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2 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, Wednesday, October 2.1991 Section Two Former Publishers Rev. W. R. Climie, 1854-1878 • M.A. James, 1878.1935 • George W. James, 1935-1957 Produced weekly by James Publishing Company Limited For 137 Years, Our First Concern Has Been Our Community Publisher - John M. James Assoc. Publisher - Richard A. James Plant Manager - Donald J. Bishop Ad. Manager - Brian G. Purdy Editor - Peter Parrott Production Rick Patterson, Julie Cashin-Oster, Laurens Kaldeway, Doug Lugtenburg, Sharon McMullen, Barb Patterson, Sean Pickard, Ralph Rozema, Jim Snoek, Vance Sutherland, Jim Tuuramo Advertising Laveme Morrison, Pat Patterson-Savage Editorial Brad Kelly, Lorraine Manfredo, Laura J. Richards Office Angela Luscher, Junia Carnegie, Grace McGregor, Nancy Pleasance, Marilyn Rutherfond, Barb Schouten P.O, Box 190, 62 King St. W., Bowmanville, Ontario, L1C 3K9 416-623-3303 Fax 416-623-6161 Time to Correct Municipal Lines One of the issues that the incoming members of Newcastle's Town Council should consider is a re-defining of some municipal boundaries. We were surprised that one obvious discrepancy in the ward boundaries boundaries wasn't cleared up in time for the upcoming election. Bowmanville (also known as Ward Two) should have its borders enlarged enlarged to include the new subdivisions located to the west of Martin Rd. This area is slated for some large-scale growth and a number of homes arc already located there. Construction of an even larger subdivision is already under way at this site. Since this land is part of the urbanized area known as Bowmanville, you would logically presume that the residents from that area would be voting for Ward Two councillors. But that's not the case. Because we are working from boundaries unchanged since the Region of Durham Act, the Bowmanville subdivisions west of Martin Rd. are deemed to be in Darlington Township, and therefore part of Ward One. And so, the voters to the west of Martin Rd. are choosing from the same slate of school board and town council candidates as are those residents residents of Courtice, Hampton, and Burketon. It doesn't make sense. Perhaps some of the re-drawing of the ward boundaries would also rectify the population imbalance among the wards. Roughly speaking, Ward One has 15,000 voters; Ward Two has 11,000 and Ward Three has 10,000. Although Ward One and Ward Three have the same number of elected officials, they do not have the same population. And, looking to the future, it would appear as though the trend will continue. Unless Orono gets improved water and sewer services, services, Ward Three may grow much less rapidly than Bowmanville and Courtice. Future changes in ward boundaries should reflect this fact. But, thus far, we have only mentioned the adjustment of boundaries within the municipality known as Newcastle. Since we're feeling adventurous, we'll go so far as to suggest that another another adjustment in the boundaries between Durham Region municipalities municipalities should be made. We suggest that it. would make sense to at least consider extending the Oshawa boundaries to include Courtice. If you. were flying over the Durham Region in an aircraft, you'd quite naturally. assume that Courtice is the logical eastward extension of Oshawa. And perhaps that's how it should be. Oshawa has the kind of big city infrastructure (things like roads, recreation recreation facilities and cultural centres) which can handle large-scale urban growth. While Oshawa might balk at the idea of taking on more residential development, development, it could benefit by gaining needed space for industrial expansion expansion along the Highway 401 corridor. That kind of industrial and commercial commercial potential would help balance the residential component of the Courtice area. ■ An amalgamation with the existing Oshawa community might provide a speedier resolution to the problems of taxes, urban services, and hydro rates which have plagued the Courtice area for years. The boundary change would give the Town of Newcastle more time to focus on development in Bowmanville and Newcastle and to adequately meet all the other challenges associated with local government in the remaining remaining communities within the municipality. It's an idea worth looking into. Especially in view of the fact that this is an election year. The only people who have anything to lose from a change in the boundaries boundaries to the west of us are local politicians. They might object to the idea of their territory becoming smaller. To this, we can only reply that empire-building must not be allowed to take precedence over what is common sense. C.A.U.S.E. Architects Plan Future for Downtown Bowmanville by Laura J. Richards Nation Comes First LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Month for Community Care Dear Mr, James: October has been designated designated Community Care Awareness Awareness Month to encourage volunteers volunteers to become involved in our Home Support and Mental Health Programs and to highlight highlight the work being done by by Rick James Everybody has 'em. Those days when nothing goes right. , Maybe it's because of the economy, or maybe it's because because die golf swing ain't quite as smooth as it used to be. But, for whatever reason, there must be more of them now, because we have taken to breaking the bad days into categories. First we have "moat" days. These are the