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y= Scugos C RA pry oi --- ALLL March 98, 1995 -- = VIEWPOINT by John B. McClelland [LETTERS TO EDITOR A GIFT FOR JANE A couple of weeks ago, the Scugog Citizen ran an editorial titled "a teacher's quiet lament," based on an article that had appeared earlier in the Toronto Sun newspaper. That article was written by Jane McCaig, a teacher of English in a high Chool in Durham Region. In it, she lamented the fact that the Durham Board of Education could build a new Education * Centre, yet her students can't get new English text books, their desks are wobbly, the lights. in the portable flicker, all because there isn't enough money. Several teachers in the Port Perry area called the Citizen to say they agree with the editorial and they were glad to see it published. They also commended teacher Jane McCaig for having the courage to speak out so eloquently in the original piece in the Toronto Sunday Sun. A week ago in the evening, a gentleman arrived at my house with a large box in his hands. He quickly introduced himself and said these books are for teacher Jane McCaig. He left and when I opened the box I discovered 30 copies of a new book called "The Time of Your Life." Edited by Jim Henderson and Chris Worsnop, the book is an anthology of contemporary short stories about that transition period from youth to adulthood. The gentleman who had delivered the books to my house was Tim Johnston, publishing director for Gage Educational Publishing of Scarborough. He is a resident of Port Perry and after reading the editorial wanted to make this gift of books to teacher McCaig for * her classroom. - In We letter, Tim notes that since publishing this book "The Time of Your Life," people in his sales department have heard the same refrain from many English teachers in Ontario: not enough money allocated for classroom resources such as books. Ontario now spends on average $20-22 per student annually on class resources, but in some boards the actual amount spent is as low as $10-12 per student. Ontario is way below the national average which is about $40 per student. In Alberta where boards of education have been ordered to pare costs, the target has been administration. Alberta now spends about $38 per student on classroom text book resources. Even with the cuts coming there, this figure will not be altered. Over the next three years, boards of education in Alberta have been ordered to cut administrative costs from about seven per cent of the total budget to .8 per cent. In any event, in order to get these books to Ms. McCaig, I phoned the school where she teaches, left a message and she called back a couple of days later. I am now in the process of making arrangements to have the books delivered to her school where I am sure she will make good use of them in the classroom. As for Mr. Johnson of Gage Educational Publishing in Scarborough, the gift of these books is a nice a gesture on his part and will be appreciated by the students, I'm sure. The fact remains, however, that the Durham Board has spent § Tot of money on a new Education Centre with all the whistles and bells, yet students go wanting for something as basic as texts. IN CLOSING: As May 8, 1995 is the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe, the Scugog Citizen is looking for personal stories (for publication) from our readers who remember that date and more specifically, what they were doing and how they reacted when they heard that terrible conflict was over. We have already received a couple of very interesting replies from people who recall vividly the day the war ended in Europe. It is hard to believe that from September 1, 1939, the day Hitler turned the Blitzkrieg loose on Poland to May 8, 1945 when the Nazi regime finally capitulated, that millions of people lost their lives and virtually every city and town in Europe had begn scarred from the fighting. Historians estimate World War 2 deaths at 40 million, Think of that number as almost 1.6 times the present population of Canada and it gives you a sense of the loss of human lives. It was thé darkest six years in modern history and many have tried to figure out how such a blood-letting could have occurred in the middle of the 20th century, how Germany which had given the world so much in science, physics, music and literature, could have spawned an Adolf Hitler and his diabolical regime. He wasn't around on May 8, 1945. A couple of weeks earlier after his bride of a few hours swallowed poison, Hitler put a small calibre pistol to his temple and pulled the trigger. The bodies were burned in the court yard of the Reich chancellory in Berlin as the Soviet forces closed in. Colonel Alfred Jodl signed the surrender papers-for Germany on May 8. He was later hanged at Nuremberg as a war criminal. Of course the world hasn't learned much in the last 650 years as the killing has gone on almost without a stop. But that's another story. Where were you on VE Day? What were you thinking when you heard the news that the war was over? What did you do? If you'd like to share your memories with our readers in this 50th anniversary. year, mail to the Citizen at 36 Water Street, Port