The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, May 20,1998 Pace 4 III e Canadian i talesman For 144 Years, Our First Concern Has Been Our Community Publisher - John M. James Plant Manager - Rick Patterson Former Publishers and Partners Rev. John M. Climie and W. R. Climie 1S54 -1878 . M. A. James, 1878 - 1935 • Norman S. B. James, 1919 -1929 G. Elena James, 1929 -1947 • Dr. George VV. James, 1919 -1957 Produced weekly by James Publishing Company Limited Also Publishers of The Clarinet onl Cour lice Independent P.O. Box 190, 62 King St. W., 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 Ad. Manager - Brian G. Purdy Production Assoc. Publisher - Rick James Editor - Peter Parrott 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 Laverne Morrison Brad Kelly, Lorraine Manfredo, Laura J. Richards Office Supervisor - Angela Luscher, Junia Hodge, Grace McGregor, Nancy Pieasance-Sturman, Marilyn Rutherford, Libby Smithson Editorials Who's Afraid of Nuclear Plants? The turn-out at last week's public information forum for the Darlington nuke plant might be viewed as an informal referendum on nuclear power. If folks were worried about living next door to the world's biggest nuclear station, it would have been standing-room only at the BHS auditorium. In fact, there were plenty of empty scats. The turn-out was no more than 75 citizens who heard how the utility plans to improve its performance and communicate with its neighbours. The response speaks for itself. The meeting was extensively promoted and advertised. advertised. Moreover, it came on the heels of a highly-publi- , cized heavy water leak at Darlington which went so far as to trigger the municipality's emergency plan. As it turned out, the leak was well-contained and never posed • a hazard to the general public. But, it should have resulted resulted in a bigger turn-out at the public meeting. Last week's : meeting also followed on the heels of an emergency evacuation exercise at Durham College. In other words, there were certainly events taking place to prompt a eon- 1 ccrn over nuclear power. 1 In recent years, Ontario Hydro has openly admitted that its nuclear generating stations are not operating as . effectively as they might. They have closed reactors at i the Bruce nuclear development and at Pickering in order to concentrate on getting the remaining units in peak condition. They arc issuing periodic "report, cards" on Hydro's progress and how it could do better. This is a far cry from the days about one decade ago when Hydro < boasted that its nuclear stations were the best in the world. Even this knowledge did not send people to the meet- . ing. In a town of about 60,000 residents, only 75 attended. attended. The public opted -- for the most part -- to spend . the evening planting gardens, cutting the lawn, or watch- ' ing the hockey playoffs. It might be correct to say we are apathetic over the '• issue of nuclear power in Claringlon. But, apathy still signals a grudging acceptance of the status quo. There ; arc public meetings on property rezoning that have attracted bigger turn-outs. Rightly or wrongly, most Claringlon citizens appear - to have learned to stop worrying and love nuclear power. It almost seems as though Ontario Hydro is more concerned concerned about the performance of its nuclear stations than ' ^are members of the general public, : Ontario Speaks V Through public forums, e-mail, questionnaires, lct- ters, telephone comments and a web-site, Ontario resi- .... dents were asked to speak out on the issue of national unity. Last week, the results of the public-consultation were ' announced. The survey was billed as one of the biggest public consultation efforts ever held in this province. "From j.f cyberspace to church halls to kitchen tables to classrooms, classrooms, Ontarians took the time out of their busy days to .... reflect on their vision for Canada," stated the final report The conclusion is that 84 per cent of participants _ agree with the Calgary Framework's approach to '• v - strengthening Canada. The questionnaire results disclosed that 76 per cent of participants agreed with the acknowledgement of the diversity of Canada (example: English and French languages, languages, unique character of Quebec, aboriginal peoples and the vast multicultural heritage of our citizens.) Eighty nine per cent of participants agreed that if any future constitutional amendments give power to one province, these powers must be available to all provinces. The questionnaire results noted that the common values values important to Canadians arc tolerance, compassion, • freedom, diversity, equality and fairness, along with a . respect for law and order. Democracy On-Line It is interesting to sec the important role of the Internet in taking the public pulse on the question of national unity in Ontario. A total of 35,000 visits to the Ontario Speaks web site were reported as the provincial government reviewed the many national unity viewpoints. viewpoints. The cyberspace technology look its place alongside