Page 30, Whitby Free Press, Wednesday, November 27, 1996 Regon delays wokaepan FROM PAGE 1 meeting and the 13 delega- tions who had been schedu- led te address council last WednesdaIy will have te voico their concerfis at that timo. However, for workfare qpponents such as Sid Ryan,, president of the Ontario division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, council's deci- Sion was the correct one. "We've beon saying from day one, mnake it volun- tary,» said Ryan of the con- tentious community place- ment aspect of Ontario Works. (Welfare recipients would have te performi unpaid tasks ini the community in return for thefr social assis- tance choques.) "Welfare teday ie a man- date prograr, you have te b prepared te pound the pavement and look for a job » aid gyan.don le backing away from the mandatery requirement. She knows its a doad duck and she's looking for a way out.» Rathor than forcing reci- pients te do communil;y ser-. vice work, the government should f ocýus its efforts in other aroas such as Dur- hazn's own highly succoss- fui employment services programn,Ryan said. <'fthoy want te mnale it mandatery we'll fight them aIl theay,» ho promised. "Bt ifri'svoluntary, we're prepared te help them.» While disappointed that ho was not aliowed te ýpoak, New Democratic Party MPP Peter Kormos did not fault council for its 0 decision.c ]But unlike Ryan, the for-C mer cabinet mun.ster and maverick legisiater, roser-n yod judgement on the work- 19 fare issue. ci «All ofus have t eo el careful when relying on la minister's speech," said 1 Kormos. i Skaters FROM PAGE 22 "uI get a rush every time I lmpout," agrees Woodhouse. Whfen they eall your name Out te go eut on the floor, that's when you got the. body rush -- and thon if you skate good after, of course, there's an extra rush.» Both girls skate about 20) heurs a woek, not including off-skate exorcises. They credit their coaches ch- Schimidt-Hansen lu coa- hed b Beverley Presten, who pLed second at the' world championuhips, and Woodhouse travels to Michigan each week te woâk with Bud Patton, who currently coaches the world Champ ioninfigures, and wife Laureen -- with moti- vating them te work hard at the sport and pointing eut their mistakes. Woodhouses goal was te ~'quaiify for the worids this yoar and she's now concen- trating on <'kating the. bout that I can Skate,» aiming te laces I . te tp 20 in Schmnidt-Hansen lu look- ing for ato15 or 20 fis "ifîI skate as dlean as I can, it doesn*t matter te me where I end up.» 8h. aise has hor sighta< set on earnng a modal ini the 1999 Pan Amngmes andmraking it tothe Olymn pics if the sport lu included r in the 2000 games.r Mis is moerely damage control and they're trying to obscure -the real issue- which is that this fovern- ment has done flothing to create jobs.» In an interview on Mon- day, Eckor stressed that there has been "no chan4e ini policy or no change in the rules.» Whilo Participation in Ontario Works is manda- toryeople have the option of clioosinig from the pro- gamn'fi three components, Ecer said. In addition to community placement, there is aiso emp lym ont supports (skills or education upgrad- ing) and employment place- ments (when private agen- cios find jobs for recipients). Ecker acknowledgfed that thore has been resistance to Ontario Works but that it has stommed from the cri- tics' misconception about what the program oentails. . People are saying those in paid jobs will lose jobs, flot true.» she said. "They're- sa*#n those in the programn wii have nor protection under heaith and safety laws not true. "That this wiIl hurt thom in finding jobs, flot true.» Despite Opposition from M organîzed labour, social activists and even the clergy te some extent, Sludge FROMPAGE3 "If there are some ri pluses in this, thon ietps @ it on the table,» ho said. "But it concerna me Wh, Our staff gay they ha, concerna abodut the Pr Ceus.» (Although the ropo: Lotos that Whitby plannir 3taif have, some "gener, oncernu" about th >nvironmental aseessme, rocess followed by Du amnps works. departmeri he department 'suppor i. Corbett Creek location, Fox complained that Di lam officiais "change, loir minds at the drop of, ýt" with respect te thi 'nal proposaI and tha own counceil only learnei 'it after the fact. (The Regi&on initially ini )nded to build the tanki à a 9.3-acre parcel of pri ately-owned land north est of the sewaýe plani Lar McEwen Drive, bul iat plan was abandonec rter objections fron arýb businessos. (Th0 proposai now calle rthe ficility te, be locatec )0 metres te the east and 'rham, which spent $1.7i Ilion to acquire the. pro. Dus site, will now use that operty for future plant pansion.) Il don't know whatls the. it location, but I want at's bout for the com- riityp ecolog«Cal] and nrnicaiiy, said OX. Iwant tho Region te, eme the. hard fakte and preiying on Simcoe enoe igte gull the lover ur yeu auncillor Judi Liongield )supported Druîmrn endment, while inoue, Mayor Tom vafl3s and councillors 'Mitcholl and Shirley tt were opposed. he public review peiod ýbjection9 te the