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2 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, January 14,1987 Section Two Efje Canabtatt Statesman 623-3303 Durham Countv's Great FamHv Journal Established 133 years ago In 1854. Also Incorporating The Bowmanville News The Newcastle Independent TheOrooo News Second class mall registration number 1561 Produced every Wednesday by THE JAMES PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED 62-66 King SL W„ Bowmanville, Ontario L1C 3K9 JOHN M. JAMES Editor--Publisher GEO. P. MORRIS Business Mgr. RICHARD A. JAMES Assistant Publisher BRIAN PURDY Advertising Mgr. PETER PARROTT Associate Editor DONALD BISHOP Plant Mgr. All layouts and composition of advertisements produced by the employees of The Canadian Statesman, The Newcastle Independent and The James Publishing Company Limited are protected by copyright and must not be reproduced without permission of the publishers. $17.00 a year--6 months $9.00 foreign--$55.00 a year strictly In advance < Although every precaution will be taken to avoid error, The Canadian Statesman accepts advertising in ils columns on the understanding that il will nol be liable lor any error in Ihe advertisement published hereunder unless a proof ol such advertisement is requested iq writing by the advertiser and relumed to The Canadian Statesman business office duly signed by the advertiser and with such error or corrections plainly noted in writing thereon, and in that case it any error so noted is not corrected by The Canadian Statesman its liability shall nol exceed such a portion of Ihe entire cost o! such advertisement as the space occupied by Ihe noled error bears to the whole space occupied by such advertisement. Keeping Your Resolutions If you're like many of us, your efforts to carry through on some New Year's resolutions have probably already fàiled. The reason, if one is to believe believe recent expert opinions, opinions, is that the resolution® resolution® was too optimistic or unrealistic and that the individual individual goal set was too high. There's probably some validity to that claim, as goals discussed around this office have ranged from practical plans to end such vices as smoke and liquor to the more abstract plans to change the personalities of the sarcastic. • As of this writing, none of these goals is likely to be brought to fruition. It's almost like the dark side to the New Year's optimism optimism that resolutions so often end in failure. Presumably, the resolutions resolutions are first made so that all individuals can take part in a global effort to improve improve the world. As we hope for better economic, political, political, and social justices on a national or international level, we make our pledge in the improvement process by setting some small goal for ourselves. When we fail, we find ourselves ourselves left with two possible conclusions. One is that we suffer from some individual blemish which leaves us too weak to meet the challenge. The other possible conclusion conclusion is that the resolution was stupid. In most cases, the second conclusion is the one that is reached. That can then leave us wondering if perhaps there's more to resolution fulfillment than the simple selection of a goal that's attainable. attainable. Possibly, we should be making resolutions which carry more weight than those <;made in the good cheer of the festive season. After all, New Year's isn't so much a celebration of the upcoming year as it is a final party to end the Christmas Christmas season. When the hangover hangover ends and wé prepare to return to the normal routine, we realize that little little has changed. Everything we celebrated on Dec. 31/ Jan. T was done for fun, rather than with any real goal in mind. In order to be taken seriously, seriously, the resolution process process should probably be separated from the New Year's festivities and given more weight. Ideally, we might set a deadline for resolutions, resolutions, so that the pledge for the upcoming year is thought out and possibly committed to paper long before before the Yuletide festivities begin. And we might set a mandate mandate for resolutions. Considering Considering that efforts to end a vice usually don't contribute contribute anything to the improvement improvement of man's lot as a whole, we might insist that all resolutions resolutions must not be selfish selfish but must have a clear intent intent to help others. Then, we might find ourselves ourselves making resolutions which are worth keeping. And while these resolutions resolutions might not be as much fun to talk about as the personal personal resolutions which never last, they may return a true optimistic spirit to an otherwise shallow celebration. celebration. Emphasis on Ontario's Youth The school drop-out rate was the greatest shock to Ontario's Youth Commissioner, Ken Dryden, as he prepared a report on the future of Ontario's Ontario's young people. And although the Commissioner's réport contains only tentative conclusions, conclusions, it's fairly obvious that he expects expects future efforts should be focused on the students who will leave school before they have a chance to grasp the skills they need for personal success. success. And, presuming they become willing willing to acquire the education they need, then the problem becomes one of providing full employment for all who genuinely want to work. Completing school is ostensibly an important goal for young people. When asking an audience of students if they intended to drop out before grade 12, the commissioner recalls that few admitted they would do so. Very few students voiced plans to enter the work force directly after high school, with the majority indicating indicating that they would go to college