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1 rsSSjf Mf tS M 1 âil i |J • SINCE 1854 • AMALGAMATED 1999 WITH* Press run 21,900 44 Payes Wednesday, November 14, 2001 Audi A4 in balance Wheels Pull out ON THIS WEEK • ptional 4 week delivery $5/$l newsstand She's not horsing around Sports, page 17 Emergency director calls for upgrades Warning system suggested near nuclear plants BYJACQUIE MclNNES Staff Writer DURHAM - If the unthinkable unthinkable were to happen, Durham would be ready but a better warn- Seniors warned of sales tactics BY JACQUIE MclNNES Staff Writer BOWMANVILLE - Seniors Seniors beware. That's the message a Clar- ington resident is sending after . her mother-in-law paid $1,600 ■ cash for an air purifier system 'she doesn't want but cannot re- ; turn from a door-to-door sales- i man. ! "She kept telling him, T ! don't need it, I don't want it,' re- {lates Sandra Muiphy who says j the salesman showed up at the i senior's door in central Bow- ! manville last Thursday afternoon. afternoon. } Despite the 76-year-old • woman's insistence she did not want the unit, somehow the salesman managed to convince her to hand over $100 cash she had at the house and then drove her to the Bank of Montreal in Bowmanville to withdraw another another $1,500 from her bank account, account, says Ms. Muiphy. When it was all over, the senior senior was left with an air purifier her daughter-in-law questions is worth anywhere near the money she paid and no receipt or contract contract for the sale. The family is trying to track the company down but it is proving difficult without any paperwork, relates Mrs. Murphy. A bank teller, who apparently apparently became suspicious after the senior withdrew such a large amount of money, did note the licence plate and make of the van that drove the senior to the bank, says Mrs. Muiphy, who adds the Durham Regional Police Police fraud squad is investigating. While others may not think it could happen to them, Mrs. Murphy says not to be too sure. "They're good at it," she relates. "This is what they do." This is not the first time a se- See SENIORS page 3 ACCREDITED TEST & REPAIR FACILITY •An official mark of (he Province of Ontario used under licence. Whitby - Oshawa Honda 1110 DUNDAS. ST. E., WHITBY. LOCAL (905) 666-1772 ing system is still needed in the event of a nuclear emergency, says the Region's director of emergency measures. 'The plan will work now," Ivan Ciuciura, director of the Durham Emergency Measures Ontario (DEMO) office says. But, he adds, "It's not an optimum optimum plan." The director highlights a need for a warning system encompassing encompassing 10 kilometres surrounding Durham's two nuclear facilities in Clarington and Pickering. That includes land in all Durham's lakeshore municipalities as well as the eastern part of Toronto. "If we have to take protective measures (in the event of a nuclear nuclear emergency) out to 10 kilometres kilometres then we need a means to alert the public right out to the 10 kilometres," he says. The Province is expected to proceed soon with some type of warning system, possibly a tone alerting device similar to a smoke detector, inside homes and businesses businesses within three kilometres of the plants. Another option being considered is an outdoor siren system, says Mr. Ciuciura. There is a meeting at Durham headquarters headquarters between Emergency Measures Ontario, DEMO, Ontario Ontario Power Generation and representatives representatives from the affected municipalities tomorrow, Nov. 15, regarding the options for a three-kilometre alerting system. As well, Mr. Ciuciura says the discussion will include the possibility possibility of extending that alerting zone to the full I0 kilometres. This will be the third time Durham has approached the Province with a request to extend the alerting area, he says. Given the events of Sept. 11 and the current current political climate, Mr. Ciuciura Ciuciura says he "hopes the Province will be more receptive to See UPGRADES page 8 JASON UEBREGTS/ Statesman photo BOWMANVILLE - Bowmanville Santa Claus parade chairman Valerie Gardiner is all smiles as the 40th edition of the parade is set to go this Saturday. This year, Santa rides into town on a refurbished float with eight brand new reindeer. Everybody loves a parade Santa comes to town Saturday BY JENNIFER STONE Staff Writer BOWMANVILLE-Old St. Nick will make his way into town with the help of eight brand new reindeer on a float refurbished refurbished just in time for the 40th edition of Bowmanville's Santa Claus parade this Saturday. Saturday. "We still have the original Santa float," says Valerie Gardiner, Gardiner, parade chairman, who has been involved in the parade for almost two decades. "But this year, we have re-done the whole float. The new reindeer are absolutely absolutely beautiful." The original float was built by the now-defunct Bowmanville Bowmanville Training School for Boys, with the original reindeer made of paper mâché. A few years ago, they were fibre- glassed, but still, "to me, the float needed the upgrade," says Ms. Gardiner. It's not easy to find new reindeer, reindeer, notes Ms. Gardiner, who contacted The Moose Factory, the organization responsible for making the fibreglass moose for a recent Toronto promotion. The group pointed her in the direction direction of Fibreglass Fabricators, the company which designed and made the local parade's new reindeer. In spite of the $10,000 price tag, "we're very, very pleased," says Ms. Gardiner. "I am so pleased. It was a labour of love, and they just look absolutely beautiful." The reindeer will help usher in the fifth decade of the parade, which starts at 10:30 a.m. at Church and Scugog streets, makes its