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Pm Srl ae CR pe mr VO atm Re ~~ RC PL AEA iow pe i Me RR ns PROVINCE CUTS CULTURAL BUDGETS - News Item - » "GEE, I'l BET [7 WAS REALLY SOME THIN' BEFORE JHE GOVERNMENT PUT THE SCREWS JO IT" C hatte rBox by J. Peter Hvidsten | | Just moments before attempting to put some of my thoughts about Christmas on paper, I was sitting in my chair, feet on the desk and thinking... Aaaahhbh, it's all over for another year! But then an unbearable thought came to mind as I looked at the calendar hanging on the office wall. It's only the 28th of December. That means I still have New Years Eve and New Years Day to pull through before my stomach will get a rest from the alcohol, sweets, turkey and other traditional junk that goes along with the holiday season. Although it has been a rather long four weeks it has been a lot of fun, and I got to know a number of people who were only acquaintances before. My Christmas season began on the fourth of December when the jolly old man, Santa Claus visited Port Perry during the annual Christmas parade. That evening, as a DJ for Flamingo Pastries Christmas Party, I ran into him again as he handed out gifts to many of the staff present for the party. Looking back, it seems like a long time ago that I attended these first functions, and since then a lot of mix has gone under the belt. In the following weeks, I would see more doctors, nurses, and dentists than could have been found had I needed open heart surgery to remove an abscessed tooth lodged in the left ventricle of my heart. There was the Medical Associates party, Ux- bridge Cottage Hospital Christmas dance, Community Memorial Hospital party and the dentists staff party, and then to top it all off, our own Star staff party. This all took place in a eight day period, and does not account for numerous visits to stock rooms and dark corners of stores during the same period. But now it is almost over....and when it is, we can all get back to our normal routines. I have a whole week-and-a-half before I have to attend my next party. sss ssnan While on the topic of Christmas I would have to say that this has probably been one of the most enjoyable for me since I was a child. Christmas morning was spent with my children and seeing the bright eyes and excitement in their faces as they opened their gifts is something that words cannot express. There were dolls and clothes and toys in abun- dance, and it makes you realize that it's we parents who are responsible for our children having so much. But it's fun to see them happy, so why not! Saturday afternoon I ventured forth to the home of Jack Cottrell, where I had been invited to have Christmas supper. "Come over for supper," Jack said, "we are going to have a few people in, and we would like to have you join us." I'm beginning to think Jack never learned to count past three, because when the dust had settled and everyone sat down, there were no less than 21 in attendance. Now that's a far shot from a 'few'. When I arrived I was greeted by two dogs, one cat, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, parents, sister, brother-in-law, and others I still don't know about. But there was no Jack. After a few restless minutes, I was informed that Jack was upstairs assembling a roadster track for his son. You know, the kind that a four-year-old could put together with his eyes closed. Needs no special tools, just follow the instructions and before you know it you'll be in business. When 1 first found Jack he was huddled on the floor, instructions, track, cars scattered all around him, and obviously in a little panic. Well, being the good guy I am, I decided to help him out of his dilemma and after assembling, and disassembling the track for two hours, we finally managed to get it to look similar to the illustration on the front of the box. The only difference being that the picturé showed the cars zooming around the track.... and ours wouldn't. It was at this point that Jack introduced me to a brand new drink. And happy I was! The drink is called a Peena-collada (not spelled right, I am sure) and contains a small portion of coconut rum and mixed with unsweetened pineapple juice. Just a super change from your everyday drink. Later supper was served, we sang carols around the kitchen table, played cards, sang more carols, then retired to the living room where the sweet smell of wood burning in the fireplace and a huge Christmas tree inspired us to sing more Christmas carols. During the day, my feeling of being out of place gradually dwindled and before long I began to feel a part of the family and was accepted as such. My thanks to the Cottrell family for a most wonderful Christmas present. SNR LA SR Here To Stay The Monday meeting of Scugog Township Council marked the inauguration of those who will direct this community for the next two years, and from all indications, it will be a tenur not without difficulties, decision and challenge. The last term might well have signalled the end of the experimentation that brought this part of the province into a regionalized system. The experimen- tation has turned to administration, and with the regional official plan on its way, we will have to face the responsibility directing and planning our com- munity in the way we wish it to go. There is still some hesitancy...even open hostil- ity...to everything regional. Perhaps this is the term in which we learn not only to accept, but to actively: support our regional identity. Regional government is here to stay, and perhaps one of the major thrusts of the new council's work will be finding and expanding the roll we will play in making not only Scugog a good place to live, but also' in concerning ourselves with the future of the region. There has been talk of splitting the region into a northern and southern area. There has been a rattling of swords and hard-line approaches to any suggestions of such things as accepting garbage from down south, and complaints about our need for more general development that the region seems willing to provide. Yet to think that we can accomplish all this better from outside the Region than inside, or to think we can get it through clashing, than co-operating with the region; would be disasterous, not for the region, but for us. According to one elected official, our territorial traits that have made us think of ourselves as Port Perry, Scugog Island, Reach or Cartwright natives are extant. "But I'd say we're thinking of ourselves more and more as belonging to Scugog,"" he said. "But, it's a very slow process." . yy F- Trust One of the recurring themes today from politic- ians of almost every stripe is that of trust. The prime minister deplores the cynicism of Canadians about government, towards elected representatives as well as appointed civil servants. There must be more trust of government. You must trust us, say the experts. We know what's best for you. And we believe the question of trust and respect for the institutions of democracy are essential to the survival of a free society. However, that trust must be grounded in morality and it must be mutual in its very essence. Morality must have no double standard and respect can have no equivocation. Let us examine briefly a couple of examples. The scandals surrounding the Lockheed corpor- ation's attempts to sell aircraft have reached into the ¢ deepest reaches of frée society. One of the last royal families in Europe has been tainted with corruption and a former prime minister of Japan is in jail as a result of the exposure of Lockheed's sales techniques. All this was well known to Canadian officials who purchased a billion dollars worth of aircraft from these admitted corrupters. No one suggests that any Canadian was bribed, but can we expect to respect institutions which have no apparent difficulty in doing business with those who so easily corrupted others. Henry Kissinger in explaining American foreign policy that so readily accepts the governments of Brazil, Chile and Iran while deriding the leftist regimes of other nations, said that while he personal- ly adhorred the admitted torture tactics employed in these countries that the U.S. could not base policy on the morals of others. There is some kind of distinction in these examples that misses the point. There is a placid acceptance that anything goes, that manipulation and double standards are acceptable, that the end always justifies the means. But, try to explain those subtle distinctions to a child. No wonder the credibility of government is low. : Unchurched Editorials L 2 ? et --------