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2 The Canadian Statesman. Bowmanville, February 14. 1979 Section Two Editorial Comment Thoughts on Valentine's Day All the world loves a lover, so jump on the commercial bandwagon and send a Valentine's Day card to the light of your life. Historically, today is the day to tell your sweetheart you love her for getting rid of the ring around your collar, or that you're glad he uses "Dial" and wish everybody did. The greeting card industry says February 14th is the day you "gotta" do it because Easter is moving up fast! Have heart, especially on Valen- tine's Day. Undoubtedly, we should express ourselves more often to those dear to us, so why not bend a little with commercialism and send that certain someone a heart shaped greeting. Besides, it's tough to find a Valentine in May or September. We traditionally think of Valen- tine's Day applying to sweethearts and lovers. However, the Greeting Red Tape in Prime Minister Trudeau once said that the government has no place in the bedrooms of the nation. And as far as we are concerned, it ought to keep out of the kitchens as well. It was with great interest that we learned of strict rules and regulations being applied to potluck suppers, community banquets and other activities in which neigh- borhood groups prepare food for special occasions. Apparently Durham Region health officials in- tend to enforce these rules rigorously. Such enforcement means many community halls would have to make expensive improvements in their kitchen facilities and foods would have to be either cooked on the premises where they are served or brought in by a caterer. You could not, for example, bring food that was cooked at home to a church supper. All of this seems to be just one more example of creeping bureaucracy which will eventually try to wrap the whole world in red tape. Increasingly, the cards are stacked against individuals who want to do anything positive and useful. We often hear of persons who face seemingly endless rules and regulations which make it difficult for them to start a business or build a home. But when something as simple and straightforward as a church supper comes under the scrutiny of government officialdom we can easily see the extent to which we are being governed and regulated to death. Possibly in ten years' time potluck suppers will become illegal -- perhaps about the same time that marijuana is legalized -- and we can imagine the following scene: A squad of police raid a church basement where an "illegal" supper is in progress on premises not san- etioned by the proper authorities. The ladies and men responsible for cooking the meal are carried away in paddywagons. A newspaper ac- count of the raid would probably note that several platters of fried chicken and a dozen pumpkin pies A Corner A Memory A happy memory Can heal a wound Like a beautiful symphony With an harmonic chord! Marion Taylor Ford Wise Words The adages of old That old friends used to say Are not forgotten And are valid today. For instance, "Far away fields look Card Association of Canada reports that Mothers are the most popular recipients of Valentines today and wives come next. Mothers receive three times more cards than sweethearts, lovers and fiancees combined. There's a sad note of historic im- portance which we hope doesn't take the edge off the whole occasion for you. We can all thank a young Roman named Valentinus who marked the true beginning of Valen- tine's Day. He was clubbed, stoned and beheaded for giving aid to the per- secuted Christians. However, before he died he wrote a farewell love note to his sweetheart. It was February 14, 270 A.D. If you're not a sentimentalist at heart, you at least owe it to the heroic Valentinus to play cupid on Valentine's Day. i the Kitchen with a street value of $25 were seized as evidence. It will not matter that the supper was being held to raise funds for a new Sunday school or to feed orphans, Rules and regulations must be enforced. We agree, however, that there could be some danger from eating a meal at a community hall or a chur- ch banquet. All of those mouth- watering slices of roast beef, the tasty green beans, potatoes, pies and cakes could tempt someone to eat too much and suffer indigestion and extra calories or an expanded wasteline. But that, we suggest, is the only danger in potluck suppers. No doubt the health authorities who govern the public's safety mean well and know a great deal about diseases and germs. But what they don't seem to know is that banquets in the church basement or the com- munity hall are a vital part of every small community's social life. Banquets mark special occasions such as a wedding or àn anriver- sary, a meeting of an athletic group or just a social evening. Often, women's groups who cater to these events, charge fees and make money for community projects in this way. Another fact is that these banquets have taken place as far back as anyone can remember without any apparent dangers from food poisoning. They are now a firmly- established tradition in every com- munity. Local citizens have put up with many things and have generally been patient and understanding. They will endure high