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Page 4 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, September 29,1999 Œïjc Canabtan Statedmatt For 145 years, our first concern has been our community Former Publishers and Partners Rev. John M. Climie and W.R. Climic 1854-1878 M.A. James 1878-1935 • Norman S.B. James 1919-1929 G. Elena James, 1929-1947 • Dr. George XV. James 1919-1957 John M. James, 1957-1999 Produced weekly by Mctroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd. Also Publishers of Claringlon This XVcck 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 - statcsman@ocna.org Publications Mail Registration No. 07637 Publisher - Tim Whittaker Editor-in-chief - Joanne Burghardt Managing Editor - Judi Bobbitt Advertising Manager - Brian G. Purdy Advertising - Lavcrnc Morrison, Sharon Goodman Office - Junia Hodge, Nancy Pleasance-Sturman Editorial - Brad Kelly, Jennifer Stone, Jacquic Melnncs Editorials Watching our waste Residents of Newtonvillc know what it's like to have the threat of a waste transfer station in the neighbourhood hanging hanging over their heads. Their protests and concerns helped win a battle at the regional council level, as the works committee there trashed a a report on an application for expansion of a landfill site. The issue now rests with the Ministry of the Environment. But that's one brief chapter in the dump-fight history of Durham Region. One more little battle won, but the big fight of how to handle our garbage rages on. As Durham prepares a long-term 1 waste management plan, a public advisory committee has recommended the Region consider a Durham-only dump. While that currently goes against a regional policy that no new 'green field' landfill be located here, red flags have gone up in Claringlon. This is a municipality, regional politicians point out, that already has low-level radioactive waste, a transfer station, a current landfill landfill and the above-mentioned application for an expanded transfer station. They don't want anything more. Who does? At the other end of the region, Pickering has lived for years with a dump and successfully fought the threat of another earlier this decade. It's unlikely that rural residents in Ajax, Whitby or Oshawa will step forward with open arms and embrace the idea of a landfill, either. The problem of where to put our garbage has been grappled grappled with for decades. The suggestion of a Durham-only dump is but one recommendation of one report, which contains contains many other proposals for recycling and landfill diversion. diversion. No one is saying we absolutely must find a location for a landfill within our borders. But a solution is elusive. If we don't take care of our own problems here at home, within Durham, who will? E-Mail your comments on this opinion to nnews@durham.net. Submissions which include a first and last name, as well as the city of residence, will be considered for publication. A SUSPECT IS APPREHENDED AT LAST IN THE BOWMANVILLE MUSEUMS "THE CASE OF THE MISSING BEANIE BABIES* " THE SUSPECT, WHO IS FIVE FEET TALL, HAS PINK ANÙ WHITE FUR, BUNNY EARS, AND GOES BY THE NAME "BEANIE MOMMY", CLAIMS TO BE THE MOTHER OF THE BABIES. WHEN ASKED IF THEY BELIEVED HER, THE OFFICERS REPLIED, "SHE'S FULL OF BEANS. " Reader objects to bank move To the editor: It is with deep regret that we, as customers customers of the Toronto-Dominion Bank on Temperance Street, recently received the news the brandi will be closing later this year in favour of a location in the new, out-of-town Zeller's.mall. Over the past 23 years, since moving to the Bowmanville area, we have found most of the business and shopping services services we require in the Bowmanville core; the TD bank on Temperance Street was always handy to serve our banking needs. This type of decision is what ultimately ultimately tears the soul out of the downtown downtown of each Ontario town. Unfortunately, Unfortunately, the number of empty and deserted deserted buildings in Bowmanville is growing and will continue to grow as long as our municipal politicians aggressively support support the proliferation of out-of-town shopping malls. Moving the only local TD branch to this remote location also puts it out of reach to those of limited mobility (many seniors and handicapped). handicapped). XVc wish to put it on record that we, customers of the TD, are displeased with their recent announcement, not entirely for selfish reasons, but because it reflects the loss of another important service in the business core of Bow- manvillc. Will the mayor and a contingency of other assorted politicians be present for the official boarding-up