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ft iyt economists sim strode fti profile guidance counsellor head puts down his pen after 30 years dfitpddhing and counseuing stiuifshri schools across yprjkrpoji taking a new direction dabbling in the garden and crafting with wood will guide counsellor through retirement by bruce stapley correspondent oug mccammon might want to start wading through some of his old geography books in search of travel destinations the stouffville district secondary school guidance department head retired june 30 bringing to an end a fulfilling career spanning three decades mccammon taught geography upon tak ing his first teaching position at langstaff secondary school in richmond hill in 1969 but it wasnt long before he switched streams the guidance head at langstaff said i think youd make a good guidance counsel lor mccammon recalled he earned his guidance credentials studying part time over the next three years following four years at langstaff mccammon took a guidance counseling position atthornlea secondary school in thornhill stayingfor 12 years he assumed his current post at sdss in 1987 after a twoyear stint at sutton dhs mccammon who was a stouffville resi dent from 197095 looks back on a career that was both challenging and satisfying ifs been a fabulous career ive been able to do the things i really love he said he enjoyed the variety that enabled him to teach counsel students and serve as a high school coach it was always an eventful day mccammon noted a shift in the concerns of students during his years as a guidance counselor the severity of the students social needs has changed the number of teens who are on the edge desperate for help has increased suicide is a much bigger issue today whereas an unwed mother is nothing unusual any more as he leaves mccammon said a recent name change in his department from guid ance to guidancecareer educationcoop indicates a shift in direction were going to see a lot more referrals to social workers for personalemotional problems the emphasis will be on career counselling the provincial government initiative will see guidance teachers spending more time in the classroom and less time with individ- ual students in their offices for mccammon 53 retirement brings with it a host of options hes an avid wood worker with an eye towards building and selling custom furnishing the severity of the students social needs has changed the number of teens who are on the edge desperate for help has increased suicide is a much bigger issue today whereas an unwed mother is nothing unusual anymore he also enjoys dabbling in gardening and landscape projects around his richmond hill home ive decided not to make any commit ments right away he said but with my energy i cant imagine sitting around mccammon hopes his retirement will give him more time to tend to the family cot tage near minden he looks forward to canoe trips with sons jeremy 27 and tim 25 following in his fathers footsteps jeremy hopes to begin a career as an elementary school teacher in york region this fall mccammon also intends to include travel to parts of canada europe the mediterranean and australia in his retire ment plans theres such a long list of places id like to visit he plans to continue his volunteer commitment with pathways a markham organization that provides houses for home less young people parent support groups and parentchild resource centres he has served as pathways chairperson for two years mccammon said hell miss the cama raderie with staff members at sdss ifs such an outstanding social environ ment thats always been special for ma stmt photosioerd witteveen doug mccammon leaves his post as guidance department head at sdss after 12 years his retirement plans include some travel outdoor trips with his two sons and continu ing with volunteer work transportation provincial downloading is putting junding pressure onto property owners backs gtt suffers from failing transportation network by lisa queen staff writer gta politicians will use the postelection honeymoon period to convince premier mike harris to make transportation funding a pny ority there is a small window of opportunity to get the province to listen to gta transportation con cerns said hamiltonwentworth chairperson terry cooke who along with york region chairperson bill fisch heads the transportation committee for the greater toronto services board fisch has already started the lobbying by discussing the need for more transportation funding with newtransportation minister david tumbull and new municipal affairs minister steve gilchrist sev eral weeks ago according to david mccleary who heads the gtsb task force on transportation funding thegta is at a crossroads if more funding isnt allocated to transportation the gta will lose its competitive advantage to us cities in the great lakes area thanks to provincial and federal downloading property taxpayers are now responsible for financing most roads and transit systems in the gta with the exception of the provincial 400series highways the gtsb is pushing to have queens park and ottawa fund 66 per cent of future road and transit capital projects through gas taxes driver licensing and vehicle regis tration fees tolls collected from hwy 407 and the provincial sales tax generated through vehicle sales and leases mccleary said the province can no longer ignore the fact that the gta and hamiltonwentworth canadas economic engine is in decline because of its failing trans portation network the gtsb is pushing to have queens park and ottawa fund 66 per cent of future road and transit capital projects through gas taxes driver license and vehicle registration fees the area is home to 51 million residents and provides 27 million jobs the 278 million vehicles used by residents and businesses in the area make 10 million trips every day and 70 per cent of the highway network is congested with the qewand hwy 401 experiencing bumpertobumper traffic for most of the business day drivers trying to avoid highways are clogging arterial roads meanwhile union station the ttc and the majority of go train lines are operating at capacity growth in the gta over die next 20 years will add two million resi dents 14 million jobs 1 million more vehicles and 5 million addi tional trips a day mccleary said another 580 million a year must be invested in transportation infrastructure to keep service at currentlevels to start gaining ground another 800 million a year is needed mccleary said failing to address transportation will hurt the gtass quality of life increase air pollution and hike costs to businesses leading to a loss of competitive advantages failing to address transportation will hurt thegdvsquahtyoflife increase air pollution and hike costs to businesses he pointed to a 10yearold university of toronto study that pegged the cost of congestion in the gta at 2 billion a year mccleary estimated that cost has now doubled