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Section Two The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, Wednesday, September 7,1994 3 Letters to the Editor New Parking Meters Causing Some Confusion Dear Sir, On Thursday, Aug. 18, I parked my car, just west of the Canadian Statesman office. I looked at the parking parking meter and it had the number 15 flashing. I presumed that I had 15 minutes cm the meter before the time expired. I went across the street to Ricka- by's to pick up a parcel that had been ordered and was ready for me. I though I had time before I put any more money in the meter. When I came back to the car, the meter was still flashing on 15, but on my windshield was a $10 parking ticket. I immediately went to the Town Hall and was instructed to go to the By-law Office. I questioned the ticket, but no one could explain how the meters meters worked. I always thought '0' (zero) was zero and 15 was 15. But no one has given me an answer yet! On the same day, the President of the Legion Branch 178, had it happen to him also, and I'm sure this has happened happened to other citizens shopping in Bowmanville. I am hoping the Canadian States- Councillor Preparing for Municipal Vote Nov. 14th Since there have not been any council meetings dining August, this does not mean I have been on vacation. vacation. It was interesting to read the speculation in The Statesman by Laura Laura Richards that I was not going for mayor and also to read in the Claring- ton This Week that I was going to run for mayor. Certainly, we all need to examine the current mayor and council and their performance. I guess Laura's comment that I didn't see any problem with the current mayor, was her opinion. Laura tends to report most issues with a certain blindness. August 21 to the 24th, was a very educational experience for me. I attended attended the Association of Municipalities Municipalities of Ontario's Annual Conference in Toronto. I admit that it was somewhat somewhat expensive but I consider it a valuable experience. However, I have never attended a conference in my three years and I felt I owed it to my .constituents to be more informed • and effective on their behalf. The sessions sessions were from 8:30 a.m. to approximately approximately 5:00 p.m. There were hundreds of delegates from all over Ontario. I met councillors councillors from large and small cities, towns and rural areas. I met a number of mayors and asked them how they worked with new councillors. I asked them how they got along together. It was interesting to see and hear about the different styles of leadership and team work. Hazel MacCallion, Mayor of Mis- sisssauga, has the wisdom of age and experience and was kind enough to spend time sharing her-experience. I was present for the debate of the three Leaders of our Provincial Political Political Parties: Mrs. Lyn McLeod, Premier Premier Bob Rae and Mr. Mike Harris. It was interesting and a real opportunity opportunity to see these people close up. The most interesting sessions were those dealing with Regional Health Care Reform and the new Planning Reform legislation, Bill 163. The future will be interesting and I ask for your support next term to continue addressing the needs of our municipality. I hope to meet with many of you over the next few months as I start my campaign for the Municipal Election this November. I would be pleased to hear from you if you wish to help or give me your opinions. Please call me at the Municipal Centre Centre 623-3379 or my residence 623- 4832. John O'Toole Local Councillor Ward 2, Bowmanville. man could perhaps find out, and print, how these meters work! Yours sincerely, Douglas G. Walton Newcastle P.S. I paid the $10 fine. Editor's Note: Motorists should look carefully to make certain there is not a minus sign in front of the time indicated on the meter and they should also beware if the numbers on the meter are flashing. Both signals indicate that your time is up and you are beginning to use up the 15 minute ",grace period" which is provided by the municipality. There are two different meters in Bowmanville's downtown core. Both give vehicles an extra 15 minutes. Here's how they work: When your time is up at one type of meter, it begins to count down the number of minutes remaining in the 15-minute grace period. A minus sign also appears and it indicates the number number of minutes you have over-stayed at the meter. For example, if you see the numbers -00:14, you know your time has expired and your complimentary complimentary 15 minutes will be up in another minute. (At which time you could get a parking ticket.) If the meter reads 00:5, you have another five minutes of paid time available, plus the 15 minutes minutes of grace provided by the municipality. municipality. This type of meter has slots for the different coins. Now for the second kind of meter. These are the ones with only one slot for coins. They show the time you have purchased and they immediately begin counting down to the end of it. Once finished, you get the customary 15 extra minutes courtesy of the municipality. municipality. These minutes are represented by a flashing number. For instance a flashing flashing 00:14 means you have just one minute before your "free" 15 minutes is up. Once these extra minutes have ended, only the colon (:) shows on the meter. We hope this information helps drivers who are baffled by the newfangled newfangled parking meters in Bowmanville. Bowmanville. It certainly helped me. Happy Fourth Anniversary to Me! On Tuesday, Sept. 6,1 celebrated my fourth anniversary of employment as a reporter with The Canadian Statesman. I have the suspicion that I may have set a staying record for news reporters reporters here. From all reports, many reporters have left within a couple of years for bigger and better (?) things. I remember before I graduated from New Brunswick Community College that my journalism instructor, Victor Stanton, told my classmates and I to always aim higher than a weekly newspaper. In fact, when the name Bowmanville Bowmanville came up, it was from my photography photography instructor, Steve. He said he had a photographer friend living in this area. I had no idea where Bowmanville Bowmanville was, and was sure I wouldn't need to know. Imagine my surprise at finding myself myself here! When I got my job at The Statesman, Statesman, I was breaking a lot of odds. I got a job during the height of the recession. And I had only been to Bowmanville Bowmanville once before to do a story on the Oshawa and Bowmanville flea markets markets for the paper I did my journalism placement with. When I got the job at The Canadian Canadian Statesman I worked with Andrea Adair. When she left, after two and one-half years, a student from Carle- ton University came in for the summer summer of 1991 and then Lorraine Man- fredo (a terrific cartoonist as well as a reporter/photographer) was hired in September. My years here have proved to be interesting. My first, real assignment was on Sept. 6,1990 -- : I staked out the NDP celebration in Oshawa on election night. I was surprised that I was in the thick of things in Oshawa. I figured Andrea or Peter (who were covering other political parties) would be the ones with all the excitement happening happening around them. I guess