taxes, potholes in the roads, regional government and even the occasional snags in the municipal planning process. But to suggest that church suppers and community banquets could be germ-ridden and to suggest that the kitchens need renovations and cleanups before they are suitable for the public is going too far. To our usually-peaceful com- munity, those are fighting words. The majority of residents will find the health department's regulations very difficult to swallow. for Poets green," Is true I've often seen. And a 'stitch in time saves nine.' Has Wisdom all the time. "What we sow, we reap." Is true, no idle threat. And when you get a little blue Remember every cloud is silver- lined. It will bring peace of mind And ail of such sayings Even though over the fence We're just good old common sense. Marion Taylor Ford. Go Down that Lonesome Road Su ar and Spice I Was Overlooked " I've bitten my lip until I drew blood. I've tried not to let the hurt show. But my close friends have noted something behind the too- bright smile, the overly-casual manner. So I might as well let it out. No use getting an ulcer. I felt slighted to the point of humiliation when Ed Schreyer was named Governor-General instead of me. I wasn't too disappointed when Trudeau passed me over for the Senate. I wasn't old enough, decrepit enough, or liberal enough. But I don't think his petty vindic- tiveness would go so far as to overlook me for the G.G.'s job. Just because I've written a few columns suggesting that Pierre Elliott is something less than the Second Coming. There were only the two of us in the running, obviously, but I can't figure out why the Prime Minister turned his back on me. Perhaps to garner a few hundred votes in the west, which is probably all he'll get, come June. I have nothing whatever against Ed Schreyer. as a person. I don't believe in mudslinging, even when it comes to a sinecure. But let's look at the record, and you may begin to understand my bewilderment at Trudeau's mistake of the century. Ed Schreyer is a politician. Governors-General should not be ex- politicians. I am not now, never have Bowmanville, Ontario February 9,1979 Dear Editor: It has been said that if you make the correct analysis of a situation, the trend of events will prove you correct. From events of the past few days, then, bas it not become painfully clear that the local S.E.A.P. organization, which only two short years go became vocal in its opposition to building the Darlington nuclear plant, might yet deserve to be taken seriously? Although it is not yet a concluded progression of events, feature articles in such news vehicles as the Financial Post, Toronto Star and the C.B.C. News have made these points clear. That, for the third year in succession now, Ontario Hydro has been wrong in its forecast of what consumers will need. In 1978, this misjudgement amounted to a 25 per cent overestimate. - That Ontario Hydro will be unable to sell even two-thirds of its surplus to the United been, and never will be a politician. Score one for me. Ed Schreyer is too young. Governor-Generals should be fairly ancient, and look wise even if they aren't. I am in my prime, and by the end of my term would be ap- proaching the drooling earnestness that my speech-writers would prepare for me. And for the second part of the above qualification, I am perfect for the part. I can look as wise as an owl about things in general, while having the intelligen- ce of a rabbit about same. Score two. Ed Schreyer is a family man. So am I. But l'Il bet my kids were a lot more rotten than his are, and I coped with them. And how many grand- children does Mr. Schreyer have? I wonder if Trudeau gave any thought to the millions of grandparents in this country, when he made his abominable choice? Is Ed Schreyer a war veteran? Well, I am. There goes the whole Legion vote, Trudeau, which you might have got if you'd had your head screwed on right. It is now 4-0 for me. Do you begin to understand my astonishment when the no doubt worthy, but un- distinguished Mr. S. was chosen over me. Ed Schreyer was a failure. He couldn't hang onto his premier's job. I have never failed at anything. I gained my pilot's wings in W.W. 2, States because of similar problems there. - That, in spite of 'the surpluses, Ontario Hydro may have to raise its rates higher than planned in order to service the enormous debt (now a whopping $9.7 billion) it bas already accumulated and that higher prices will result in more skimping and even less consumption on the part of the public. - That Hydro won't need and can't afford to complete construction by 1987 of this $4 billion Darlington nuclear plant, which was rushed through without an environ- mental assessment and passed on by misinformed and overzealous local politicians in pursuit of some grandiose industrial bonanza regardless of the costs involved. Just how much money is $4 billion of $9.7 billion? By way of comparison, we might consider one other horrendous sum that is start- ing to haunt us at the same time. Within the same two years, ironically enough, the Canadian Dollar has been sinking steadily in value on the world money markets. This is a burden that all Canadians must bear, and to date