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Tre Te aa a bea, (hod bl dt. o pdbiahdi. . ua Batt PORT PERRY "WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, MAY 19, 2000 - 7 Still concerned about the perils of pesticides To the Editor: If you are a homeown- er living in any given neighbourhood in North America, chances are, the state of your lawn holds some importance for you. If it does, you are no doubt concerned about recent media attention surrounding pesticides and links to non- hodgkins lymphoma, childhood cancers, and now parkinsons disease. (A fatal, deterioration of the brain). The American Academy of Neurology announced that people who had been exposed to pesticides were twice as likely to develop parkinsons than those with no exposure. Frightening news. Well on the bright side, we can lessen our risk and that of our family, pets, and communities through education, a lit- tle manual labour, and a new attitude that recog- nizes diversity on our lawns a a good thing. - A recently published handbook "Healthy Lawns, Healthy Lives, Healthy Planet" is avail- able at Scugog Memorial Library, Reids Organic Farm Market, 1615 Scugog Line 8 or by call- -ing Janet at 985-3225 or Brenda at 985-9242. The "booklet walks you through seven steps to growing a healthy lawn without the use of pesti- cides. The news these days is not all bad. You may have heard that Halifax is the latest city to adapt a policy that will see cos- metic pesticide use grad- ually phased out. Even our own Scugog Township introduced a policy in 1996 which protects pub- lic areas from cosmetic pesticide spraying. One last note - those chinch bugs really hate mild soapy water. Better still - lift out that patch of dead grass, and plant a garden or walkway. Enjoy your lawn. Brenda Stevenson LETTERS Hey, hockey fans... how about some hoops? To the Editor: In a town which is dominated by hockey, no one really stops to observe what other sports can achieve. With all due respect to our favourite winter sport, why not consid- er a less aggressive but equally entertaining sport? I like to consider Port Perrians as open-minded people. All you have to do is look at the changes in the past years to realize that. So, in turn | would like to offer another option to the young athletes of Port Perry. Basketball. In Durham Region, we have a-hard time getting any rhythm going with sports at the present time, thus, creat- ing an even worse name for teens. In my opinion, the ran- dom acts of violence and vandalism would go down dras- tically in the summers and even the winters, for that mat- ter. Taking all of your aggression out on the court is a good idea. Instead of talking to principals about their lat- est mishaps, teens will be talking about how they made the winning basket. attend ) Dre) be : Sunderland ¢ Public forum will address the future of health care well meaning as all may be, has only served to muddy the waters and leave us more perplexed than knowl- edgeable about the future of health Straight Talk by ALEX SHEPHERD DURHAM M.P. care. I want to give the public a chance to meet with local leaders in the health care profession so you can ask ques- tions and hear what they have to say Being a teen of 15, | don't like the labels applied to teens. Although we are stupid sometimes, mistakes are a fact of life. | would just like to see energy put into some- thing constructive and not destructive. The number of people to'whom 1 have spoken about this matter, and thought it was great, is astounding . Getting five or six teams together to form a league could "be done without a vast amount of effort. Even getting the annual three-on-three tournament back during Festival Days would be a great step forward for a sport which is gaining respect all around Canada. | would love it if this town would get in on the trend. If any adults are interested in assisting me with the for- mation of a winter basketball league, would you contact me at 985-3992, between 5 and 10 p.m. or leave a mes- sage. Thank you very much. Cameron Faulkner Port Perry Cannington a Nh Si Te a SS Slay fll a boils | hh in Touch JOHN R. O'TOOLE MPP DURHAM EAST \ Patricia Bell-Metivier, president of time. the Peterborough branch of the Education changes make waves their legal, educational and financial responsibilities. a Teacher time in the classroom will be required to match the standards set two years ago in Bill 160, which in secondary schools is, four hours and 10 minutes per day or 20 hours and 50 minutes per week. | understand that teachers do more than the required 20 hours of direct classroom teaching a Co-instructional activities such as On Wednesday, May 31 at the Garnet B. Rickard Arena | will host a public forum on the issue of health care and its future. Our guests will include Dr. Robert Davies, Chief of Staff Lakeridge Health, who will discuss the use of technology in medicine and Dr. Martin Barkin, Chairman of the Board, Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, who will speak about the cost of health care. We will also have Dr. Charlene Lockner who will talk about primary care, as well as Ms Janet Harris, CEO, Durham Access to Care, to discuss home care. It's no secret that our health care sys- tem is changing more dramatically than ever before. One only needs to pick up the paper, watch the television or listen to the radio to witness the ferocity of the debate that's unfolding. In my estimation, the debate between governments, reports by the media and the opinions of those who work within our health care system, as about the future of health care. Hopefully we can gain some insight and understanding of what the future holds for us in this area that Canadians and whose who work in the system, take so much pride in. I think we are fortunate to have assembled this group. Public opinion has shown a lot of dis- satisfaction with the health care spend- ing reached about $86 billion, up 5 per cent or about $100 per person more than the year before. As well many questions have gone unanswered in the debate. How changes in health spending affect the health of Canadians? How health care reform impacts on the health of Canadians? After patients are discharged the affect this has on family and friends? How well hospital and community based services are coordinated for people with long term chronic health problems? I hope you come out and join me, and this panel, for a public forum. Again it will be held at the Garnet Rickard Arena, n/w corner of Hwy. 2 and Hwy. 57 (Martin Rd.), Wednesday, May 31 at 7:30 p.m. Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA) responded to the proposed teacher testing announce- ment by saying, "Not much of the announcement is new to local educa- tors." OECTA had previously announced that they would refuse to take part in any teacher testing. Ms Bell-Metivier added, "Having new teachers pass an exam for certification isn't a bad idea." | am pleased by this response from teachers because | am confident that the vast majority of teachers will 'exceed any test expectations. What is important is that we have fair and consistent evaluation and appraisals from board to board. These changes will be phased in over the next couple of school years. The second part to the education announcements this past week is a fur- ther refinement of expectations. The proposed amendments to the Education Act (if passed) include the following provisions: Boards will be required to meet province-wide standards and fulfill sports teams, art, drama, music, year- book and other normal school activi- ties will be required to be provided for students. I understand. that this last part of the education announcement is the more controversial of the two. However, many aspects outside the classroom contribute to students over- all experience and they must not be denied these opportunities. In my mind, the boards were unable to stand up to the strong teacher unions. Even when arbitrators set con- ditions, the unions withdrew what was called extracurricular activities. I have had numerous. calls from teachers, students, parents and frus- trated administrators who have strong- ly suggested that these co-instruction- al activities be mandated. I can only hope that next September, we do not have any dis- ruption to our students school year. All this being said, I understand that all these changes, which have been ongoing over the past decade, are dif- ficult.