Editor's Notebook

TIMING IS EVERYTHING: We expect some residents of Augusta Township will be outraged by the prospect of council voting itself a big pay raise. It hasn't happened yet and it might not happen, but a bylaw that includes significant increases and additional payments compared to the system now in place has been introduced and will likely be put to a vote later this month.

At least Augusta council should be given some credit for the way it is handling this subject. If approved, the bylaw would take effect after the end of the current council term this fall; the pay hikes would apply to the incoming group following the election in November. Technically speaking, council is not voting itself a pay raise.

The same cannot be said for the current Prescott council, which voted itself a 75-per-cent increase less than halfway through its three-year term. We did not take issue with the merits of the case in favour of a larger honourarium for the mayor and six councillors; Prescott was and Augusta is near the back of the pack when compared to what council members in other municipalities in the region receive. We do not agree with some of the decisions made by our elected officials or the manner in which those decisions were made, but we recognize the importance of offering a reasonable honourarium as an acknowledgement of the work these people try to do on our behalf.

No, there was no public uproar when town council did what it did. We also do not expect that decision to be a major issue in the upcoming election. However, we believe the approach being taken by Augusta council is the better way to go. They say timing is everything; in the case of remuneration for members of council, Augusta's timing is much more appropriate than that of Prescott.

But we suspect that won't matter to township ratepayers who will view this as nothing more than a cash grab on the part of a council that has done little to justify the money it is now receiving.

THE WAITING GAME: There appears to be a trend developing when it comes to Prescott council. The town had to extend the deadline to get enough candidates for councillor in 2000, but there were 12 candidates for the six councillor seats in 2006. As of last week and with less than a month before nominations close, no one had yet to register.

Not enough in one election, then more than enough in the next.

We know there are a few incumbents who will seek re-election or are seriously considering the possibility, and there are at least two or three individuals who are planning to run in the November election. Until these people come forward, the race for councillor remains wide open.

We suspect the reception desk at town hall will be a busy place on deadline day.

Tim Ruhnke

Buy a diploma at the regular price, get a second for $5

It would appear at least one institute of higher learning in Ontario has taken the lead of businesses that reward their customers if a product or service is not delivered within a specified time period. Sudbury-based Collége Boréal guaranteed it would render decisions on all new enrolment applications within 60 minutes on Sept. 1 (this past Friday); if it failed to do so, the college would waive tuition fees for a year.

In other words, we decide in an hour or you learn for free.

I suspect the folks at the college were extremely confident or absolutely sure they had things well in hand. I'd like to think the higher-ups at a post-secondary institution that is subsidized by the taxpayers of Ontario would not be stupid enough to make such a guarantee without ensuring provincial money would never be at risk. I'd also like to think young adults who are supposed to be planning their futures would not allow the possibility of winning a year's tuition to be a significant factor in their decision-making process ­ especially if the chances of winning are slim to none.

But who am I to judge? After all, the key factor in my decision on a university more than 20 years ago was the fact I had won first-year tuition at a specific school. How did I win it? Well, it was Sudbury, so I correctly guessed the number of nickels that could fit in a case of Northern Ale.

The "get it quickly or its free" ploy might work with pizza or eyewear, but a college education? Then again, the provincial government used to hand out millions of dollars to music-deprived students by way of OSAP, Ontario's stereo assistance program.

By the way, that wasn't how I managed to win my first-year university tuition. In reality, I submitted a tagline the Nickel City used in a major promotional campaign: "Sudbury... at least it's not Timmins!"

Speaking of the City with a Heart of Gold, I was disappointed but not totally surprised by the fact Shania Twain did not get back to me after I included a birthday greeting to her in my last column. It's not the first time her busy schedule has prevented her from calling, and I expect the demands on her time will only increase now that she has to care for her young child and aging husband.

Still wavering on whether or not to buy shares in a big oil company? Consider the media coverage of the fact the price of a litre of gasoline went under 90 cents last week. Motorists were happy to see such "low" prices and started filling up because gas had fallen to a mere $4 a gallon.

I'll understand if you've already left to call your broker.

From the pages of my Grade 5 journal...

The following was my journal entry from the first week of Grade 5 at Churchill Public School. It was written Wednesday, Sept. 6, 1972.