ceremony (Saturday, (Saturday, Nov. 6) of yet another downtown business. James and Sylvia Slyficld, Bowmanville John James is outstanding citizen To the editor: An upside to the recent sale of the Canadian Statesman would seem to be that John E. James is receiving some well-deserved accolades from all directions directions (customers, employees, competitions, competitions, el al). The only matter left up in the air with regards to John now is whether they should bestow knighthood upon him before or after they declare him a saint! It was a pleasure Johnny, Murray O'Brian Bowmanville Terry Fox dream is alive To the editor: It is amazing how time flics. It was only 19 years ago that Terry Fox was attempting to cross Canada on his Marathon of Hope to raise not only money to help better fund research in order to defeat a deadly disease called cancer, but also to raise awareness of this disease that cancer knows no bounds, docs not discriminate and usually usually has drastic consequences. It was during a stopover in Toronto at the Four Seasons Hotel in Yorkville that I had the pleasure of meeting Terry Fox after one of many press conferences. While our exchange was a momentary hand shake and a couple of words of encouragement as I wished him "Good Luck," an exchange which Terry had experienced a thousand times over on his journey of hope, this exchange is one that has had a profound effect on me in my life. Here was a young man 22 years of age, which was about the same age as I was, attempting to cross Canada with not two good legs, but one leg and a prosthesis in place of a leg which had been amputated above the knee due to cancer. Who was to know that five years later, my father-in-law, Roily Spencer, would be ravaged by the effects of cancer cancer and have his life cut short, never to grow old gracefully and never to know and enjoy his grandchildren. It is heartening to know that the flame of the Marathon of Hope is still alive in Claringlon and the memory of Terry Fox and his dream of defeating cancer shines even brighter through the efforts of residents Walter Gibson, Walter's Walter's daughter Leannc Gibson and her husband Dcryk Clark for organizing the Terry Fox Run on Sunday, Sept. 19. One could not have asked for a better day to host such an event and the course was a nice blend of mral countryside and historic historic Bowmanville. Thanks for keeping the dream alive! Sec you next year! • Willie XX'oo, Newcastle Premier makes squeegee mountain out of molehill Problem small but blown up for political reasons There are only a few hundred of them in a few larger cities and the vast majority of Ontarians have no contact with them - so why is Premier Premier Mike Harris spending so much time attacking squeegee kids? The Progressive Conservative premier has decided since winning re-election in June that getting rid of squeegee kids will be a symbol of how he is determined to protect middle-class middle-class Ontarians. The squeegee kids, who wash windows of ears stopped al intersections intersections for a fee, have been on some downtown streets in Toronto for a couple of years and some drivers feel they are harmless while others feel they intimidate them into accepting their services. There are nearly 200 in Toronto and probably another 100 or so elsewhere. elsewhere. Most Ontario residents probably probably have never seen one. But Mr. Harris has made them appear a huge threat to society by making them the main target of his policy statements since the election. In it, lie promised tougher laws to eliminate them and other aggressive panhandlers. When he retreated to the country side with his caucus to plan for the fall session of the legislature, the premier pul squeegee kids at the top of his agenda. He put the same emphasis on squeegees when he announced the legislature will start on Wednesday, Oct. 20 and has rarely emerged from his office to talk to media without seizing the opportunity to blast squeegee kids. His new attorney-general, attorney-general, Jim Flaherty, has joined in energetically. He told the caucus he is determined to stop the intimidation. He announced on a TV program program lie hopes to have legislation passed before the end of this year and would not exclude sending to jail any squeegee kids who disobeyed it. Mr. Flaherty, who is Whitby-Ajax MI'P, also called one of those liokuy news conferences of which the Tories have become enamoured where he brandished a squeegee, promised such tools in future will he seen only in gas stations and tossed it into a eonvcnicntly placed garbage can. Mr. Harris seems to be going to a lot of effort to crack a small problem, but he has been