Simcoe inoin tudy ends on ay and'i any objecions receiveth egion attompt te resolve tho flm with the objecters. the concerne cannot be Ived, objectors can test a bump-up. Ecker malces no apolo îes for the govrnment"s action. «During the last 10 years in' Ontario we've been spending more and more money te trap people on wolfaro for a longer timie,» she said. "Most want te get 'off wolfare and we owe it te the people who are paying for it. They have te b. satisified that every dollar is going te help people get on with their livesj.» Ecker noted that when the Progressive Conserva- tivos took office last year more than 12 per cent o?" Ontario residents were col- lecting wolfare. Since thon welfaro rolis have declined by over 200,000 which Ecker attri- buted te an improving economy which witnessed 127,000 now jobs boing created in the past 12 months. As for municipalities which have business plans in effect by next Marc h 31Y, Queen'ls Park will cover 1< per cent of the transition costs, Ecker added. The additional mone wili pay for staff traù-nl equipment and any realigi, ment of oxisting prograrnu, Edwards, chair of tih social services committei did flot yet know on %rda, the specific details of eithe the funding or mandater reuiremont issues. "Tere'u no question thai mono is availabie that wai not there before and wi didn't include it in our esti. mate,» ho said. Region officiais estimat4 that more than $500,0C will be required te have the pro ~ perating pro- perfy.aDurham was one of 20 Ontario municipalitiee chosen as the inaugura] sites. Edwards also expects most of the opposition to workfare wiil dissi*pate once critics are aware tat com- munity placement is flot mandatory. Crimestoppors and Durham Regional Police need the publices heip in solving a robbery that occurred in Oshawa on Oct. 2 of this year. Around 11:55 a.m., a lone maie entered Unicorn Ceramios at 191 Bloor St.' E. and had a conversation with the clerk. He left the store and returnod a short time later. Approaching the clerk, he assaulted her whiie holding a* kaife. The suspect left the scene riding a black 10-speed bike. A quantity of cash was takon. The person sought ini this incident is described as maie, white, aged 18 or 19, six foot, 145 pounde, short brown hair, thin buiid, wearing blue jeans, a black bomber jacket and a dark bail cap. Crimestoppers will pay a cash reward for any information that ieads to an arrest in this incident. Cailers nover have to give their name or testi&y in court. Cail 436-8477. Legion turus 30 FROM PAGE 2o ,sflood victime in Quebec i- The spring fair, loca - Scouts and Guides, Air anc t Sea Cadets, Herticultura it Society and Mealis on Wheeli d Pregi-ams have ail had thi ri Legion's engeing support and s0 have needy veteranEi s and their fanuilies. 1 Cemmunity groupu from 1 the Redmnen lacreese team tc 7the Kinsmnen service club use the Legion's meeting rooms free Of charge. In fact any local charitable community group can use their facilities free of charge. The Legion aise hosts a number of their own events such as Saturday night dances or euchre and everyone in the comrnunity is' Meut welcome te attend. Raising money je the other haifof the Logions work and that's what events such as the poppy drive are ail about. This year, due te the hard work of a lot of volunteers, Branch 152 raised $14,700 during the Romnembrance Day poppy drive, a subetantial increase over previoue years. That may reflect a general resurgence of interest in Remnembranoe Day. At this yoar'e service at the memoriai outside the arena, there were some 300 schoolchldren and varieus local dignitaries, says Ceegrove. Only a few years ago the Nov, il service in Brooklin had nearly il disappeared. di Legion members who -do LI echool visita have found ,s increased interest among e children and are alwaye ýimpressed net only by their s questions but aise by the quaiity of their poome and iartwork on Remembrance 3 Day themes. B ut the long-term future of rBranch 152 and that of all rLogions ie uncertain. Although membership le on an upswing at 240 in Brooklin, that is due te relaxed membership. requirements. The veterans of Worid War I and II and the. Korean War who are the Legion'e backbone and heart, are aging. They wonder if the traditions and spirit they brought te, the erganization will carry on. Perhaps today's renewed interest in the great wars of the pastis a part of alarger desire te truly understand those events. That underetanding is grounds for hope that Legion Branch 152 wiil b. around 30 years from now. Everyone le welcome te drop by and visit thie Saturday te find eut what the Legion's ail about. DO le e. L- Or Y Over ths past summer one of the kids' favorite tapes for the car was Hallelujah Handel, produced by Sue Hammond of Classicai Lt Kid's productions. Its great fun and shows the composer and a classical music ln a fresh and accessible new Ilght. So when e Wendy fIrst told me that the Durham Coliege Community Choir's i- fail project was going to be Hanidel's famous oratorio The Messah 1 grfnned with anticipation. l'd listened to that tape most of July and August, 1 was ready. Weil, 1 was until 1 started singing the score. 