public meetings, surveys, letters and telephone calls in measuring the public's views on national unity. While nothing can take the place of public meetings with real people gelling together lace to face, the worldwide worldwide web can be Useful in conducting surveys such as this one. There arc a number of advantages to web sites, including the fact that they can be available 24 hours pet- day. As people increasingly work hours different from the nine-to-five routine, they arc less likely to be able to attend traditional town-hall style meetings. But, that doesn't mean they cannot participate, The Internet enables you to send a letter to your MPP, MP, cabinet minister, mayor or councillor at midnight or three a.m., if you so choose. The Internet also gets around the problem that plagues many citizens, which is a fear of public speaking. speaking. At a public meeting, citizens may be reluctant to express themselves in front of a crowd. Therefore, the participants tend to be those who arc the folks most comfortable comfortable as public speakers. Thanks to e-mail, you can write and revise your comments comments in the privacy of your own computer and then send them to the powers-lhal-bc. There is also the fact that governments are cutting back on the number of publicly-elected politicians. That means it's less likely that citizens can see their local councillor or MP face-to-face in the coffee shop. But, Internet access ensures that the lines of communications can remain open. Although the Internet has the disadvantage of not being universally available, even that is changing. Public libraries, including our own library system, will soon have computers available to people without access to the Internet. Moreover, the declining price of computers will eventually make the Internet almost as commonplace as the telephone, Suspended in Mid-Air It was up, up and away for folks enjoying the parachute ride at the Courtice Carnival this past weekend at the Courtice Community Complex. Having fun arc: Rosemary Quinlan and Greg and Marisa Rcyacn, all of Courtice. Implications of Privatizing Hydro Letter to the Editor Dear Sir: Taking as the basis the provincial government's white paper, the following is the effect of privatization privatization of Ontario Hydro on energy users in Ontario. It is intended to close nuclear plants so those independent power producers producers can operate in the energy market. The independent power producers arc mainly going to use gas to generate generate power. The existing pipeline will not be able to accommodate the extra demand. So a new pipeline will have to be constructed. constructed. All of the above actions will lead to increased electrical rates. The cost of nuclear power is approximately three cents per kilowatt-hour. The costs of gas powered generation is approximately approximately five cents a kilowatt- hour. So it is inevitable that prices are going to go up. plans for gas generation plant, or a pipeline. With the closing of the nuclear plant and no construction construction and limited capability capability of electrical tics with other utilities outside the province, then the reliability reliability of the system will come into question. The outcome outcome of a severe winter will be blackouts. With the lack of reliability of the electrical system, .then industry will relocate to areas where prices and reliability arc low and stable. stable. The outcome of this will be loss of jobs to the province. So privatization will make you pay now and later. There is currently currently some 30 billion dollars of stranded debt. The experience in the US with deregulation is that the government has taken on the majority of this debt. This enables the utilities utilities basically to start off with a clean sheet. Where this has occurred the electrical rates went up not down. The utilities have to make a profit for their shareholders. shareholders. The taxpayers of the province still have to pay for the stranded debt. You arc going to be kicked in the rear end. John Wells, Courtice We Asked... tetter to the Editor Back in Ontario After A Ride Around America The knowledge that the end is nearly in sight is starting to come more clearly into focus witli caeli day. The hills of northern Pennsylvania arc as steady as waves on the ocean. No sooner have I conquered one and another, just as high, appears. I am constantly soaked with perspiration even though the temperature is quite cool. My thirst is in constant need of slaking and I frequently have to make a stop to rest my sore muscles. Each night it rains and I have not slept in a tent since Gettysburg. It is at times like these that 1 realize how fortunate I am that people arc not only supporting the project but me and my needs as well. Thank you for all of your contributions, I could not have done it without your help. This morning it is raining again and the weather forecast is for rain all week. Hopefully I won't get completely soaked and catch a cold. My health has been excellent so far and perhaps all of