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6 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, December 5, 1989 ------ The Poul Peery Shar 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO PHONE 985-7383 FAX 985-3708 The Port Perry Star is authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, for cash payment of postage. Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Subscription Rate: In Canada $20.00 per year Elsewhere $60.00 per year. Single Copy 50¢ EDITORIAL Publisher - J. Peter Hvidsten Editor - John B. McClelland News/Features - Julia Ashton PRODUCTION Annabell Harrison Trudy Empringham Darlene Hlozan BUSINESS OFFICE Office Manager - Gayle Stapley Accounting - Judy Ashby Billing Department - Louise Hope En a8 Retail Sales - Kathy Dudley, Linda Ruhl, Tracy O'Neil ADVERTISING Advertising Co-ordinator - V-'erie Ellis Advertising Sales Representative - Anna Gouldburn Advertising Sales Representative - Tanya Sheehey Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association Ontario Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Lid. Port Perry, Ontario Editorial Comment YOUR MONEY So, Provincial Auditor Douglas Archer has finished poking and prodding his way through some 25 Ontario Government Ministries which had a total budget of just under $40 Billion last year. And to nobody's surprise, he found several instances "here prudent use of the public purse had not been exer- cized. Some politicians and civil servants continue to have a penchant for travelling "first cabin" when on Government business by booking first class fare on airplanes, renting luxury cars like Lincolns and Fifth Avenues, and at the end of hard day on the road, putting their feet in choice hotels rather than the cheaper spots on the other side of the tracks. Good grief, the auditor found that 18 civil servants booked themselves into a North Bay hotel at $100 bucks a night when the government rate was half that amount. And horror or horrors, former Transport Minister Ed Fulton dipped into the purse for $425 to have his suits cleaned and pressed. But the real example of living high on the hog was At- torney General lan Scott. The auditor discovered that tax- payers paid $6200 for a Christmas Party for employees in Scott's Ministry and the Minister billed the tax-payers $1100 for his membership in a posh Toronto social club. Should we be outraged? Really, should the tax- payers foot the bill for a Christmas Party, or for Scott's club memberships, or for Fulton's dry cleaning? Should civil servants be renting Lincolns when a sub-compact will get them from A to B just as nicely, or flying first class when there are lots of seats in economy? Should they be bunking down at the Ritz instead of Journey's End? No they should not, and yes, the people of Ontario should feel some sense of indignation, even though in terms of dollars spent, this is peanuts in a budget of near- ly $40 billion. ~ The amounts don't matter. What does: matter is that these are tax dollars collected by the Province of Ontario from people who worked damn hard for them, who paid their income tax, the sales tax, and any number of fees for everything from a fishing licence to a real estate trans- action. A lot of those people have never flown first class, rented a Lincoln, stayed in the Ritz, or joined a social club where the dues are $1100 a pop. These things are not going to break or make the On- tario treasury. We know that. What they do is add to the sense of frustration that many ordinary citizens are feeling at the dawn of a new decade. On the one hand, govern- ment tells them the purse is empty for improvements in health care, education, social services, housing and road repairs. Yet Mr. Scott can find $1100 for his club dues, another $6300 for a Christmas party, and Mr. Fulton can nick us for his dry cleaning tab. ) What's the average citizen supposed to think when the government asks for more tax revenue, when the govern- ment pleads poverty when it comes to improving services? Far more serious in the auditor general's report are the suggestions that court rooms are only being used half the time when there Is a back-log of 15,000 criminal cases, and judges are throwing some cases out of court because of the lengthy delays. Equally serious are the suggestions of lack of monitor- ing of day care facilities, the lack of enforcement on fishing Turn to page10 "OK. YoU BUTT OUT OF THE REUNIFICATION OF GERMANY AND I'LL KEEP OUT OF THE REUNIFICATION OF CANADA !' POSTAL WOES There's been a lot of complaining, shouting and general confusion this_past week in re- sponse to the changes in our postal service. We've heard reports of complete rudness, with residents shouting at the staff behind the counter at the Port Perry post office, because of slow delivery of their mail. We've had numerous complaints in our of- fice from subscribers who did not receive their Port Perry Star last week, and we have even heard some rumors that some of the locks on the super mailboxes have been filled with glue. All pretty stupid reactions, with' little thought given to the monumentous task facing the peo- ple behind the counter at the post office. Just for a moment put yoursalf in the shoes of the hard working post office employees in the Port Perry office. It's the busiest time of the year, and mail was piling up by the bagful even before the changes took place. And then, as fate would have it, the "Postal Brass" come up with this bril- liant idea to change Port Perry's mailing system to "super mailboxes." The idea in general is probably not all that bad, but the timing to implement these major changes was completely "out to lunch!" So for the past two weeks, in addition to try- ing to sort the high volume of Christmas mail, the staff have had to contend with issuing new keys to residents who didn't have any idea what was going on. In fact, there are many who are still confused with the changes. : This change in our postal delivery has un- doubtedly been an example of one of the poor- est public relations jobs ever done by the Post Office. Lack of information, lack of co-operation, and lack of sense has turned the whole project into a nightmare, not only for the residents, but for the local post office employees. 'Up until a few days before we were asked for the keys to our old mailboxes back, there was little or no Sxplanstion as to what was hap- pening, and how it would take place. And for the next week patience grew very thin as people waited in line for keys and their mail from the general delivery boxes. Jotting by ]. Peter Hvidsten | Just remember, none of these changes were initiated by the postal staff at Port Perry office. They just happened to be in the wrong spot at the wrong time. In an attempt to sort out some of the confu- sion, and inform the public what was about to take place, the Star tried on a couple of occa- sions to get information for a news story, but ran into a brick wall We understand there have been some heat- ed exchanges of words, and that staff were not always as courteous as some expected, but un- der the circumstances, I'm surprised any of the employees are still there at all. | just can't imagine having to deal with about 2,000 people, some very irate, and be able to contain my own frustrations without showing some emotions. The whole system will work out, given some time and patience from both the public and the fostal employees. Super mailboxes are here to Stay. and it is only a matter of time until residents find they are much more convenient than having to walk or drive to the post office each day. In addition, the super mailboxes may well help the tremendous lack of parking in the down- town. With fewer people having to come into town to pick up their mail, it is quite possible it will free up some space for shoppers. Meeting old friends at the Post Office will not end entirely, as most everyone, at one time or another wil have to drop by to send a parcel, pick up registered mail, or simply to buy some stamps. As | said a few months back in this column, [ersonsly I don't like the look of the super mail- xes, because | don't feel they do anything to enhance the appeal of this beautiful community. But, in terms of convenience, there is little doubt they'll be great. Let's give them, and the post office a fair chance to work out the bugs. I's easy to get mad, and to point a finger at the local "posties"®, but until you can walk in their shoes, and understand the unbelievable prob- lems and pressures with which they have had to contend these past few weeks, you'll never un- derstand how thay feel. | personally salute their thankless efforts. T----