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The Canadian Statesman. Bowmanvillc, June 3,1998 Page 4 ®lie Canadian statesman # Former Publishers and Partners Rev. John M. Climic and YV. R. Climie 1854 -1878 M. A. James, 1878 -1935 • Norman S. B. James, 1919 -1929 G. Elena James, 1929 -1947 • Dr. George YV. James, 1919 -1957 Produced weekly by James Publishing Company Limited Also Publishers of The Clarington!Courlicc Independent P.O. Box 190,62 King St. YV., Bowmanvillc, 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 144 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 Laverne Morrison Brad Kelly, Lorraine Manfredo, Laura J. Richards Office Supervisor - Angela Luscher, Junia Hodge, Grace McGregor, Nancy Pleasance-Sturman, Marilyn Rutherford, Libby Smithson Editorials Everyone Needs I More Time I To Consider Mega-Board s Clarington's elected officials have sent a clear tnes- t sage to GTA Moderator Alan Tonks about the future of ' local government here. 'i Essentially, Clarington wants a scat of its own on any ■ proposed GTA super-board which will try to co-ordinate '[ the City of Toronto and its surrounding regional govern- j- nients. In addition, Clarington wants three years to study » the idea of the GTSB. r There is also the hint that Clarington might prefer to ? opt out of the mega-board and - the government it will 1 create. Clarington is certainly considering the option of J either aligning itself with the neighbouring J ' Northumberland County or becoming an independent, r single-tier municipality. As an independent municipality, f Clarington could presumably purchase the services it Ü needs such as policing and sewer and water systems ! from its neighbours. Clarington does not provide cither ; of these services itself. ; Certainly, our municipality has to look carefully at the ; issues. And, as we see it, other municipalities should be ; doing likewise j Will this town's identity be submerged in that of the ; GTA? Clarington is unique in that it is made up of so ; many smaller communities, each with a proud history. « So, if the identity of Clarington disappears in the grow- ' ing Toronto-centred metropolis, what chance do 1 Clarington's individual communities have? We are refer- 1 ring, of course, to places such as Bowmanvillc, ; Newcastle, Courticc, and all the other villages and ham- » lets which make up the municipality. ; If the GTA becomes one huge melting-pot for munic- > ipalitics, then the identity of individual communities will ! be lost. We would suggest there has already been a decline in local identities with the creation of the J Durham Region almost 25 years ago. Nevertheless, most * villages fought to retain their place. Will the creation of 1 some form of GTA government be the last straw? And r does the formation of such a government signal the wholesale urbanization of the entire GTA area? Do we ' want to head in that direction? a All municipalities surrounding Metro Toronto should "be'taking.Clarington's lead and opting for a three-year opportunity to study the issue further. In that time, we Aught also be able to see whether the amalgamation of the Toronto municipalities into a single government has offered any advantages. What's the hurry in moving towards a form of government government which may be less responsive to the people and less able to preserve local communities? rt, Youth Crime Commission Lists Findings A commission looking into the question of youth crime has suggested greater emphasis placed on the responsibility of parents to control their children. Under the proposed legislation, parents would be financially responsible for any damage caused by their child up to a limit of $6,000. Victims of youth crime could, therefore, obtain damages through small claims courts. That's just one of five key recommendations by the commission which listened to hundreds of people with suggestions related to reducing youth crime, improving community safety and assisting victims. Among the other suggestions arc automatically transferring transferring young offenders age 16 or older to adult court if they arc charged with violent crimes and the publication of the names of serious, violent or repeat young offenders. offenders. The commission also suggests citizen courts to hand out appropriate punishments and determine a way for first-time offenders guilty of less serious crimes to compensate compensate their victims. Among the other suggestions arc a safe schools act which would set a province-wide policy of zero tolerance tolerance for violent and disorderly behaviour in our schools. The Crime Control Commission, in addition, is calling for a chance to take away certain privileges for young offenders found guilty of criminal behaviour. For example, example, there could be a one-year suspension or ineligibility for a driver's licence or a 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew. "People -- both victims and concerned citizens -- have been crying out to changes to our youth justice system system for years," said Commissioner Gary Martiniuk, an MPP who was one of the three co-chairs of the group. No doubt, the findings of the commission will be seen in some quarters as placing too much emphasis on punishment punishment and not enough emphasis on the causes of the problem. Nor will the sentiments of the suggestions be easy to put into practice. Take, for example, the question of parental responsibility. If we name parents as being responsible for the actions of their kids, who