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Page 4 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, November 25, 1998 ®jie Canadian talesman o; ^ Former Publishers and Partners Rev. John M. Clirnie 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 Also Publishers of The ClaringtonlCourticc 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 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 Editorials Great Show! The 37th annual Bowmanville Santa Claus Parade is now just a memory. But, what a memory it will be! The parade is a good example of how so many groups in the community can work together for a worthwhile cause. Certainly the Bowmanville Santa Claus Parade Committee deserves kudos for its tireless efforts in booking booking bands, judging the floats, soliciting sponsors, promoting promoting the parade and generally seeing that all the pieces fall together on parade day. One of the unique features about the event is the fact that it doesn't have a huge organization behind it. And yet, as so many groups and individuals get together and do their small part, the end result is a joy to behold. All that is required for complete success is a half-decent break in the weather conditions and the event becomes a truly red letter day. The community can also be proud of the fact that the Santa Parade in Bowmanville remains strongly noncommercial. noncommercial. Unless it's by accident, you won't see corporate corporate names or logos displayed in this event. This makes us one of the few communities in Canada where commercial advertising on parade floats is banned and where people seem quite happy with that rule. After all, Christmas is often seen as being overly commercialized. But, here in Bowmanville, for our Santa Parade, we've managed to do something about it. It's non-commercial, it's community-oriented, it brings joy to children of all ages and it's put Bowmanville on the map for the past 37 years. What more could anyone ask for? Congratulations to all who contributed to the success of the 37th annual parade. Protect Yourself Twenty years ago, Bowmanville had the reputation of being an Andy of Mayberry type town in which crimes could be solved by one kindly sheriff who never needed a gun. That stereotype never was entirely accurate. And, it certainly isn't true today. Not when you see the numbers of break-and-cnlcrs that are occurring in the municipality. municipality. There are literally dozens of incidents each week in which either cars or homes are hit by thieves. The trend may very well be the result of a larger population population in the municipality and a corresponding increase ' in crime. It also isn't uncommon for break-ins to occur in waves, with the trend ending as culprits are caught or the thefts stop. Elsewhere in this edition, there is an article listing some ideas for a safer home. Home alarm systems, lights activated by motion detectors, timers on lights within the house, and ensuring that your home always looks lived in even when you're away for a few days or weeks. It's always a good idea to have a neighbour shovel the snow, empty the mailbox and generally make a home look lived-in, police say. But, there's another small-town solution to big city crime which police also consider important. That is simply simply the vigilance of friends and neighbours. In other words, know your neighbourhood. Recognize anything suspicious. For example, if you notice an unfamiliar person strolling the neighbourhood and carrying a large knapsack or hockey bag, your suspicions suspicions might be justified. That person may be perfectly harmless. But, then again, the hockey bag could be full of stolen Christmas presents. If something you see looks suspicious, notify the police. And, be especially wary at this time of the year when, according to police statistics, losses from break- ins at vehicles and at homes are on the increase. Despite what you might read, Clarington remains a fairly safe place to live. But, as. in any large urban centre, you must take precautions to protect yourself. Teacher Shortage By the year 2008, about half the teachers currently in Ontario's classrooms will be retired. And, even before that date, schools in Ontario will be feeling the impact of the looming teacher shortage. It's estimated that 41,000 of the province's 171,500 qualified teachers will retire in the next five years. These statistics come from the Ontario College of Teachers and are published in the College's latest journal. journal. The statistics also indicate vacancies among the ranks of leadership positions among Ontario teachers. Within the next five years, 44 per cent of persons holding principal principal qualifications will retire. Sixty-four per cent will be gone within 10 years. Although these statistics seem alarming, we doubt that the teacher shortage will be all that hard to remedy. First of all, there really isn't a lack of qualified people. people. The problem is that many of them arc either retired or are planning retirement in the next few years. Few of these educators have reached the customary retirement age of 65 and many arc not even 60. Last year, regulations regulations were changed to give teachers the option of retiring even earlier