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1 Pace 4 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, October 1.1997 he Canabiatt Statesman Former Publishers and Partners Rev. John M. Climie and W. R. Climie 1854 - 1878 M. A. James, 1878 -1935 .• Norman S. B. James, 1919 -1929 G. Elena James, 1929 -1947 • Dr. George W. James, 1919 - 1957 Produced weekly by James Publishing Company Limited P.O. Box 190, 62 King St. W. z Bowmanville, Ontario L1C 3K9 Tel: 905-623-3303 HOURS: Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Fax: 905-623-6161 lnternet-statesman@ocna.org .Publications Mail Registration No. 07637 For 143 Years, Our First Concern Has Been Our Community Publisher- John M. James Assoc. Publisher-Rick James Plant Manager - Rick Patterson Ad. Manager - Brian G. Purdy Editor - Peter Parrott Production Supervisor - Ralph Rozema, Suzanne Bennett, Tim Bowers, Kevin Britton, Sharon Cole, Laurens Kaldeway, Barb Patterson, Tyler Sellick, Jim Snoek, James Stephenson, Vance Sutherland, Jim Tuuramo Advertising Editorial Lavernc Morrison, Wanda Partrick Brad Kelly, Lorraine Manfredo, Laura J. Richards Office Supervisor-Angela Luscher, Junia Hodge, Grace McGregor, Nancy Pleasance-Sturman, Marilyn Rutherford, Libby Smithson Should Municipalities Take a f Gamble? 1 It's going to be up to municipalities to decide whether ; they want the new charitable gaming facilities in their ' back yards. j " But, judging from the way in which the provincial ^.government describes the system, it will be tempting for \ municipalities to welcome these establishments. • Ontario's Minister of Consumer and Commercial ; Relations and the Minister of Citizenship, Culture and • Recreation said in a recent letter to municipalities that I the clubs will provide local charities with up to $180 Ü million in new funding every year. 1 Yet another incentive is an annual fee of $1,500 per ; video lottery terminal (payable tp a municipality) in ; return for inspecting and assessing proposed charity « gaming sites. The Ministers estimate in their letters to Î heads of municipalities that the machines will garner at ! least $10 million annually in new revenues. ■ A For instance, in the City of Toronto, the video lottery terminals could bring in $1.6 million in new revenue. , Against that potential revenue, a municipality will ; have to weigh the downside. ' What is the annual cost of supervising the gaming I facilities in question? How. much would this cost eat into J potential revenue? • For example, the City of Toronto will have to weigh ; the benefits to charity and local municipal coffers • against the question of having over 1,000 of the video J lottery terminals in operation. 5 And, of course, if there's anyone still interested in • such concerns, there's the ongoing question of the ; morality of wide-open gambling. ; The sale of lottery tickets in hundreds of thousands of ■ stores across Canada is proof that Canadians have few ' qualms about the idea of gambling. It isn't a big leap of 1 logic to assume that those who buy lottery tickets won't ; -flinch at the idea of casinos and video lottery terminals ; 'whose proceeds go towards charity. " "• But, many Canadians with traditional values still find -;the concept of wide open gambling a little unsettling. 3;, Does the practice deter people from seeking wealth ."•the old-fashioned way, through work? Will more gambling gambling facilities result in more people becoming seriously Caddicted to gambling? The vast majority of players can •llgamble or not gamble as they choose, but there are a few Kfor whom it becomes an addiction. How can they be projected? projected? ; Finally, there.is thé question of whether gambling -- ;t-; in the selfish hope of winning a potful of cash -- is the Cway to raise money for altruistic causes. Wouldn't it be ■ 'better if those who spend time gambling at charity casi- Knos devoted their time and energy directly to the chari- !-ties, instead? Ç ■ Or, rather than spending $ 100 gambling for a charita- ;Tble cause, would it be preferable to donate $100 directly jo a charity, knowing that such a donation isn't subject to ■"deductions for overhead expenses and prizes? > ; Those from the non-profit sector would probably l-point out that if a municipality opted out of charity ga'm- ving, the charities wouldn't see any more people volunteering volunteering their time or giving direct donations to the agen- ycies of their choice. • They wouldn't probably note that there will always be > those who want to indulge in the pastime of gambling -- >- whether it's in a lottery or a charity casino. And why .'-shouldn't worthy causes be the beneficiaries of that pastime? pastime? v ; They're tough questions indeed. H ; And questions which each municipality must answer Kin its own way. ■ You can bet this question will be asked frequently of ^municipal council candidates. One Way to Cash in on Lottery Fever Letters to the Editor Education Minister Snobelen Should Demonstrate "Positive" Leadership Dear Editor: For many months, those who serve the children children of this province have had to endure the constant barrage of negative criticism criticism from the Minister of Education. Well, we have had enough of it! The teachers, parents, students and support staff of Ontario's schools do not need to be beaten down any more. It seems to me that the Minister of Education has a responsibility to be a positive leader in the education education community. This means creating a positive climate