looking for a new issue. He won the last two elections on tax cuts, but this magic is wearing off. He won in June with 45 per cent of the votes compared to the' Liberals 40 per cent, not a comfortable margin considering considering the Tories' advantages. Mr. Harris has leaned toward promoting himself as the champion of law and order, hut did not push it much in the election and did not need to. He knows many middle-income Ontarians who are doing well under his regime are wary of anything that seems to threaten their privileged lives, 'fhe premier hopes to convince them the squeegee kids are a menace rather than a petty, localized nui sance and get them off the streets, and they will reward him for saving them from the barbarians at the gates. Attacking squeegee kids also helped Mr. Harris sound busy, although he has done little and had the legislature sit only seven days this year. His new social services minister, John Baird, called a news conference to claim the Tories have moved many recipients to workfare, hut had no statistics to prove it and later admitted they moved only 5 per cent. Transportation Minister David Turnbull pronounced a highway safe hut had to improve it after accidents and Consumer Minister Bob Runci- man wanted to combat rising gas prices, hut Mr. Harris had to tell him that is a federal responsibility. No wonder Mr. Harris would rather smear squeegees. E-Mall your comments on this opinion to nncws@durlwm.nct. Submissions which Include n llrst and Inst name, ns well ns the city of residence, will be considered for publication. Winds of merger begin to blow The winds of merger arc blowing throughout Durham Region. In the 1980s, stories of two neighbouring towns amalgamating into one were front-page news only on April Fool's Day, when editors thought they'd have a little fun with readers. readers. In the early 1990's, there were plenty of guffaws guffaws when the topic of sharing sharing some services services with Ajax came up during a Pickering Pickering council meeting; the term PickAx for the new community was jokingly coined. ■ But today, attitudes have changed and Pickering Pickering is seriously courting Ajax. Oshawa has softened its proposal to join with Whitby and Courtice, but only so the other municipalities will sit down and talk about merger possibilities. possibilities. Here in Claringlon, Mayor Diane Harare notes her heart still says 'No' to amalgamation, but she acknowledges studies on the issue might not be a bad idea. In Toronto, municipal borders have already been blurred, as they have been elsewhere in the country. Can merger be far behind in Durham Region? XVe'vc already had a taste of it. Earlier this decade, Alan Tonks, then Metro Toronto chairman, wrote a discussion paper on the issue. It seemed in no time at all, he was named chairman of the Greater Toronto Services Board, which in effect created another level of government government as the GTA regions met to jointly deliver transportation. Has anyone here noticed a difference in daily life since the GTSB was created? created? The bigger question is whether anyone in Toronto - or in Halifax, N.S., for that matter - has noticed a significant difference since those cities amalgamated with neighbours. neighbours. Any problems or benefits they've experienced deserve scrutiny scrutiny now. The next municipal election looms in the fall of 2000. It only makes sense any changes to our municipal borders and the number of our elected representatives be worked out by then. Let's get on with it. Studies arc essential, since we must know where we want to arrive before we start the journey. XVe must know, without doubt, that we can deliver services more effectively effectively and at less cost if we are to merge. Otherwise, what's the point? What won't change with any merger is our individual sense of community, because that doesn't begin or end with municipal borders. borders. As long as amalgamation delivers good value for our tax dollars dollars and ensures we're well-represented well-represented at town hall, we can continue to enjoy the neighbourhoods we call home. Write us The Canadian Statesman accepts letters to the editor. All letters should he typed or neatly hand-written, 150 words. Each letter must be signed with a first and last name or two initials and a last name. Please include a phone number lor verification. The editor reserves the right to edit copy lor style, length and content. Opinions expressed in letters are those of the writer and not necessarily those oftlic paper. Wc regret that due to the volume of letters, not all will be printed, Mail to: 62 King SI. \V„ Bowmanville, Ont., I.IC 3K9.