the fresh air and exercise has something to do with that. Never-lhc-less I am looking forward to returning home to Bowmanville and finding some way to put my experiences to work. Today was lire replacement time. My rear tire was badly worn and had a hole in it when a piece of steel cut into it. I patched it as best.as 1 could but little rocks soon caused more problems. Finally, 1 came across a bike shop and replaced the rear tire. However by the lime I reached Maine, New York, 1 had a Hal front tire. Attempts to patch the lube were unsuccessful unsuccessful and a new tube was needed. While working in the rain, to repair this tire a gentleman in a car stopped and asked if I would be interested in using his barn so I would be dry. I accepted because my patch was not holding. Another new tube was required. My host invited me to slay overnight. I accepted and another new friend has been added to my ever growing list of friends. He explained that lie had passed me three times until lie finally mustered up enough courage to ask me to come to his house. Strange that I should be so intimidating! The next day started off with rain but by 10 o'clock it had cleared up and early in the afternoon I arrived in Syracuse. My host and hostess arc not home but I have decided to wait. They may be out shopping or visiting. After waiting all afternoon I have decided to continue my ride north. People have warned me about the dangers of riding through Syracuse but once again I find the people along the route curious, curious, friendly and helpful and not at all intimidating or threatening. threatening. The next morning I head north again and soon cruise through little towns like Palermo and Mexico on the south shore of Lake Ontario. The weather is warm, the sun shines and the road is easy. I am enjoying the ride and the scenery. All of a sudden, while cresting a small hill, I sec Lake Ontario and now the full realization that I am about to close the loop sets in. I reach Cape Vincent just in time to catch the last ferry to Wollc Island. We wait for about 10 minutes but I am the only passenger and so I travel to Wolfe Island. My bicycle and me on this huge ferry. For 10 minutes I feel pretty special. Once across I have to go through Canada Customs. The usual questions arc asked and I answer them all and obtain permission permission to proceed. I am back on Canadian soil. It feels good to be home. The 11 km across Wolfe Island are uneventful except for the large brown deer which crosses the road just ahead of me and bounces out of sight. The second ferry from Wolfe Island to Kingston is crowded crowded but there is lots of room for my bicycle and off we go! By the time I reach Kingston it is dark and now 1 have a new problem to solve. What do 1 do until morning or where do I set up my tent? Setting up my tent seems to be out of the question and so I find a coflcc shop which stays open all night. I explain to the waitress that I need a place to stay. She explains she would like the company. "It gets a bit creepy if I am here all alone" she explains and so we help each other. She gets my company and I get a warm, dry and comfortable place in which to wait for the morning. The sun rises and 1 bid my companion goodbye and once again I am on my way but now I am heading west along the north shore of Lake Ontario. My host and hostess meet me in Bath on their bicycles and the three of us travel along together to their home where 1 will finally have a long awaited shower and sleep in a comfortable bed. Life is good. The journey is nearly ended and I am back in Ontario. John Veldlttiis - x The rate structure is going to be changed. This is to dissuade customers from using power at peak times. Consumers will be given a deal to use off peak power. This will be very tempting. This will be like buying fool's gold at 300 dollars per oz. To aid this, time-of-day meters will be installed on residences. residences. And You Said... What are you going to do for Victoria Day? When the load pattern is mainly for flat throughout throughout the day and night, then the rates will be the same any time of the day. This is the experience in the UK. When demand increases increases beyond the existing capacity, then base load electrical plant will have to be built. The choice is hydraulic or nuclear. There is no more hydraulic. So more nuclear will have to be built at 20 billion dollars dollars a shot. /«SSix The life of the Pickering plant has only ten years left. It takes 12 years to build a nuclear plant. With privatization, no private utility will build nuclear plants. This leaves only gas or oil. There appears to he no evidence of any construction construction plans for nuclear plants. There is no evidence as yet of any construction Chcri Michael Newcastle I'm culling grass. Linda Tabcmcr Bowmanville I'm going to be driving my daughter to a Pony Club meeting meeting clinic and then Pony Club games practice. Wayne Knox Osliawa I'll probably be working in my home office. V Asked at the Courtice Lions Carnival on Saturday, May 16. J