for improvement and'change. This Minister simply does not seem capable of displaying those skills. It's time for him to go. He can create all the changes he wants. If those who actually implement the changes do not feel involved, then the effectiveness effectiveness of those changes will be greatly diminished. Don't Let Education Turn into a Business by Aaron Gordon Mr. Mike Harris and his sidekick, John Snobelen, have rethought (oxymoron) the education system, which both Mr. Harris and especially Mr. Snobelen, have limited knowledge of. So they turn to what they feel comfortable with; making education into a business (one should not confuse comfort with comprehension). comprehension). The new education education system will be like a business in that it will be uniform across the province. The teachers will be employees on the "floor" while the students arc the products, The Job of the teachers will be to get as much of that product ■; shipped out a soon as pos- > siblc, all in the name of ■ progress. ; But, like a business, they have to do it at the least cost to the employer ;; (the government) ns possi- » hie. This means that as few 1 as possible employees have * to put out as many units as 2 possible. Mike Harris says ' that, to do this, each teacher will have to take ns many classes as possible, without prep times to mark and prepare the curriculum, while trying to handle the current, or possibly higher class sizes that arc predicted. predicted. Right now Harris lists that size as 22 students per high school class, but I dare anyone to try and find any class that small in Bowmanville High School, where kids arc fighting for desks in classes larger than 40. In business the most basic unit is easiest and cheapest to produce. This calls for what Harris describes as a "return of the 3 R's", Reading, Riling, and Rithmatic. (you can check the spelling), which will be monitored through province-wide testing. These tests will make sure that your student will be able to form a basic sentence, sentence, read that sentence, and be able to count how many sentences they have written, Those frilly little niceties like art, music and gym, which seem not to be able to lit into the testing pattern, will be cut back, or cut out, because what can't be tested, can't be good (if one follows the new curriculum). curriculum). So, here is what Harris and Snobelen have created with their new business. They have created a product product that is of the basic design and able to pass the minimum required examinations examinations and inspections. He has each unprepared employee (due to lack of prep time) putting out as many of these units as possible possible (a level bordering on impossible), in the shortest amount of time. The employer forcibly pacifies them by removing their retaliatory plans, while all of this will be done at the bare minimum of spending, so as to create as much profit for the employer as possible, and create no more than an acceptable product for the consumer. School is not a business, at least not iir the way that is being proposed. Why should the public settle with adequate when they could have better? Why , invest as little as possible, in what will ultimately be the future? It docs not make sense. Aaron Gordon is an OAC student at Bowmanville High School. In order to achieve his financial objectives this Minister feels lie must create create one crisis after another. He also feels he must make teachers, secretaries, custodians and administrative administrative support staff feel unworthy. It has been said that he was a motivational speaker before assuming office. This is hardly a way to motivate people! How long can teachers continue to face 35 bright and eager faces every morning when they feel the work they are doing is not appreciated? How can we expect the custodians to give that extra effort to be more effective if they feel that nobody values what they do? How can the school secretary be asked to be a part of the school team when the Minister considers them excess baggage? How can all of those at the Board Office look for creative ways of supporting the schools when they feel they are not considered part of the classroom? It is time the Minister told the people of Ontario the truth. We do have a pretty good education system. system. Working together we can make it even better! Sincerely, R.L.Willsher Chairperson The Northumberland- Clarington Board of Education Thanks Extended to Coaches Now that the baseball tournaments around Bowmanville are winding down and hockey season is almost upon us I thought we should take a moment to say "Thank You". Have you noticed the faces of the coaches and umpires and referees? They seem to be the same faces year after year. I helped coach one season until my work schedule changed to all-evenings. Now I am just one of the nameless, faceless parents who writes a registration cheque and makes sure that my son or daughter has transportation to the game. On tournament weekend, I try to lake in as many games as possible but these individuals are there for every game and every practice. They are the ones who have the team barbecue and won't take any money from us for their expenses. They drop off the chocolate-covered-almonds, check up on the fundraiser-draw ticket sales and make sure that the first-aid kit includes a couple of ice packs. When the game is over they hand out the doughnuts or the freesies or the cans of pop. They get paid when our kids catch the pop fly or hit the ball or