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The Canadian Statesman. Bowmanville, October 22. 1997 Pace 4 )e Canadian Statesman Former Publishers and Partners Rev. John M. Climie and VV. 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. XV., 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 Internet - statesman@ocna.org .Publications Mail Registration No. 07637 For 143 Years, Our First Concern Has Been Our Community Publisher - John M. James Plant Manager - Rick Patterson Ad. Manager - Brian G. Purdy Production Assoc. Publisher - Rick James Editor - Peter Parrott Supervisor - Ralph Rozemn, Suzanne Bennett, Tim Bowers, Kevin Britton, Sharon Cole, Laurens Kaldeway, Barb Patterson, Tyler Schick, 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 Could Do Better When it conics to showing an interest in local government, government, wc citizens of Clarington could have done belter belter this time around. Much better, in fact. What other conclusion can one draw from the decline in number of candidates vying for local posts on the school boards, municipal council and Hydro Electric Commission? Wc don't mean to criticize the quality of candidates who have come forward. In fact, all those who agreed to seek office arc to be commended. But, there just aren't enough candidates. For instance, six people have been elected by acclamation. acclamation. That includes all of the hydro commissioners and the two representatives on the separate school board. Those who won by acclamation may be the best men and women for the job. Nevertheless, in a democracy, these matters should be decided at the ballot box, not by default. And the total number of candidates is down significantly. significantly. Forty-three candidates sought nomination in the elections of 1994. This year, there arc 31 on the list, However, four of those names belong to people from outside Clarington who arc running for posts on the very large French language catholic and public school boards. Clarington is but a tiny part of the these boards. So, the number of bona fide local candidates seeking local government positions is really a mere 27. Considering the fact that three of the available council council scats arc being vacated due to retirements from local politics, you'd think more candidates would have come forward. There arc a number of factors which might account for the poor showing. It might be, for example, that people people are generally satisfied with the government they have received and don't feel they could contribute anything more. In the case of the decline in school board candidates, candidates, the reasons undoubtedly have to do with the provincial government's decision to centralize education at the provincial level and cut back on the responsibilities responsibilities of trustees. But, there still seems to be a lot of plain, ordinary apathy apathy out there. We cannot help but wonder if the declining interest in local government is the result of a growth in our municipality. municipality. In smaller communities, people can get to know their politicians and take a more active part in the proceedings. proceedings. As a community grows, perhaps people feel far-removed from City Hall and are content to let councillors councillors toil in obscurity as they pass the by-laws needed to fix the potholes or collect the garbage. But, whenever those elected officials consider more controversial matters such as a new expressway or garbage dump, there's always a crowd in the Council Chambers. Perhaps, it's a trend towards a new way of local gov-, crament conducting its business., \ But, it's not a system that encourages participation in day-to-day matters of local government and scrutiny of the decisions, both big and small. Therefore, it's not an encouraging sign. Apple Festival '97 Women's Shelter Needs Support Of Town Council Dear Editor: What's wrong with this picture? Animal shelter - $350,000, Women's Shelter $1,000. A recent article indicated indicated that the Municipality planned to set aside $350,000 of next year's budget for the animal shelter. shelter. I'm an avid animal lover and recognize that an animal animal shelter is much needed and is part of the local government's government's mandate: however, however, it is somewhat galling to read of the amount of money that can be found for animals when the local women's shelter, Bcthcsda House, which also provides a vital service, but for women and children, not animals, received only $1,000 when they applied for a $10,000 grant. This was less than some recreational organizations such as a local hockey association. association. - The shelter is heavily, dependent on donations and struggles to make ends meet. I hope your readers encourage the incoming council to examine its priorities priorities closely. Yours sincerely, Linda Taberner Residents Object to Casino in Newcastle Of course, the really big news last week was a photograph photograph of a 22-year-old barefooted Mike Harris who looked as if he had six toes on his right foot Could such a thing be possible? Nope, said the premier. And, it has since been determined determined that the sixth toe was a bit of a photographic illusion.' illusion.' This is one matter that was put to rest before it could blossom into a full-fledged political issue. But, what if the premier really did have six toes? You can imagine the heated debates on the campaign trail and on platforms across Ontario. The Liberals might claim, for example, that having six toes is clearly excessive and