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PAGE 4 ♦ THE CANADIAN STATESMAN ♦ MAY 4,2005 Clarington's Award-Winning Newspaper Since 1854 EDITORIAL e-mail letters to newsroom@durliamreRioii.com Regional headquarters is not large enough Building plan failed to factor future growth Say you're a young family on the grow, with a child, another on the way and plans for a third in the future. You're househunting. househunting. Do you pick that home with three bedrooms and figure you'll find a way to make do or, thinking of the future, do you snap up a four-bedroom place so all your kids will have their own bedrooms? And, oh, cost is no problem since you have an unlimited budget.. It's an easy choice, you say? Too bad some of our Regional councillors failed to see such logic when they signed off on a $67.7-million headquarters for themselves, thousands of Regional employees and others. others. That has now escalated to $84.1 million. The point behind lining up all Regional services and workers under one roof at the corner of Garden Street and Rossland Road in Whitby was to save money over a 40-year period. That would mean that money spent to rent office space around the region would not be necessary in the future. . It turns out, however, that only two years after taking occupancy of the building, the Region will have outgrown it; the Region will then have to find office space around Durham Durham or add more space onto the new building to house the BACKWARD GLANCE Like them apples? tEljt Canadian Statesman Opinion J MAY 4, 2005 durhamregion.com u ■t overflow staff required to service service us. Chairman Roger Anderson says this fact shouldn't come as a surprise. But if Whitby Mayor Marcel Brunelle, one of the main advocates for the consolidated consolidated headquarters, claims he didn't know, who did? And if a five-year capacity was the plan from the beginning, the question question is why? It also proves the numbers used to sell this facility facility weren't accurate because they didn't reflect future rental costs. Demographers have shown over the past few decades that Durham Region is one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Canada. The Region has more than doubled in population population since the 1970s and will add nearly half a million people people over the next two decades. It doesn't take the proverbial rocket scientist to see that more employees will be needed to accommodate the work necessary necessary for a booming population. More staff equals more space. And yet, with plenty of, time to plan and prepare for the ■ space necessary to operate the Region in an efficient way, Regional councillors and staff have blown it. In the end, this project will prove costly '< to taxpayers because not enough care was taken to make sure the headquarters headquarters was large enough to handle the work and people required. And that's a pity because we'll all end up paying more than we should have to. Photo supplied by Bowmanville Museum NEWTONVILLE -- Three area men pack fresh apples into wooden barrels in Newtonville to take to market. Apple orchards have been a feature of Clarington's landscape for generations. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR e-mail letters to iiewsroom@diirhamrcgion.eom Tax money should be used to launch probe To the editor: Re: New headquarters garage needs extra $2.7 million, April 29 Please stop the insanity. This parking garage crap is driving driving me crazy. If I have, done my math correctly, the latest amount is approximately 28 per cent over what was guaranteed to the Durham citizens. Apparently, Apparently, they did not mean the Durham citizens that live in Ontario. If this were a private- sector venture and they went 28 per cent above budget, heads would roll. I would much rather spend the extra monies required to complete this white elephant on an investigation into the credibility credibility and responsibility of our elected and un-elected regional representatives. Those responsible responsible should be held accountable accountable and they should pay the price. I will not be voting for anyone on this present council in the next election. 1 Les Brindley Whitby Veterans let down by government officials To the editor: I am very distressed that "high officials" will not attend the VE Day celebrations in Holland Holland due to an "impending" election. I have two questions to offer these 'elected' government officials: Have you ever held a deceased war veteran's dog tag in your hand and have you ever received the personal effects of a loved one who gave their life for the freedom both you and 1 enjoy and appreciate today? Unfortunately our elected officials seem to come from well-to-do families.;J am sure if they did lose loved ones they were well enshrined. Our great uncle gave the ultimate sacrifice sacrifice and had a wooden cross that my mother-in-law paid for which is erected in Pozieries British Cemetery in France. He never came home. Fie was 21. When are they-going'to get it? Our beloved war veterans deserve the ultimate respect of citizens and government alike; obviously the government has let us down once again. I personally salute every war veteran, whether one who gave his life or whether it is the veteran who continued to live through the, horrors of war. Hopefully living family have documented everything and hopefully God has given them all His Peace for their sacrifice. sacrifice. Carol Wellman Orono Liberals the only ones to vote for To the editor: Are we going to have an election election in June or not? I would like to make an informed decision based on the facts of. the Gom- ery Inquiry. Of course, Stephen Harper has tried to pull the wool over our eyes before. Fie was one of the Canadians who apologized to