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2 - Orono Weekly Times Wednesday, June 9, 2004 m ORONO WEEKLY TIMES - 5310 Main St., P.O. Box 209, Orono, ON LOB 1M0 Email: oronotimes@rogers.com or Phone/Fax 905-983-5301 Subscriptions $29.91 + $2.09 GST = $32.00 per year. Publications Mail Registration No. 09301 • Agreement No. 40012366 Publishing 48 issues annually at the office of publication. "We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) toward our mailing costs." CanadS The Orono Weekly Times welcomes letters to the editor on subjects of interest to our m,'u" » SffS will n°. be response tor «h. - or damage o, „ch i^ns. Weekly Times Publisher/Editor Margaret Zwart Sports and Display Advertising - Donna Battersby Front Office and Classified Advertising - Rosey Bateman Small towns are a wonderful place to be Two weeks ago I had the privilege of attending a seminar on downtown revitalization, organized by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. I, along with a few other members of the Orono Focus Group who looking for future opportunities for Orono's downtown core, met with 120 other residents from eastern Ontario concerned about the futures of their downtowns. We heard such comments as: "How do you get a bank to locate in your town?" " Half of our businesses have left town, how do we keep the other half from going?" " How do we get people to accept change?" The Orono Focus Group and the Community Improvement Program was initiated by the Municipality of Clarington in response to a request from the Business Improvement Area, seeking seeking assistance in keeping our downtown vibrant. We learned in very short order that while Orono has some issues, there are many small towns in Ontario which are worse off than we are. The past is the past, as we learned at the seminar. While people used to come to town for the staples, shopping trends have changed for good and we might as well accept the fact. The stores that once served the downtown core such as Eaton's, Canadian Tire and IGA are either gone for good, or moved out of town to take advantage of the shopping power-centre phenomena. While shopping was considered a necessity at one time, it is now also viewed as entertainment. We all fondly remember the downtowns of our childhood as people-friendly places, not thé palaces of commercialism we experience experience with today's WalMart's and big box stores of that ilk. All this bodes well for a village like Orono. We have to look to thef future rather than obsess on the past. We are in a position now with the Community Improvement Program to implement positive changes to make our downtown the vibrant place,we want it to be,. Orono still has a lot going for it and it is up to us to get that message message out. We can't compete with the malls. Our strengths lie in offering niche markets, the sort of things you can't get anywhere else. Downtowns are people friendly places that will win out over the big box store atmosphere any day. We just have to capitalize on our advantages. Hopefully the Orono Community Improvement Plan process will show us how to capitalize on our advantages, anything less would be a wasted opportunity. We all know that small town Ontario is a wonderful place to be. Staying in Touch MPP John O'Toole Government proposes fixed-date elections According to legislation introduced by the Dalton McGuinty Liberals, we already know the date for the next provincial election. It will be October 4, 2007, if the election reform bill is passed. At Queen's Park last week, the provincial government introduced introduced legislation that would call for elections to be held the first Thursday in October every four years. This legislation changes the parliamentary tradition tradition in which the party in power controls the timing of an election. It also guarantees the final year in any government's mandate will be spent as a lead- up to the election. This essentially essentially gives our provincial government government a four-year term. Under the existing rules, there is at least some leeway to an It* i.VüSa \\ Vw-w Letter to the Editor Concerned parents and grandparents of Centreview St., Orono Dear Editor, election call, and the interest is more clearly focused on the actual election campaign rather than the final year of the mandate. mandate. British Columbia is the first Canadian province to enact fixed term legislation. I might add that fixed terms are the practice in the United States. However, I think there are some advantages to a fixed date. For one thing, a government government couldn't call an early, snap election, based solely on rising opinion polls or weakness in another party. In addition, voters voters and election volunteers have some degree of certainty. It is important, however, that there be the right to dissolve parliament at any time over a non-confidence vote. In addition, addition, we need some system in place to delay an election if there were an emergency. So far, the provincial gov- I have lived on Centreview Street (formerly Centre St.) for 16 years. At the end of the road are soccer fields and a baseball diamond. For the past few years, the traffic on this street has increased significantly. significantly. My concern, along with emment has not indicated whether it will re-draw the provincial electoral boundaries to make them the same as the federal boundaries. The boundaries of Durham Riding will remain unchanged for the balance of this provincial mandate. mandate. However, the provincial government has three potential choices for the future: keep the existing provincial boundaries; bring the provincial boundaries into conformity with the federal federal boundaries; or draw up entirely new boundaries for the provincial vote. Please let me know your views on fixed-date provincial elections, on electoral boundaries, boundaries, or any other suggestions you may have regarding Ontario's electoral system. I can be reached at 1-800-661- 2433 or 905-697-1501. Email: jolm_otoole@ontla.ola.org. Nuclear emergency brochures in the mail Many households in that of many other parents (some who have lived there a lot longer than I), is the speed at which traffic is travelling to and from the games. There are eleven children living on this street not to mention many grandchildren who visit through the week and we would like to keep them safe. We would like to ask those Durham Riding have received Nuclear Emergency Information Information brochures. These are being mailed to residents in communities close to the Picketing and Darlington nuclear generating stations. This brochure is purely for information purposes and it does not mean there is an increase in the level of danger. Since the brochures have been distributed in 1999, many people people have moved into the area or may have misplaced their brochure. The pamphlet includes a list of media outlets that will broadcast updates as well as instructions for the evacuation of the area in the event of an emergency. Nuclear safety remains a priority priority in Ontario. With changing changing climate, urbanization, and the threat of terrorism, it's important for Ontario communities communities to be prepared. Bill 8 Update Ontario's provincial gov- who drive to and from the soccer soccer fields to please slow down while on our street. We would appreciate this because we wish to keep our children/grandchildren safe. Sincerely, Patti Chatterton Centreview St., Orono ernment is set to have the third and final debate on its controversial Bill 8 legislation legislation on health care. This legislation legislation would give sweeping powers to the provincial government government in running hospitals across Ontario. The Official Opposi-tion had advocated for some kind of dispute resolution resolution process by the intervention intervention of a third party if hospitals and the government disagreed. Unfortunately, this has not been done. That's all the more reason why 1 cannot support Bill 8. Individual hospitals including including their volunteer boards and professional staff, are best equipped to make decisions decisions on behalf of their communities. communities. Although I am pleased that some amendments amendments were made in the Bill, it continues to be a draconian piece of legislation that gives too much authority to O'TOOLE see page 3