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6 - PORT PERRY "WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 2000 PUBLISHER...... J. Peter Hvidsten GENERAL MGR.........Don Macleod MANAGING EDITOR. Jeff Mitchell OFFICE MANAGER... Gayle Stapley ADVERTISING MGR... Deb McEachem REPORTER................ Chris Hall Freelance Writers- Heather McCrae, John B. McClelland PHONE (905) 985-7383 Member Ontario Community oN --- -- Newspaper Assoc. WEEKEND NIV aa EEE Published every Friday by the Port Perry Star Company Limited, 188 Mary Street - Port Perry, Ontario - L9L 1B7 FAX (905) 985-3708 Distributed free in the following communities: Port Perry - Uxbridge - Sunderland - Little Britain - RR Lindsay Janetville E-MAIL: Oakwood - Manilla - Seagrave - Greenbank - Brooklin - Ashburn - Columbus - RR Oshawa : port.perry.star @ sympatico.ca Caesarea - Blackstock - Raglan - Nestleton - Yelverton - Prince Albert EDITORIAL POLICY: Opinions on Ye socomrbtors and eis writers are no neosssarly hose of Tho Pot Pery Siar. ters must bo signed and he telephone number (which wil no be published) included. Requests hat a name be withheld wil be honoured any here is a compeling reason fo do so. Ertars Connachon wih ay seman onion. Wo 01 h ht od or ois pbicaon of any mata subitd. ADVERTISING POLICY. Tha kor ct Lal fr gh chang of hog sph rb ek asin sve oo avout The publisher is not able for other emors or omissions in TTRCTON ih any advertisement in any subsequent issue of the rend of any monies paid for the adverisement. Alllaims of eror in publication mast bo mad by Wednesday, nour prio orig eer wees ble Jo ot lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher i not able for other ertors or BUSINESS OFFICE: Judy Ashby, Kathy Dudley, Janet Rankin, Lesley West, Heather Callan ADVERTISING: Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, Gail Morse, Heather Mack, Linda Clarke, Janet Archer, Malcolm Lennox, Lisa Monk PRODUCTION MANAGER: Pamela Hickey Production Staff: Trudy Empringham, Daryle Wright, Arlene Cheel, Robert Taylor, OPINION Safe water for everyone The officials who've found themselves facing difficult questions in the wake of the E.coli disaster in Walkerton have taken to falling back on a simple but comforting phrase: If there's any good to come of this situation, it's that perhaps a similar crisis can be avoided in the future. Well, a week and a half after the story rocked Ontario, the system's still got some way to go. A television news report at noon Wednesday gave notice of the boil water order for communities in Mariposa Township affected by coliforms. But print reporters following up on that story got nowhere for hours, despite contacting or attempting to contact officials in numerous offices. Workers in the local MPP's constituency office hadn't even been informed of the advisory as of later on Wednesday, for crying out loud. A reporter informed them. If anything is to be learned from what occurred in Walkerton, it's that spreading the word quickly about any concerns with a water supply can help avoid big trouble. Folks in the areas affected here know enough to be wary of their water supply, having had a variety of problems in the past. But they depend on the maintainers of the system to keep them updated. Here's hoping the various inquiries into the Walkerton disaster result in recommendations that will restore effective water quality monitoring for all Ontarians. We should settle for nothing less. 3 & 3 : a3 eS CRO. . 2 3 By Walt Radda Hey, it could happen to anybody, right? And in this case it's Tyler Doyle, nine months, who's keeping grandpa Tom Soomre busy in retirement. If you have an interesting picture we could use for Photo of the Week, please drop it by The Star office, or give us a call at 985-7383. YOU'RE NOT HAVING FRIES )|( THAT'S A SHAME. WELL, TIME FOR LUNCH AGAIN! FOR ME TO TUCK INTO MY TUNA SANDWICH LOVINGLY PREPARED BY MY DOTING OH LEAVE ME ALONE! 1 DON'T HAVE TIME TO MAKE MYSELF ANYTHING AT HOME! To the Editor: I am writing to express my dismay with the Harris government's latest attack against democracy in Ontario - Bill 74 - which the Tories plan to ram through the legislature without public hearings, let alone debate. This bill will effectively remove our constitutionally guaranteed right to nego- tiate meaningfully in collective bargaining situations, thereby allowing the govern- ment to force its agenda autocratically upon a group of employees. Specifically, it will allow the govern- ment to circumvent or ignore all legally- binding settlements or collective agree- ments between teachers and their school boards across Ontario and force all teach- ers to accept whatever working conditions Harris chooses to further demoralize them with, including mandatory extra- curricular activities, which have always succeeded because of the dedication and extra effort put forward voluntarily by those now under attack. A 1 THINK SHE'S BEEN ON HER DIET TOO LONG! A B\TE TAKEN OUT OF IT? Another Tory attack on democracy Legal issues aside, anyone who can walk while chewing gum will recognize that repeatedly bashing a targeted group of employees while significantly increas- ing their workload in an unconstitutional manner is probably not the best way to motivate that group to effectively perform one of the most important jobs in our society: educating our children. This makes me wonder about the Harris government's real goals. So why force such questionable legislation through without public consultation? Because a more open, democratic process would highlight its flaws, and perhaps even reveal the true agenda of this autocratic government: The disman- tling of public education in Ontario to save a buck or two. What's next on the chopping block of democracy - free speech? Imagine the savings there! Michael Strahl Courtice port.perry.star@sympatico.ca