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Top of Because full funding to Catholic secondary schools is still such a new idea, Yates said many people do not understand taxes can be directed to the Catholic system and tuition fees are no longer paid. There are Catholic students in the public system who continue to go there because older members of the family went to that school and it becomes a custom to return. These are the students the board wants to attract, he explained. "if we're competing we're competing for our own children. We're not competing for the public children at all," he said. The board wants Catholics to "know that we can provide a full education and all the options that the public education offers." Isobel Lawson Chronicle Staff The Waterloo County separate school sytem is not competing with the public school for students, at least not for non-Catholic students, board chairman Chuck Yates claims. . "We're not trying to compete for public school children at all," Yates said in an interview. "We're trying to entice Catholic students to the Catholic system where I personally think they belong. There's nothing wrong with that." The" board began running television commericals, broadcast on CKCO-TV last week, They feature singing children and building blocks that signify the school, home and the church - _ Last Thursday, the Waterloo County public school board announced its own marketing plan, including radio commericals on three local stations. In his presentation to the board Peter Barrow, of Peter Barrow Communications, the board's public relation's firm, said "the Catholic school board has told the community, through the media, that it is competing for students, and it recently spent more than $10,000 on television commercials to support that claim." Waterloo County board of education chairman Elizabeth Witmer said it "certainly never was the intention" of that board to "compete" with the separate board when it announced its Top of the Class! marketing program last week. The need for enhanced communication with the public and staff was recognized as far back as 1984, upon reviewing the results of a public survey conducted by the board. Board chairman Elizabeth Witmer said the board realized "we needed to improve our communications with our staff and with our community," since 1984 when it conducted a public survey about itself. From the information compiled, she explained, "One of the things that became very very obvious was that tthe public) didn't know what was happening and somehow we needed to improve communica. tions" Trustee John Hendry thinks the marketing program is outstanding. In an interview, Hendry said, "the government has pushed us into that crunch (of marketing itself) because we do have to compete for the tax dollars. It's also important that we let tthe public) know how good their system is because it is their system." "Motivated by what they perceive to be a mistrust of the public school system, independent private and religious-based schools are touting their programs and services as never before." He added, "As a result, many public school boards have found themselves playing catch-up. Long accustomed to having the educational turf, certainly at the secondary school level, pretty much to themselves, public boards have tended to practice reactive instead of pro-active marketing, usually responding to media crises, board decisions and community needs after the event." RC Board is not 'competing' chairman says The merits of the discussion won't concern us here. What was most interesting was the actual presentation before council: it went beyond professionalism. It was so slick. it could have been used in a political science class as an example ofcommunity organization, or perhaps of how to lobby municipal govenment. Monday's meeting of Waterloo city council certainly had as its highlight the issue which was first on the agenda: a delegation addressing a public works department recommendation which would have seen the city enter into an agreement with Wilfrid Laurier University to turn a portion of Waterloo Park into a paved and illuminated parking lot. Now, this calibre of presentation is not new to municipal politics In fact. it was occasionally demon. strated before Toronto city council in the reformist period of municipal politics in the 197N - a period when neighborhood and special interest groups had come to realize they didn't have much of a voice at city hall and organized to change the matter. The move- ment culminated with John Sewell being elected mayor of Toronto. And though they haye lost much of their influence in recent years. the neighborhood grou have changed the face of Toronto politics for years. E',, city sees itself as a collection of neighborhoods, and is very conscious (Continued from page 1) of the needs for green space. Both are increasingly important issues in Waterloo politics, too, So it was with interest I observed the quality of the presentation Monday. The presentation was neatly organized and impeccably illustrated. The next discussion detailed the