Americans for not joining the war in Iraq. And didn't that turn out to be a pack of lies? When it comes right down to it, Paul Martin is the only sane choice 1 feel safe with. There i were a few ; crooks in Quebec, and all riF a' sudden for the '('advantage of the Conservatives F ' and the bloc Québécois it is the entire Liberal Party. When Pierre Trudeau left office, our national debt was $320 billion. Under the Conservative watch, it doubled in nine years and led us into a recession. The Conservatives were swept out of office, but before they went, they told us we would have to tighten our belts in the coming coming years. $100 million went missing. They know who took it. Where did nearly $320 billion billion go under the Conservative watch? In Parliament, people can say whatever they want. They would be sued for slander if they said those same things outside of Parliament. Paul Kelly Oshawa LETTERS We welcome letters that include name, city of residence and phone numbers for verification. Writers are generally limited to 200 words and one submission submission in 30 days. We decline announcements, poetry, open letters, consumer complaints, congratulations and thank you notes. The editor reserves the right to edit copy for length, style and clarity. The newspaper newspaper contacts only those people people whose submissions have been chosen for publication. FAX: 905-579-1809; E-MAlL: Newsroom ©durhamregion. com. Hit-and-run a sign of a bigger problem Many in Clarington have been touched and immeasurably saddened saddened by the hit-and-run death of Hampton resident Wilma Vati- ginhoven in January. While the Oshawa woman who ran her down on the morning of Jan. 10 was soon tracked down by police that day, and has since been found guilty of criminal negligence causing death and failing to remain at the scene of an accident, her sentence of four years' penitentiary time and two years for leaving the scene can do little to alleviate the suffering of a family, who lost a mother, and grandmother they cherished. What's even sadder is that the Jennifer Paige driver in question, Deborah Hun- sdalc, who was high on injected drugs at the time of the crash, is far from alone; there arc still far too many who think nothing of gelling behind the wheel while intoxicated, Governments and other agen cies have rolled out extensive education and advertising campaigns campaigns to combat the problem, and those seem to have had a positive effect (Transport Canada data shows a significant decline in the percentage of fatally injured drivers who tested positive positive for blood alcohol concentration concentration from more than 60 per cent in 1980 to just over 40 per cent in 1997), but much more needs to be done, That Ms, Hunsdalc was sentenced sentenced to penitentiary time is heartening, and harsher sentences sentences for those who get behind the wheel when intoxicated would surely serve as a greater deter rent. A Zero-Tolerance policy, for instance, would be considerably considerably more effective, than our current fine and single-year of license suspension for a first offense. But none of us can afford to shirk our responsibility in the matter. MADD Canada estimates that between 1,350 and 1,550 impaired crash fatalities occur each year in Canada, and if we're to bring those numbers down, we each need to act, even if it means taking a stand to a friend or relative relative who is acting irresponsibly, Transport Canada's data on impaired fatalities show improvement improvement since the 1980s, but now •4 rj infodurhamregion.com CLICK AND SAY Today's question: Do you believe Durham Region made sound deci- i sions in building its new , headquarters, or is it a costly "i mistake? Sound decision Costly mistake Undecided < Cast your vote online at infodurhamregion.com ,i Last week's question: Did the Catholic Church J make the right choice in vj selecting Pope Benedict XVI ;*■ to lead Catholics into the -i future? Yes 50.9% No 49.1% Votes cast: 232 HAVE YOUR SAY Do you think we should wait to hold an election, or have one now? Gary Boyer "I don't want the Liberals in power, and we wouldn't have this if we had a good second choice." Angela Geisberger "I think we should hold it now, because you have to believe the government is aboveboard..." aboveboard..." < - .MM'i Ralph Jackson "We should wait until we have all the facts." reflect that gains in combatting the problem have reached a plateau. plateau. This may be due to governments' governments' failure to reach the core group of offenders, people who frequently drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, So if the message isn't getting through to them, it's up to the rest of us to bring the point home; and if talking doesn't work with a friend or loved one who is known for flouting the law, taking taking their car keys or reporting them to police may be distasteful, distasteful, but failure to do so can and should constitute criminal negligence. negligence. Chantelle Juffs "I think we should have it now." The Canadian Statesman is m one of the Metroland Printing, - :> Publishing and Distributing : r, group of newspapers. The >- Statesman is a member of * the Bowmanville Clarington v Board of Trade, the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Com- .si merce, Ontario Community r Newspaper Assoc., Cana- ; dian Community Newspaper Assoc,, Canadian Circula- ,<(\ fions Audit Board and the i Ontario Press Council. The i publisher reserves the right q to classify or refuse any advertisement. Credit for advertisement advertisement limited to space price error occupies. Editorial m and Advertising content of the Canadian Statesman Is . copyrighted. Unauthorized reproduction reproduction Is prohibited. i A ocna ^cna uk S tf ** iVl 4 4 > t It r * itrVîÇ-. *-■