or university. But the facts reveal that 40 per cent of students entering Ontario's secondary secondary schools don't graduate from grade 12. That's two out of every five students. A further 76 per cent do not graduate from Grade 13 and only 31 per cent proceed on to college or university. university. Undoubtedly, there are many success success stories among those who leave school without acquiring formal credentials. credentials. But, more likely, the student who is unable to graduate will be less likely to have the skills needed in a complex and changing century. The youth commissioner suggests that one solution is to require that schools become more accountable for those pupils who disappear before before graduation. "First, there needs to be a change in the education system's psychology. Students at risk of dropping out are often the hardest to deal with. They require more time, more effort, more patience, more of the resources of the system. Yet if they leave, the system's responsibility is at an end, and the price it pays for students leaving is small. The psychology is backwards," Dryden says, "and conspires against success. Responsibility for young people, even drop-outs, should remain remain with the education system until at least age 18, to ensure they find the counselling, training, apprenticeship or work experience they need." Dryden also argues that students who arc at risk of dropping out lack goals within the school system. Once attendance at a university or college seems to be impossible, they lack other reasons to continue their studies. And, too often, they arc gone when their lGlli birtlidatc occurs. "It seems incredible," Dryden says, "that a universal system should come so far from meeting universal needs." And, in what is surply a controversial controversial statement, he observes: "It is a system which by its very structure encourages encourages success in the successful and reinforces failure in those who are not." Words such as these, coming from the youth commissioner, should cause all educational institutions to take a long look at what .they are doing. But the report should not be a licence to introduce a new line of programs in the schools or extend the age for leaving high school to 18. This province is not exactly a backwater backwater in terms of its educational opportunities. opportunities. A rather significant school system has been established in Ontario and a careful study of your latest tax bill will reveal that it's a system which is not cheap to maintain. maintain. The most progressive school systems systems already have in place certain programs which should meet the needs of those students who run the risk of not completing their educational educational goals. Perhaps, existing resources can be re-aligned somewhat to further improve improve the chances of students at risk. But let's hope we're not moving towards towards some kind of expensive revision revision to the Ontario school system. For one thing, who is to say that all the extra effort will lower the dropout dropout rate one iota. The changes would be a shot in the dark. Secondly, who is to say that the schools must bear the responsibility alone? Obviously, a staggering number of young people are not making the most of their educational opportunities. But is that the fault of the schools or is it a flaw caused by our society in general? After all, success in school depends largely on a healthy attitude. And it's debatable whether the schools should be given full responsibility for fostering that desire to succeed. Where are the parents? Shouldn't they be encouraging students to complete complete their education? Where are the brothers and sisters and other family members? They should be providing advice and leadership too. And what of the youth leaders, clergy, athletic coaches, businessmen businessmen and businesswomen, and all others who come in contact with youth as they develop into young adults. Finally, the individuals attending secondary school must take a certain amount of responsibility for the outcome outcome of their school career. It's their job to sec that they have properly used the opportunities available in the school system. If the drop-out rate is higher than acceptable, the fault rests not only with the schools but with each of the above groups and individuals. The solution also lies with the aforementioned aforementioned groups. That's a factor which should not be overlooked by the senior officials of the Ontario government who will be reviewing Ken Dryden's report and making recommendations. Lonesome Journey Through Winter s -- By 1 me ... by Peter Parrott < : ; You can talk all you like about life in urban centres. You can talk about proximity to shopping shopping malls, entertainment, entertainment, schools, libraries, specialty shops, and the wide variety of things which makë living in a city or town advantageous. advantageous. But which of these benefits benefits can compare to having a a yard full of bluejays, mourning doves, chickadees, and grossbeaks pecking away at the bird feeder on an early January morning? The other day, I had an opportunity to take a look at the bird feeding efforts of à local hobbyist hobbyist and was re-acquainted re-acquainted with this aspect aspect of life beyond suburbia. suburbia. The smaller birds seem to arrive first, deftly deftly picking up the birdseed, f sunflower seeds, and bread crumbs. Then came the bluejays. They're a lot noisier and more wary. With the slightest motion motion of my camera, the jay closest to the feeder turned on the afterburners afterburners and shot back to the thicket across the road. The others followed. For a while, the feed ers were empty. But then the pattern returns. First a sprinkling of small birds. And then the