1 figure that some time ln one of his many productions a couple of tenors must really have gotten under Handels skin. His revenge was the tenor part of the Messiah. How tough is it? Let's put it this way. Singing the work for the first Urne is like playing four-way ping pong. It is constantly moving and coming at you when you least expect it. Plus, If your mouth moves at the speed of an 8-X CD Rom in a Pentium 200, no problem. But If, like me, you slng at the speed of my old 286 XT, * well, you get the idea. We've been practicing since September and only in the last two weeks do 1 f eel that 1 can sing It wlthout getting lost haif way through. Rehearsals were characterized by Wendy * continuaîy saying " let 's just go over the tnor line again." Some nights the rest of the choir must have felt that it was actually a tenor sectional rehearsal with the sopranos,,altos and basses thrown in s0 we wouldn't feel ionely. We even needed a Friday night remedial tenor rehearsal. We yeamed secretly in our hearts to be basses. We could only listen ln envy to th e giorlous bass Uine and then get ready to shoot our voices to a place .that they haven't been since early puberty, or listen as the sopranos and altos In their multitude got together to sIng while the four of us stood ln silent vigil, witIng and counting like mad to get ready for our entry. Like ail productions we have had our glitches. There was the night of what we in the choir caîl "the rehearsai.* Bad? It was frightening. We had been sInging "Ail we like Sheep have gone Astray." Astray?We were far beyond astray. We had scattered to the four corners of the earth. Each section was in a place ail on its own, nowhere near the rest of the choir. At the end of the evening, you could see the doubt in everyone's eyes. MCan' we do this?", "Have we bitten off more then we can chewr Those were the unspoken and spoken questions In everyones mmnd. But fear is a gr.eat'motivator and by last Saturday morning we listened to ourselves and smiled. We were a good choir. .. finaîly. Last night we ail drove into Toronto to rehearse with the Toronto Ciassical Singers and their conductor and our frlend Juergen Petrenko. For the first time we heard more than eighty voices Ioined In singing some of the most sublime music ever written -- 1 literally had chilIs going up and down my back as we sang. When 1 think of where we were two months ago and where we are now, ail 1 cani say is that myspousal unit has done an amazIng job. Wendy was s0 impressed that she cancelled this Saturday's rehearsal thinking that people could use the break to reintroduce themnselves to their families. But our choir 15 ciedication personified. They rose up as a body and cried "No, give us more."n So this Saturday we'll be hard at it. And the tenor-line? Who wouldn't want to soar to the heights that Handel has written, and with the other choir that gives us eight wtioie tenors. It's not rock 'n' roll, but 1 love iti The Durham College Choir, the Toronto Classical SIngers and the Talisker Players Orchestra will perform Handel's Messiah on Dec.7, at 8 p.m. at the Salvation Army Temple at Thomton and Rossland in Oshawa. Tickets are $15 for adults'and $12 for students and seniors. Cail 723-6442 for tickets and Information. And no, 1 won't sing the tenor Uine over the phone. You'ii have to corne to the concert for that. ofJJjfîc lu LU LEI'S BAV'Z A GIMEEN MJH IS 'Let'u Have a Greon Christmas iluths theme of Durham Envirornental Network's (DEN) Dec. 5 meeting at the Scugog Contre, 1655 Reach St., Port Perry. Speakers David and Elizabeth Morley, authors of the book, Under Thze 7Ze - Ceative A eraawes to a Consumer ChrWamas,' will discus some of their suggestions te "taming the Christmas monster and trying te return the season te its original meaning. As weil, 15 exhibitors wiil soU a variety of 'alternative' Christmas gifts. The doore will open at 6:30 p.m. te ailow visitors te browse the tables before the speakers begin at. 7:30 p.m. This DEN event promises te be an opportunity te hear seme ideas on how te enjýoy a sarier Christmas soasen And te purchaso Borne unique gifts such as massage treatments, erganic foods, beautifully crafted cleth bagu, books on the environment, and environrentalysfe cleaning products. Refreshments are served se 'lug-a-mug.' Fer further -detaîls, cail Janet at 905-985-3225. Whitby's Waste Reduction Week coordinator Sharon Fillmore and Murray Gaie organized a tremendously successflul event at the Whitby municipal building. Approximately 800 Whitby students were greeted by Mayor Tom EdwardWS' Rs message thon listened te speakers discussing such topics as the hazards of toii cleaningagents, alternatives te, pesticides, and backyard. composting. ti hi th hî or tei On va W4 ne thi af ne for 201 mi] vio. pro exi, beui whi mmi ecor stop Eng wool a a m Bru Edw Don Scot, lm for 0' Ensp Pril are wili probl if1 resol requi ïtpe. - ie It's flot a rock band..