days when building a crocodile-filled moat around the house sounds like a good idea to keep all the "yahoos" out, Last Saturday was a "moat" day. As we struggled for two hours to remove a small plastic fitting from a larger plastic filling, we were interrupted by a pair of door-to- door salesman selling their beliefs. Despite the "beware of dog" signs, the duo seemed determined to talk to us about stress in our daily lives. Keep in mind that we had been fighting with the very stressful plastic fitting for two hours when Pete and Répété made their pitch. We're not sure if it was the dog's teeth or the owner's glare that finally persuaded them to leave. Disturbing items of interest also have the ability to create "moat" days. Locally, two items caught our eye that qualify as "moat" days. The first involves the council's council's decision to provide a bicycle rack for town employees employees so that they may park their two-wheelers. When the motion was presented to councillors, it was suggested that a report be prepared to determine the feasibility of such a bold move. Fortunately, common sense prevailed and one councillor reminded his colleagues that the cost of the rack would be far less than a study to determine the need for one. The second issue involves the Fire Department and the sudden resignation of Deputy Chief Hugh Doherty. Hugh is a firm believer in the philosophy that if you treat people fairly and with respect, they will work with you...rather than for you. That's a fine distinction that makes a big difference in morale for any organization. Hugh has cited "personal reasons" for his resignation and out of respect for him we won't speculate on what they may he. We do know that he was extremely well liked by all the firefighters, and will be missed by those who had any dealings with him. It's definitely a "moat" day to sec such a good person leave a profession they love. Good luck in the future, Hughic. After "moat" days come "island" days. "Island" days are the real bad days when you search the real estate ads for a remote island to get away from all the craziness in our world. The ones where you sit down at the end of the day to watch the news and shake your head in disbelief at the events that have unfolded across the nation. Take for example the six year case of Charles Ng. For those not familiar with this fine character of a man, he's the one U.S. authorities want to talk to about the 12 horrific murders south of the border. But, Canada's Canada's slap on the hand justice system has allowed this guy to avoid prosecution because he may face the death penalty penalty in the States! Oh, by the way, he also tried to kill someone in Canada, but only managed to wound that person. Groups such as Amnesty International have a role to play in world events, but even their members must agree that this guy is not likely to win a Citizen of the Year Award. For more on the justice system, we turn to Hull, Quebec. Quebec. Last week, a resident of Hull was walking his champion champion Great Dane down the streets of the city. Hiill police stopped the man and told him that local by-laws required the dog to be leashed. Despite assurances from the owner owner that the dog was totally trained, the police insisted that the by-law be enforced. Finally the police decided to ticket the offender and escort him to the waiting cruiser for the paperwork. At this point the Great Dane grabbed one of the officers by the backside, thinking that his master was being banned. The police opened fire with their service revolvers and 12 shots later, the dog was near death. A final shotgun blast at close range finished it. Local passers-by had to be restrained by police as they tried to intervene in the madness. Needless to say, the owner of the dog was devastated as he watched his faithful companion needlessly destroyed. The entire episode was captured on an amateur's home video camera and shown on networks across the nation. Hull police reviewed the incident and determined that excessive force had not been used. No charges laid and incident handled properly. Anybody know where you can pick up a remote desert island real cheap? our Caregiver Relief program. Your help in featuring the work of our organization would be deeply appreciated. Durham Region Community Community Care Association is entering its fifteenth year of service to seniors and adults with special needs. Over 1,100 volunteers provide practical neighbourly services to help more than 4,000 people in our communities communities remain as independent as possible. Planners have estimated that the number of senior and disabled adults in Durham Region Region will increase by 47% during during the 1990's. The Association Association needs 150 new volunteers to keep pace with the increasing increasing needs of the aging population. population. The average age of a Home Support client is 83 years. In the Town of Newcastle, 310 Home Support Volunteers are involved in providing transportation, transportation, Meals on Wheels, cleaning, grass cutting, shovelling, shovelling, errands, home visiting, telephone security checks, foot care, income tax services and assistance with forms, special events and programs. Last year Home Support Volunteers completed 22,062 tasks, contributing 20,078 hours to their neighbours and served 930 clients in The Town of Newcastle. The COPE Mental Health Program requires 30 new volunteers volunteers throughout Durham Region to support the increasing increasing number of adults