees were cleared years and years ago. The area was left sandy. After years of reforestation reforestation efforts, the area is beginning to start to : move into the hardwood phase of trees (the ones that can grow " in shade of the taller ones, are so pretty and loved by all) It's not taking the "not in my back yard" approach approach to suggest the dump shouldn't Joe there. I'm positive after everything everything is taken into consideration consideration it will be found it shouldn't be there either. either. We need landfill. We don't live in a wasteless society. But landfill shouldn't be in the Ganaraska. And the Ganny shouldn't even have been considered. I.RAT.E. Dear Editor: As you are aware by now, I.R.A.T.E. citizens of Peterborough Peterborough has decided to take legal action against the Prime Minister and the government government of Canada. What started out as a protest against unfair taxation taxation (G.S.T.) has now become become a fight for the very survival survival of Canada as a demon- cratic nation. When we as Canadians elect a person to serve as Prime Minister, this is the highest honour we can bestow upon another Canadian, and it is a honour not to be taken lightly, and as such, that person not only undertakes to serve the people, people, but protect, honour and respect the rights of the people people and the laws of this nation. nation. The four corner stones of every civilized nation are, democracy, justice, fair taxation taxation and responsible government. government. We have none of the above in this country, today. What we have is dictatorship, dictatorship, corruption, lies and deceit. deceit. The Canadian people deserve deserve better than this. There are in Canada today, today, fourteen and a half million million people out of a voting population of just under eighteen million, who are against the G.S.T. I.R.A.T.E. is in the process process of sending milllions of signatures to the Senate asking them to stop this tax, and we believe tne Senate will do their duty (as they have done in the past) to this nation and to the people by stopping the G.S.T. Our Prime Minister has decided that this is unacceptable unacceptable and must be changed as the Senate and the people are standing in the way. of his dictatorship. Instead of bowing to the will of the people and stopping the G.S.T., he has decided to stack the Senate against the very people who elected him, by using what is known as a constitutional provision. That provision is in our constitution constitution for one reason only, if the Senate is against the people and the government of the day, the government of the day can then stack the Senate, with the permission of the people, that's democracy. democracy. For Mulroney to try to use this provision (without the permission of the people), in order to get his own way, would be considered an net of treason in a democratic country and he would be dealt with accordingly. He must not be allowed to tear apart the very foundation of our civilized society, he must be stopped now. The time has come for every Canadian to put aside their differences and defend this nation in every way possible. possible. We must not sit on our hands and complain and let Mulroney run roughshod over everything that is good and decent in this wonderful country of ours. The people of I.R.A.T.E. though small in numbers, have the will and determination to do whatever is legally possible to stop this tax, but they cannot do it alone, they need your help and they need it now, time is of the essence. Yours sincerely, John Welham, R.R.10, Peterborough, Ont. K9J 6Y2 Letter Writer Fearful Of High Taxes for Future Generations IÏ That $2,000 tax bill on our home in 1990 will dou- e to $4,000 in 1995 if the past trend continues. Soon none of us will be able to afford afford a home and certainly not our children. Our city and the Region are run by the bureaucrats and not by our elected representatives. representatives. City Hall and Durham Region each have over 50 million dollars in reserves at nil times. This is over-taxing and illegal. New 56 million dollar offices offices and a 20 million dollar parking garage for Oshawn are glaring examples of waste. ? fr This unjustifiable em- iire-building comes about rom the extra millioAs of tax dollars available for spending. The real cost, however, industry closing, lost jobs, broken homes, more welfare, more law enforcement enforcement and little hope for our future generations. At no time should property property tax increase beyond our actual growth. People must speak out now, before it is too late. Call "Citizens Against Unjustified Taxes". Plan to attend the meetings to halt the waste in local and Regional Governments. Doug Wilson, Oshasvn. Pressing Matters In One Small Town -- by John