obviously shows the premier is too extravagant to lead Ontario. How could a man who wants to cut back on government spending have more than the average number of toes? For their part, the New Democrats might argue that six toes are better than five, but would add that it is unfair for the premier to have that many toes unless all other Ontarians had the same number of digits. Too bad the rumours proved false. It may have made for an interesting election issue. It could have been bigger than photo radar. Newcastle Says NO Clarington Council says YES Voted in favour: Mayor Diane Hamre, Ann Dreslinski, Larry Hannah, Mary Novak. Voted against: Carson Elliott, David Scott,. Pat. Pingle I would like to 'thank the local residents who supported our Petition to say NO to a Casino in Newcastle. This issue was not before Council last Tuesday night, but what was before Council was the developer setting the stage for this possibility. The By-Law supporting the Proposed Plan of Subdivision requested a 250 room hotel! What could possibly be the drawing card to fill a 250 room hotel if not a casino? The developer was asked point blank three times by Councillor David Scott at the meeting if there were plans now or in the future for a casino. He did not say "No". We asked Council not to consider the developer's possibilities (or suggestions suggestions as to why 250 rooms), but indeed to limit the developer's possibilities possibilities to what made sense for Letter to the Editor the . ambiance of Newcastle. With these points very clearly made, the delegation delegation of Newcastle residents at • the meetingV ■ were absolutely floored when the motion was made and passed without any discussion discussion at all regarding the requested By-Law amendment. amendment. It was a clear disregard disregard for the delegation and 340 signatures obtained on the petition in support of them.! Say Yes to Safety Newcastle says Yes Clarington Council says No (Required: 2/3rds vote to reconsider) Voted in favour Mayor Diane Hamre, Carson Elliott, David Scott, Pat Pingle Voted Against: Ann Dreslinski, Larry Hannah, Mary Novak Residents, including ourselves who live next door to the CNR underpass on Mill Street South were unaware of a , decision made over one year ago when the Kaillin developer had Phase I of his subdivision subdivision approved. There is an agreement in place called "Alternative B" which the Council approved against the advice of their own Public Works department to improve Toronto Street as the main entrance to the new subdivision, and to create havoc with the Mill Street underpass by putting a concrete barrier to protect pedestrians and then to create one-way traffic on tire other half of the underpass managed by signal lights. The pleas of speakers, and 332 signatures in support support of "Alternative A" which is simply to widen the Mill Street underpass appropriately, again fell on deaf cars. The Mayor requested an amendment to ensure the developer . built a pedestrian tunnel as originally intended. This was the only concession that evening. Truck Drivers Beware After hearing the speakers in support of Continued on page 5 Report from Queen's Park by John O'Toole * Small Business is Growing Fast • Letter to the Editor Principals Object to Bill 160 Letter to Parents from tlw Public Secondary School Principals and Vice-Principals in Northumberland- Clarington- Peterborougli School District As professional educators educators wc arc appalled by Bill 160 and the damage it will cause to public education education in Ontario. Wc arc astounded by the number of attacks that this government has made on our profession. The uncertainty that parents, students and teachers feel has started to cause serious damage. The government's own Education Improvement Commission agrees that smaller class sizes improve learning. Why then, docs the government propose funding cuts that will significantly increase class sizes as well as the number of students that teachers will have to evaluate? evaluate? How will these changes improve the quality quality of education received by students? The government's own research shows that the majority of people in Ontario indicated a high level of satisfaction with the services provided by both teachers and support staff. How can the government government respond to this with claims that people in Ontario arc dissatisfied with the education their children arc receiving? The government's own report reveals the importance importance of professional development time for teachers. In spite of this, the government is proposing proposing fewer professional development days and less time to develop the new curriculum. The public should ask itself why a government would create a College of Teachers to, among other things, licence teachers, then propose to put unqualified instructors in classrooms. The Royal Commission on Learning (1994), found no evidence to support the argument that Ontario's students are not achieving as well as young people in the rest of Canada. On the international test of math and science to which the Government refers, Ontario ranked ahead of Sweden, Germany, New Zealand, England, Norway, Denmark, the United Sates, Spain and Scotland. Belgium and Slovenia came ahead of Ontario. However, neither Belgium nor Solvcnia randomly selected the students who took the test. Only their best students participated in the test. Ontario's students students were selected at random random across all ability levels, levels, and still we outperformed outperformed