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NY. I a Ny TT, 6 - PORT PERRY "WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 2000 PUBLISHER................ J. Peter Hvidsten GENERAL MGR.......... Don MacLeod MANAGING EDITOR.. Jeff Mitchell OFFICE MANAGER.... Gayle Stapley ocna wil be corrected brought bo the editor's anon. Wo reserve th right 0 et or roo publication of any alors submited. ADVERTISING POLICY: The putichtr not tas ort ee =x ADVERTISING MGR...Deb McEachem Member OntariaCommuni REPORTER................. Chris Hall Newspaper Assoc. Fresiance Writers- Heather McCrae, John B. McClelland Published every Friday by the Port Perry Star Company Limited, 188 Mary Street - Port Perry, Ontario - LOL 1B7 PHONE (905) 985-7383 Distributed free in the following communities: Port Perry - Uxbridge - Sunderland - Little Britain - RR Lindsay Janetville FAX (905) 985-3708 Oakwood - Manilla - Seagrave - Greenbank - Brooklin - Ashbum - Columbus - RR Oshawa E-MAIL: port.perry.star@sympatico.ca Caesarea - Blackstock - Raglan - Nestieton - Yelverton - Prince Albert EDITORIAL POLICY: ) Opinions expressed columnists, contributors and letter writers are not necessarily those of The Port Star. Letters must be signed and the telephone number (which will not be published) included. Requests that a name be withheld will be honoured only if there is a compelling reason 10 do so. Errors Y po ical emors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher is not Eable for other emors or omissions in BUSINESS OFFICE: Judy Ashby, Kathy Dudley, Janet Rankin, Lesley West ADVERTISING: Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, Gail Morse, Heather Mack, Linda Clarke, Janet Archer, Malcolm Lennox PRODUCTION: Trudy Empringham, Pam Hickey, Daryle Wright, Arlene Cheel, Robert Taylor, Richard Drew, Scott Ashby OPINION Health care on the death bed Those who care passionately about Canada's universal medi- care system can be forgiven for feeling a little queasy these ays. There's very little reason for us to feel as though we're in the best of health. ; There's a lot of rhetoric flying among federal and provincial politicians about who's responsible for what when it comes to health care funding. Each level insists the other is either not putting the appropriate amount of funding forward, or misusing money that's been designated for the system. It's come to the point, amid all this federal-provincial to-and- fro, where politicians such as Ralph Klein of Alberta and Ontario's Mike Harris are openly talking about the privatization of more procedures. Which amounts to questioning the viability of the medicare system, doesn't it? What's not clearly stated while all the finger-pointing goes on - and this is the most distressing part - is a true, on-the-record commitment to fight for the maintenance of health care. That's despite repeated polls that show the issue to be foremost in importance among so many Canadians. It's like so many issues in Canada these days: Everybody says they want a system that works, but nobody wants to pay for it. Or, it would seem, even commit to putting aside partisan differ- ences and federal-provincial squabbles to make it happen. : Medicare is very ill, and the people with the right medicine to make it better don't seem to care. by The Star office, or give us a call at 985-7383. connection with any advertisement in any subsequent issue or the refund of any monies paid for the advertisement. Al claims of efor in publication must bs made by Wednesday, noon, prior 1o the next week's publication, and, f not made, wil not be considered. No claim wil be allowed for more than one nserSon Rosemarie Durward of RR 2 Uxbridge sent in this photo of her sheltie Samantha, who loves to cuddle with a figurine - of a sheltie. If you have an interesting picture we could use for Photo of the Week, drop it LETTERS To the editor. This is a reply to the letter by Marcello Galluzzo 'Show understanding, compassion' in your Friday March 31/2000 edition. Thank you for your timely message. This is precisely what we teachers have focussed on while taking the course:" Adults with Learning Disabilities" here at Durham College. When children and teenagers have these problems while in their school years, they tend to have problems later while trying to learn to earn a living. You are correct when you say that school should not be primarily about surviving, but about learning. Most teachers are teachers because they are THERE THERE SWEETIE - WE CAN ONLY HOPE THAT YOU There are lifelines for LD students compassionate and want to help people learn while I€arning more about teaching each day . We need some help from our students however, to come forward and identify any disabilities. There is hope and there are lifelines, but if you are 'lost' you must "shout for help" before a search team can come to your rescue. Then we can develop strategies to help students to remove, or at least lower their barriers to learning. J. Mueller Professor - Apprenticeship Training Durham College Skills Training Centre, Whitby DON'T INHERIT YOUR MOM'S |: NC WAY OF SNEEZING! |. q (OH BE QUIET! qQ SNIFE! To the Editor: Perhaps our present provincial govern- 2 ment, in its increasingly dictatorial efforts And to turn our schools into canning factories, E> would better spend tax dollars in a time study to see how effective all their wild revisions are in our school systems. How would any entrepreneur feel if his business day operated at only 40 per cent efficiency - at best. That's what's happening in our schools and no fault attached to our teach- ers who are forced to follow the dictates of an employer who is hell-bent on stan- Ox 'Babysitting not the teacher's job dardization and inordinate children's rights. Teachers' hands are tied in spite of the new system. They.are powerless, sadly. If parents want to know the truth, spend a day or two with a teacher in your favourite school and find out how much real time is for education in the traditional sense. | mean readin', writin', and 'rithmetic. Babysitting is for babysitters, not teachers. Owen R. Neill, Port Perry TT ----~ EE ET TIT I I I HT TE HL bk