"I had a good summer and lots of stuff happened.

My t-ball team was the Dodgers, but I was kind of worried because I thought that since our team was the Dodgers that the real Dodgers owned my rights and I want to play for the Expos when I grow up. Mr. DeJourdan said it's just the name of our team. I guess that means that since our minor hockey team is the Penguins that I don't have to play for them when I grow up either. That's a relief.

I got in trouble because I was the last guy up and I got out and I threw my helmet back to our bench and it hit Tommy Doyle in the head. I thought you were supposed to throw your helmet because I saw Willie Stargell do it on TV when he got out, but I didn't mean to hit Tommy. The coach got really mad at me. So did my Dad.

I went fishing for the first time ever with Brent McAllister but putting the worm on the hook was really disgusting. I threw up.

My friend Bubba visited us from Montreal. His real name is Lincoln, but everyone calls him Bubba. He already turned nine but I won't be nine until December. He likes this guy called Alice Cooper. What a stupid name for a boy. He has a record and plays it all the time called School's Out for Summer. Alice Cooper is creepy. Bubba's friend Billy told him about Alice Cooper. I didn't like Billy when I met him. He smokes. He likes the Beatles too but I don't like them. You know what else he does? He drinks Coke right out of the bottle! I mean a big bottle! When Bubba went home, he went on the train. My Dad put him on the train at the Prescott train station, but the train started leaving before my Dad got off. I started screaming and crying but then way down near Edward Street the train stopped and Dad got off the train and walked back. He said he punched the train conductor guy in the mouth. I didn't believe him, but then he had to put ice on his hand that night because it was swollen and I heard him say the 'F' word a lot, so I think he's telling the truth.

There's a new kid in our neighbourhood named Donald, but everyone calls him Big Don Fella. He has a little brother named Malcolm. We had a lemonade stand this summer but I quit because a fly got in the pitcher of lemonade and it was gross. Big Don Fella is the strongest kid in the whole school. Me and Big Don Fella and Dave Clunas played baseball and soccer and road hockey and chess a lot in the summer. I think he has a crush on Blanka Vydra but I'm not sure.

Dave Clunas and me are kind of scared because the Russians beat us last weekend. I thought we would slaughter the Russians because they're not even in the NHL but they won the first game 7-3. I've been really tired because I can't sleep because I'm really upset about it. I wish Bobby Orr and Bobby Hull were playing. Then this morning I was watching the Olympics and something happened yesterday and the Israelian team got killed by a bunch of bad guys. Dad says they are a bunch of people that hate Jewish people.

I go to my grandparents house in Prescott sometimes and I help cut the grass and rake and Grampa always talks about the news and reads the newspaper.

Even though he works at the Prescott Journal, he reads the Globe and Mail too like my Dad does. There's something called Watergate going on that they always talk about.

My cousins Billy and Dougy visited last week. We played football and Dougy was Johnny Rodgers and I was Jerry Campbell of the Rough Riders and I got a bloody nose trying to tackle him. That would never happen in real life because Jerry Campbell is way better. Monday it was really cold and we were watching Jerry Lewis. I don't know why. He's not even funny. We went to the Ottawa Ex and the Osmond Brothers were there. They were way better than that stupid Alice Cooper. I still think the Jackson 5 is better than the Osmonds.

We went on some rides but Dougy just wanted to talk to girls. I guess when you're 10 or 11 you do that kind of thing. I didn't want to go on any more rides anyway because the Tilt-a-Whirl made me sick.

David Hutt told us there is going to be this new show on Saturday called Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids that is supposed to be like the best cartoon ever.

There's another one called Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space. Like, why do they even have to go to outer space? That's dumb.

We had to quit playing football at recess today because nobody can tackle Big Don Fella. He scored a touchdown with the whole class on his back every time. Then we tried baseball but Big Don Fella hit a home run and the ball went on the roof. Once Chris Byron's older brother tried to climb onto the roof to get a ball but he fell and broke his arm. Now we play soccer instead.

I hope Grade 5 is fun. I wish I was nine instead of eight, but I can't really worry about anything like that until the Canada-Russia series is over. I don't know what will happen to us if we lose.