way to King Street, and runs down Bowmanville's main thoroughfare to Liberty Street, at which point it will head south to the Memorial Park clubhouse. clubhouse. The completely noncommercial noncommercial parade receives great support from the community, community, says Ms. Gardiner, who spends much of her time during the parade, running the route in a golf cart donated by Ayren Links Golf Club. "I have yet to go to someone within the community and ask for something and not get it." The parade generally draws about 10,000 people to Bowmanville's Bowmanville's downtown core. The event is organized by a volunteer committee, which puts in a "whole year's work that's completed completed in two hours," says the chairman. But it's all worthwhile, worthwhile, she notes. "I enjoy seeing the kids' faces when the floats go by." Political tug-of-war leaves health care in limbo Hospital services restricted due to funding shortages: Lakeridge CEO BY CINDY UPSHALL Staff Writer OSHAWA - Patients could be the losers in a game of tug of war over health-care funding between between provincial and federal politicians. Brian Lemon, Lakeridge Health Corporation's chief executive executive officer, says funding shortages shortages across, the country have caused hospitals to restrict services services and that unless more money is provided, patients can expect more of the same. 'There has to be more money. We're really struggling in the short term to meet the demands...unless demands...unless there's more money in the long term we just can't respond and continue to respond," respond," he says. Already in Canada there is a "rationing of health care services" services" whereby hospitals are "rationing "rationing access to care by creating waiting lists," says Mr. Lemon, noting that, Canadian patients wait longer on average than Americans for health care. "That will continue to be the method health-care providers use to cope (without additional funding) because it is the only vehicle open to us," he says. The observations come days after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty Flaherty read his economic statement statement to the legislature. While the update announced money for anti-terrorism measures, tourism and working families, it left little hope for additional health care funding. BRIAN LEMON 'We're really struggling... to meet the demands.' 'To date, we have been able to pick up the slack for Ottawa. But in a slowing economy we can no longer afford to do so," Mr. Flaherty, also MPP for Whitby-Ajax, Whitby-Ajax, said. He stated the federal federal government would need to provide $2 billion in additional health-care funding in 2002- 2003 to bring its share up to 1994-1995 levels. 'To be blunt, I hold out little hope that the federal Minister of Finance will make the necessary financial commitment to Ontario health care," the minister said. Although the comments are not encouraging, Mr. Lemon says they weren't unexpected. "We weren't surprised because because it was pretty predictable that was the position the government government was in," he says, explaining that all of the country's provinces are struggling with how to fund health care. "Provinces aie finding it very difficult to keep pace with demands demands for health care because of a growing population, but mostly mostly an aging population," he says. The situation is further complicated complicated by what Mr. Lemon de- See FUNDING page 8 Inside Statesman WHERE TO FIND IT Editorial Page 6 Classified 11 Sports 17 GIVE US A CALL General.. .905-623-3303 Distribution 905-579-4407 Death Notices 905-683-3005 Sincerely Yours 1-800-662-8423 Web site durhamregion.com email jbobbitt@durhamregion.com FAX 905-623-6161 Ecker drops out of leadership race JANET ECKER 'This is a family fight and that makes it hard.' Education minister gives support to Eves BY MARTIN DERBYSHIRE Staff Writer DURHAM -- Janet Ecker is dropping out of the race to replace replace Premier Mike Harris and throwing her support behind old political ally Ernie Eves. Mr. Eves, who served as deputy premier and minister of finance from June 1995 until February of this year when he quit politics to take a $ 1.2-mil- lion a year banking job with Credit Suisse First Boston Canada, Canada, is expected to officially an nounce his run for the premier's post sometime today (Wednesday). (Wednesday). Ms. Ecker, the Pickering- Ajax-Uxbridge MPP and education education minister, said in an interview Monday she wouldn't be seeking the leadership of the Conservative Conservative Party, choosing instead to support the former finance minister minister and deputy premier over the current one, Whitby-Ajax MPP Jim Flaherty. "I'm going to be supporting Ernie Eves for the leadership of the party," she said. 'These are different times and we need a different different leader with a different approach. approach. Ernie offers that to the party, to the government and the people of Ontario." Ms. Ecker added while she has the "greatest respect" for Mr. Flaherty and the work they've done together with other Durham MPPs, her choice for leader is Mr. Eves, although she also stressed the importance of "pulling together behind whoever whoever will win. 'This is a family fight and that makes it hard. Ernie has a more balanced and moderate approach for the times we're in today." As of Monday, Mr. Flaherty would still not confirm his run for the leadership, although he said he expects to make a decision over the "next few weeks". He said he "admired" Mr. See ECKER page 8 Cowan PONTIAC-BUICK CMCTRUCK 166 KING ST. E., BOWMANVILLE 623-3396 windows, looks snd mirrors, CD pleysr, keyless entry, keyless entry, rear heat, CD player, wnnlofl.boards, 11WS transport ror. SwB power equipped, V6,