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12 - Orono Weekly Times, Wednesday, March 2a, 2Û0Q ) Staying in Touch by John O'Toole, MPP I apologize for not preparing preparing a column over the past couple of weeks. Now the problem is that there is so much happening that it is hard to know where to start. Education continues to be in the news. The biggest problem problem with this situation is the communications problem. Everyone is blaming everyone everyone else and the losers are the students, parents and classroom classroom teachers. 1 read almost weekly in my local papers, negative responses toward almost every provincial initiative. initiative. 1 have attended school board meetings with the sincere sincere desire to help and am criticized relentlessly. Consider the following headlines. March 12th, This Week, "Will public board follow follow the leader?" The background background was in consideration of a Windsor area school boards deliberate budget deficit. The school board was choosing to break the law. Our local boards response at that time was, I am prepared to break the law. Clearly the trustees were surprised to be in deficit by over $4 million dollars. It begs the question, who is in charge? Stay tuned for more negative responses from the board that they are the lowest funded and yet I can show you that they have- each received more money each and every year since we were elected. Another example of conflicting conflicting communications is the recent response to the proposed, proposed, "Code of Conduct for our Schools". The boards response has been, " a'code of conduct not new to Clarington Schools" as if to say there is no problem. What I find odd is that constituents have called me on numerous occasions, occasions, frustrated with their schools consistency or lack of any response to school bully- ' ing and or violence. Daily news reports of students' bringing an axe to school or other weapons and no consistent consistent response or policy. The editorial March 26th also calls for a clear zero-tolerance policy. policy. I agree with our education Minister, Janet Ecker when she explains that we do need a review process to ensure fair and impartial discipline decisions. decisions. In summary, I agree that it takes two to make an argument. argument. As a member of the government, I also recognize that we are often confrontational confrontational in our initial communi cations. However, we each have a duty to work together and show our youth that we can disagree and still obey the law. In the next couple of weeks, we are again going to hear about the regional and municipal budget discussions. We will be fed on a diet of words such as provincial downloading, cut backs and that bad provincial government. government. The Local Services Realignment (LSR) and Community Reinvestment Fund (CRT) numbers will be released in the next week or so. Shared funding areas like welfare are showing large surpluses surpluses and we must recognize these gains. We cannot return to the tax and spend mentality. mentality. The current municipal governance discussions and debate about eliminating waste and duplication is encouraging. I hope our candidates candidates in the next municipal election will openly discuss budgets and tax commitments into the future. I would like to think that if we can disentangle disentangle which level of government government pays for which service, we will all be better served. Local taxes should pay for local services, and some things should be shared with-. • in regions. Municipal transit is just one example of an opportunity to improve service service without increasing taxes. Rather than raise taxes, we must examine hoyv many administrators we need in each municipality to manage taxes, planning, public works etc. I must commend the community community of Orono on the excellent excellent turnout for the first phase discussion on the future of the Orono Crown Forest and Wilmot Creek area. Citizens will be involved and included as the Ministry of Natural Resources develops a plan for the area. A community advisory advisory committee will be formed to work with the ministry ministry and the municipality. Monday, March. 27th, cohosted cohosted a forum on community safety. Participants were the Newcastle Ratepayers Association, Durham Regional Police, business people, youth and citizens of my riding, Mr. Gerry Martiniuk, MPP for Cambridge and Parliamentary Assistant to the Attorney General as well .as co-chair to the Provincial Crime Control Commission was in attendance. attendance. My motive for this public discussion is in response to recent neighborhood neighborhood break-ins and constituent constituent inquiries. 1 am please with the announcement last week by our Agricultural Minister, Ernie Hardeman. Under the agreement with the Federal Minister, Ontario will finally get their fair share of federal funding. Safety net packages as well as disaster assistance will be tailored to provincial needs. I am pleased that leadership leadership from our Durham agricultural agricultural community has had a direct role in assisting the • minister in these discussions. Furthermore, some con stituents will be meeting with the minister in the Peterborough area on Monday. The Ministry of Agriculture's Committee on Economic renewal will be meeting in Northumberland next week and hopefully in my riding soon after. These pre-budget meeting are intended to protect our rural economies. Please call our community office at 697-1501 or 1-800- 661 -2433 for the latest information information on happening in Durham. School opening of art SUBSCRIBE TO THE TIMES $25.00 a year. Friday, March 24, 2000, marked the opening of the Secondary School Art Exhibition and Sale, hosted by St. Peter's Secondary School. Thirty-three pieces of art created by students from Holy Cross Catholic Secondary and St. Peter's Secondary Schools in Peterborough and St. Stephen's Secondary School in Bowmanville will be featured featured at The Russell Gallery of Fine Art, until April 12, 2000. A Gala Opening was scheduled for 7:00 p,m. on Friday, March 24, 2000, with special guests, Her Worship Sylvia Sutherland, M.P.; Peter Adams, M.P.; John O'Toole, M.P.P., Gary Stewart, School Board Director, Mike Langlois, Board Chairperson; Joe Whibbs; and St. Peter's Secondary School Principal, John Mackle. Premier Mike Harris was invited to attend but had a prior commitment. He sent greetings to be read in his absence. Mr. Harris states, "It takes a great deal of time and energy to co-ordinate an event such as this, and people people at the Gallery deserve recognition for all of their conscientious and enthusiastic enthusiastic work. I believe that an event of this kind helps to promote exciting new work while giving young people the confidence to pursue their artistic goals. Congratulations and best wishes for a successful and memorable show." Mike Langlois, Director of Education says, "Today more thjan ever, business needs individuals who have strong interpersonal and communication communication skills, an appreciation of quality and excellence, and an understanding of the rewards of effort...all qualities qualities you get from studying the arts. This art exhibition and sale supplements the Secondary School visual arts curriculum and has enabled the students who have organized organized this event to demonstrate demonstrate their leadership skills and recognize that there are no limits tç what can be accomplished as individuals or as a society." For further information, please contact Nancy Sharpe, Manager of Communications •and Freedom of Information/Protection of Privacy at (705) 748-4861, ext. 245, or Steve Peconi, st. Peter's Secondary School O.A.C. Student and event organizer, at (H) (705) 745- 0749 or email StevePeconi@yahBo.com. Thgnk you. 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