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e Tol ds Sss S se ':"‘::5'{;' 3);: "~'-.4:A-,'_;:_-_:.;.:{ is .\.A:::,-.':E:E-‘:E:E::M',._:,-:;:E.:;'.:::_:‘E es “.&v“ffl“::tgi‘?’x-’g m s Ses ts se :7‘°l‘“ e Pm e ‘Unemployment â€" a grave probiém mel Dy Apaâ€" thy‘ read a banner beadline in an edition of the Globe and Mail last week. Below that read another headline ‘Davis plans no programs to make jobs‘. Every month, when Statistics Canada reports on the latest dire spiraling jobless rate, similar headâ€" lines splash across newspapers throughout the country. It‘s like the weather â€" everyone‘s taiking but no one‘s doing anything about it. Well, not exactly everyone‘s talking as the Globe story pointed out. ‘‘The public does not appear to be aroused. The political pressures are not apparâ€" ent,"‘ read the story. The drift of the story was that, inspite of a steep 8.4 per cent unemployment rate last month, the isâ€" sue has raised little interest among the public who still seems immersed in the unity question. But, as the article pointed out, steep unremitting unemployment has the potential of being a greater threat to national unity than Rene Levesque. People don‘t look for a radical change in the status quo (Confederation) when times are good. Such change festers and blossoms in a dire economic climate which we seem to be in at the moment. The minimal public response is accounted for by two reasons, says the article. One, many jobless are the second wage earners in a family, such as workâ€" ing mothers, compared to the Depression when the primary worker of a family was jobless. Two, the unemployment insuranceâ€"welfare system has providâ€" On Thursday, Dec. 8, the Waterloo County Board of Education listened to a report concerning their security systems. It was brought to the trustees atâ€" tention that since January, 1977, there have been 33 persons apprehended for break and enter in local schools. Of these 33 persons 24 were apprehended as a direct result of monitoring systems. Nineteen were juveniles, 16 years of age and under, and 14 were adults. These persons represent fully 50 per cent of the break and enter category in the entire system. This week has been extremely quiet and if there‘s anything a columnist can do without it‘s an unâ€" eventful week. In order to fill my allotted space I thought I‘d pass on some of the little bits of informaâ€" tion that floated across my desk over the past few days. Security _Three cheers for the Waterloo Regional Police force who, in spite of a number of "false alarms" responded in an exemplary fashion. . The Board also publicly commended Regional Authorities for putting into practice a system whereâ€" by persons responsible for wilful dammage on a first offence basis, have the choice of going to court or working out their offence at the scene of the crime. If you read last week‘s Chronicle you will know that the above item refers to the Waterloo Regional Diversion Program, which has been operating in Kitchenerâ€"Waterloo since last February. Paul Marck is chief photographer as well as regâ€" ular columnist in this spot. Paul had difficulties with some of the photographic equipment here; and the last we heard he was buried in a darkroom someâ€" where. We hope Paul will be back with us next week. Some things just don‘t make sense. Ihne thing i have in mind is the recent decision by the police comâ€" mission to cut six men from the Regional Police deâ€" partment. S â€" 200 M o af A_ FALLC ctandardc pal ERERUTTE: According to international police force standards, there should be three police officers for every thousâ€" and people. Our police department is exactly 455 cops short of that standard. And still, Chief Syd Brown cannot get any more men for the underâ€" manned force. Chief Brown says that areas like hit and run and juvenile are badly understaffed. Both of these are vital areas of the police department, and we haven‘t ‘Unemployment â€" By Howard Elliott *# % % The thing I ed a cushion to the jolt of being without a job. I think there‘s a third reason. Don‘t forget while there may be 8.4 per cent of the job market out of work, 91.6 per cent of that market is employed. The Trudeau government has been and continues to be willing to put up with high unemployment in its quest to slay the number one evil in its eyes â€" inflation. Inflation hurts everyone, although adâ€" mittedly the low wage earner more than the high wage earner; but everyone feels it. Only the 840,000 jobless and their dependents feel the cruel bite of being out of work. For the rest, it‘s the ‘I‘m alright, Jack‘ syndrome. That may be a bit of a harsh judgeâ€" ment, but I believe it applies to a certain extent. What also bothers me about the problem is the lack of initiative and imagination shown by governâ€" ment. For example, in the other story, Premier Wilâ€" liam Davis said Ontario does not plan any job creaâ€" tion programs this winter, sticking to its spendingâ€" restraint policy. Fair enough, but I think the government is restrictâ€" ing itself in the concept of makeâ€"work programs by its fear of entering the market place. Makeâ€"work programs are unproductive in the sense that, say $5 million is spent, and none of the funds are returnâ€" ed from the various projects. Wouldn‘t that money be more wisely spent by creâ€" ating small, ‘cottage‘ type industries in areas of high unemployment where workers could compete in the local market with a service or product which 25â€"YÂ¥ear Club Employees of the Waterloo County Board of Edâ€" ucation who have dutifully served the board for 25 years or more may be honoured for their services. A proposal to the Waterloo County Board of Eduâ€" cation suggested that the contributions of these staff members be recognized