than before. And, from what we hear about retirement, it's not uncommon for young, healthy retirees to quickly look for something to do once they arc out of the customary harness. So, it may not be impossible to induce former teachers to come out of retirement, even on a part-time basis or to do supply teaching, fill temporary vacancies and generally help out where necessary. These younger and more recent retirees may not want the pressure of full-time leaching, hut it seems likely that people who have devoted a lifetime to the profession might still be interested in taking charge of a few classes classes In addition, there remains large numbers of people interested in a leaching career. The problem has been that, in the past, there were relatively lew opportunities for new teachers and not a lot of positions in the teachers' teachers' colleges. By enlarging classes in teacher training programs, some of the vacancies could be filled and many university-educated young people can find a career that matches their training. The College of Teachers is also recommending that qualified Ontario teachers who have left the profession or moved out of the province for teaching positions should consider coining hack. Me and My Drum A drummer with the Central Public School Band helps keep the beat during Saturday's Santa Claus Parade in Bowmanville. The 37th annual event featured almost a dozen different bands to entertain the estimated 15,000 people who attended. Seen and Heard PLEASE LEAVE YOUR NAME AND NUMBER -- Congratulations to the Clarington mayor and councillors who, thus far, have managed to withstand the trend towards voice mail. A human being answers the phone at the Town Hall and, with few exceptions, that person can refer you to another human being after you explain the nature of your call. Durham Region, on the other hand, is hedging its bets. They opted to spend $76,000 to expand the voice mail system. But, at the same time, regional councillors were assured that taxpayers will still speak to a "real person" when they dial regional headquarters. headquarters. The voice mail, it is claimed, will make things more efficient. We are not convinced. The problem with voice mail is that it allows people to avoid directly answering phone calls as they work at their desk. But, voice mail supporters say, that's no worse than those little telephone message notes that might also receive a delayed response. (If they don't get lost altogether.) We'll see. JOGGING JUGGLER -- Like other drivers travelling along King St. in Bowmanville one morning last week, wc did a double-take double-take at the sight of a jogger making his way along at a quick pace while juggling three balls at the same time. That's more impressive than the "walk and chew bubble gum" analogy. analogy. With a couple of. staff members currently undergoing music lessons, it was suggested that jogging while playing the guitar might be the way to upstage the juggler. Just how many times could one play Stairway to Heaven during a 10km run? SANTA UPSTAGED? -- From our little corner of the route during Saturday's annual parade, it was interesting to watch the reception Santa Claus received. As usual, young children stood and waved and were generally excited about his magical presence. But the, largest reception was reserved for the Teletubbies, who have slowly replaced Barney as the number one attraction for kids. A genuine buzz travelled along the route as Tinky Winky, Dipsy, La La, and Poe came into sight of kids lined along the curbs and sidewalks. Other casual observations included: the impressive balloon float from Tim's Party Centre & Country Lane Furniture and Gifts; the unique sounds produced by the York Steel Band; the energy of the Bowmanville Lions Club and Theatre Dance Academy float; and watching as MP Alex Shepherd elected to walk the route and greet everyone, rather than sitting in the front seat of the vehicle provided. It's a move that was certainly appreciated. ON THE GO? --: There are, differing opinions over whether or not GO Transit will be extended in Clarington any time soon. Mayor Diane Hamre suggests that the GO bus service to Newcastle inaugurated last summer is the most that we'll see in the way of extended local GO routes in the near future. Ward Three/Four Regional Councillor John Mutton, on the other hand, is holding out hope for an extension of GO Transit up Highway 115 to Peterborough. And that, he argues, might mean better north/south service for Clarington, including a stop in Orono. Both elected officials will tell you that the extension of a route to Newcastle has worked well. Residents are still getting used to the idea that there is a GO service, but already there are over 100 riders using the bus each day at Newcastle. Maybe it's time to work on a special parking lot for that bus service. Thoughts Unlimited by Rick James Enough of the Mouse Already Of all the places you could take your kids for a vacation, Disney World has to rank as the most popular spot to have a guaranteed good time. Last week, I loaded up the family and wc headed for the land of Mickey, Minnie and Donald Duck. The kids, of course, had a blast. But, Kim and 1 were not as impressed as I expected. It could have