Harry Stemp was born in Uxbridge in 1934. He started his career with the Uxbridge Times-Journal as an apprentice typesetter at age 14. He soon began writing sports for the Times-Journal and eventually owned 10 community newspapers in central Ontario including the Times-Journal. He started writing his award-winning Stemp’s Stew in 1965. The column came to an end shortly after he sold his newspaper chain in 1989, but was rejuvenated in 2006 when Harry became a regular contributor to The Cosmos.
Locked out
Sad that every time there is a dispute between adults it’s the children who have to suffer. Be it marriage breakups. conflicts between parents, managers and coaches in sport organizations or in the present confrontation between teachers and the provincial government ,nothing changes.
Not necessary to go into the details of the battle. Both sides have been telling their stories on a daily basis, trying to gain public support for their stand. Somewhere in the middle lies the solution. On the outside are the children who were looking forward to the new school year. After a long summer break anxious to see their friends again and, besides academic learning, to take part in extracurricular activities outside the classroom. These are very important to help students prepare themselves for what faces them along the road of life and they learn life skills that can’t be found in text books. But, as we now know, teachers are using these services as an important bargaining tool to get the government to back down and bend to their demands. So again two adult factions battling it out while the students watch, helplessly, wondering when things will get back to normal, if ever.
On a radio talk show it was sad to hear the frustration of the students who were upset that they would not be enjoying these activities. One young boy said he had been practicing the horn all summer, anxious to be a part of the school band, only to learn that the teacher was refusing to run the program. Others mentioned the various clubs and discussion groups they enjoyed that would be a thing of the past until the adults come to an agreement. Parents waded in and their frustration came through loud and strong, that they felt this was an adult problem and their children should not be used as pawns.
What caught my attention was a teacher who called in, obviously upset, and proclaimed loud and clear “I am tired of this. My fellow teachers and I work our fingers to the bone and this is the thanks we get.”
Quite a statement, and one that I’m sure will upset fellow teachers and not just the taxpaying public. This statement is a joke to the average parent who works right through the year and, in many cases, enjoys a two or maybe a three week vacation. They find it difficult to sympathize with teachers who they see enjoying the summer off, another week at Christmas and spring break plus a few PD days through the year.
Having said that, there is no doubt teachers play a very important role in our society but there are good and bad in every profession. A good teacher, and there are thousands of them, can inspire children to do their best, work hard and reach high goals in life. These are the teachers who are respected by both the students and parents alike. We can only hope that adults on both sides, government and teachers, can come to a mutual agreement and stop using the children as pawns and spoiling their enjoyment and advancement during this school year.
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Here we go again. Billionaire owners of NHL hockey teams sitting across the table from millionaire NHL players in a negotiation exercise that could see part, or all, of the 2012-2013 season be cancelled. As I write this the players are locked out and negotiations have ground to a halt. Both sides have dug in their heels and refuse to budge an inch. Any day now the usual pre-season games will be cancelled followed by regular season games if the impasse continues.
This is nothing new for hockey, as many will remember the bitter labour dispute that wiped out the entire 2004-05 season, so frustrated fans appear resigned that the NHL regular season is unlikely to open as scheduled on October 11. Players were to start reporting to training camps on September 21 were locked out.
Interesting that through all of this the fans, who pay big bucks to support their team, have hardly been mentioned. It’s almost like they don’t exist and owners are confident they will rush to fill the seats as soon as a settlement is announced. Meanwhile the top players are heading for the European leagues where they will be snapped up immediately, replacing players who have never seen the kind of salaries paid in the NHL and never will, and who will be kicked aside until the dispute ends. Hardly seems fair but that’s life.
How long will the lockout last? You may recall that after Bettman announced the league was locking out players in 2004, it was three months before the feuding sides even returned to the negotiating table. So fans should prepare for a long winter without NHL hockey. Maybe they will discover how exciting junior hockey can be and thumb their nose at the big boys for a while to teach them a lesson. But don’t count on it. After the last work stoppage fan support for the NHL came back stronger than ever. Go figure. Will it be the same this time around? Only time will tell. Meanwhile the Bruins are fun to watch so maybe their attendance will climb. Wouldn’t that be luvverley?
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The other morning, in Ottawa, I headed out for my morning walk a little after 5 a.m. and, adjacent to the U.S. Embassy were four police cruisers, a short piece of road closed, lights flashing, and a half dozen officers roaming around. Always curious, I walked over and asked one of the officers what was happening.
“Oh, not much,” he said in a casual manner.
“Not much”, I said. “You sure have a ton of motor and manpower to handle something that is not much.”
“What are you doing out this early in the morning?” he asked.
“I do a walk every morning wherever I am,” I said.
“Well, enjoy your walk,” he replied, turned his back and left. I am still trying to figure out whether the officer was wishing me well with my morning exercise program or telling me to flock off with the birds and mind my own business. What’s your take on this?