much of the world, The government tells us the education system is broken. Meanwhile, Ontario colleges and uni versities are overflowing with successful students who have graduated from our high schools, Bill 160 is not just about prep time and class sizes. It is about the right of parents and educators to have a voice in what education education in Ontario will become. Bill 160 represents represents a threat to the democratic democratic right of Ontarians to be participants in the educational educational process. This bill gives the Minister of Education the right to make sweeping changes to the education system without without consulting parents, teachers or even the legislature. legislature. Students, parents and teachers in Ontario deserve better! Sincerely, Gary Milovick, Principal,Courtice S.S., Leigh Eacey-Crowther, Principal, Clarke High School, Joe Hubbard, Principal, Bowmanville ILS. October 20th to the 24th is Small Business Week. Last week on my Rogers Cable show, my guests were Judith Andrew, the executive director of policy for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and Ken Koury the president of the Nutty Chocolatier in Port Perry. Small businesses- businesses- with fewer than 100 employees account for 96% of Ontario businesses, businesses, 32% of all jobs arc in businesses with fewer than 50 employees. Ontario small business is the fastest growth area with over a 200% increase in women business owners in the past ten years. Support your community businesses, businesses, from local newspapers to jewellers, restaurants, clothiers, hardware stores or convenience stores. Small businesses along with BIA's and Chamber of Commerce groups support support community activities with sponsorships of teams and fundraising efforts. They also create. jobs. This past weekend was wonderful weather for the Bowmanville BIA's annual annual Applcfcst. The crowds of people in the downtowns downtowns of both Bowmanville as well Port Perry reveal a degree of optimism that has been missing for the past lew years. The. great weather and a healthy local economy economy play an important role in the life of our communities, communities, 1 am convinced that many of our government's policies have helped small business. For the next few weeks public hearings on a number number of pieces of legislation will occupy most of the MPPs' time. Rather than list all the legislation and the Bill numbers, I would encourage you to contact your constituency office at (905) 697-1501, or 1-800- 661-2433 for more details. If you have access to a cable TV service, many of the public hearings will also be televised. The Ontario Legislature also has a website which lists detailed information on legislation. My website address is: (john_otoole@ontla.ola.or g). Our government has also launched an information information website: (www.ontari- opc.ca). As wc move forward, I believe that it is important to continually communicate communicate in whatever format that is convenient to each and every constituent. I am making available for all constituents, video tapes of legislative debates, Rogers Cable interviews, copies of the official Hansard debates and a number of reports and discussion discussion papers. If you are interested in any topic, from the future of Ontario Hydro to hospital hospital restructuring, or changes in municipal governance, governance, please contact your constituency office. Finally, any individual or group that wishes to meet with me or request as me to attend their meetings, meetings, please call. I am convinced that many news report often devote much of their coverage coverage to the controversial aspects of the given topic. News clips or sound bites generally fail to fully inform the public. Our public today is generally better educated and thirsting thirsting for the complete story. I am impressed that many public libraries today offer opportunities for everyone to access the world wide web and local internet services services as well as traditional printed materials. I was pleased last week to meet with Mandi Paquin and Marty Geary, two OAC students to receive a petition on Bill 160. Wc had an open discussion discussion and exchanged information on the education education legislation. As I said to these students, I am pleased that our new Minister of Education, the Hon. Dave Johnson is meeting with teachers to examine ways to avoid any loss of class time for all students. I am convinced that everyone wants to avoid an illegal walk out. I am opposed to increasing class sizes but am convinced convinced that more teacher student contact will improve our children's quality of education. I further further do not want to see unqualified people teaching. teaching. Education is for the futures of our children and our young adults. Our students students and classroom teachers teachers must not be lost in the union or government rhetoric. Being an elected member member of government is both a privilege and a burden. I am elected to serve all the people in my riding and indeed the province. Often, I find it difficult to find a-balance between being fiscally responsible and socially responsible. There seems never enough to go around. Naturally, I draw on my own family experience of raising five children. What 1 have learned is that education, experience and memories arc three things that no one can take away from you, I have also learned that these arc the same gifts thal wc can share with those around us to encourage encourage hope and confidence in the future.