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Ile Canabtan • SINCE 1854 • AMALGAMATED 1999 WITH CLARINGTON THIS WEEK • Pressrun 21.400 38 Pages Wednesday, November 8, 2000 Optional 4 week delivery $5/$l newsstand Four times lucky Sports, page B1 E-Volvo- lution Wheels Pull out Candidates fear results may not be valid Clarington election contention • CLARINGTON - Clarington municipal election candidates 'Willie Woo, left, and Mark Hendrikx are two of five candi- • dates who've raised concerns about Clarington's mail-in WALTER PASSARELLA/ Statesman photo voting system, after they easily obtained extra voting envelopes envelopes at the clerk's department. The Canadian Statesman uncovered various election irregularities. Clarington Grades 3,6 public students below provincial standards BY JENNIFER STONE Staff Writer Local public school students students aren't making the grade on provincewide tests, if Grade 3 and 6 results released Monday are any indication. "There's lots of room for improvement in KPR (the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board) as relates to program implementation and student achievement results," said Trudy Lum, superintendent superintendent of educational services. Grade 3 KPR students were slightly below provincial provincial standards in all three facets of the test - reading, writing and math. Fifty-one per cent of participating Grade 3 students were meeting meeting or exceeding provincial levels in reading, compared provincial standard, compared compared with 56 per cent provincewide. Fifty-seven per cent of students were making the grade in math, compared with 62 per cent across Ontario. Ontario. At the Grade 6 level, there was even greater disparity between between board results and provincial outcomes. In reading, reading, 44 per cent of KPR students students met or exceeded the provincial standard, compared compared with 54 per cent provincewide. Forty-two per cent of students met or exceeded exceeded the writing standards, while 51 per cent achieved acceptable levels provincewide. In math, 45 per cent of students made the grade, compared with 55 per cent provincewide. See SCHOOL page A2 BY JACQUIE McINNES Staff Writer CLARINGTON -- The validity validity of upcoming Clarington municipal election results are already being called into question question by candidates, who believe the system is flawed and provides provides opportunity for vote tampering. tampering. At least five candidates have come forward with concerns the vote-by-mail system allows room for both campaign workers workers and the public to tamper with ballots, vote in the name of persons other than themselves or influence votes. At least one candidate says he will call for a judicial review of the system if the election results are close. "If it's close, I'll still be asking asking for a review," says mayoralty mayoralty candidate Troy Young. "I'm disappointed with the process of the vote-by-mail. Council has to take some responsibility with the lack of security in the delivery delivery of ballots. The process is not very secure and raises questions about any and all outcomes." Irregularities uncovered by The Canadian Statesman in this year's election process include: • a distraught elderly woman who says she illegally voted twice on the advice of a campaign campaign worker because she owns two properties in Clarington; • the campaign worker in question question admitting he didn't know voters are not allowed to cast more than one ballot; • a deceased Orono man, Johan Henry Eikens, who died in January January but who remains on the voter's list as eligible to vote. His wife, Sein, who received two ballots of her own, in addition addition to her husband's, says she burned her extra voting kit and that of her husband but she raises raises the concern she could easily have voted three times and no one would have known the difference; difference; • addressed vote-by-mail kits sitting in public places including including the post office as well as apartment building and nursing home lobbies where anyone could pick them up and forge them; • at least two candidates who, at the clerk's department, asked for and received 20 to 30 voting envelopes each -- both the mailing envelope and the inside secrecy envelope. "I'm worried about our treasured treasured democracy," says Ward 2 candidate George Khouri, who raised concerns about the distribution distribution of the extra envelopes in a letter to Clarington town Clerk Patti Barrie. Mr. Khouri notes some candidates and their workers workers have been delivering to town hall completed voter kits as a service to voters. That practice, combined with the revelation candidates could pick up the extra envelopes envelopes worries him. He questions questions what's to stop a campaign worker from opening a voter's completed kit, substituting the original ballot with a photocopied photocopied alternate and putting it into the new envelopes before delivering it to town hall. "I'm not accusing anyone," he emphasizes. "But the system is flawed. It's not right this way. A lot of candidates have expressed expressed this." Two of those candidates are Regional Ward 3 and 4 candidate candidate Willy Woo and local Ward 4 candidate Mark Hendrikx. Mr. Woo says he discovered by accident accident the ease with which extra envelopes could be obtained when he went to get one for his mother, who had spoiled hers. While at the clerk's department, he thought he'd get some extras in case he came across someone else who had done the same, he says. After he was given about 20 envelopes by an employee, he realized how easy it would be to use' the envelopes to substitute substitute a ballot. After learning about Mr. Woo's experience, Mr. Hendrikx Hendrikx says he decided to test the system also and ended up with about 30 envelopes from the clerk's department. Mr. Woo notes he returned the extras extras to the clerk. Ms. Barrie says she spoke with her staff after learning about the incidents. Shé maintains maintains no other candidates received received extras from the clerk's office. "There were two candidates and as soon as it was brought to my attention, I told staff not to do that," she says. When asked if the release of the voter envelopes would bring into question the validity of the election, Ms! Barrie said, "Any- See PROVINCE page A7 © © ONTARIO'S DRIVE CLEAN ACCREDITED TEST & REPAIR FACILITY ♦An official murk of Ilic Province of Ontario used under licence. WHITBY - OSHAWA HONDA 1110 DUNDAS. ST. E„ WHITBY LOCAL (905) TOR. LINE (905) 666-1772 686-1745 _ Hampton teen killed in crash Acting on test scores "*■ is important. MAPLE GROVE - A 17- year-old Hampton boy was with 53 per cent across the killed when his car struck a province. In writing, 54 per tree on his way to school cent were achieving the Monday. Ryan Yeo, of Old Scugog Ttie!Ha Road, died as a result of in- JLUMlIv juries he suffered when his >CU"*4aW****4* 1988 Chevrolet Beretta VIkIIv gprmramfln crashed into a tree on Maple ■ Grove Road, south of uuiiEDE Tn Eiun it Taunton Road, A passenger _ *J™ T0FIND IT in the vehicle, 18-year-old Editorial rage A6 Shawn Mirowski of Oshawa, Spoils B1 was sent to Lakeridge Health Classified B5 Bowmanville, where he was Entertainment ' '. '. '. '. '.B10 minor in j uries and GIVE US A CALL Ryan was taken to Lak- General 623-3303 eridge Health Oshawa after Distribution . . .579-4407 the collision, where he later Death Notices .683-3005 died ; f . -, . w The teens were on their sincerely Yours way to school at the Maple 1-800-662-8423 Grove Centre for Individual Web site dlirhamnews.net Studies, says Ryan's father, E-mail judi.bobbitt® Ca l v , in v eo ' v , ... . ... , Mr. Yeo says his son, who dlirhamneWS.net previously attended Courtice f . . , , FAX 623-6161 F ■ A Clarington firefighter examines the wreck- See POLICE page A2 a g e 0 f a Chevrolet on Maple Grove Road A.J. GROEN/ Statesman photo Monday. A 17-year-old Hampton youth was killed. jttiifri'.ifciM MftwM