camera-shy jays. I don't dare to move, viewing viewing everything, through the telephbto lense and hearing the heavy rüstlè of wings as more and more of the bluejays make their way to the tree. Finally, there must be at least a dozen of them sitting in the bare branches and looking like ornaments on a Christmas spruce or pine. Then there's another whisper of wings over head as a whole flock of mourning doves enters another tree en masse. The doves seem to move as a group while the jays, although- they travel together,' together,' remain very individualistic. individualistic. Alonè, they dart to the bird feeder and then back to the tree in an endlessly-repeated pattern. The mourning doves, when they feed at all, seem to appear in a flock and they eat the food off the ground rather than from the wooden feeders. feeders. The pattern becomes rather hypnotic. It's a calm, quiet mosaic of feathers, wings, branches, seeds, and chirps. The birds gather and leave and return again in a rhythm reminiscent reminiscent of clouds, in the sky or swirls of snow: Above all, one 'becomes 'becomes acutely aware of the silence. We don't really really know how noisy our world has become until we have an opportunity to watch a scene such as the one I've described above -- a scene only made possible by silence. silence. In this world, the passage of a car on the nearby roadway -becomes -becomes a startling intrusion intrusion that blasts the en tire feathered entourage from their breakfast" and sends them fluttering back to the protective woods. But not for long. . .They'll . be back, of course.. . They, ^always come back when it's quiet. 11 Somehow, just watching watching these birds for maybe 20 minutes or so has made the sounds appear appear louder than they really really are. So the ignition of the tiny four-cylinder engine engine in my car sounds like a thunderclap. But it does not startle me. I'm back, once again, in the kingdom of noise. Hydro Stresses Safety of Tritium Transportation by Rob Savage Tritium probably isn't a household word. But as Ontario Hydro makes plans to ship tritiated heavy water from Pickering Generating Station Station to Darlington Generating Generating Station in 1987, it's a word which is gaining more notoriety throughout the area. For their part, Hydro has been making efforts to let the public know that the methods for transporting and storing tritium are completely completely safe. At the opposite end of the spectrum, anti-nuclear groups like Durham Nuclear Nuclear Awareness are trying, to warn people of the potential potential dangers which they see in both the transportation and possible sales of tritium. And both groups arc trying trying to address some public ignorance about what tritium actually is. "It's a question qf getting as much attention as possible, possible, as quickly as possible, • with as much press as possible," possible," said DNA spokesperson spokesperson Suzanne Elston during a recent interview. In layman's terms, it seems the easiest way to understand understand the nature of tritium is to look at it as a form of nuclear waste. Tritium is a bi-product that forms in the heavy water used at the CANDU reactors after the water has been in the reactor for some time. It's produced by the creation creation of an extra neutron in the water, causingthc water to become unstable and radioactive. The plans to remove tritium from tiic heavy water arc applauded by both the Ontario Hydro officials officials and the Durham Nuclear Nuclear Awareness opponents. opponents. Both agree that the radioactive water is dangerous and that it would bo bolter to store tritium in ils natural gaseous state. Essentially, the process involves immobilizing tritium in six litre steel containers containers with the metal titanium, where the metal acts as a sponge for the tritium gas. The resulting metal can then be easily stored. However, the location and possible future uses of tritium are issues over which Hydro and the DNA strongly disagree. Hydro's tritium removal facility for tritium • from both the Pickering and Bruce generating stations will be at Darlington, at a cost of $120 million. DNA spokespeople are saying the removal facilities facilities should be built at the Pickering and Bruce stations, stations, thereby eliminating any danger from the transportation transportation of the tritium. From that point comes a disagreement over the actual actual dangers of the transportation transportation process. Hydro's plans arc to transport the tritiated heavy water to facilities at Darlington, where the tritium would then be separated separated and stored. Hydro says the trucks they're planning to use arc safe. The trucks have been licensed under the transportation transportation of hazardous goods act, which Durham Regional Police Staff Sergeant Dan Matthews says was "tightened up" in 1985. Hydro has also put the trucks through tests that involve involve driving the trucks off cliffs and setting the trucks on fire. "I think you can set a bomb off in it without damaging the tritium container," container," said Staff Sergeant Mathews, the co-ordinator of the Region's Emergency Planning. DNA spokespeople view the matter differently, They say that the number of accidents accidents for tractor-trailers in 1985 was two and one-lmlf times greater Ilian the number number of accidents for any other type of vehicle in 1985. They feel that "no reasonable reasonable person" would transport transport tritiated heavy water along hwy. 401. "That is dangerously close to Lake Ontario," Mrs. Elston said. In the event that an accident accident did occur, the next problem would be assessing assessing the degree of potential harm. DNA spokespeople say the threat is great. They argue that one-twentieth one-twentieth of a gram of