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6 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, May 17,1994 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" Editorial Comment Getting to Know Your Politician Do you know who your mayor is? Do you know who represents your riding or who your school board trustee is? Do you know the name of the Chairman of the Region of Durham? If you don't, then you're not alone. A Toronto Star poll released last week re- vealed that not many have a clue who the people are who are representing them. According to the poll, one in three re- spondents had no idea who the chairman of Metro was, and whether this person was doing a good job, while another one- third could not say who their respective mayors were. Despite not knowing who the politicians were in their respective areas, or who represented them on the school boards, more than 25 per cent of them indicated the statement which best described their opinions about municipal politicians was that they would "like to have new people to vote for so they can turf the current crop." Other interesting statements or findings from the poll indicated that 31 per cent were "basically satisfied" and wanted them to remain, while 34 per cent said it 'didn't matter who is elected because "pol- iticians are all the same." It appears residents in communities in Metropolitan Toronto have a more difficuit time identifying their elected officials than those in the outlying areas, albeit not much better. Only 17 per cent of those polled in the City of Toronto knew the name of their city councillor, while Dur- ham residents in Ajax/Pickering scored slightly higher at 21 per cent. The same was realized at the regional government level. Only 14 per cent could name their regional politicians, while 21 per cent in Durham knew their represen- tatives. As startling as this may seem, the voter apathy is not surprising. In a country where we are given tremendous rights and freedoms, we tend to ignore the greatest freedom -- our right to vote. In a given election, officials are pleased when 33 per cent of the eligible voters cast a vote. The municipal level of government is perhaps the most crucial level of govern- ment to our communities and certainly the most hands-on level as we realize the most benefits from our local tax dollars. We should take the time to get to know our local representatives and make an educated decision when casting that vote in the fall. % AR OY OC) SR bh ) Liawvd ARE UP WE (an) Just HAVE 0 MAKE A FEW ADTUSTMENTS _ ) ge p <2 4 Qe T THINK ONES SUPPpsep To BE RED WHEN THE OTHER ONES GREEN. More than 100 enjoy flag raising To the Editor: This past weekend the Kinsmen Club of Port Perry kicked off the Proud To Be Canadian celebrations with its Raise the Flag ceremony at Palmer Park. Once they made their way through traffic and the Lions Club collection of road tolls, approximately 120 Scugog Township cit- izens and local celebrities turned out and enjoyed the music of the S.A. Caw- ker School Band, led by Susan Morrison. Scugog Mayor Howard Hall spoke a few words about the significance of the day's events and what was to come over the next several weeks. He noted that the township flag was being sent to Otta- wa for the Parade of 127,000 Flag Pa- rade and mentioned the Uxbridge Flag Flying Challenge, which volunteer Kins- men and Kinettes will be counting over the next month. Mr. Joel Aldred spoke on the significant historical events that surround Canada and its flag. We enjoyed the God Save the Queen solo by Band leader Susan Morrison, while the flag was being walked to the pole by members of the Color Guard of the Legion Branch #419 and two mem- bers of our local Cubs and Scouts. The entire band gathered the crowd's atten- tion with O Canada as the 1992 'signed' Turn to Page 7 Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten NEWCOMER DISLIKES LITTER This week we received a letter to the editor from a local resi- dent with some com- ments about this community. Unfortunately, as occasionally happens, the writer did not include their name and phone number, so we are unable to publish the letter. This information is required by the paper even though we sometimes agree not to use a name. The reason for this is so we can veri- fy the authenticity of the letter, or if a con- troversy should erupt from statements made, we can contact the person for further comments or clarifications. The letter received this week was a good one and made a number of points which I feel are worth bringing up in this column, so I will quote parts of the letter. The writer says, "As a newcomer to the town of Port Perry I must congratulate the shopkeepers on Sucen and Water Streets for the excellent job they do in keeping their shopfront areas clean and well presented. It definitely boosts the tourist industry." Then the letter centres in on other areas of town, especially the strip malls, with the following observation. "We frequently have ests and I am ashamed at the amount of itter left in front of these shops and in our park areas. We would rather shop else- where than have to wade through the pop cans, cigarette butts, napkins and coffee cups littered in front of these places." e writer also suggest the deplorable mess outside many of these establishments must cost the businesses customers and wonder why the owners don't take the time to sweep the area clean or hire a student to do it once a do3 Sometimes, having lived in an area for a long time, obvious flaws in a community are overlooked, and occasionally it takes the observant and concerned eye of a newcom- er to wake us up. I must admit, I've waded through litter on occasion with little thought about how it makes the community look to the visitor. If this mess is so obvious to a newcomer to the community that they feel compelled to bring it to our attention, then perhaps those of us who have made our homes here for years should open our eyes a little wider and make an effort to fix the problem. The writer ended their letter with, "This is a lovely town, let's keep it that way!" We couldn't agree more! WHERE DID THE YEARS GO? Five years ago last Thursday I found myself sitting dazed in a hospital recovery room with Nancy, still trying to compre- hend what had just happened. What happened was Nancy had just given birth to twins, and as happy as we were, we had no idea how our life was going to be turned upside down for the next few months. But thankfully, time has a way of making you forget about the long sleepless nights, the constant crying, diaper changing and walking the floor. Five years later, we watched with pride as Jamie and Katie blew out the candles on their birthday cake at the kitchen table. The years pass by so quickly it won't seem long before they are grown up and leaving home, so we're going to savor this special moment as as long as we can. Happy Birthday girls! LETTERS TO THE EDITOR make use of the letters to the editor column to express their opinions and viewpoints on just about any subject, as we feel a lively letters column will help make this a better community newspaper. We insist, however, that all letter writers sign their name and include a phone number for verification. Sorry, anonymous letters will not be published unless The Star believes it to be in the best interest of the public. We also reserves the right to edit letters with respect to their length, content or libelous comments. The Port Perry Star encourages its readers to |.