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PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, December 19, 1995 - 7 be missed To the Editor: I would like to take advan- tage of this forum to publicly thank Dr. John DiCesare on the occasion of his retire- ment from Radiologic Medi- cal Practice in this communi- y. For many years, he has served our hospital and clinic well, often in a "behind-the- scenes" manner. My experi- ence is that he is very compe- tent and co-operative, often staying late to help and fre- quently being available for urgent advice and proce- dures. - My patients have fre- quently commented on his very personable demeanor, often in the midst of unpleas- ant investigative proce- dures. He has been gentle- manly, and tolerant of the occasional unpleasantness that comes along in a medi- cal career. On behalf of my patients, staff and myself, I wish John and his family all the best in his somewhat premature es- cape into retirement. Gordon Jd. Jones, MD Port Perry Why did Tories keep separate schools? To the Editor: In the aftershock of the Har- ris government's drastic cuts to funding of valuable social, med- ical, and cultural programs, we might endorse the dose of cold reality being administered to a society which has consumed more thanit could afford. But why, in the great clean- up, did the Tories retain the separate school system? Relig- ious. privilege stands nakedly visible while valuable services grope for a shred of security. This rank injustice offends hu- man values and destroys the eq- uitable distribution of public dollars. Ontario premiers and educa- tion ministers, in succession, have claimed that the Canadian Constitution renders them pow- erless to remove this expensive, self-serving, ostentatious privi- lege. But the Constitution did not leave society shackled forev- er to the cleavage between Ro- man Catholics and Protestants. Using a province's absolute power over education, Manito- ba abolished its separate schools through a Constitution- al provision similar to Ontario's Section 93. Newfoundland is abolishing its multi-denominational \ school system with a change in the Constitution. These are le- gal precedents which offer workable alternatives for Onta- rio. In an onfnibus bill introduced simultandously with the mini budget on Nov. 29, many sweep- ing changes will be made with- out public consultation. If the Tories can justify the use of such draconian legislation, they can also institute one public system of education in which there is no remaining vestige of ecclesiastical power. Itis not an injustice to Roman Catholics to require them to practice their faith as others do -- i.e. in their homes, churches and voluntary institutions. They would lose exclusive polit- ical status and power, but, at over $250 million a year to maintain, they would lose a privilege which Ontario cannot afford. Their pain would be no differ- ent than that of others. R.H. Patterson, Friends of Public Education Pembroke Parents have stake in schools To the Editor: Calling all parents -- especial- ly parents of children in R.H. Cornish Public School: We have been receiving from the school notices about the new School Community Council that is forming. This is a great chance to have some meaningful input into our schools. We are being given the chance to work together with our school staff and with our community to help direct our children in their development. Perhaps you are already over pressured and overworked. Or maybe you think this just an- other "rubber stamp" commit- tee. Maybe you feel shy about having to be elected. Taking all these possibilities into consideration, look at the other side: We are blessed with an administration and teaching staff at Cornish that actively pursues and values parental in- put. We are being asked by our Durham board to help in the de- cision-making process. We are all in this together -- for the welfare of our children, our future school, community, and maybe even world leaders. Parents, it is up to us to make this new SCC idea work. Dec. 22 is our deadline for declaring candidancy. There are extra forms at the school office. Helen Jones, Port Perry by Jeff Mitchell AS THE YEAR WINDS DOWN... MY, TIME FLIES: Here it is, very early on a Monday morning, and that deadline that is present this time every week looms, and yet, this day, it feels different somehow. The sun has just risen over the horizon, and an ice-mist hangs everywhere. The branches of the trees stretching toward the window are coated in frost, as are the window panes of the building opposite me. Everything is still, quiet... motionless. It's probably that utter stillness that brings on the fits of reflection people are prone to at this time of year. Or maybe it's spiked eggnog, and Christmas cookies heaped with red and green sugar. Whatever the case, it's now people pause in the midst of the rush, put a hand to the forehead, and say, "Wow. Another year gone by. Amazing." Amazing, indeed: It's astounding to fetch one's mind back twelve months, and realize it doesn't seem to have been that long ago, given the pace time keeps in this world. But if the time that's elapsed is looked at day by day, even moment by moment, there seem a century's worth of events, newsworthy and banal, as well as personal observations, trials, and, occasionally, triumphs. From our perspective, as the local newspaper folks, the entire year is as tangible as the stack of newsprint that accumulates, week after week, around us. The front pages speak loudly of the issues of the weeks and months, and inside, there are more pages, filled with events and observations and opinions and controversies. It's often we'll be talking about some issue or another, and have to look back in the files for information on an update. "My God," one of us is bound to say, "was it that long ago? It seems like that happened just last week." And so it goes, on and on. There is a theory | heard put forward sometime during the course of this past year that attempts to explain the apparent differences in the nature of time and our changing perception of its passage from childhood to adult hood. The theory goes that as children we are open-eyed and filled with wonderment at everything around us, so each moment if filled to the brim with incoming information and our attempts to digest and analyze it. As adults, we are more focused, it seems, and allow less time for that kind of wide-eyed wondering. Our hours and days fly by, and we focus on the banalities in front of us, for the sake of putting food on the table. Which is a pity. Don't you ever wish, for instance, when you walk or drive by the huge Christmas tree in front of the Port BIA- | Chamber of Commerce building, that you could see it as you might of when you were two, or three, or four? Maybe that's something to keep in mind during this holiday season, as the year winds down and we do too. Maybe the greatest gift you can give yourself and those around you is time, and the leisurely appreciation of them and the season. Anyway: Sermon's over. Here's wishing you a warm an bright and relaxing holiday, and health and happiness in 1996. Shalom. rz 2 Seasons Greel N [from our family to yours! Ca JSS We wish you a very Merry Christmas and health and happiness throughout the New Vear. Peter and Nancy Matthew, Jamie & Katie ct T-- ings