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PAGE 6 THE CANADIAN STATESMAN, JUNE 6,2001 # Editorial&Opinions FOR 146 YEARS, OUR FIRST CONCERN HAS BEEN OUR COMMUNITY Publisher - Tim Whittaker Editor-in-Chief - Joanne Burghardt Managing Editor - Judi Bobbitt Advertising Manager - Brian G. Purdy Advertising - Lavernc Morrison, Christian-Ann Goulet Office - Junia Hodge, Nancy Plcasancc-Sturman Editorial - Brad Kelly, Jennifer Stone, Jacquic Mclnnes Canadian Statesman Former Publishers and Partners Rev. John M. Climic and W.R. Climic 1854-1878 M.A. James 1878-1935 • Nonnan S.B. James 1919-1929 G. Elena James, 1929-1947 • Dr. George W. James 1919-1957 John M. James, 1957-1999 Produced by Metroland Printing. Publishing & Distributing Ltd. Also Publishers of CLAR1NGTON THIS WEEK P.O. Box 190, 62 King St. W„ Bowmanville, Ontario LIG 3K9 TEL: 905-623-3303 FAX: 905-623-6161 1 HOURS: Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.M. E-mail: newsroom@durhamrcgion.coin j Publications Mail Registration No. 07637 EDITORIAL e-mail Idlers to ncwsmom@ihtrhamregion.com New deputies a shot of life into force Chuck Mercier, Rod Piukkala ready for challenges You couldn't blame Durham Police Chief Kevin MeAlpine for the mile-wide smile. The chief, often embattled during his threc-and-a-half year tenure, now has two new deputies to help share the load of directing a growing force. Chuck Mercier and Rod Piukkala were announced as the replacements of the departed Derek Denson, who stepped down March 31 and the soon-to-retire Jim Adams, who leaves June 30. The new deputies will begin their job together together July 3, offering tremendous assistance to the chief. Both deputies bring loads of experience and glittering resumes resumes to the job. Both were named officer-of-the-ycar in their respective regional police departments, Mr. Mercier in Durham and Mr. Piukkala in York. Both have shown an eagerness eagerness and desire to move up the ranks. Mr. Mercier has great experience in the Durham force and most recently has been a superintendent here. Mr. Piukkala comes to the job after serving as police chief in Oxford, Ont., an area that includes includes Woodstock. Most importantly, both deputies had to pass through an exhaustive selection process which saw 40 candidates submit resumes in the search and eight finalists interviewed for the two critical positions. Police services board chairman Bob Boychyn said of the pair, "We are absolutely delighted to have these two dynamic leaders in the fold. They have demonstrated outstanding leadership abilities in their extensive extensive policing careers. We're looking forward to new dynamism dynamism in the organization." That last point is vital. Just last year, Chief MeAlpine faced internal dissension when a survey organized by the Durham Police Association showed widespread unhappiness among rank-and-file officers with his leadership. The chief refused to back down from the policies he's carried out during during his term and he received the full backing of the police services services board during the crisis. After weathering that stonn the chief can now point to new blood at the top. He also has been superb at convincing the police services board and Regional council to grant huge annual increases to his force.; Just,this past year, the police budget jumped nearly 15 per cent going from $71 million to $82 million. That hike came'after decent increases during the previous two years with Chief MeAlpine at the helm. More money means more officers and better equipment for the men and women on the beat, surely a plus for the chief and a boost for morale. Deputies Mercier and Piukkala will have challenging tasks ahead of them in the years to come. We wish them well. Their success is a success for us all. WBRABLE?/ ITWOmeEUDNfo LAWStWT \tmm\ THE STATESMAN 75 YEARS AGO June 3,1926 Philanthropist, noted industrialist, educational leader, public-spirited citizen and patron of the arts, Chester D. Massey died at his Toronto residence. Mr. Massey was a bountiful benefactor of his native village, Newcastle. His son, Vincent Massey was with him in his last moments. Mr. Massey was 76 years of age and suffering from pneumonia pneumonia at the time of his death. 50 YEARS AGO June 7,1951 A nation-wide search for the "outstanding family of fathers" fathers" ended in Bowmanville when The Canadian Statesman Statesman discovered the Edmondson family consisting of a great-great-grandfather, great-grandfather, grandfather, father father and son all living in the Bowmanvillc-Oshawa area. Scores of daily and weekly newspapers and several radio stations took part in the search sponsored by the Canadian Father's Day Committee which set out to find if there existed existed in Canada an all-male five-generation family. The only other family to meet the criteria was found residing in Nova Scotia. 25 YEARS AGO June 2,1976 Guy Lombardo, 73, supplied 'The Sweetest Music This Side of Heaven' at the Oshawa Civic Auditorium. Mr. Lombardo and Mis Royal Canadians made a one-night stop in the area to entertain, shake hands and sign autographs autographs for his long-time fans, Information taken from the archives of The Canadian Statesman ©KUW*.