tritium in the system can cause death and one-billionth of a gram can cause cancer. If the tritium got into the water, Mrs. Elston said the risk of such harm is probably probably quite high. However, Ontario Hydro doesn't agree. In a pamphlet explaining the transportation of heavy tritiated water, they argue that it has "a low level of radioactivity" and "would result in a negligible exposure exposure to emergency workers or the public." They're currently working working with the region to finalize plans for the location location of reccplion/dccon- tamination centres and they've been, training the police and firefighters for possible emergencies. In the event of a spill, Community Relations Officer Officer Suzanne Stickley says it isn't likely people could gel tritium into their system. system. She says a person would probably have to be lying face-first in the water to risk such exposure. Assuming tlpil no spill ever occurs, a further difference difference still exists between the two groups with respect to the future sales of tritium. . The Ontario Hydro board of directors has not yet made a decision on the future future use of tritium. lint DNA spokespeople say it's obvious that Hydro is planning to, sell the tritium. Mrs. Elston says the only reason Hydro is separating the tritium from the water is because they plan to sell it. She says they've faced the tritium problem for ten years and are only now reacting because of the potential potential sales. "All of a sudden, they have a corporate conscience conscience about it," she said. If sold, she argues the tritium would be used in hydrogen hydrogen bombs. She points to statistics which show 90 per cent of the tritium in the United States is used for nuclear weapons. Ms. Stickley agreed the figure figure may be accurate, but she also points to recent government statements that tritium wouldn't be sold for military purposes. And she says the United States is able to produce its own tritium for weapons and isn't relying on tritium from Canada. She said there are peaceful peaceful markets for tritium, such as in fusion technology. And she thinks it's unreasonable unreasonable to be arguing about future future uses of tritium when no decision has been made to sell it. "(Durham Nuclear Awareness') arguments are designed to connect bombs and nuclear plants," Ms, Stickley said. "I think it's a very, very tenuous connection." connection." At this point, both sides are awaiting the final decision decision from the Hydr.o board on any future sales. DNA says it will be sending sending delegations to local councils along the intended trucking route for tritiated heavy water, hoping that the council will use their influence influence to reach higher levels of government. Yet, Mrs. Elston maintains maintains the public are the ones who have to decide upon their feelings towards tritium, "We have an attitude that the government will protect us," she said. "The truth is that we've been lulled into a sense of false security." Letters to the Editor 1350 Inwood Rd. Lake Orion, MI 48035 Dec. 31,1986 Dear Mr, James: While in the area last summer, I attempted to show my daughter "Devitt Hall" in Cartwright Twp. near Blackstock. I was shocked to find it was gone. Inquiry at the general store in Blackstock failed to reveal any information. Granted, it was very old and primitive, and there is a new community building in Blackstock, But I recall it was designated as a "Centennial Site" suring Canada's Centennial, and certainly deserved some mention before being torn down or whatever fate occurred. We Americans have been notorious for our disregard of historié buildings, etc. so I can't fault the Canadians for being the same. What I do hope, however, is that some mention of its history or its demise was made by the Press (specifically Tito Canadian Statesman). We would have stopped at your office in Bowmanville, except that it was Sunday, I'm enclosing two dollars for any immediate postage cost. Please bill me for the search and copying fees. Hope you can help me. Best wishes for 1987. Sincerely, Calvin S. Devitt Editor's note: Can someone please help with information. Sir: The last ice storm about two weeks ago showed that very few people bother to look after their sidewalks by applying some salt to prevent people from falling on the ice.' 'flic businesses up town arc trying to attract shoppers, yet it is next to impossible to walk on (ho sidewalks without the risk of falling and possibly breaking an arm or whatever. The town apparently lias a by-law person who is supposed to look after matters like this, but apparently he doesn't see anything at all. Knowing dial the sidewalks would lie icy, we decided lo drive uptown and went around to llic parking lots on Church St. to park the car but both of (he parking lots were a sheet of Ice and while deciding whether lo risk life and limb In attempting to park, the town sunder came along and sanded the parking lots so that solved that one problem area. However, I cannot figure out why people aren't responsible enough lo apply some sand and salt to their walks and make the walking for people, especially the elderly, a lot more safer to walk on, Perhaps some readers may pay attention to this message, but I wouldn't bet on it, Sam Cochrane Volunteers Needed for VON Program! The Victorian Order of! Nurses has a Volunteer; Visiting Team that provides' friendship and support to', clients and their families. As a; member of the team, you! would visit clients in their! homes, on an individual basis,; once a week, You would be! matched with a client who; lives near you and who hnsi needs that you could fill,! Interested men and women,; please call the Friendly, visitor Program at 434-2530 or! l-liOO-203-7970,8:30 a.m, to 4:30 p.m. for more Information,