it has cost us about $5 billion to do the shoring-up process of the international debt-balancing act. We in Ontario will be asked to shoulder our share of this burden also, while we attempt to sell nuclear reactors to a world that apparently does not want them. If the citizens of Ontario, and the citizens of Durham Region in point of concern, are willing to countenance these rising costs and go along with this type of collossal blunder- ing, both on the part of Ontario Hydro and Eldorado, mean- while neglecting such coming industries as biomass to produce more energy fuels to heat homes, and solar development as a back-up, then we can continue on the sanie course and sniggle about the costs of such things as public health and education. We will deserve just what we took an honours degree in the toughest course in University, was a successful, if poor, weekly editor, have risen to the astronomic height of department head in a high school, and have been honoured as Outstan- ding Columnist in Canada. 5-0. Ed Schreyer is single-minded in politics. An Endeepee-er. I have voted for all three major parties, some of them several times. Though not a politician, I have been closely involved in politics. I have been publicity man for a liberal, an NDP hopeful, and a Tory. The Liberal won twice. Both the other guys lost. It's obvious Trudeau didn't check my dossier. Much attention has been given to the fact that Mr. Schreyer has an ethnic German-Austrian ancestry. So what? I am not from one of the so- called founding races either. Scot- tish, Irish, and a little splash of Danish when some sailors were wrecked in the Hebrides a couple of centuries ago. That sure ain't British nor French. Speaking of French, does Mr. Schreyer have any bonds with Quebec? Well, I have. Both my parents were born and grew up there. My mother spoke fluent Fren- ch. And I spent the first two years of my life in Shawville, Pontiac Coun- ty, Quebec. Never mind that there was not a Jew, a Chinaman, nor a Frenchman in the village. It was still in Quebec. make for ourselves. hydro and fuel bills as well as The aggravating feature of those who have remained the whole scenario, however, mute and passive. There is is that those who have been little comfort in mouthing the sounding the alarm, often in childish adage, "I told you the face of hawkeyed ridicule, so" The dynamics of the will have to pay the mounting democratic process presup- Perhaps you think that, as a for- mer politician. Mr. Schreyef knows more about patronage than I do. Nonsense. When I was the linenman on the dear old Hamonic on the Great Lakes, before she was burned at the dock at Sarnia, I knew the ropes. Give the Chinese cooks a couple extra bath towels a week, and you ate better than the passengers. I don't want to go on and on like this, pointing our Mr. Trudeau's folly and Mr. Schreyer's short- comings. But it is a fact that I am better known in Canada, except among media and politicians, than he. Ask anyone in Kamloops or Moosomin or Sutton or Bridgewater. They've never heard of him. Just a few loose ends. Does Mr. Schreyer have a son who is devoting his life to the spiritual welfare of the Third World, and speaks five languages? Or a daughter who can wheedle thousands out of her father without even asking? Or two grand- children who can reduce a fine old house into an ancient ruin in two weeks? Let him answer that. He has a good-looking wife who cooks exotic European dishes. I have a beautiful wife whose grilled pork chops with canned mushroom soup spread on top make you weep with gastronomic delight. Score? About 14-0. It was a sorry day for Trudeau when he mistook gold lettering for solid gold. pose an intelligent response on the part of the public. Executive, S.E.A.P. Save the Environment from Atomie Pollution Darlington Branch, Port Granby Branch. Christmas Seal Campaign Achieves Al Time High Durham Region Lung have worked continuously to paign totals in one word - Association's annual Christ- raise public awareness of the "terrific!" - and added that mas Seal Drive closed official- services provided by Christ- the combination of Durham ly on January 31st, having mas Seal dollars in Durham Region's concerned and reached an all-time high of Region. generous public with this $80,084.89. The Association "The public are realizing enthusiastic and dedicated exceeded its target of $75,000 that a dollar given to Christ- voluntary Agency could only by $5,084.89, and achieved a 17 mas Seals goes a long way in result in the Lung Associa- per cent increase over the 1977 providing practical help for tion's continued expansion as Campaign. many people in our communi- a community health resource. Christmas Seal Co- ty, who suffer from such "Thanks to our many Chairman Marline Veater diseases as asthma, emphy- Christmas Seal Friends" he said today that the sema and chronic bronchitis" said "more people than ever Campaign's success was built said Mrs. Veater. before will be helped this year upon year round efforts by Co-Chairman Bill Eastwood by Durham Region Lung Association volunteers, staff summed up the Association's Association, their local members and local media who feelings about the final Cam- Christmas Seal People".