Checking up on City Hall
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The Pickering Ajax Nissan Heading for the Hong Kong INCOME TAX PERSONAL INCOME TAX RETURN Parts/Service Frozen Four ordeal over All-Canadian Tax Service Monday - Thursday 7:00am - 8:00pm Friday 7:00am - 6:00pm $ 95* Saturday 8:00am - 2:00pm Hockey phenom enjoys Oshawa student only 49. 375 Bayly Street West, Ajax * Most returns *GST extra (Between Westney & Harwood) freshman season expected home soon 100 Westney Rd S (Ajax Go Station) 1-800-565-6365 (905) 426-4860 905-686-0555 SPORTS/16 NEWS/2 ✦ 64 PAGES ✦ Pressrun 51,400 ✦ Optional delivery $6/Newsstand $1 ✦ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2008 Get local 24/7 newsdurhamregion.com Checking up on Being city hall DURHAM — Maybe you’re new to Durham and you’re wonder- Are You ing who your councillor is and what day the garbage truck rolls through your neighbourhood. Maybe you’ve lived here for de- cades and just want to put up a fence or ask a question about your tax bill. No matter who you are, chances are you’re going to need a little help from city hall at one time or another. And you should get it — after all, they’re here to serve you, the taxpayer. But are they doing a good job? We decided to find out. Over the past month, reporters from Metroland Durham Region Media Group phoned and visited ? city halls in Oshawa, Whitby, Clar- ington, Ajax and Pickering. They asked common questions, Served requested popular documents and kept track of who delivered, how long it took and the quality of service. We also asked a focus group to A compare municipal websites and We look at how municipalities are serving you we took stock of municipal as- sets like buildings, vehicles, sports FIVE-PART fields and community programs to compare who’s getting the best value for their tax dollars. SERIES Check out Part 1 on Page 7 today, and keep reading for the next four Wednesdays as we ask, “Are you being served?” COOL NEW PHONES FOR THE SEASON NOW 50% OFF † OFFER ENDS MARCH 31 See store for details. $49.99* $39.99* $24.99* $12.49* †Some conditions apply. Rogers and the Mobius design are trademarks of Rogers Communications Inc. Used under License. © 2008 A/P PAGE 2 THE NEWS ADVERTISER, March 19, 2008 durhamregion.com Oshawa teen pleads guilty in Hong Kong Student heading home glasses from the airport kiosk, the girl was the layoff at the GM truck plant where he told me he thought he could get it cleaned after international ordeal stopped by authorities at the airport and works, said he talked to his daughter briefly up Monday. It took one extra day,” the father not allowed to board the plane home with to make sure she was safe and being dealt said. the other students and chaperones. The trip, with properly. He avoided berating her or Although juvenile court normally runs in By Kim Downey organized through the school tour company talking about the incident itself. He said he’s Hong Kong on Thursdays and Fridays, the [email protected] Explorica, drew 43 students from three Dur- not sure what he will say upon her return, courts there made special arrangements for ham-area schools. but doubts whether she will be going on any an English-language judge to hear the case OSHAWA — An Oshawa high school stu- “She pleaded guilty and the criminal future school trips. Tuesday. dent involved in a shoplifting incident in charges were dropped. It’s all done,” said “She was really upset,” he said, adding the As for what ramifications his daughter Hong Kong that drew national attention her father. “We are hoping she will be on a authorities have been excellent. “She has will face when she gets home, the father should be on a flight home within a day or flight home soon.” learned a lesson, an important life lesson.” said they would like to address it to ensure it so, says her father. Some reports said the youth was fined A news report made it sound like she was never happens again. The 15-year-old R.S. McLaughlin Col- more than $100, but her father could not roughed up, but that wasn’t the case, the “She is a good kid. She picked the wrong legiate student pleaded guilty Tuesday confirm the amount. father said. place and time to experiment with this,” he to shoplifting sunglasses from an airport The girl, McLaughlin history and civics The authorities have been very accom- said. kiosk, and charges related to the theft were teacher Chris Barrowclough and his wife modating, he said, adding he is grateful to He said the family, including his wife and dropped. stayed behind to support the teen and have the Barrowcloughs for helping his