potential impact of university parking on the neighborhood, as well as questioned the openness of the current system in involving neighborhoods in issues affecting them. The third presentation questioned the need for additional university parking, and made both long- and short-term suggestions. All presentifiona were chock full of recommends lions. They were a nice blend of carefully built arguments and emotional appeals. There was a brief five minute introduction. Then three speakers each made llrminute presentations on various topics related to the issue on the table. Then there was a nve minute wrap-up. The initial presentation put the topic in historical and social and cultural perspective. The founding of Waterloo Park was addressed, as well as its growth. It's importance to the whole community was addressed. Various studies dating back to 1968 were cited for their recommendations and conclusions relating to the role of the park and of recreation and green space in Waterloo. Accidents such " these involving vehicles and Mennonite wiggles are a rarity within city limits, but there are many distractions for this mode of trave in town " opposed to on rural routes. Scott Gardner photo At the same time the buggy drivers have an obligation to follow the rules ofthe road. Police have expressed concerns to community elders in the past There's no reason motorists and horse and buggy drivers cannot use the same Waterloo streets in harmony provided each follows the rules of the road and shows the other due respect. Isobel Lawson Chronicle Staff While three accidents involving motorists and members of the Old Order Mennonites have occurred within the last six months, none were within Waterloo. Sgt. Bill Chipman, traffic branch commander with the Waterloo Regional Police, said the most recent Waterloo accident occurred last fall when a horse bolted at the intersection of Regina Street and Bridgeport Road. Most accidents occur on rural roads, he explained, adding he is unaware of any complaints from motorists in Waterloo pretain- ing to the slower form of transport. Although unsure of particular streets Mennonites use to enter and exit the city, Chipman said motorists should be on the alert for them. "Remenr ber what we're dealing with as far as an unpredict- able animal," he said. Motorists should slow down when approaching a buggy, refrain from startling noises such as horn blowing or revving motors and avoid following too closely behind. Buggies, motorists strive for harmony HAW CHRONICLE. WV APRIL 21.1“ - PAGE , "We operate very tightly," said Cindy McMenemy, a group member. "We have people with various areas of expertise. When there's a major issue, we get together and divide it all up." It's that kind of organization that commands the attention of council both on short~term and long-térm issues. Ofcourse, it can also help co-ordinate lobbying during an election year as well. Overheads were used to accompanv the speakers, and a slide show illustrated th third presentation: A 27- page booklet of the prese ta'tions was given out to councillors and the media, king our job easier. Maps were included. --. That organization and flexibility allowed the Mac. Gregor Neighborhood Association to organize Mon, day's presentation in about two weeks. "We had everyone go off and investigate their particular area," said McMenemy. Though the presentation emphasized the iss e being one affecting the whole city, it was ",1',rrli1'd"i',, by the MacGregor Neighborhood association. an ongoing neighborhood group. Bécause theUred is in the middle of the City. the group finds itself addrrsjry, mapx istuer, A __ The group has no hierarchy. Because it faces a variety of issues, responsibilities and tasks shift as needs arise. "They don't obey all the rules and regulations that apply to vehicles," Chipman said. Because the drivers do not have licenses many do not know the laws pretain to all vehicles operating on a road, whether it be a car, horse and buggy or bicycles, and governed by the Highway Traffic Act. "I think many of them would not be knowledgeable about the rules of the road," he said. asking them "to try to improve their habits," he said. Horse and buggies slow tramc down on side streets where there is no room to pull onto the side. When they can, Chipman said, most buggy opera- tors pull over to allow trame past. Motorists have to show common sense when it comes to passing the horse-drawn buggies. They are "very, very, vulner- able vehicles... exposed to all kinds of danger," he emphasized. In the city there are distractions, noises and activity which can easily spook horses, and motorists should keep these things in mind, he added. Chipman doesn't think the number of accidents is inordinately high. And like many other types of accidents, they occur from time to time. For example, he said, in a two week period in January, 16 pedestrians were struck by vehicles. Every summer there are motorcycle accidents. "When you take into prespective the number of horse and buggies driving on the road, it's not a high number of accidents," he said. with Ian Kirkby