you never know! Speaking of getting stirred up...while I have been here and writing writing Outlook I have been making sure people don't go along their merry ways without having something to think about. I have tackled everything from same-sex couples getting benefits to shooting down councillors when they've really fouled things up. I have enjoyed working with community community leaders, farmers, councillors and everyone in between. I hope I have been able to shed a little light, hope and laughter into your lives. It has been a tough job, but that's one of the challenges I try to rise to each week. While I have made lots of friends in this job, I have made a couple of enemies as well. My father told me that would happen eventually. In many ways, when I first began working here I was scared to death. I have since relaxed somewhat in how I view my job and the people I inter-act with on a regular basis. I no longer think my job in jeopardy jeopardy if a politician thinks I've misquoted misquoted them. That's why I keep my note books for more than a month. It's proof positive that I didn't make up a quote. Journalism ethics, for me, are a way of life -- they keep me out of trouble. So, how do I like being a journalist in Clarington? Simply put, I like this area. There are so many things about staying within the community you work in. During my first two years at the paper, I lived in Oshawa. I felt disconnected disconnected with the people I dealt with on a regular basis. Since moving here two springs ago, I have set down roots and become become involved with many groups. I feel like I am a part of the area... that I belong. At the newspaper level, I have To page 5 by Rick James "Where are all the candidates?" With a municipal election approaching quickly in November, we're going to see lots of political campaigning between now and then. That is, if there are any candidates. candidates. With only two months to go before the election, there are still several vacancies for seats on the public and separate school boards, and the hydro commission. As for council seats, several local and regional positions have only one candidate running so far. The question is...where is every-, body? Considering the number of controversial controversial issues that our office hears about daily, daily, it's hard to believe more people are not interested in playing a role in the future of our community. A week doesn't go by that I don't receive a call about such things as the location of the new fire station; too much residential growth versus industrial development; high taxes; hiring of out-of- town contractors when local firms are qualified to perform the work; or the construction construction of Highway 407. Even something something as minor as the four-hour line-up for swimming lessons could be the issue that makes someone decide to enter municipal politics. On the other hand, perhaps the absence of candidates is a sign that most residents are happy the way our municipal governments governments are being managed. A recent poll indicated that, indeed, most respondents felt that Clarington is a great place to live. But, an acclamation is not an election, and it would be nice if each position were to be contested. Give it some thought and talk it over with your family. If you decide to give it a try, best to jump on the bandwagon now and start your door-knocking campaign. "Walking on a bed of nails" Remember that safety commercial on television a few years ago when a construction construction worker steps through a doorway onto a nail and it pierces his foot? Just watching that commercial probably sold more steel-soled workboots than any other advertising campaign. That commercial became reality over the week-end when I was helping a friend with another one of those do-it-yourself projects. Both of us know better, but for whatever reason, we were only wearing running shoes. As I worked on one side of the room, he worked to remove some dry- wall from the ceiling. We've worked to; gether on many projects, so I was rather surprised when he yelped and dropped a crowbar, bouncing it off the back of my leg. As I turned around to yell at him for hitting me, my eyes opened wide as he was pulling his foot off a 3 1/2" spike that was sticking up from the floor. It's a good thing he went and laid down, because if he didn't leave the room, I was going to fall over. Not because of the blood, but just the thought of that nail piercing the sole of a foot should send shivers down everyone's spine. When he was cleaned up, I suggested he head to the hospital for a tetanus shot. His response was, "Don't need to, I had one last year when I put a spike through my hand." Now I am going to go lie down. "Pretty sidewalks, but how much?" While driving to work each day, I've been watching the construction of a new sidewalk on the east side of Liberty Street North. There's no question a sidewalk has been needed there since the early 1970s when the high school was built. But, my jaw dropped and my wallet pounded when I saw the boulevards being made of interlocking interlocking brick. I would have hoped the road planner could have maintained the grass boulevards, boulevards, both for appearance and fiscal responsibility. responsibility. And, I'm not alone. Many people have commented on the extravagance. extravagance. I assume the money for it became available available because of the infrastructure funding. That's still no reason to be wasteful, since no matter what you want to call it, that money still came from your pocketbook. Speaking of the infrastructure funding, I'm still convinced it was a very large gamble to fight a recession. It may create some short-term employment, but I've yet to see any long term jobs created from that massive expenditure. About another two years, and I see our economy slipping backwards again as those projects are completed. Time will tell. "A firefighter's best friend?" Sometimes our furry four-legged friends can be a little ungrateful ungrateful when someone tries to be nice to them. Early Tuesday morning, I responded to a house fire on Concession Street East. While I was outside taking pictures, a firefighter firefighter returned to the pumper for treatment treatment of a dog bite. In an attempt to save a five-month-old Doberman Pinscher from perishing in the smoke-filled house, firefighter firefighter Ed Donnelly grabbed the pooch and pushed him out a back door. Unfortunately, "Blue" was more interested in protecting the house and took a bite out of Ed's arm. Now safely with his injured master in a nearby home, "Blue's" attention shifted to protecting his family, making it somewhat of a challenge for medical personnel. Then I entered the picture. As you can see from the above photo, I'm a dog lover. And although I've never worked with a Doberman, Blue needed some attention until the animal control officers could arrive. arrive. I offered to look after him, and with a little coaxing, and a lot of praise, that vicious vicious little stick of dynamite settled down to be a well-behaved friend. It's unfortunate "Blue" and Ed met under under such extreme circumstances. I asked about taking a picture with the two of them together. But after receiving several stitches, I don't blame Ed for maintaining a relationship with "Blue" from a distance.