do we mean? Birth parents? Step parents? Foster parents? Grandparents? Given today's custody arrangements, it could be difficult to establish who is in charge. I Stronger, caring family units and more job opportuni- ; tics for youth will also go a long way towards helping to l case the crime statistics among youth. <■ Yet, conventional wisdom suggests there is still a 5 need for, as one commissioner put it: "tougher justice 5 and more meaningful consequences for young people who don't take our laws seriously." ft No doubt, the debate will continue throughout the summer, with a public consultation process. Legislation ! on youth crime would he expected as early as this fall. *1 t Letters to the Editor Social News Provided Record for Posterity Dear Editor: It was with some regret that we read of the recent request of your editorial staff to Hazel Crago to cease coverage of social items in her weekly Newcastle column (May 20). As Hazel herself has noted, perhaps the column with its weekly reference to the social activities of some of the village residents residents has recently been of interest only to a relatively small audience. While we understand the need to move on and to make space to record the changing dynamics of this small area of the larger Clarington community, for those among us who first learned about the village when Newcastle was a smaller community from reading "Newcastle News", there is a sense of loss at the change. For future historical and genealogical researchers, Hazel's column, column, with its faithful recording of the day-to- day activities of a core sampling of village families families and village institutions, institutions, their key players and their values, over an extended period will prove an invaluable and enviable resource. Therefore, on behalf of our society and for all those future researchers seeking that elusive key to their family history or to village history in Canada, we would like to extend a special thank you to Hazel for her faithful reporting over the years, to Jack for his assistance and to those at the Bowmanvillc Statesman who had the insight and wisdom to recognize recognize the value of their contribution. Newcastle Village and District Historical Society Utter to the Editor Riding A Bike 16,000 Kilometres Cyclist John Veldliuis discusses some hints for a long bike distance ride. His trek around North America was to raise funds for students from Haiti who wish to study in Canada's universities. John will be arriving in Bowmanville this Saturday afternoon, June 6th. A reception will be held in his honor at St. John's Church, from three p.m. to five p.m. Everyone is invited to drop by and welcome him home. What is required to go on a marathon bicycle ride? This question is often asked so I will offer my opinions for whatever they arc worth. A good sturdy, but simple, simple, bicycle is what I would recommend. One that can easily be repaired with simple tools and hardware store parts. Murphy's law; everything can and will go wrong should be kept in mind. Fancy, sophisticated and leading edge bicycles are great for impressing your friends but not yourself. yourself. Ultra thin and light frames will break or wear out much faster when you carry 75 lbs. of gear plus your own weight. Take some time and learn to do simple repairs such as changing tires, fixing fixing gears and dcraillers. Learn how to 'true' your wheels by tightening spokes and end up with a straight wheel. After you have learned to do that try it with two or three broken spokes. Learn how to change tires, repair tires or jury- rig a broken tire. One thing I found very helpful was to leave the old tube (minus the nail or other puncture causing article) in the tire and put the new tube inside the broken tube. You now have twice the thickness of. the tube and the tire is more puncture puncture resistant. Simple but effective. A light-weight tent and sleeping bag arc a must. I added a sheet of styrofoam styrofoam to this to give me a bit more padding under my sleeping bag. I also added an "emergency blanket" which is very light and rolls up in the styrofoam pad. It kept me warm in the coldest of nights and kept the tent dry as well. Condensation tended to be trapped. In very cold temperatures, Continued on page 5 MPP Objects to Tactics Against PC Supporters To the Editor; I cannot believe the current campaign of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Union (OECTA). They have written small business people in my riding suggesting suggesting that their contributions to the Ontario PC Party threatens education. Talk about intimidation. One small businessperson, who employes about thirty people called me when they received their OECTA letter. They couldn't believe the gall of the teachers' union. They explained that small business people have their entire life on the line. Seven days a week, 52 weeks of the year they have to be focussed on customer quality and satisfaction. They work hard, pay taxes and don't receive one cent of government support. support. They explained that these teacher union leaders are acting like spoiled brats. "If you don't agree with them, you are wrong and if you continue to support the P.C. government, your family business may be at risk." The Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Union - OECTA just doesn't get it. Everyone today, no matter what business they are in, must focus on quality and customer satisfaction while being accountable. They concluded by saying that the