in the form of receiving a small memento or emblem and a letter of appreâ€" ciation from the board. A special ceremony markâ€" ing the occasion would be held annually at which times new members would be received into the club. Believe it or not, 73 persons already fall into this category and in September, 1978, another 14 individâ€" uals will become eligible for membership with 12 more reaching the 25â€"year service mark in 1979. Got any suggestions along this line? Hold onto them because the board‘s proposal deals with the introduction of a suggestion box for employee use. If there is enough support for the idea, a detailed plan could be developed including the physical location of the box, method of handling suggestions and the recognition of better than average suggestions. Athletic Philosophy Ever wondered why your teacher made you take part in sports or try your luck at high jumping? Ever feel badly because you weren‘t nominated for the got enough men to QO justice to either Police Commission Chairman Steve Harper says that the three officer per thousand residents standâ€" ard doesn‘t apply in this area, since our crime rate isn‘t as high here as it is in some American cities where the standard was originated. That is no doubt true, but perhaps if we had a propâ€" erly staffed police department, our crime rate might never reach the proportions that it has in places like New York and Detroit. A recent police commission report says the comâ€" mission is concerned with the public‘s ability to pay for increased services. Has the commission askâ€" ed the public whether or not this is true? I doubt it. It seems to me the public would rather have a properly manned police department and pay a coupâ€" le of dollars more in taxes, than put up with a polâ€" ice department that can‘t possibly do a complete _ For example, the police department recently anâ€" nounced that they haven‘t enough staff to crack down on those who drink and drive during the festive job Waterloo Chronicle, Wednesday, December 14, 1977 â€" Page 7 Because of the small nature of the firms, they wouldn‘t create a significant disruption in the private market place. After all, it is useless to set up a proâ€" gram creating jobs at the cost of jobs elsewhere. The participants would also learn a skill which may allow them to ‘graduate‘ to a private industry. would generate at least part of the investment back? Six, 10, 12 or whatever number of employees could be hired and make small products or provide a new service for a local market. How about a Mr. Fixâ€"it shop for example. When was the last time you were told your broken utensil would cost more to repair than to purchase a new one? Because it would be government financed, the workers could repair the utensil at a reasonable rate, while still generatâ€" ing some revenue for their operation. By selling goods and services, the program would be at least partially selfâ€"sustaining. Administrative and capital costs, such as renovating abandoned or partially used public buildings to home the workâ€" shops, would eat up some of the costs. But at least a good chunk of the money could be recovered and reâ€"invested in the program to expand it. That idea obviously isn‘t a cureâ€"all to the problem. I‘m not an economist, as my mishandled weekly budget can attest to, and I‘m sure I‘m overlooking some flaws. But surely more imgai:ative ideas can be expected from government the. same old bandâ€"aid remedies we‘ve been receiving for years. Athlete of the Year award? Well quit feeling sorry for yourself because according to an athletic philosoâ€" phy adopted by the Waterloo County Separate School Board on Monday evening,"‘ the major emphasis must always be placed on participation and enjoyment. Winning a competition must be the result of not only using the skills which have been developed in our physical education program but also of following the rules of the game and the direction of the coach and competing to the best of one‘s ability. Knowing how to accept a loss is as important as knowing how to be a good winner.‘‘ The philosophy goes on to say that competing to win awards and trophies must be placed in the proper perspective and allâ€"star competitions and most valuâ€" able player\awards have no place in elementary school competitions. Children should be in a position to chose one or more activities which will encourage active particiâ€" pation in recreational activities throughout his or her life. For this reason they should be exposed to a wide range of activities including both leisure and physical activities, rather than specializing in just one or two. season, though regular patrols will continue id it faint Airidas <Andinliat : Aubbnit dobbsinpuinnnnnns The worst time of year for the fatal practice of drinking and driving, and we haven‘t got enough polâ€" ice to keep us in line. â€" In case you‘re wondering what the philosophy was previous to this, Alf Dietrich, trustee, said that this philosophy has been followed for a number of years. It was simply a matter of getting it down on paper. Is the bolice commission willing to take responâ€" sibility in matters such as this I‘ve always maintained that a real Christmas tree is the only kind to have. Even through the mess of pine needles on the rug, and the frustration of getting the tree to stand straight, it has always seemâ€" ed the only way to go. I may think differently next year _ You see, our tree has a serious lack of stability. I discovered the reason for that is that the trunk is crooked in about a dozen places. Eventually, our only recourse was to tie the tree to various points in the living room. Now it has more guideâ€"wires than a hydro tower . A terrible fate for a terribly overâ€"priced Christmas