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| 6 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, November 10, 1992, "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice The Port Perry Star 188 MARY STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - L9L 187 PHONE (416) 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: 6Months-$17.72 includes $1.22GST RIBBON AWARD 1992 1Year-$32.10 includes $2.10GST Forelgn-$90.95 includes $5.95GST EDITORIAL Publisher - J. Peter Hvidsten News Editor - Scott Anderson Features Editor - Julia Dempsey Sports Editor - Kelly Lown ADVERTISING Advertising Manager - AnnaJackman Advertising Sales - Jackie McDonell Production - Pamela Hickey, Barbara Bell PRODUCTION Annabell Harrison, Trudy Empringham BUSINESS OFFICE Office Manager - Gayle Stapley Accounting - Judy Ashby Retail Sales - Kathy Dudley, Marlene Moore Robert Taylor, Barbara Lachapelle Ny *CNA Z] Member of the Co Canadian Community Newspaper Associaton Ontario Community Newspape: Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Ltd. Port Perry, Ontario * GST included in price Editorial Comment Government Leaks A recent survey conducted by Agriculture Canada should prove once and for all to the NDP government and more specifically the Interim Waste Authority (IWA) that its landfill site selection process is flawed. A $710,000-study released in late October concern- ing rural wells, found that 37 per cent of the wells sampled exceeded provincial drinking water objectives related to nitrate and coliform bacteria. The results showed 31 per cent of the wells exceeded the acceptable concentration for coliform bacteria; 20 per cent of those exceeded drink- ing water objectives for faecal coliform bacteria; and 13 per cent exceeded acceptable concentrations for nitrate. In all cases the water had been contaminated by seepage through the soil into the water system. These complaints have been the basis for many groups opposing the landfill sites in the area. People fear their water systems will be contaminated by the effluents created by the decomposing garbage of the landfill sites. No dump is 100 per cent leak-free and inevitably there will be leakage. The people whose property and homes are near the proposed dumps fear their water, and subse- quently their health, will be affected. The findings in the report should send out loud and clear signals to the IWA that rural lands around communi- ties such as Port Perry, Prince Albert and Blackstock are not the ideal places for dumps. Seepage from livestock waste and fertilizers managed to find their way into the water, it is only logical that contaminants from garbage dumps will do the same. Let us hope this report will be forwarded to the IWA and that it is one piece of information they don't ignore. Accountabilities The people have spoken. In two separate and very different ways the people let the politicians know how they felt and the powers that be are now realizing that the polit- ical climate in the '90s will be far different from the days gone by. In Canada we wholeheartedly rejected the Constitu- tional Accord which was foisted upon us by the First Min- isters who did more of a job telling us to vote yes than tell- ing us what was in the package. Tired of the unity debates and constant failures of the constitutional amendments, we rejected the package and called for the government to get on with the task of turn- ing the economy around, to bring us out of the recession and create programs to stimulate the economy. The same trends prevailed in the recent United States presidential elections. George Bush, a hero less than two years ago for bringing an end to the Cold War and victory in the Gulf War, was soundly trounced in the November 3 election. Once aqain the people were sending out a message loud and clear. They voted with their pocketbooks. They were tired of being overtaxed, unemployment and tired of the recession. Many who responded at the exit polls said they voted for change because they wanted something done about the economy. It appears the public in both countries is growing weary of the "all talk, no action" politicians. In the past we accepted what they said and believed they were going to come through with their promises. But no more. The public has shown they want action and will select the people that they want to facilitate this change. Governments will be expected to solve the problems quickly. People are becoming increasingly restless and want changes now. Perhaps we are expecting too much from the politi- cians, but at least we are demanding them to take our con- cerns to heart and making them accountable. FOUNDER (ETER PERRY'S ViSioN OF PoR( CERRY, ... THE NDPS Visio | ~~ OF PORT PERRY yA i Cd oi a 3 , 3 Ss we Ae ara! by SARS Ea Ei i a ae a i -- ii cel WOW! WHAT RESPONSE Nancy and | have been overwhelmed this past week by the responses we've received after my brief appeal for help in disposing of fleas. Our heartfelt thanks to you all. For those who don't remember, | concluded last week's column asking if anyone knew how to get rid of fleas. We've been battling with the little mites for the past three months, and so far they've been winning the war. Since my appeal last week we've had close to a dozen calls with a variety of solutions to the nagging problem of fleas. Suggestions range from draining the dog's anal glands, bathing her in 'skin so soft," dust- ing her with powders, introducing garlic or oth- er concoctions to her food, and using powerful drugs which get into the bloodstream and kill fleas when they bite. Our biggest problem now is which sugges- tion do we try first. No doubt, if we tried them all we'd get rid of the fleas, but may also find our little black pug 20 toes up the following morning, At any rate, on behalf of Dolly and the rest of our family, thanks for your encouragement, suggestions and concerns. SIGN YOUR NAME Letters to the editor are always encouraged by this newspaper and it is very seldom we find it necessary to edit or refuse publication of our reader's viewpoints. Recently we've received a couple of letters which we have had to put on hold, due to eith- er content, or the unwillingness of the writer to sign their name. It has always been our policy and feeling that a letter worth writing is a letter worth sign- ing. In other words, if you have a strong opin- ion about something happening i» our com- munity, don't hide behind a pen name. Stand up and be counted! But policies are meant to be bent, if not bro- ken, and every so often a letter comes along which we agree to publish without a signature. Such is the case this week with a letter writ- ten by a concerned mother. The concern with going public was not for herself, but fear of the reaction she felt her daughter would get from other teenagers at school if they knew who wrote the letter. We listened, we understood and agreed to publish the letter anonymously. This exception to the rulé should not be con- strued as a change in policy regarding letters, it was simply a decision made after a great deal of consideration over the implications for a young teenager. MAYBE NEXT TIME? Okay, so Ross Perot isn't the President-elect of the United States. But boy, he sure did add a little spice to the campaign, and the 19 per cent of the popular vote he garnished sure puts some doubt into what the outcome might have been without him running for the U.S. presidency. The political pundits will be analyzing this election for months to come, trying to figure out if Perot's supporters would have been Bush votes or Clinton votes. I'd love to have see old "Ross the Boss" sit- ting in the oval office making decisions for the next four years. Let's just say I like an underdog, and someone who isn't satisfied with the status quo. You can bet the direction he'd have taken the U.S. would have been entirely different than either Bush or Clinton and their buddies. Whether that would have been good or bad, | guess we will never know. I hope he's still around four years from now and is still as enthusiastic about making changes as he has been during this campaign. Had Ross not dropped out earlier this year, when the polls were showing his popularity running around 30 per cent, it might have been an entirely different show. Maybe next time!