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6 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, February 8, 2000 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" PUBLISHER................ J. Peter Hvidsten |& gage P Sy S _-- mm Meiber i i TT BUSINESS OFFICE: Judy Ashby, Kathy GENERAL MGR... Don MacLeod oCchna @) | FERRY DOTAR ail SINE SS ORAS: diy Monty sa OFFICE MANAGER..... Gayle Stapley Ri x X™ Newspaper ADVERTISING: Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, Association ADVERTISI LL Member Ontario Community REPORTER. «or Orn roger Newspaper Asse: Freelance Writers- Heather McCrae, John B. McClelland PHONE (905) 985-7383 FAX (905) 985-3708 SUBSCRIPTION RATES E-MAIL: port.perry.star@ sympatico.ca 1 Year - $37.45 (includes GST) Six Months - $19.79 (includes GST) ~~ Foreign 1 Year - $96.30 (includes GST) EDITORIAL POLICY: Opinions expressed by columnists, contributors and letter writers are not necessary those of The Port Perry 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 Letters must be signed and the telephone number (which will not be published) included.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 compeling reason to do so. Ermors will be comected if brought to the editor's attention. We reserve the right to edit of refuse publication of any material submitted. ADVERTISING POLICY: The publisher is not Babe for sight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher is not liable for other errors or omissions in connection with any advertisement in any subsequent issue or the refund of any monies paid for the advertisement. All claims of error in publication must be made by Wednesday, noon, prior to the next week's publication, and, if not made, will not be considered. No claim will be allowed for more than one insertion. 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, Publications Mail Registration No. 07881 Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Company Limited, 188 Mary Street - Port Perry, Ontario - L9L 1B7 Editorial Comment Speak up on health care A couple of issues with regard to health care are raised in the pages of today's paper, and they are matters that are of immediate concern to Scugog. That's because they concern the availability in our hospital and clinic of professionals who now provide health "care, and will continue to do so in the future. In one instance we have local nurses, represented by the Ontario Nurses Association, who were pleased to receive substantial wage increases after protracted contract negoti- ations with the province's hospitals. The wage increases recognize nurses who've been on the job for a significant number of years, and also help to free newer nurses from the constraints of the social contract, which have seen their salaries frozen for years. But there's a larger problem looming: There are lingering staff shortages, caused by the opening salvo of the Common Sense Revolution. Positions have either been eliminated, or have been recreated as part-time postings that are unattrac- tive to nurses seeking stable employment. Meanwhile, there is the ongoing concern about attracting qualified physicians to rural areas. In this instance, Scugog has fared rather better than some other communities, which have had to implement recruiting programs to draw interest from younger doctors who'd rather establish careers in the city. These and other concerns will not be resolved without the commitment of both provincial and federal governments assigning funding -- and that's real dollars, not statements and statistics -- to ensure the delivery of timely, quality care to every citizen. And that's not going to come about without intense lobbying from the grassroots. It's time to speak up. DR. VON SCHLOCK, NOTED CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST, SPEAKS OUT... DIS IST CHUST ANODER EXHAMPLE OF VOT CAN HAPPEN IF You BEGIN MIT DER POTTY TRAINING TOO ZOON! NF poy) -- (y (/= -. oo PorT PERRY STAR Port Perry Star Letter of the Week Police helicopter no waste of money To the Editor: I read with interest Peter Hvidsten's comments about Air I, the Durham Regional Police's helicopter (Random Jottings, Feb.1). While | agree that the cost and benefits involved in the use of such technology needs to be care- fully assessed, the assumption you make about restricting the helicopter to "emergencies only" such as the manner Bandage | Air Ambulance is used, needs some clarification. Two years ago | had the oppor- tunity to do a "ride along" for a day with the Air Ambulance out of Toronto Island airport. It was * an interesting and exciting expe- rience. One of the points made by the Air Ambulance Branch staff was that Bandage | costs so much per hour, whether it is flying, sit- ting on the ground at a hospital or undergoing maintenance. There are certain fixed costs for the helicopter, crew and "con- sumables" such as jet fuel, whetherit is in active use or not. It is simply not possible to have the air ambulance available "for emergencies only". As | recall, the Air Ambulance Branch always has one helicopter on 10 minute alert and a second on one hour alert... and if the first helicopter is in use, the second helicopter moves up to the higher level of alert. In other words, it is always "on call". And there is no such thing as "emergencies only". Let's be hon- est; if the Air Ambulance is need- ed, someone is in very critical condition. They need to be trans- ported as quickly as possible. Every call is an emergency call. One would have to presume that the Durham Regional Police Please turn to page 14