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he TT a I EH HEI TH HIT HTT TI ET EIR EEE TTI REI e--_--= ewan haste J as 4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, November 4, 1986 Editorial Comments Another Black Eye U dil recently, most Canadians had never heard of Billy Joe MacLonan. But he's been front page news across this country for the past couple of weeks and it appears his name will be popping up in the national media just as frequently over the next few months. MacLean is (or was) a member of the Nova Scotian Legislature, a former minister in the Cabinet of Premier John Buchanan, who also happens to be a close personal friend. Last Thursday, in an almost unprecedented move, the Legislature was called for a special one-day sitting. The reason? To pass a piece of legislation to oust MacLean from his seat. MacLean, or Billy Joe, as he is called in the rough and tumble world of Nova Scotia politics, pleaded earlier this month to four charges uttering forged documents to justify nearly $22,000 on his Government expense account. The court accepted the guilty plea, sentenced him to one day in jail and fined him $6,000. Now, one would think that a provincial politician who pleads guilty to such a charge would immediately resign his seat in the Legislature. Not Billy Joe. He refused to resign. He even said he was in fact inno- cent of the uttering charges and if a proper accounting was carried out, the Nova Scotia Government would find that rather than he ow- ing the tax-payers the $22, 000 -- the Government would owe him some $6,000. Despite severe pressure from the Premier for Billy Joe to resign his seat, he continued to refuse to do so. Thus, the special one-day session and the passing of legislation last week to force him out. it may not be possible to know all the details of this strange saga simply from reading the rather lengthy news stories that have ap- peared in the daily press in recent waeks. MacLean is crying foul. He is claiming that the special bill pass- . ed last week to bring about his ouster, is an abuse of power by' the Provincial Legislature of Nova Scotia. He is also claiming that his Party hung him out to dry, when he was kicked out of Caucus, and the Party should have let the people of his Inverness riding decide by calling a re-election. All of this sounds a bit ironic, considering the fact that Billy Joe pleaded guilty to the four charges. If he is innocent, as he claims, why in Heaven's Name did he enter the plea? And after pleading guilty to the charges (under the Criving Code) why did he insist on hanging on to his seat in the Legislature? Surely a member of any elected body in Canada who pleads guilty to criminal charges has no other choice but to tender his resignation from the position of trust that the voters have given him. The Billy Joe MacLean saga may not be over, as he vows to fight on "'to the highest court in the land, if necessary." But what has taken place so far leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Politicians in this country have developed-an unenviable reputation, thanks to the stupid actions of a small minority. Unfortunately, all the worthy, honest and honourable men and women who serve in elected public office in this land, are being tarred by the same brush. And yet when stories like the one about Billy Joe MacLean sur- face, and the countless others involving conflict of interest, it is little wonder that the public perceives all politicians in such a negative light. The actions of Billy Joe MacLean not only gave him and his Par- ty a black eye, they blackened the eyes yet again of politicians everywhere. A man or woman who pleads guilty to uttering forged documents to pad an expense account paid by the taxpayers is not worthy of representing anyone in any elected office in any jurisdiction in this country. It may have been a sad day last week for one Billy Joe MacLean. It was a sadder day for the political process and politicians Sverywhers in this democracy. {+ CNA Port Perry S i AR | C0 : 8) 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO "a. Phone 985-7383 P.0.Box90 LOB INO J. PETER HVIDSTEN Publisher Advertising Manager Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and Ontario Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co Ltd Port Perry Ontario J.B. MCCLELLAND Editor Authorized as second class mail by the Post Othice Department Ottawa and tor cash payment o! postage in cash CATHY OLLIFFE News & Features Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 MAO AN Comma wr Subscription Rate: In Canada $15.00 per year. Elsewhere $45.00 per year. Single Copy 35° Ye "wok 10, [33 Play AN OCOPYRIGHT -- All layout and composition of advertisements produced by the adver tising department of the Port Perry Star Company Limited are protected under copyright . and may not be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher *Y xnvow, -- WE UNDERESTIMATE THOSE DUDES | ---- ILL BETEHA THAT ACCOUNTS FOR OUR LAST 83.17 PENSION HIKE |" Chatterbox by Cathy Olliffe BUGGED AGAIN, NATURALLY I'm bugged. Little things have gotten under my skin once again and I feel it's my duty to pass them onto you. Odds are, most of these pests bug 'you too. Take phones for example (I know, I know, phones again). Don't you hate it when you're try- ing to get hold of someone and there's no answer? And you try a minute later and it's busy? So you get all excited and try again, and there's no answer again? Is the person trying to avoid you, or what? Frankly, this drives me nuts. And how about coming into work in the mor- ning and finding the coffee pot empty? No pro- blem, you make coffee. That's fine. But how about when you want a coffee mid-morning and the pot is empty? Well, okay, you make coffee. It's just when you go to the gall-darned machine at lun- chtime, mid-afternoon, and at the end of the day and the pot is still empty that 1 start to twitch. I ask myself, is that all I have to do, make cof- fee for everyone else? Does nobody else ever make coffee or what? The coffee situation reminds me of the toilet paper situation. Why is it that I am always the one who has to replace the toilet roll? And if I'm not the only one who does it, what happens to all the toilet paper? Does it disappear on its own? Toilet paper may not disappear on its own but keys certainly do. - Where the keys disappear to is still a mystery but I'm sure those things wind up somewhere, pro- bably they have hidden wings or something and end up on a cloud. I don't know. All I know for sure is there's nothing that bugs me more than losing keys. Oh, and back to the coffee for a second. When I finally do have a brew poured, it invariably gets ~ cold while I'm working. And, also invariably, I will pick up the mug and take a huge swallow, not realizing until it's too late that the stuff is cold and bitter, usually with scum sitting on the surface. Yech. Speaking of coffee, nothing goes better with a hot cup than a slice of home baked cake when you have guests. Yesterday, just yesterday, I whipped up a chocolate cake, stuck it in the pre- heated oven, set the timer, and waited for 35 minutes. When the timer dinged, I opened up the oven door only to discover the oven was off. Somehow it had clicked off when I first stuck the cake in and hadn't done anything more than warmed the pan. I don't know what happened, but boy, was I bugged. Blow drying my hair also bugs me. The act of picking up a blow dryer every single morning is enough to drive me around the bend. It's such a boring task, and so annoying when I realize that as soon as my hair is in place it begins to fall out again. A half an hour after I style it, it's messy again. What's more frustrating, however, is not hav- ing a blow dryer at all. If your hair is like mine, it's flat as a board without the aid of a blow dryer. Running around all day with flat hair does not a happy reporter make. And speaking of running, migawd, there's nothing that bugs me more than running out of money at the supermarket. I haven't actually done it for quite some time, but once is enough to instill fear into my heart forever. There you are, at the cashier, with a whole slew of people in line behind you. The cashier, a perky high school student, cheerfully announces you owe $99.52. Your face drops. You only have $90 in your wallet. And no chequebook. Obviously, you have to put something back. Question is, what? The ravioli or the Gummi Bears cereal? The Kraft dinner or the brussel sprouts. If you put back the vegetables, the peo- ple in line behind you will think you're a junk food eater, and if you don't bring home the Gummi Bears, your kids will hate you. Decisions, deci- sions. And all the while the people in line are snickering while the cashier is rolling her eyes. You think, "Should I crawl under my shopp- ing cart, disappear behind the cigarette counter, or merely walk out of the place, leaving the groceries behind." Once this horror happens, nothing else can happen to you that is more embarrassing. Ab- solutely nothing. Trust me. I know. = bb Ny D | (