- LETTERS TO THE EDITOR e-mail letters to newsmom@ihirhamrcgioii.com Wake up to land acquisitions To the editor: Many residents of Bovy- manville are probably not aware of this land-acquisition project, but they should be since it involves the taxpayers' money. It involves the municipality municipality buying up vacant and non-vacant properties along the waterfront for future development development and parkland. If you are concerned with rising taxes and falling standards standards of living in Clarington, ask yourself, why is the municipality municipality spending your money on these properties and then having having to maintain them for years? Meanwhile, all around Clarington Clarington there is a need for, upgrading upgrading and maintaining existing existing public facilities, parks and playgrounds. As an example, the public washrooms at the boat launch at Port Darlington Marina are boarded up and in disrepair, surrounded by two feet of grass. Another example is the "public beach" at the bottom of Port Darlington Road, which has hardly any sand and not even a boardwalk or a bench to sit on. These are just two examples. examples. Before spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on buying up properties and then having to carry the cost of maintaining them on the back of the taxpayers, taxpayers, why not clean up and upgrade upgrade our existing parks? Call your local councillor and mayor, get involved, you do have a say! Stephen Seal Bowmanville Challenge to actress is not fair Tories should be more thick-skinned to criticism Premier Mike Harris's Progressive Progressive Conservatives are a bit temperamental about show- business personalities getting in on their act, but have bombed in an effort to respond to it. Sarah Policy, a young actress actress who has had success in movies and on TV, helped organize organize a benefit concert to oppose the Tory possible move toward private health care. Health Minister Tony Clement jumped on this meddling meddling outsider with a heavy hand, saying he was glad Ms. Policy was able to take time off from being in Cannes to get involved involved in an important public issue. This implied when the actress actress attends film festivals such as Cannes she goes on mere junkets, although she promotes movies that can be valuable exports. exports. The minister is also on dangerous ground when the Ontarian most noted for heading heading for sunnier climes, in his case to play golf, is Mr, Clement's boss, Mr. Harris. New Democrat house leader Peter Kormos called it a cheap shot and demanded Mr. Clement apologize, but the minister refused and challenged Ms. Policy to debate him on health care. Mr. Clement is among Mr. Harris's most articulate ministers ministers and someone not immersed in all aspects of the issue would have difficulty matching him in debate. It seemed he had silenced silenced the upstart. But a member of the public is entitled to express an opinion without being threatened to Step up and debate the minister - this is like Mike 'fyson saying a sporlswritcr who suggests lie has lost his punching power should get in the ring with him. Ms. Policy stuck to her guns and countered she would be happy to arrange for Clement to Hr .YWitfUl Eric ■ t l Dowd \At Queen's Park debate someone from the health field who has waited a long time to take on the minister, which most people will think is fairer, but Mr. Clement saw no profit in having a debate that would be more even and has not replied. The minister may have been sensitive to an actress's criticism criticism because people in show- business are more able to get the media to take notice of them than the rest of society including including politicians. The event Ms. Policy organized organized attracted media interest and 900 people, more than usually usually go to most events organized organized by politicians. In the same week children's entertainers Sharon, Lois and Bram were reported signing a petition opposing Mr. Harris's plan to give tax credits to parents parents who send children to private private schools. Thousands more signed, but only the entertainers were identified identified and without them the media may never have mentioned mentioned it Actor Robert Bedford was given a large chunk in papers to explain why he opposes drilling for oil in the Arctic, where it could interfere with wildlife. And Michael Moriarty, who acted in TV's 'Law and Order' and lives in Canada, was allotted allotted similar space to warn that Oklahoma City bomber Timothy Timothy McVeigh should not be portrayed portrayed as a hero in an article so rambling and barely coherent editors would never have ap proved it if it a reporter had written it. Show-business celebrities are as entitled as others to have their views heard and as knowledgeable knowledgeable on public issues as most in society. But they get heard more than others because the public knows them and most media regard regard almost anything they do or say as news, which has some unfairness to it and riles others wanting to be