with emotional emotional or psychiatric problems. In The Town of Newcastle, 28 trained COPE volunteers provide provide one-to-one support or assist assist with the stroke support group, caregiver support group, support group for parents parents of children with special needs, and social recreation groups for ex-psychiatric patients. patients. Last year COPE volunteers volunteers assisted 74 clients through 1294 hours of support. Relief Caregivers are salaried salaried staff who provide planned temporary in-home relief to caregivers of frail elderly and disabled adults including those with Alzheimer Disease. The slogan for our recruitment recruitment campaign is One Day You May Need Us...Today We Need You". Your support in featuring the work of our organization will make the campaign a success. success. Yours truly, Betty McGregor Chairman Local Advisory Committee Anger is what I feel about the way people act when the federal government tries to make changes for the nation's future. Everyone seems to want something for themselves. Has everyone forgotten that we live in a nation? It's a nation that is young compared to many other countries in the world. The so-called "crisis" we arc experiencing experiencing is just another growing pain. Look at some of die oldest countries on this little green planet. Everyone has growing pains. I was in university when Pierre Trudeau and his gaggle of Liberals decided to bring the Constitution home to Canada more than a decade ago. There was plenty of squawking, feather-pulling and charges from different minority groups of being left out. Now, Brian Mulroney and his house of Conservatives want to restructure the poor old Constitution and the rest of Canada. And everyone wants to have a kick at the can. Quebecers, of course, want everything they can get from the rest of Canada. While the rest of Canada is wondering if they want Quebec. Quebec. No one can really fault Quebecers for wanting to play the bully on the street, since the province really is one of the biggest in Canuck world. When we set our sights on reform, we should take into consideration a whole bushel of items. First of all, we are all in this country together. Oooh, what a thought! Do you think our MPs have figured figured it out yet? Canada stretches from Vancouver Island straight across the continent to Newfoundland. Newfoundland. It doesn't begin and end with Ontario and Quebec, or so most of us learned in social studies classes back in grade school. Just because these two provinces have the density with respect to population, doesn't mean diddly-squat (most of die time). There are 10 other members of this nation nation to consider. We all have thoughts on what our backgrounds are. However, we are all Canadians Canadians first. (At least that is what the census this year should have taught us.) I am a Canadian first. To me, there is much ado about not much. I cmpadiizc wiüi my Québécois Québécois cousins (all six of them, plus their spouses and children) but I do not want to sec a separation of our nation due to many events which happened long before I was born or while I was under the voting age. Why must today's Canadians Canadians pay for something someone's someone's ancestors (not mine) did to their ancestors on the Plains of Abraham? Nor do I want to see Canada Canada split up according to land grant agreements made more than a century ago to Canada's Canada's native peoples.. That would be like going to Wales and saying diis piece of land was given to my relative by William the Conqueror Conqueror in the mid 1060s and therefore it is my right to have that same land again. Get serious, folks! The so-called "new blueprint blueprint for Canada" is to bring sweeping changes to our ideas ideas and ideals of this country we call home. In a nutshell, the new plan is to recognize Quebec as having a distinct society within limits set by the federal federal government, the Senate is to be elected, Quebec's immigration immigration policy is to be looked at, as well as national shared- cost programs. Outside of the nutshell, it was nice to finally see that the feds want to strike down the internal trade barriers. Since our illustrious Prime Minister bought the blueprint into the House of Commons last week, the Toronto dailies have published on almost a daily basis the what-ifs and who-did-we-forget comments. comments. The blueprint has been analyzed, analyzed, conceptualized, and cauterized by many bigwigs, including politicians, business business people and all those in between. But still the little people are wondering what docs all this hocus-pocus means. Well, I can't tell you, as I certainly don't know for sure. However, I do know this: If you arc in a minority situation, situation, you'd better be a heck of a good lobbyist to get your kick at the can. ■ We Asked.... Will the Blue Jays Win the American League East Pennant? .. .And You. Said Chris Phillips Bowmanville Yes. So far they look good with their pitching. They're leading and I hope it continues. Lome Hemphill Whitby Yes. If they stay injury free, they have the best personnel and bench strength. They've also got the best starting lineup. lineup. Debbie Hemphill Whitby Yes. They have the support of the fans and I also like Roberto Alomar. Shawna Kelly Newcastle Yes, because they have worked hard all season and Boston hasn't been playing well. It should be a great scries against Minnesota. Next week's question: I lave you been following the debate over the Constitution? m n