Perry LOL 1J2 or fax to 906-985- 1410. \ Bond Rating Service backs Premier Bob Rae To the Editor® Finally, we have an independent, reputable, bond rating service, Dominion Bond Rating Service release in the Toronto Star. (March 23) that supports Premier Bob Rae's claims that Ontario is beipg unfairly treated by the Paul Martin dget transfer payment cuts to the "province. This is happening despite the fact that Liberals hold 97 or the 98 federal seats in Ontario, and that we have Lynn McLeod, the provincial Liberal leader, accusing Bob Rae of cry-baby electioneering when he is justifiably complaining about the deliberate bias against 38 per cent of the Canadian population. When are we going to get Ontario politicians, both federal and provincial, to proclaim the unfairness of these Liberal transfer payment cuts to the Ontario people? It is certainly obvious that it won't be from the federal Liberal caucus or Lynn McLeod's provincial Liberals. Just who is politicking now, Mrs. McLeod, and who is really working on behalf of the Ontario voters? Yours truly, Roy Grierson, Port Perry, Ont. Rise to life eternal To the Editor: We do celebrate all kinds of events. Easter reminds us of the death and resurrection of The Saviour Jesus Christ. "He is Risen", was the joyful message, proclaimed at the empty tomb. One day all will be called to rise from the grave. Some to eternal life, because they rise from Him. Others to eternal damnation, not believing in Christ Jesus, Whom The Father has sent. All are redeemed, (paid for in ad ) but only those who believe in The Lord Jesus Christ and repent will be pardoned. In Him is life eternal. He is the resurrection. The true meaning of Easter. Will you rise to life eternal? A. Poot RR #1, Sunderland Editorial makes sense To the Editor: Your editorial of March 21, 1995, was a very good one in my estimation. 1 have for a long time--yes for years-- wondered if taxpayers must pay for the foolhardy and often life-threatening actions of some fame-seeking individuals (some times even a bunch) of fool hardy endeavours which result in great and expensive rescue efforts in many cases. Who pays for this? When a motorist gets into an accident after drinking and needs medical care, should he or she then not be obligated to pay for the services themselves? I do have a drink occasionally, but then avoid driving--even after a glass of wine. Jack Anonby, Port Perry. Not a big fan of Canada Post To the Editor: Recent stories in the press said the post office is the number one distributor of junk mail. They can deliver the junk but fail to deliver first class mail to Port Perry. I have lived at the same address for more than 26 years. I rented Box 1000 for a number of years until the post office decided to eliminate it, for what reason I do not know. I' would still rent it as my stationery, rubber stamps and labels were all for Box 1000 with the postal code for Port Perry LOB INO. 1 had to scrap them and buy new labels and ionery. Recently, I had an im) t phone call from a doctor who said that mail sent from him to me had been returned. This was the fourth time in the past couple of years that mail has been sent back from Port Perry to as far away as Florida. 1 have sent out numerous change of address notices to receive my mail. I have not moved, am still at the same address for 26 years. They changed the system, I didn't. They can load up my mail box with all kinds of junk, but can't get important mail fo my address. | have informed the post master of this and other problems with my mail, to no avail it seems. Is this a vendetta against me as I protested the moving of the new mail box which is centrally located in the-park on Highland Beach to a new location at the «north end of Kent Estates. As president of the Highland Beach roperty Owners Assoc., | had full support from residents living in the area. Why should some have to walk one- quarter mile to get their mail? The post master and his staff know full well where I live, yet after many complaints, it still happens. I have bought a FAX machine at considerable cost to ensure | get my correspondence. +I mailed a letter to Greenbank some time ago ang-t took five days to arrive. I can see Greenbank from the top of a nearby hill. Mail to Fenelon Falls has also taken five days to be delivered. Some service. Recently, Canada Post ordered destruction of some $10.7 million worth of stamps at a cost of $35,000. In another case, Canada Post destroyed millions of stamps because they had the wrong accent on Noel. The normal Christmas prinfing is 55 million. The post office refused to reveal the cost of that wasteful fiasco. The French accent on Noel was over the O instead of over the E. In an unrelated incident it was revealed that millions of Canadian stamps were being made in Australia. On Oct. 26, 1993,.it'was announced that Canada Post spent one billion dollars with SHL Systems of Ottawa in a ten year contact to take over and transform the entire postal computer system. This was the largest ever contract for the Ottawa based firm, which last year had revenues of $750 million. My grandfather was given a citation from Queen Victoria for his life-long Tuff to page ton :