Page 4 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, November 4, 1998 W&t Canadian Statesman Tel: . Fax: Former Publishers and Partners Rev. John M. Climie and W. R. Clirnie 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 Also Publishers of The ClaringtonICourticc Independent P.O. Box 190, 62 King St. W., Bowmanville, Ontario L1C 3K9 905-623-3303 HOURS: Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. 505-623-6161 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, Tim Bowers, Kevin Britton, Suzanne Christie, Sharon Cole, Laurens Kaldeway, Barb Patterson, Sean Pickard, Tyler Sellick, Jim Snoek, James Stephenson, Vance Sutherland, Jim Tuuramo Advertising Editorial Laverne Morrison Brad Kelly, Jennifer Stone Office Supervisor - Angela Luscher, Junia Hodge, Grace McGregor, Nancy Pleasance-Sturman, Marilyn Rutherford, Libby Smithson ►' b V V | Where are The Schools? i; Î; The notion that new subdivisions should have to wait ijntil school facilities are available isn't a new concept, i But, maybe it's an idea whose time has come. I Clarington Trustee Bob Willsher raised the possibility; possibility; last week at a meeting of Clarington Council. He suggested suggested the municipality pul a hold on large subdivisions iû Courticc and Bowmanville, pending the availability of schools. ;1 Look at it this way: Would the municipality consider allowing a subdivision to proceed without adequate siprm drains, sewers and water supply, electricity or r&ads? Of course not. Why, then, should new development be allowed to go ahead without sufficient school facilities? Isn't education just as important as curbs and catch-basins? The problem is, in part, the fact that school boards ahd municipalities arc two different branches of government government who operate independently. Therefore, a municipality municipality can quite easily approve subdivisions without a firm grasp of when the schools will be built. Schools, after all, are another department. ; And, although school boards have traditionally had a chance to provide input on planning issues, such input usually consisted of indicating where a school site might be needed. We can't recall a school board ever stopping a,residential development because the kids living.there Wouldn't have a proper school. In the past, municipalities municipalities sent the school boards new subdivisions and the boards accommodated the kids through busing, new buildings, adding portables, and any other available option. '. Today, we have reached the stage where 14 out of 23 elementary schools in Clarington are operating above the rated capacity set by the Ministry of Education. We have a'scenario in which the brand new Lydia Trull Public School in Courlice is at 143 per cent of capacity and already requires two portables. . To make matters worse, there are no new schools being approved for the immediate future. The issue is made even more complicated by the fact tliat the Peterborough half of the newly-amalgamated district school board doesn't have the same need for new buildings as docs the Northumberland-Clarington half. Therefore, there's the.danger that the provincial government government won't provide the funding required when it.looks at the needs of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District Board. . What makes the most sense is for the municipality and the school boards to gel together and jointly decide whether to approve new subdivisions if school capacity is lacking. And, while we're at it, we should throw in the provincial government, since that's who controls the purse strings when it comes to providing funds for new schools. A Bedroom Community •' Despite the best efforts of elected officials and community community leaders, Clarington's status as a 'bedroom community' community' remains. If anything, it seems that the trend has intensified. A relent survey on trends in Clarington reveals that in HJ86, there were only 900 work trips per day to Toronto from Clarington. But, ten years later, that number had increased to 3,540 daily trips. Î In the general scheme of things, the Greater Toronto Area is an economic engine that drives much of Ontario aijd Canada. In theory, a new business opportunity that ojjens up in downtown Toronto benefits GTA communities communities as far away as Clarington. ; But, the reality is that the concentration of homes in one place and jobs in another will not build healthy com- mjinitics. ; For one thing, this situation contributes to transportation transportation woes. One of the reasons why we need more highways highways and improved public transit is due to the necessity oil commuting. Spread the jobs around the GTA and you just might get away with fewer traffic snags, accidents aiid road rage incidents that we hear about so frequently. 