daughter two other children, were surprised at the at- The incident occurred last Saturday as been in contact with the girl’s parents. They through the ordeal. Mr. Barrowclough had tention the story has received. the teen was at the airport on her way home said they would be looking to board a flight been in touch with the Canadian Embassy “It’s up there with stories like riots in Tibet from a March break trip to Hong Kong and Wednesday. Hong Kong is 12 hours ahead of in Hong Kong, he said. and a soldier dying in Afghanistan. If it hap- China. Eastern Daylight Time. “I was willing to go there on Saturday pened here it would not be news.” Accused of trying to steal the designer The girl’s father, who is home because of (when Barrowclough informed me) but he Students interviewed outside McLaughlin Collegiate also expressed shock that a stu- dent known as “nice” and “smart” would do such a thing. Daylene Boucher said her good friend will be extremely embarrassed by causing so much fuss. “She wouldn’t want people talking about this,” she said. “She is a good person. We hope she’s back soon. We miss seeing her in the hallways.” Steph Siegel, another student, said she hopes the incident doesn’t get her expelled or in trouble, as she has been through enough. “I couldn’t see her stealing. She has never gotten in trouble at this school,” she said. Correction DURHAM — A story in a recent issue of The News Advertiser contained incorrect information. Microsoft developed a Child Exploitation Tracking system to help police officers fight cybercrime. As well, Bernadette Schell, dean of the faculty of business and information tech- nology at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, said, “We want to combat strategies to the next wave of crime. In the U.S., they have a computer emergency re- sponse team at Carnegie-Mellon (Univer- sity) and they’ve done wonderful things to secure cyberspace from threats to national security and other things. National security Jason Liebregts/ News Advertiser photo could be a concern here eventually. .” Bruce Hurley, major gifts officer for the advancement office at the UOIT, then noted A very special birthday it could take just one circuit breaker to trip up power in Ontario. PICKERING — Hilda Pipher greets Janice Tabb at the former’s 100th birthday party at Bay Ridges Long-Term Care Centre recently. The News Advertiser regrets the errors. durhamregion.com THE NEWS ADVERTISER, March 19, 2008 PAGE 3 A/P Ajax hospital remains anonymous in Fraser report More than 100 acute-care hospitals. The committed to their patients mediate capacity to do it. hospitals refuse report card compares hos- and the public. He said to “The reason we didn’t pitals based on indicators truly improve Canada’s participate last year is be- to be named in of patient safety and qual- health-care system, mea- cause there were a lot of ity. Patients can look at a surement and comparison staffing changes occurring at Institute gradings particular condition or pro- of hospitals are needed. the time,” he said. He added cedure and compare factors “If you have a greater that RVAP has participated By Kristen Calis such as death rates and rates chance of dying from a heart in every other major study. [email protected] of adverse events. It’s based attack in one hospital com- The highest-ranking 18 hos- on data from the Canadian pared to another, isn’t that pitals were ones that were DURHAM — Rouge Val- Institute for Health Infor- something you would want not identified, and neither ley Ajax and Pickering hos- mation’s (CIHI) Discharge to know?” he said. were the lowest-ranking pital patients have no way Abstract Database. Only 29 David Brazeau, the Rouge eight. The top mark over- of knowing how the Fraser hospitals allowed the Fraser Valley Health System’s direc- all mark was 91.2 out of 100 Institute graded their hospi- Institute to use their names Rouge Valley Ajax and Pickering hospital would not allow its tor of public affairs and com- and the lowest was 62.2, but tal in 2005 and 2006. in the study, compared to name to be used in a report ranking 136 Ontario hospitals. munity relations, said RVAP RVAP’s rank is unknown. In The independent organi- the 43 that agreed to be did participate (ie. allow its the past, RVAP ranked equal zation recently released its identified last time. the values of accountabil- Mr. Esmail, director of name to be used) in the first to or better than the Ontario Hospital Report Card: 2008, “It’s unfortunate that even ity and transparency, some- Health System Performance report card and will partic- average in most sections.