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rnmmmmmm : May 18, 2005 2 - Orono Weekly Times 'Sy ORONO WEEKLY TIMES - 5310 Main St., P.O. Box 209, Orono, ON LOB 1M0 Email: oronotimes@rogers.com or Phone/Fax 905-983-5301 A ocna Publisher/Editor Margaret Zwart Sports and Display Advertising - Donna Wood Front Office and Classified Advertising - Ftosey Bateman 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. CanacBi . ,. Headlines and balance Do you find it difficult to be upbeat today? Monday's newspapers told us: « Canada lost to the Czech Republic. • There's a political crisis in Ottawa. • The Royal Canadian Legion is losing members and has to move to a much smaller head office. There are racial slurs in the B.C. election campaign. campaign. There were more murders in the GTA on the wcclccnd In catching up with local news, we are reminded that freedom of the press is threatened in Orono. Are things really that bad? Well, yes and no! As our beloved East Coast songstress once sang--"We need a little good news today". • We also need some balance as we view the world around us. . On the hockey scene, a silver medal, is something to cheer about, especially in a year when some of our Canadian lads have had no meaningful competition to sharpen skills. So wait for next year! Regarding the shrinkage of the Canadian legion, that is due to the fact that Canada has not engaged in a major war for some 50 years! What could be better news than that? And the dear old GTA (in spite of the tragedies reported every day in the papers), is still statistically, the safest large city in Canada, and Canada is among the safest countries in the world. Hats off to our leaders, leaders, and to the police! u . Now comes the hard part of this editorial that is finding something nice to say about Paul, Stephen, Jack, Dalton and Belinda. Well, here are considerations. All of those people went into politics to be of service to us--the public. None will get rich in serving us. Paul and Belinda are rich, but they would have been richer had they stayed in the world of business. All of these people are doing their best, and working hard. They have tough jobs. They did not create the current problems. The governing of Canada, or any part thereof, is not easy now, and never has been. Newspaper writers, in seeing the inefficiencies of, and the errors by, our elected leaders--want to play the role of "unofficial opposition". That is O.K. to a point, but it is not overly productive; as we have an elected opposition, who can perform that role much more effectively. It behooves all of us to remember the axiom credited credited to Winston Churchill to the effect that "democracy is a terrible form of government, until one contrasts it to all other forms of government". It was easy for newspaper writers back in 1941, to criticize Churchill. Newspaper writers then, and now, have an obligation to criticize the inefficiencies and the failures of our governing bodies. But if they (and the public) only criticize, then nothing is achieved. We need to realize, as Churchill did, that wondrous results can arise from democratic processes. Gaining those achievements require a public that supports good ideas. We have to do more than just criticize. Canada has been blessed by good hockey teams and by committed politicians. Let's support both the hockey team, and our elected leaders. Let us also use the next election to ensure that we have the right pco pie in elected offices. Letters to the Editor "Thank you Dear Editor: . I'm sure I speak for many in the Orono community when I say "thank you" to the "Orono Times" for placing their own ad in last week's paper informing taxpayers of a Town Hall community meeting meeting in the village scheduled for May 11th. This ad for the meeting was an invitation to come and "find out what's going on in your community." Why did our elected officials choose to to the Orono Times" pay for ads in Metroland papers about a meeting in Orono, then put nothing in the Orono Times? I think all the councillors and the Mayor have something to answer for. Why do we need to go to a meeting put on by the municipality municipality to find out what's going on in Orono? We live here. We know what's going on--not too damn much other than store closings and deteriorating deteriorating sidewalks. I think it's the Mayor and Council that should come to Orono; to find out what's going on! ... What was once a pleasant little village; described by some (proudly) as a "sleepy little village" is now in a coma. Jim Richards. Centreview St., Orono PS: Will all due respect, all the councillors did show up. However, the Mayor chose not to. Poor show! Staying in Touch MPP John O'Toole Budget Adds to Deficit Despite $2.6 Billion Windfall Last year, the Province of Ontario collected $2.6 billion more than expected from Ontario's taxpayers. As well, they collected $1.7 billion through the health tax introduced introduced in the second half of 2004. But, despite the tax windfall, the Dalton Mc- Guinty government has chosen chosen to continue with the tax- and-spcnd approach. It has not used any of the added tax rev enue to pay down the deficit or to perhaps make a modest reduction in the health tax. Instead, it has actually added $800 million to the deficit in 2005. In many ways, the numbers numbers just don't add up. As usual, the devil is in the details. 1 am pleased with the broad cross-section of Durham Riding residents attending last Thursday's Post-Budget Forum Forum in Bowmanville. The event was held in co-operation with the Clarington Board of O'TOOLE «w page 10