1 But, the other problem is the human cost of the bed- rojim community. Even if the transportation problems could be solved, there remains the problem of time required to commute. ■ Our hunch is that people who hold jobs close to home will have more time to volunteer at their schools, churches) churches) or other community groups. They would have more liijie for leisure and recreational pursuits based in their community. They will have more time to know their neighbours and neighbourhoods. They will be more likc- lyîto develop the habit of shopping at local stores instead ofjpatronizing any business anywhere in the GTA. They would be more likely to follow Clarington's tradition as the setting for small, caring communities with roots in Ontario's rural heritage. ÏIndced, this is where Clarington's cultural heritage hits. It cannot he found in the direction of urban sprawl. ;Somc Clarington councillors have seen the statistics and concluded that more effort is needed to promote economic economic development here. It's a brave assumption, Indeed, efforts arc already under way in that field and have been for some time. ; But, it seems to us that if job opportunities arc to be shined in the municipalities surrounding Toronto, there will have be a commitment to that philosophy from the political heavyweights. In other words, the federal and provincial governments would have to consider some kind of policy to encourage decentralization. It may not bel enough | ()r individual businesses groups or municipalities municipalities to attract new commercial enterprises here. Actually, given today's technology, there's no reason wl|y all business and commerce must be clustered in the centre of big cities. Thanks to improved communie»- tiojis, in many industries, it doesn't really matter whether a customer is across the street or around the world. .The trend towards businesses clustering in the core of big cities is more a tradition than a necessity and it's a tradition which could readily change for the benefit of "bedroom communities" like Clarington. * A Sure Sian Of Fall B Andrew Parker, aged 6, ^ takes a few minutes to play I in the falling leaves in I Bowmanville last weekend. No Sense Closing Rural Schools Editor's Letter Dear Editor: The Mike Harris government government has been gutting our health care system and our public education programs programs to pay for a tax scheme which benefits primarily primarily the wealthy. Now they want to close schools across rural Ontario. What is the sense of closing rural schools and ripping the heart out of communities? There is no "common sense" in this at all. The tax scheme has exacted a heavy price on our schools, our health care and our communities. Between the hidden taxes and cuts to health care, education and vital public services, most Ontarians have been hard hit by the Harris tax scheme. Only the NDP would reinvest $1.5-billion in our public education and medicare systems. We would pay for this by rolling back the Harris tax scheme for the wealthiest 6 per cent of Ontarians who benefit the most from it; those with incomes over $80,000. New Democrats will continue to fight, in the Legislature and on Ontario's doorsteps, to promote our vision of an Ontario where people and our communities come first. It is not enough to get rid of Mike Harris. We must also get rid of the Harris agenda. We must implement alternatives that put people and communities communities first, Sincerely, Howard Hampton, Leader Ontario NDP Letters to the Editor No Action Yet On Nuke Waste Site Dear Editor: Re: Council Takes Action on Nuclear Waste (28 October 1998) Not only 'is your headline headline misleading (I'm wondering wondering how agreement to set up a meeting constitutes constitutes Action???, and I'm wondering why Eldorado is not among the invitees??), invitees??), your writer simplifies simplifies the situation at the Port Granby nuclear waste dump which is nothing but a glorified deep dumping ground of toxic chemicals and radioactive waste products which are leaching leaching into Lake Ontario. After watching the site- selection process fizzle out over the past 12 years our municipal Council has decided to "follow the lead of Hope Township" to consider the possibility of constructing a permanent storage facility at Port Granby. Other than the Mayor, how many members of Council have taken the time to tour the site? Only a thorough tour will reveal the severity of the erosion of the dump into the lake. Only a thorough tour of the dump will reveal the magnitude of the volume of the nuclear and toxic waste. Only a thorough tour will reveal the lack of space for the construction of a so-called storage facility. Only a thorough tour will reveal the absurdity absurdity of considering the construction construction of any form of permanent storage facility for nuclear trash on the shoreline of Lake Ontario. I encourage members of Council to tour the Port Granby nuclear dump site. It is not morally nor environmentally environmentally feasible to construct a storage facility in the farming region of Port Granby. But does there exist on Council the talent to develop a responsible responsible solution for Eldorado's nuclear waste dump? I don't expect our small band of public representatives representatives to take on the complex complex task of resolving the nuclear industry's trash mismanagement problems. problems. One can't help but wonder whether Ontario Hydro, ever eager to par- lay its responsibility to our community and to the environment, might not offer some of its engineering engineering talent in the search for a solution? Sincerely, Helen MacDonald Thanks Extended from Run Committee Dear Editor On behalf of the Terry Fox Run for Cancer Research, the Clarington site committee would like to say thank-you for the coverage you gave to the event. : 'büV'iitc'liad nn increase in the number of participants and pledges this year. The photos and articles in