E. James -- During tho Eighties, our family owned nnd operated Tho Amityvillo Bugle (name altered to protect tho innocent). innocent). n 116-ycnr-old 'smalltown 'smalltown weekly newspaper located located in a close-knit community nt tho southwestern southwestern tip of Ontario, Tho nron and its residents residents represent n unique way of life, quite unlike anything anything wo over encountered back homo. Our family foil in love with tho place - and tho people - on tho first weekend, nnd tho 'affair' is still alive nnd thriving today. today. In subsequent issues of this paper, ns you rend how some events in today's crazy world affect our community, you'll understand why. Tho Amityvillo Bugle was a classic "Mom and Pop Sliop." Long on hours, short on sophistication, and loaded loaded with risks. Wo loved tho job anyway. Times change. Tho Big Boys ore on tho move, nnd there's not much a liltlo guy can do about it. On August Jllst, tho Buglo was finally sold to n largo conglomerate. Now "Mom and Pop" are retired, nnd our writing days supposedly over. As you might imagine, it wasn't ensy to sit down, or shut up. Last week n publisher publisher pal enquired about running "Pressing Matters" in his paper. We seized tho opportunity before ho changed his mind. Another old crony called, nnd soon wo wore r bnck in business' nt the keyboard. "Pressing Matters" was a pressing matter... again. A word of caution would bo prudent. Tho way wo see tilings from tho southwest corner of Ontario might not always coincide with your own thoughts on any given issue. Hopefully wo have enough in common for you to consider those articles informative, informative, provocative, or simply simply entertaining, (In Amityvillo, Amityvillo, nobody called Tlui Bugle Bugle "dull".) No fancy words, nor pompous pompous utterings dwell in those columns. What works best for us is tho K.I.S.S. strategy (Keep It Simple, Stupid!), nnd "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" remains high on our list of survival tactics. (Wouldn't tho count™ be a lot better off if most of our sremiors and that "Door- nob" down in Ottawa followed followed tho same simple guidelines!) Fortunately^ despite nil tho horror stories in tho daily daily media onslaught, "good nows" is still out there. Amityvillo Amityvillo overflows with it nnd Amityvillors love a good laugh or good time. They won't mind if wo share tho tasty ones with you. I- rinstanco, right now the Locals are engaged in tho annual battle against "Tho Dreaded Spider Epidemic." Tho climate down hero is darned near tropical, see. And each year the combined effects of wicked humidity and high temperatures produce produce a crop of hairy-logged boastles that could reduce Rnnibo to Dninbi. Wild stories surface during during tho spider days, Ono prominent local lady is lucky she's alive to toll today's tale. Here's tho scoop: Being tho practical type, Missus usually hung nor 'working purse' on a hook out in tne backdoor porch for fast getaways. A screened porch is no match for tho annual annual Amityvillo spider crop and n baggy purse can bo n fascinating thing for a big furry creature with nesting habits. This very morning our lady slings purse over shoulder, shoulder, hops on tho bicycle, nnd heads downtown. « reaching tho busy ntorscction, motion is detected on her bare forearm, forearm, near tho purse strap. A glance reveals the vilest of hairy-logged villains (a body tho size of a Burger King Whopper, sho Inter , claims), crawling up-arm towards her internal affairs!! To make a long story short, our heroine didn't perish perish ... but she put on a heck of a show going through tho Intersection, Onlookers later called Tho Buglo to suggest that if the town's emergency warning system breaks down for any lengthy period, said individual should bo hired ns tho standby unit. And, next time our town fathers fathers contemplate inviting the ROMP Musical Ride, they should first consider the nmnzing performance this good lady gave ono sunny sunny day in downtown Amityvillo; Amityvillo; during tho annual spider spider epidemic. See you next week. After a career in advertising and television, television, John James purchased Tho Am- herstburg Echo community newspaper which he and his wife, Linda, ran for the past 10 years. John's columns and editorials wore among the most widely- read features of his newspaper and this year, he was tho recipient of a Canadian Community Newspapers Association Editorial Editorial Award. Pressing Matters in One Small Town represents a continuation of a column ho wrote for the Amherst* burg Echo until it was sold last month. John James is tho son of Statesman Edi- tor/Publislior John M, James and Dorothy Dorothy James. Before his move to Amherst- burg, ho nnd his family resided in Bowmanville.