been that wc both fell victim to brutal chest colds on our first day, or that the $1.52 exchange was taking the fun out of everything. For whatever reason, something was missing compared to other times I've been to Disney World. Something that was missing for the kids was the presence of characters characters throughout the theme park. I noticed their absence on the first day, but didn't find out until the last day that Goofy, Pluto et al were voting to accept or reject Disney's latest contract offer. The 20,000 strong union membership was upset that if they did not accept the offer and did strike, Disney World could make plans for replacements replacements and still function normally because of its immense size. So, the union executive was telling its members to accept the offer, but to phone in sick to disrupt operations. It did, and some of the glitter was missing from the Magic Kingdom. Too bad, because part of the excitement for the kids comes from meeting the real Mickey Mouse and getting his autograph. The other thing that both Kim and I noticed was the Hood of in- your-lacc mouse ear-marked paraphernalia. Of course, there were the Annette Funiccllo cars that every kid has to have. But, it seems since last time I was there, everything is in the shape of the world's most famous mouse. The kids had macaroni and cheese for dinner. The noodles were shaped like the mouse. The soap, the napkins, the street lights, the glasses, the water tower, the hushes, the cutlery, the towels, the brochures -- everything was shaped like the mouse or carried the logo. Even the swimming pool and hydro lowers looked like Mickey Mouse. Zippi-dec-doo-dah, please let me touch something square. Okay, so maybe the chest cold was making me a little more irritable irritable than I realized. Either the marketing team has gone too far with their mouse plans or I was just too wired on Sinutabs. Disney World is still an amazing place and I would go hack in a minute if Mickey didn't laugh at our Canadian dollar, Send It To Me in Writing When I've been away for a week, the stack of mail that accumulates accumulates on my desk is quite amazing and it takes several hours to separate separate the wheat from chaff. But, the chore was made easier when 1 opened the first letter and read the name of the person who sent it, It was signed, "Sincerely Yours, Doris Duck." Thank goodness it was a letter she sent me. After having an overdose overdose of mouse ears last week, I'm not quite sure what I would have said had she phoned me and announced her name. No Mouse Ears on Santa Claus Unfortunately, wc didn't get back in time to sec the annual Santa Claus parade. I'm pretty sure that's the first one I've ever missed and from what I've heard, it was a great parade with huge crowds in attendance. Despite the large crowds, there has always been some question as to whether the parade provides an economic benefit to the downtown. downtown. Some merchants have complained in the past that parade- goers come to sec the parade and leave when it's finished. But, from what I've heard this year, it seems that parade-goes did turn into shoppers after Santa had made his visit to Bowmanville. It would be a shame with so many potential customers standing right outside their door if merchants didn't promote themselves well enough to attract shoppers inside the stores. Glad I'm Not a Goalie One of the other things I noticed on my return from Florida was the progress being made on the addition to the G.B. Rickard Recreation Complex. The second ice pad is nearing completion and the official opening is scheduled for December 13th. On Monday night when I entered the dressing room to do battle with my fellow has-beens, I was met with a barrage of complaints about the access to the building. In the past, the entrance was on the west side of the building which provided easy access to the dressing rooms for players and parents carrying equipment. Now the west entrance has been closed and all access is through the main entrance from the south-east corner of the building. Most of the parking is on the west side of the building which means you have to carry all your gear around the building and then back through to the west side of the building to get to the Pad One dressing rooms. Then you have to reverse your tracks to gel back to the parking lot. So, after carrying my equipment through the freezing rain on Monday night, I phoned Community Services Director Joe Caruana first thing Tuesday morning to ask if this is just a temporary situation situation during construction. 1 also wanted to know why they have been extending the ice surface by about 10 feel each year since I turned 35. So, here's the scoop. The west doors to Pad One will re-open shortly when the construction is complete. However, they will be closed if either pad has a paid admission event. No doubt, there will be some confusion about who gets in free to Pad 'l\vo for figure skating skating and who has to pay to get to Pad One for an Eagles' game. Joe is aware of the problem and they will make changes as necessary, As for the ice surface getting longer each year, he told me the north end of Pad One should end up somewhere around the police station by the time I turn 50.