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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1997-07-23, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23,1997 C itizenTheNorthHuron P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising Manager, Jeannette McNeil PAIDE-mail norhuron@huron.net The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $27.00/year ($25.24 + $1.76 G.S.T.) in Canada; $62.00/year in U.S.A, and $75.00/year in other foreign countries. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth. We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright Publications Mail Registration No. 6968 It begins with one person Sometimes, in a world that seems increasingly complex, it’s easy to wonder if one person can make a difference. This week, as Brussels residents peruse their copies of Our Story, the history of Brussels, they are enjoying the results of the EBHHHHHHHMHI dreams and determination of ditorial Village Clerk-Treasurer I I Donna White has long had a dream to see the history of her village recorded. As the 125th anniversary of the village's incorporation approached, it seemed like exactly the right occasion to launch such a book. The problem, in these days of tight money, was how to finance it and how to get the work done. Eventually, with the assistance of our staff at The Citizen, the job was done in a mere 21 months (community histories often take five years to compile and publish) and al very little risk to the taxpayers of Brussels. In fact if all the books are sold, the village might even make a small profit. Il look many people to make the dream come true. Many people volunteered time and skills to do research — people like Luella Mitchell, Jean Ross, Gerald Gibson and the late Jack Bryans. The writing talents of Citizen Editor Bonnie Gropp and staff-writer Janice Becker were needed to quickly turn the research into text. Other staff were involved in typesetting, photography and other aspects of production. The skills of Ken Whitmore and his staff at Blyth Printing were utilized to print a fine-looking book. A book binding company in Kitchener even got into the job. But all of this came about because one person dared to dream, and was determined to find a way to make that drcam come true. Il’s a lesson on what people in a small town can accomplish if they set their minds to it. In these days when the very future of our small towns seems in danger, it’s a lesson worth remembering. — KR How about that for a deterrent? Those people who advocate the rcinstilution of capital punishment in Canada often feel there would be a deterrent for potential murderers if they saw that other murderers had paid with their lives for their actions. Once again this week, for the second time in a year, Canadians have been given a aeterrent for not bringing back capital punishment. The news this past weekend that David Milgaard had been cleared, through DNA testing, of the murder he spent 23 years in jail for supposedly committing proved just how fallible our justice system can be. Coming on the heels of the exoneration of Guy Paul Morin for the murder of Christine Jessop (again after DNA testing), a murder he had twice been tried for and spent several years in jail, the integrity of our justice system comes into question. Both men, along with Donald Marshall before them, have suffered a terrible injustice at the hands of society. But how much worse would the injustice have been if we had the death penalty? Milgaard would have long since been dead. His mother’s long fight for justice would have been only to clear the name of her dead son. The technology that would eventually clear his name, wasn’t invented until 28 years after he had been convicted. Morin’s innocence was also proved by advanced technology for testing DNA. It's easy to understand the frustration of people who see a return to capital punishment as a simple solution to violence. These case leach us again, however, that there are no simple solutions. — KR Tolerance begins at home The picture is heart-breaking — the face of an Amish woman badly scarred by a beer bottle thrown at her from a passing car as she drove home from a wedding in her open buggy. A stupid, mindless prank? Certainly. But stupid mindless pranks usually involve pitching beer bottles al mail boxes, not people. What led this idiot to aim at a person, not a mail box? There are always those who see people who are different as something not quite human. There is also a certain resentment of old order Mcnnonites and Amish because they reject our way of life — and because we can see the inconsistencies in their beliefs. Could it be that such talk planted a mentality that, fired by alcohol, led to this senseless act? We all owe it to our children and our community to practice tolerance, even in our conversations al home. — KR Letters to the editor THE EDITOR, The Conservative government's insistence that Ontario is over­ spending on education is a classic example of (a) manipulation of public perception (b) an attempt to minimize criticism by labeling individuals as "special interest groups" and shamelessly redefining terms (c) creative interpretation of statistics Education Minister John Snobelen's determination to reduce the cost of education at the expense of the educational quality afforded students in the system has been evident ever since his first few weeks on the job. Al a meeting with ministry staff his true agenda was revealed. He told them that warning the public of a "crisis" in education was the way to enlist public support for sweeping changes to the school system. Since then, the ministry has creatively sculpted the truth into the image of a bureaucratic system out of control. First, the Tories sponsored a study, now widely discredited for its methodology, that concluded that Ontario spends $644 more per pupil than the average of the other nine provinces. The government decided this meant $1 billion could be removed from education. But when the comparison uses a standardized information base that includes Ontario to find a truly national average, Ontario spent only $103 more per pupil for 1996- 97. Why? The reasons for this higher spending are many and relate to the complexity of today's classrooms. We need more English-as-a- Second-Language programs with more than half of all immigrants to Canada under 18 settling in Ontario and more than half of those speaking neither English nor French. Ontario had endeavoured to give its students a head start by emphasizing early development in junior kindergarten and avoiding later difficulties through special education programs. We educate more returning adults. More of our youth stay in school until graduation. Next, the Minister created further havoc by claiming that 80 cents out of every dollar school boards spend is outside the classroom. Those 80 cents pay for the costs of heat, light, cleaning, transportation, principals, vice-principals, library guidance and consultants. Try running a classroom without them. Fortunately even the minister has had to retract from this fallacy. Teachers and parents were labelled as special interest groups when they challenged the Minister's definition of the classroom. The Tories need this narrow definition to create the impression that their reductions are doing no harm in the classroom, a key election promise which teachers and everyone close to a school know has already been broken. The truth is that of the 63 provinces, territories and the U.S. states, Ontario ranks 46th in per pupil spending. More is spent on students in Georgia, Montana, West Virginia and South Dakota. More is spent in New York, Michigan and Vermont. More is spent in Manitoba, British Columbia and Quebec. The U.S. national average is 20 per cent higher than Ontario's. Forty-four states have a lower pupil-to-classroom-teacher ratio than Ontario. And while our per-pupil spending dropped by $372 between 1991 and 1996, the Americans are increasing their spending on education, a good investment in an increasingly high-tech world. Ontarians outside the Queen's Park cabinet room seem in large measure to agree. An Environics poll found 88 per cent of those surveyed said the same or more should be spent on education, even if it meant higher taxes or a higher deficit. Three out of four people said further cuts would hurt the quality of education, a position which classroom teachers are coping with daily. Seventy-five per cent also said that they would give up the Continued on page 6