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Orono Weekly Times. Wednesday, August 29, 2001 BASIC BLACK Whatever happened to the paper boy? ARTHUR BLACK Okay, so I'm a geezer. But o'clock! You're two hours late there are certain privileges with my paper!" that come with Geezerhood. High finance: "Yes, ma'am I have, for instance, seen you owe $3:16 for the first things that today's kiddies can two weeks of the month, plus scarcely imagine. Things $1:10 for last week because like: Twelve inch, black and there was no paper on Friday white television sets. Ice which comes to...." cream cones for six cents. Human frailty: "I'm sorry Horse-drawn mi.lk wagons sonny, I only have a $20 bill, clanking slowly down the Could you come back, streets. And kids with paper ummm, say...Thursday?" routes. You learned all that, plus Remember them? The how to balance 112 copies of kids who delivered the after- The Star Weekend Edition in noon newspaper to your porch the flimsy carrier on your six days a week? The routes CCM one-speed without themselves are still around, doing a one-and-a-half gainer but they're serviced by adults. into the asphalt. The kids, for the most part, Having a paper route are long gone --, as are the meant un-kidlike responsibili- afternoon newspapers, for ty. You couldn't always go off that matter. Dailies mostly With the guys for a sponta- come out in the early morning neous game of pick-up hock- now. Pretty hard for a kid . ey because your papers were these days to juggle school waiting. You couldn't take classes AND a paper route. that Friday night trip to the Pity. A paper route was a cottage, until you found a great way for'kids to get intro- trustworthy pal to deliver duced into the workaday your Saturday papers, world. You found out right You often had to deal with quick about things like... snarly dogs or surly cus- Reliability: "It's seven tomers. (I preferred the dogs). But there was a definite plus side. For one thing, you had yourself some actual pocket money. And, if your timing on the route was right, your manners passable and your eyes suitably beseeching, beseeching, you just might score an ice-cold glass of lemonade from a charitable granny. Even - glory! - a wedge of piping hot apple pie, fresh from the oven. Now I'm really dating myself. Today that pie would be 'fresh' from the m icrowave, by way of Safeway, the lemonade would be Eviari water and anyway there'd be nobody to serve it because Granny's in the old folks home and Mom and Pop are both out working to pay off the mortgageheatnhydro plus the maxed-out credit cards, not to mention the GST and the PST on everything from nachos to newspapers. As for our kids these days, well, I hope they've have figured figured out other ways to develop develop the innate guile you needed needed to be a prosperous paperboy. paperboy. I was okay at it, but my pal, Johnny Charlton - he was the master. I still remember him standing at the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Roxaline Street, hawking his surplus newspapers to passers-by, yelling, "EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! SEVENTEEN PEOPLE SWINDLED!" And a neighbour - Mister Rutherford - buys a paper, checks the front page and says "Hey! There's nothing here about 17 people being swindled!" swindled!" But Johnny doesn't respond. He's too busy yelling "EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! EIGHTEEN PEOPLE SWINDLED!" SWINDLED!" Wildlife conservation grows herds, Help" us help animals / thrive. . Safari Club International Foundation 800.377.5399 www.SafariC 1 ubFoundation.org ORONO PLAY GROUP welcomes young children and their caregivers to a relaxed , morning of fun and friendship Orono United Church Monday mornings 9:30 - 11:30 starting September 10th p aygroup Entranc Church St. y CO O Main St. Park St. For more information call Heather 983-1066 or Leslie 983-6173 We hope to see you there! e ê e ® • # e, e «"• #eeeee©e#*®*e e ® # ■ \ CRTG Reviewing Rules for Local Telephone Service Prices Regulatory rules regarding local telephone service prices are now under review by the , Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CR I'd as part of Public Notice CRTC 2001-37 - Price Cap Review and Related Issues. As part of this process, Bell Canada has filed proposals with the GRTC that are intended to: • Ensure that competition is maintained and encouraged in Canada's healthy, competitive telecommunications market;, • Encourage investment in thé communications industry, ensuring continued innovation and leading-edge technology; • Extend and improve local service in many remote areas; and • Ensure prices for local service remain affordable. Canadian Industry Facts Today, Canadians benefit from a world-leading communications industry with some of the most advanced and lowest priced telephone services anywhere. • Canadian prices for basic local service are lower than comparable services, . in other major industrialized countries. • Long distance prices in Canada have fallen more than 40 per cent since the introduction of competition. • Close to 99 per cent of Canadians have basic telephone service, » higher percentage than in the U.S. • Canadians benefit from the world's lowest prices for internet access (both dial-up and high-speed). For many services, such as long distance, wireless and Internet access, Canada's low 'prices are a direct result of competition and clearly demonstrate the benefits of reliance on market forces. Highlights, of the Bell Proposal While the prices for many services are subject to market forces alone, local telephone , services, such as the basic connection to the home and office and payphone services, are subject to a number of regulatory rifles.. Bell's proposal, which would come into effect over a four-year period beginning in 2002, does not call for specific price changes for regulated services. Rather, it recommends a framework that would limit any local service price changes, subject to CRTC approval, based on the following: • Monthly prices for basic local residential and business services in most areas could increase, on average, by no more than the annual rate of inflation; • Monthly prices for basic service in rural and remote areas - where prices today are far below the cost of providing the service - could increase by no more than $2.00 each year, to a maximum monthly charge of $29.65 at the end of the four-year period; ■ Ongoing monitoring of the effects of price increases on affordability would continue; * Customers would receive rebates if CRTC-mandated quality of service indicators were not met; and • The flexibility to increase prices of payphone service (affecting indoor payphones only, where the price could increase over the four-year period to 50 cents per call). Payphone prices have not changed since 1981, And with our latest Service Improvement Plan, Bell is proposing to invest $41 million to connect, over two years, more than 500 remote localities in Ontario and Quebec where ' basic local 1 telephone service is currently unavailable. - Through gradual and moderate increases in basic residential service prices, service would remain affordable, while encouraging greater competition and innovation. How to Participate in the CRTG Proceeding initiated in March, 2001, the Price Cap Review and Related Issues proceeding follows up on key regulatory decisions that opened up Canada's telecommunications industry to competition in the 1990s". If you would like to file written comments, please do so by writing to the Com mission, with a copy to Bell, by October 15, 2001, at the following addresses: CRTC: Bell Canada: Secretary General R.F, Farmer CRTC Vice-President - Regulatory Matters Ottawa, Ontario Bell Canada K1A0N2 Floors. 105 Hotel de Ville Fax: (819) 953-0795 , J8X 4H7 E-maii: procedure@crtc.gc.ca Hull, Quebec Fax: (819) 773-5629 E-mail: bell.regulatory@bell.ea A public bearing is scheduled for the first two weeks of October in Hull, Quebec. October 1,2001, is reserved for comments from the public, which may be given in person or by.teleconference. To present oral Comments, you must register by writing to the CRTC at the above address by September 20, 2001, specifying whether you intend to participate in person or by teleconference. Please note that more information about the proceeding is available on the CRTC web site (http://www.ertc.gc.ca/PartVii/Eng/2001/8678/C12-n.htm) or by calling 1-877-249-CRTC (2782). Bell's proposal is also available for examination on the CRTC web site, if you have questions specific to the Bell proposai, please call 1 866 625-0586. X