teachers' union's intimidating letter has provoked just the opposite response. They will double their support to the PC Party of Ontario. Perhaps then the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Union will get the message. Putting students first, not maintaining a system that was unaccountable, unaccountable, is the best option for all our students. Yours truly, John R. O'Toole, MPP Editor's Note: Indeed, the Newcastle correspondents are to be commended commended for their faithful recording of life in the village. In case there may be some misunderstanding, we hasten hasten to add that we do not intend to eliminate the traditional traditional correspondence from the hamlets and villages which make up Clarington. If anything, we'd like to extend our coverage in communities communities that do not already have a regular correspondent. correspondent. We have, however, requested those who write our correspondence to curtail some of the strictly social news which is only of interest to a limited number of readers. We suggest community news be of interest to as wide a readership as possible, since this municipality is growing rapidly and many new readers are out there. Therefore, news of local churches, schools, service organizations, organizations, clubs, etc. is always welcome. In fact, we hope it will contribute in some small way towards keeping Clarington's communities thriving. There has been a tendency in recent years to see Clarington as one big municipality because it's under a single municipal government. We believe that, regardless regardless of the local government, the unique character of each community should be preserved. And, we happen to believe most Clarington residents want to see that too. For anyone seeking further information about writing for our newspaper as a volunteer correspondent for local communities or groups, we have prepared a sheet of helpful hints. You can pick one up at our office any time. Or, just drop in and have a chat. Our door, as they say, is always open. MHS) WHO HAS THE HUMVEE? -- Whoever owns that purple HUMVEE sure turns heads every time they drive through town. The civilian model of the new military vehicle causes a sensation every time it's spotted. And, talking about cars, we can hardly wait to play "Count the Volkswagen Beetles" again on long highway drives. SHOW MUST GO ON -- Kudos to the young ballerina ballerina performing in Jean Simone Dance Recital on Sunday. When her ballet slippers slipped off during her group number, she kept her head up and never missed a single step. "Shows she's a professional dancer," was the word in the wings. r Firefighting Gear -- Hot and Heavy V It was putting on the too-big-for-my-'fcct fire protection bools that made me realize just what I had gotten myself into. I gulped as I looked up at Capt. Gord Weir of the Clarington Fire Department and laughed. "They're too big," I said. I pulled up the pants up over my jeans and Gord helped me adjust them to lit. I slipped the suspenders across my shoulders and then put on the jacket. The toggles were snapped, and then the velcro slapped into place. Next came the helmet. It got adjusted and then secured. I felt like I was a kid in too many sweaters under a winter playsuit. I tried to move around in the gear and was surprised surprised at how much it weighed. And how hot it was! I tried walking around and told Gord "it feels like I am walking in clown shoes." My feet slipped and slid inside the boots that were made for feet at least double double the size. Once I thought of them as hiking boots and remembered remembered how to roll and walk, I managed them better. Next, Gord took the 'student' key off the coal and attached it on a key chain inside the cab of the pumper. He told me he did that so if we were called to a fire or other incident, they would know how many people had gone with them, and would know to count for the extra head. Once I peeled off the suit, we placed it in the seating area behind the driver and next to my seat for the day. Thankfully, I never had to Outlook put it on for a fire, although we did get to have some fun rolling up a hose and watering the front lawn of the fire station. My day at the lire hall was interesting in that I had a chance to talk with some of the people who make the place tick, including Chief Mike Creighton, Deputy Chief Bill Hcsson, Fire Protection Officer Randy Rcincrt, Secretary Sheila Roman and some of the firefighters. I learned a number of things, including there isn't a deck of cards in the building. Even if there arc no fire calls, the staff have more than enough work to catch up with, There was some other neat stuff I learned, but you'll have to read the story in a future edition of The Statesman for details. The guys (so far there aren't any female firelighters, but there is a washroom with a shower for when it happens) happens) were friendly and were willing to answer all of my questions. I even asked everyone what they had wanted to be when they grew up? There were some interesting answers. And, surprisingly, they didn't want to he firefighters, firefighters, I would like to thank the folks at the Clarington Fire Department for allowing me to be a part of their day on Friday,- May 29. Thanks to Capt, Gord Weir who introduced me around and kept me on a schedule. It's funny how I spent the day there, hut no bona-fide lire calls came in until after I'd left. In fact, my stint at the lire hall coincided with one of their quietest days in recent memory.