your papers helped provide valuable information which contributed to such a successful successful event. Thank-you again for your support. Sincerely Elizabeth P. Bateman Thoughts Unlimited by Rick James -- Rubbing Shoulders with The Big Names Okay, it's time to do a little name dropping. dropping. But, unlike previous columns, I'm not the one playing golf with the big names this time. Although most people don't know it, Seth "Snuffy" Hunt, has walked the fairways with some of the biggest names in professional professional golf. Unlike my tall tales that have people like Bobby Orr coming over to my house for dinner every Friday night, "Snuffy" has the proof to back it up. For years, lie has caddied on the P.G.A., L.P.G.A., and Senior P.G.A. tours and carried carried the bag for some of the biggest names in the sport. He has also marshalled at the biggest event of them all, The Masters. Last week, he dropped into our office carrying carrying his briefcase full of memorabilia. He knows I love the stuff, particularly anything related to The Masters. While flipping through his collection, I noticed two photos that I thought were quite interesting. The first was a snapshot of "Snuffy" with 1998 Player of the Year, Mark O'Meara. During the opening rounds of the 1995 Canadian Open, O'Meara's regular caddie was stopped at the border, so "Snuffy" was called upon to carry the bag for the 1998 Masters and British Open champion. But, even more impressive than the O'Meara photo was the picture I saw of "Snuffy" sitting on a bench with Jeff "Squceky" Medlcn. Unless you follow golf, you probably won't recognize him or his name, but lie was Nick Price's caddie until two years ago when leukemia claimed his life at age 43. "Squceky" was very popular and considered as one of the best in his profession. profession. When he died, all the other caddies and most of the tour's players wore black ribbons in his memory. "Snuffy's" caddying days arc on hold for now, but, if you're interested in golf memorabilia, memorabilia, he has a lot of it and is always willing willing to share it. Although you see the players and caddies regularly on television, it's quite fascinating to sec and hear what goes on behind the scenes. Quiet Hallowe'en Where did all the bad ghosts and goblins go? It was only a few years ago that unruly mobs assembled on the main streets of Bowmanville, Newcastle and Orono and started small riots that resulted in a number of injuries and substantial damage to property. property. Since then, there has hcen a police presence presence with support from volunteers walking the main streets each Hallowe'en watching for signs of trouble. To say that it's been effective would be an understatement, I drove through Bowmanville late Saturday evenings and didn't see any sign of trouble. In fact, I didn't see anyone other than the police and the volunteers. It would appear that it is once again safe to venture downtown on Hallowe'en. No doubt, every merchant on the main street of the different communities has to apprecia tive of the work of the police and volunteers who took the time to solve a very difficult situation. In fact, the two stores that I visited visited that evening were so happy they were handing out candies to trick or treaters. Well done! The only question I still have is, if the people involved in the rowdiness of previous previous years were not downtown, where were they? Hinmm.... Balloon Buster There's nothing I like better than a good, old fashioned "gotcha.." On Tuesday evening, after spending millions millions of dollars preparing and promoting his much anticipated National Post newspaper, Conrad Black had to disappointed there was so little coverage about the new daily publication publication in other newspapers and on the nightly nightly television news. In fact, any reviews from industry analysts were indifferent about the National Post, and in short, not very exciting. exciting. Not a great way to kick off the first edition edition of something that was going to be so spectacular. I even remember one of the commentators saying, "We'll have to sec what their issue is like tomorrow before we can draw any more conclusions." Enter The Toronto Star the very next day. In what can only be described as brilliant, The Star launched a hostile takeover of The Toronto Sun. Television news crews scrambled scrambled to cover the story. Pages of editorial commentary were devoted to it in the printed printed media. The story was even included in Conrad Black's new National Post. Who cares if the takeover is successful or not? The Star and Sun managed to gain more free publicity in one day from all media sources than Conrad Black was able to pay for in advertising. The National Post balloon launch went pjfffiiissssttt. I'm assuming the takeover attempt is genuine genuine with the intent being greater control of the increasingly fragmented advertising dollars dollars in the Toronto market. But, you have to wonder if the whole plan was a conspiracy between The Star and The Sun to divert attention from the National Post launch. Whatever the real reason, it was a brilliant "gotcha." Of course, I enjoy being on the giving end of a good "gotcha." But, I even admire the cunning skill of an opponent who finds a weakness and seizes the opportunity to deliver a clever "gotcha." I wonder if Conrad Black feels the same way. J