heard, including politicians. The Harris government also has had run-ins with show-biz types before. Actor Gordon Pinsent and the Barenaked Ladies held a press conference at the legislature to protest cuts to arts funding. Ballet dancer Karen Kain tried to take petitions protesting the cuts to Mr. Harris's office, but was refused entry to the building, and Mr. Harris wrote to apologize and say this was not on his orders. But the Tories should not complain about show-business types poking their noses in politics. politics. Tories under premier William Davis started a trend of using them by bringing Hollywood Hollywood actor Charlton Heston to speak at a party fund-raising dinner and to call in at the premier's premier's office. Mr. Heston was then making a name as a right-wing activist and progressed to become spokesman for the National Rifle Association, whose duties consist mainly of warning, every time three more teenagers are shot dead in U.S. schools, this is no time to tighten controls controls on guns, So when the Tories claim entertainment entertainment figures have too much to say on political issues they should remember they started it and with someone in whom they cannot take a lot of pride. Joanne' Burghardt! Eilitor-in-Chief jlmryjumlv.it Jurhanm xion.com ^ Minister's j literacy plan ' reads well Let's talk literacy. We all know the reading and writing, skills of Ontario's young aren't where' they could be. Parents say so. Employers Employers say so. And provincewide testing,i monitored by the Education Quality and, Accountability Office (EQAO), tells us so. Only 49 per cent of Ontario's Grade; 3 students arc meeting the provincial, standard in reading. When it comes to reading skills we. know where we stand; we know where, we want to be; and on Friday Education. Minister Janet Eckcr announced a plan, to move consistently under-performing, schools toward that goal. 'Consistently' is an important qualifier. It's logical there will be fluctuations in testing rer suits from year-to-year depending ,on, the make up of the class. But consistently consistently poor results arc indicative of a problem that is perhaps systemic or socio-economic and requires a longterm longterm solution. Teams of specialists will be dispatched dispatched to 12 of those schools this fall; as part of a $24-million recovery plan to boost reading skills in the early grades. Principals and teachers will be trained in setting targets and measuring student performance; money will be ah located for additional resources for. schools which need extra-help,; iqçhflL, ing,.the .teams,of specialist,s, ; >ylp„^yi)jj work with them and to purchase jievy^'c-, sources that support early reading. Those schools, which will be added tq. in 2002 and 2003, will be placed on a three-year improvement plan. Talking to Ms. Eckcr Saturday at the Durham Regional Spelling Bee, she was optimistic that, like dropping a peb : ble in a pond, the move will have a ripple ripple effect. Educators who receive this special training will put it into effect in the classroom and hopefully pass their, knowledge and enthusiasm on to their peers. Little by little, with continued investment investment in resources, we should see an overall improvement in reading skills. School communities are already charged with developing EQAO Action Plans; strategics to improve their Grade, 3 and 6 testing results. Beginning this November the requirement will be expanded expanded to include setting a yearly target, for increasing the percentage of students who pass the reading part of the Grade 3 test. It should suiprise no one the announcement announcement was met with scorn by the naysaying president of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Qntario. Phyllis Benedict would have the Province implement implement the program in every school in '> Ontario: will that be paid for by payroll | deduction, Ms. Benedict? Ontario al-, ready spends in excess of $13 billion a } year on public education and there is no, evidence this program is required in every school. Many, many schools are, doing veiy good work and achieving ex- j cellent results. . If Ms. Ecker really wants to make a , worthwhile investment, she should pur- (| chase a copy of 'The Boy Who Cried, Wolf' for the ETFO president. Mean-, while, the Education Minister's opti-. mism is much more constructive than., the 'Chicken Little' prognostications of, the union brass. , THE CANADIAN STATESMAN is - one of the Metroland Printing, Pub- , fishing and Distributing group of ,, newspapers. The Statesman is a ,. member of the Bowmanville Clar- ; ' inglon Board of Trade, the Greater : ' Oshawa Chamber of Commerce, A Ontario Community Newspaper 11 Assoc., Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc., Canadian Cir- :, dilations Audit Board and the Ontario Ontario Press Council. The publisher ;, reserves the right to classify or refuse any advertisement. Credit for 1 ! advertisement limited to space price in error occupies. Editorial and Atlver- i, Using content of the Canadian |, Statesman is copyrighted. Unautho- i, rized reproduction is prohibited, j, am i ]