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2 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, Wednesday, October 19,1994 Section Two Catta&tatt $(a 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 P.O. Box 190,62 King St. W., Bowmanville, Ontario L1C 3K9 905-623-3303 Fax 905-623-6161 For 140 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, Laurens Kaldeway, Doug Lugtenburg, Sharon McMullen, Barb Patterson, Ralph Rozema, Jim Snoek, Vance Sutherland, Jim Tuuramo Advertising Editorial Laverne Morrison Brad Kelly, Lorraine Manfredo, Laura J. Richards Office Angela Luscher, Junia Hodge, Grace McGregor, Nancy Pleasance-Sturman, Marilyn Rutherford No Election Acclamations We've got ourselves an election! A few months ago, it didn't look like there was very much interest in the upcoming November 14th municipal vote. But all that has changed, if the number of candidates is any indication of the public's interest. As the result of a few last-minute filings of nomination papers, there are no acclamations -- always a good sign in a democracy. In fact, in some races -- especially a few school board contests, there are actually more candidates than in previous years. Of course, now that the suspense over who may and may not be running is over, the real contest begins. All that we can suggest is the idea that the process must continue to be "participatory." Few of us can be candidates. But we can all participate either by actively working for a candidate of our choice or by doing our best to become informed voters. Over the next month, we owe it to ourselves and our community to become as well-informed on the issues and as well-informed about the candidates as is humanly possible. Read about the issues. Study the candidates' literature and advertisements carefully. Ask the candidates questions when they knock on your door and ask for your support or when they appear at candidate meetings. And, above all, let's cast an informed ballot on voting day. Surprisingly enough, in municipal elections, most eligible voters don't bother to darken the door of a polling both on election day. In the election of 1991, just 39 per cent of eligible voters cast their ballots. Perhaps we can do better in 1994. It's not too late to suggest that we ought not let apathy win the majority of votes next month. Apple Festival Now a Tradition Bigger and better than ever. That's the only way to describe Saturday's BIA apple festival. The time had come for the festival to expand beyond the boundary of Temperance St., and take over the entire front street of Bowmanville. That's what happened on Saturday when literally thousands of people jammed the main street to enjoy the apple treats, the crafts, the games, the contests, demonstrations, music, shopping and lots more. Fortunately, the day was topped off with weather conditions perfect for a fall outing. It has been said over the past few years that tourism is one of the major growth opportunities for businesses in the future. And Saturday's event certainly ranks as a tourist-type outing. There is a growing demand for this kind of event which an entire family can enjoy. Downtown businesses cannot rely only on tourism for their customers. We still rely on day-to-day business from regular customers who live here. But, occasional special events such as the apple festival are able to give the municipality the sort of wide publicity which puts the town on the map and encourages more people to come here to live, work, play, shop and invest. It is just this kind of event which will encourage new customers to visit the town. And let's also keep in mind the fact that if we don't provide these sorts of special events, other communities will. This kind of public relations may be difficult to measure on a balance sheet But it certainly suggests to us that the apple festival is a tradition which ought to continue. Cameras in Courtrooms A conference for judges recently concluded that televised judicial proceedings should not be permitted in Canada. This decision may be best for the administration of justice. But, the general public has a growing interest in seeing high-profile cases given full electronic coverage. And it will be hard for judicial traditions to withstand the demand for such coverage. Increasingly, news is being presented for entertainment rather than information. And the events shown in connection with the O.J. Simpson trial in Los Angeles are a good example of this trend. Canadian judges are probably hoping to avoid the kind of pitfalls which can arise from high-profile criminal proceedings. They're undoubtedly concerned about the fact that the public will be trying and convicting accused persons before trials have concluded. And there's undoubtedly concern over the possibility that courtrooms with TV cameras would become a three-ring circus in much the same way that parliament has undergone a change in character since TV cameras were introduced. But it's hard to fight an ongoing trend. You can argue with some justification that, in today's era of instantaneous communications, courtrooms open to television are merely ensuring that an even wider audience can clearly see the judicial system in progress. An open judicial system is a cornerstone of democracy. What is the difference between allowing a few hundred spectators in a courtroom or allowing (via electronic media) a few hundred thousand spectators? You could also suggest that live, ongoing TV coverage is preferable to regular media treatment of a court case because the public has the opportunity to sec a trial in its entirely and not filtered through the perceptions of reporters and editors. Let's also remember dial in the very earliest days of newspapers, coverage of debates in the British House of Commons was forbidden. How times have changed! While it's not likely that we'll see live trials on Canadian television in the immediate future, this issue is far from over. Keeping Up with the Joneses' During Waste Reduction Week October 17 - October 23 B WeAsked... Do you think people on social assistance should be required to do volunteer work? .. .And You Said Ken Nixon Bowmanville "Certainly." Jon Sigurdson Bowmanville Arnold Lobb Bowmanville 'Yeah, I think so. I have no 'Yes. Why shouldn't they problem with it, but think since they are getting people should be retrained helped out by the com- or in volunteer work that munity." adds to their skills." Other Comments: Susan Jeschke Bowmanville "Yes, I do, under certain circumstanc es. Bernie Reid Bowmanville "I would say yes as long as they are able bodied. Simple reason being, 1 think they have it better on social assistance." Next week's question: What do you look for in a candidate for local government? or u