score the goal. For a few hours they have 9 or 10 or 12 children who are all their own when we may or may not be sitting watching. On behalf of all the kids who play and all the parents who just pay, "Thank You". Paul Higgins Bowmanville Down Memory Lane Dear Sir: I am writing this belated thank you for printing my letter re: "Let's Not Forget Newcastle School" on April 30. Thanks to your coverage nearly the total amount requested for the memorial had been raised by June 30. This clearly shows the interest and power of the local press in the community community I have enclosed an article which may be of interest to your readers regarding a significant upcoming dale in the history of the former Newcastle Public/High building. Thank you again for your assistance in helping to retain a part of the educational educational history of Newcastle. Yours truly, Robert \V. Martin A portion of the article on the Newcastle School is printed below. Centennial Of A Demolished Building On September 27 the former Newcastle Public and High School building would have marked the centennial centennial of its' opening on September 27, 1897. The building was demolished in February of this year. The former Newcastle Union Grammar School (Common School and Grammar School) which had stood on the same site was destroyed by fire on October 10, 1896. It had opened in July of 1859 and was built at a cost of "upwards of four thousand dollars". The terms public school in place of common school and high school in place of grammar school were used after 1871. The Bowmanville Statesman of October 16, 1896 reports "Between 4 and 5 o'clock Saturday fire broke out in the Public and Grammar School building and in a few hours that fine building was a smoldering ruin. Origin of the fire is unknown." Until September, classes were held in the Court House and in the house "lately vacated by Mr. Thomas McClung." The Canadian Statesman reported on March 31, 1897 "Mr. John Pool was awarded awarded the contract for the new Public and High School at $5,945." On May 5 the paper reported "Work has commenced on the new school", On September 8 it slated "The new school is Outlook about completed". And on September 29 "School commenced commenced in the new school building this week". Newcastle High School occupied the top floor and the Public School the first floor of the building. Newcastle High closed in June 1954 with students going to Orono or Bowmanville. The Public School took over the whole building at this time. Additions were made to the original building in the 60's and 70's. The building closed in June 1996 with the building of the new Public School. Through the efforts of Trustee Wakefield, the bell tower and bricks from the building have been saved to make a memorial to the old building in the new building, building, using contributions from former students and friends of Newcastle Public/High School. Breast Cancer Awareness Month Breast cancer is not just a so-called woman's disease. Men also can be left jarred down to their ankles when a doctor tells them what that lump could possibly be. As someone whose family genes seem predisposed predisposed to cancer, breast cancer is a possibility for all the women in my family. family. Last week, I found out that one of my aunts who married into my family was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. A family member told me the surgery went well for Aunt Norma. This is a scary time for my cousins, since a couple of my aunt's brothers died from complications arising from cancer. The thought of these invasive cells spreading through one's body gives me -- and probably many others -- the absolute willies. While I know a few women who have beaten breast cancer, I have also mourned a number of- friends who eventually had been beaten by cancer. One of these women was Louise. In her early 40's, Louise had the world by the tail -- or at least Millville, New Brunswick, where she was the mayor of the village. She was active in her community, she had lots of friends, and a partner who loved her dearly. The last time I saw Louise was the summer of 1993, when she and two of my aunts came to Ontario for what they figured would be their last road trip together. Louise was sporting a ball cap over short, downy hair. She was the person trying to keep others' spirits up. She sat in the corner of our living room in Newcastle Village and joked around. Her teasing is known from far and wide. She died in February 1994. Doctors, and others say, cancer can be beaten. For some, that is true. But others are not as lucky. Another friend, Pal Lycctt, has been able to fight cancer. She's been lucky. But, somehow I wonder if she has helped to make her own luck. During an interview with Pat, we talked about how she has stared cancer in the eye and it backed down. It takes amazing spiritual, spiritual, emotional and physical physical strength to be a survivor, survivor, and Pat is certainly that --and more. Louise was a survivor, loo. If these two friends of mine had met, they would have liked each other, I'm sure, If you want to know more about breast cancer, and want to find oui about the international conference conference held in Kingston in July 1997, and lo hear Pat lalk about how she has recovered, please attend "Dialogue on Breast Cancer: A Global Epidemic." It lakes place Thursday, Oct, 9. The event sponsored by FOCUS will be held in Courtroom ill in the former former lire station on Church Street, Bowmanville, It begins at 7 p.m.