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7 A HG ms "Scugog"s Community Newspaper of Choice" PORT PERRY STAR - Wednesday, July 4, 2001 - 7 _--- Question of the Week... In your opinion, what distinguishes Dave Ellis C da th Our acceptance of all anada the most peoples and cultures. from other coun- That's us. tries around the globe? Rob Byrnes A good self-deprecat- ing sense of humour. Alex Shepherd Our tolerance for each other's cultures and lin- guistics and our undy- ing commitment to democracy. aN Bobbie Drew We're an accommodat- ing nation. We wel- come everybody. Liz Byrnes We're so polite and accommodating to everyone. We've got a reputation as nice peo- ple. Letter A plea for t ce Editor e return of my camera To the Editor: George Washington cut down a cherry tree and con- fessed. People stil! speak well of him, so I'll take a chance and confess that on Saturday last at the new police station open house I did a dumb thing. I left our Fujifilm camera on the back bumper of our truck which was parked on Highway 12 across the road from the station. A kindly person saw it there and put a note on my windshield telling me so. Unfortunately for me someone else must have seen it and removed it before 1 got back to the vehicle. This letter is to say thank you to the person who left the note and a plea to the person who took the camera that if you can't find it in your heart to return the camera at least return the film which contains pictures of a trea- sured event. We would be very grateful. No questions asked. : Our telephone number is 905-985-4294. Thank you. Ken Gadsden "The Dumb Victim" Got a letter or a comment you Good news, everybody: It is now legal to lie to your boss. Most of you probably never thought of it as illegal, of course, or even a conscious decision; rather, it has been seen as an instinctive response to a certain circumstance, just like pulling your hand away from an open flame, or screaming when you discover aratin the bread box. The decision by the Supreme Court last week - it ruled in favour of a guy who appealed his firing by the phone company, after management determined his medical condition (high blood pressure) to be more serious than the employee let on - is stacked to a degree in the employer's favour. So what else is new, right? It is all right, for instance, to say you feel better than you actually do ("Me? No... no! I'm fine! Really! That rash? Just a spot of leprosy. It'll pass, honest!"), but likely still a firing offence if you make out that you don't feel as well as you actually do ("Oooh, boy, am | sick! Sick as a dog! What? The golf clubs in the back seat of the car? Um... not minel Never seen 'em beforel"). ~ And you probably ought to avoid telling the Grand Fromage that the project is done on time and under budget when, in fact, you haven't started it, and all the funds allotted for it went toward an employees' night want to send to the Editor? editorial@portperrystar.com out at a strip club. | See, these sorts of whoppers cdn lead to a "break- down in the employment relationship", which means that the boss is going to be very, very peeved with Page Seven "LYING DOWN ON THE JOB by Jeff Mitchell you, and kick your sorry butt all the way down the hall and out into the street. | It is unfortunate, of course, that it came to the courts being called upon to rule on something so fun- damental as workplace duplicity, but that's the way it goes these days. We have degenerated into such a sorry state of litigiousness that we will forever be mired in the courts over beefs that could be settled, quite simply, through discussion or, failing that, fisticuffs. But we seem to need to have things clearly defined for us these days; for this we turn to the Supreme Court. Do we not trust ourselves to have enough sense to judge what's right and wrong, or is it just simpler to have pro- fessionals deal with ethics, rather than doing the dirty work ourselves? | guess so. You got roaches, call an exterminator. You got poltergeists, call a priest. You got an ethical conundrum, call Justice Frank lacobucci. It has been noted that there is a disturbing trend evident in Canada: we rely more on judges to make law, and less and less on legislators. If someone finds they are unable to compete in the game, they may simply petition to have the rules changed in their favour. All of this is not to say that wrongful dismissal should not be fought in the courts. But it can be inter- preted as an indictment of a workplace mentality that reasons it's okay to fire someone with high blood pres- sure because they can't pull as much weight as they used to. ~ As for lying to the boss? Not me..How about you The Council Table By Chris Hall B| Staying cool this summer Summer arrived with a vengeance last week as tempera- tures soared, literally taking the breath out of you once you stepped outdoors. For most, the heat wave was welcomed as it finally signalled the arrival of the summer season and all the beautiful weather that accompanies it. A long, cold winter with record snowfall was finally forgotten as the heat and humidity stuck to everything, making even the simplest task -- such as watching television or even grabbing a snack -- a chore. Here was Scugog, baking in the cummer heat last week, and nowhere to go. For three weeks now, the Durham Regional Health Department has deemed Kinsmen Beach, located in palmer Park just of Water, unsafe to swim in. Test results have confirmed that the water is contaminated, and shouldn't be used for swimming or anything else. Those who do venture into Lake Scugog for a dip here in Port Perry risk infections, as well as an upset stomach. So, where does that leave us? Of course there are other public beaches across the region and provincial parks and other swimming holes within a short driving distance -- with the exception of Elgin Park in Uxbridge; that too has been deemed contaminated by the health unit -- but how about locally? There is no public swimming pool here in Scugog Township, but there used to be. Birdseye Pool, once a Port Perry landmark, is no longer. The deteriorating condition of the old pool forced Scugog Council to close -- and later demolish - - the only public swimming pool in the township a number of years ago. Renovations proved too costly for the council of the day, and rather than pour more money into the aging pool, they decided to scrap it. However, what they did not do is plan for the future. They didn't plan for last week or for the insanely hot temperatures that are forecasted for the remainder of this summer. We have only begun to feel the heat of this summer, and we're going to have to bear with it until autumn arrives. Councillors sitting on this term of council have addressed the situation, and have made plans for a replacement public swimming hole to be built, but that project won't get underway until later this summer and it likely won't be open for general use until September, if at all this year. They say they've tried to get a pool in place for this summer, and even Scugog Mayor Doug Moffatt mentioned in the past that he would have liked to have seen a new pool by this past June, but there's still nothing yet. Final plans have yet to be drafted up for the pool, which is expected to cost a little more than $300,000, and then arrangements have to be made to co-ordi- nate the pool company and others in an effort to get the job done. So, while I guess there's fio sense in grumbling about the past council which neglected to plan for the future, we can always look to next year. Preliminary plans for the new pool look great; it's going to sit in nearly the same place of the former Birdseye Pool, and will include a large spacious deck, improved changerooms, and a grand childrens' splash area. Think about that this summer while you're trying to stay cool. -