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4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tues. October 18, 1983 RAY BEAT WEY jo 12 wh s¥ le § ARG IEAM AVIS HAR ARN In Lean ata editorial comments £ i Pes Rl 2a chatterbo by John B. McClelland THE REFS ' I'm not one who believes in putting the knock on the refs and the umpires. At the little league or major league level, the guys who call the balls and strikes, the clipping and pass in- terference, the high sticking and slashing have a tough job. And sure, they make mistakes, sometimes so glar- ing that everyone present can't help but notice. I've seen umpires at minor softball games in Port Perry take some pretty nasty abuse (mostly from ir- rate parents who think little Billy can do no wrong) and it's an ugly spectacle. Of course, a guy like Billy Martin has made a career out of abusing officials in major league baseball. He doesn't seem to realize just how silly he looks out there and how demeaning it is to the sport. But even though I personally prefer to give game officials the benefit of the doubt, there are times when it seems they are doing their level best to call a bad game and turn it into a laugher. A case in point was Sunday night at Scugog Arena, during a Junior C hockey game between the local Mo- Jacks and visiting Rice Lake Rangers. The ref missed some blatant infractions, especial- ly high sticking and cross checking which resulted in some players taking "the law into their own hands." As always, the game quickly deteriorated. Two Port Perry players got the heave-ho for being the aggressor in skimishes which were nothing more than retaliatory gestures. A Port Perry and Rice lake player were thrown from the game for a fight which was simply clutch and grab with a couple of feeble punches thrown. A second Rice Lake player was thrown out for not going to the neutral zone even though he didn't look like he had any intention of starting any trouble. That rule is supposed to prevent the on ice brawls, but feel) some discretion is necessary. Likewise, for the two players who got thrown out for "fighting." Five minutes in the box would have cooled them down. As for why fights get started, anyone connected with hockey will tell you that in almost all cases, they result when blatant fouls consistently go un-punished. That's what happened Sunday night. I've been watching Jr. C. hockey in this town for several years and have seen some on-ice incidents that were despicable. The Junior C league, to its credit has gone a long way in recent years towards cleaning up the worst of the incidents. But there are still games in which lack of consistency on the part of the refs hurts, especially when it comes to calling the stick work. And automatically banishing players from the game if they get into a relatively harmless scrap just isn't the answer. In fact, if players know they are go- ing to get tossed for dropping their gloves and stick, they may resort more to slashing, high-sticking, etc., and take their chances on a minor penalty. Most serious hockey people want to see an end to fighting. But even more crucial is an end to the dirty (and more dangerous stick work). A hockey player can do a lot more damage shoving his stick into an oppo- nent's gut than he ever could with his fists, especially with the full cage headgear Junior C players must wear. Junior teams in this league are in a constant battle to get fans out to the arenas, and keep them coming back. Lousy officiating they don't need. The ref Sunday night seemed to be more worried about guys trying to bounce light punches off each other's helmets than ef- forts to skewer someone on the end of a hockey stick. As I see it, the league should be cracking down on the stick artists and using a little discretion when it comes to two guys who want to drop the gloves and flail away. On Sunday night, the reverse was true and the result was predictable. BEER If oil is black gold and sells for about $35 per bar- rel, then what the heck is beer which may soon cost that much for a lousy case? _ I'm a beer drinker, always have been, but I don't know what it costs these days at the little brown store. I'm afraid to ask. When I buy a dozen, I just toss a $10 bill on the counter, close my eyes, and shove the change into my pocket. I don't want to know the price anymore. Seriously, beer drinkers are getting it in the neck. Governments are gouging us as they slap more and more tax on the stuff, but I think the breweries in this country must shoulder some of the blame, too. How come every brand of beer costs exactly the same price? Where's the competition? How come the only choice I have is to pay more for a so-called "premium" brand? I'm waiting for one of the breweries to come out with a lower cost regular brew. I'll probably die of thirst before that happens. And I'm beginning to wonder just why I as a fairly regular beer drinker am subsidizing the breweries as they constantly introduce new brands on the market, especially those assinine light beers. The promotion and advertising costs must be astronomical, not to mention the cost of that other pass-time of the brew companies: sports teams. Beer is fast losing its centuries old place as the drink of the working people. The price is driving a lot of faithful brew drinkers away from their favourite beverage, and governments who slap on the taxes, and the beer companies who are spending money like water had better be mindful of that fact. Enough is enough. Rights Of The Unborn A Court of Queens Bench in Regina ruled last week that a fetus is not protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights, and thus existing laws on abortion in this coun- try remain valid. The case for protection of the unborn was brought in front of the court last spring by Joe Borowski, a former Manitoba cabinet minister and fervent anti-abortion crusader. Although his lawyer called 15 witnesses and in- troduced more than 100 exhibits to present the case, Mr. Borowski"s argument was essentially this: The Charter of Rights says that '"everyone has the right to life, liber- ty and security, and the right not be deprived thereof ex- cept in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice." Mr. Borowski argued that "everyone" includes the unborn fetus living in the mother. But Mr. Justice W.R. Matheson disagreed saying that 'everyone' does not include the unborn "because there is no existing basis in law which justifies a conclu- sion that fetuses are legal persons." If the Constitution doesn't afford protection to the unborn, just who or what does in this country? Are we to conclude that a living fetus is less of a person 10 minutes, a week, three months before birth? Mr. Justice Matheson says it is Parliament, not the courts, which must enact legislation to extend rights to the unborn. B We would hazard a guess that it will be a frosty day in July before the Parliament of this land gets around to touching that issue. Meanwhile, the fetus exists in a kind of legal limbo, living, but not a person, without rights or protection under law. As expected, Mr. Borowski says he will appeal the decision. We will await the outcome with interest. Just Waiting There is a tragedy just waiting to happen in Port Perry. The setting is ripe on any weekday on the streets surrounding Port Perry High School and R.H. Cornish Public School. The problem is traffic congestion in the mornings, at noon hour and after classes at 3:30. It has become a nightmare for drivers and a real safety hazard for the very young children who make their way to and from school on foot. The intersections of the roads leading off Queen Street are particularly dangerous for these youngsters. Aside from the normal flow of traffic around the schools which includes buses navigating the narrow streets, there is the added problem of a few young hot rodders who seem to like to use the crowded streets to peel off a patch of rubber just for fun. The situation is bad enough without those few smart alecs acting like they are trying to qualify for the Indy 500. There is nothing anyone can do about the location of the schools. They are there to stay. And likewise the narrow sidestreets. But all drivers should be urged to use extreme cau- tion around the schools. And Durham Region Police might be advised to bring the full weight of the law down .. on those who break the speed limit or dis-obey the rules of the road. The situation is dangerous and should be a concern to school officials, the police and any parent with a youngster who uses the streets to walk to school. Ac- cidents are preventable. It's fashionable to be a free enterpriser these days, but not in the brewing business. In fact, the beer, liquor and wine industries have far, far too much government interference on everything from the obscene tax rate to when and where the public can buy the stuff and at what prices. So much for free enterprise and that feeling of rugg- ed individualism. I think it's high time the beer drinkers in this pro- vince got themselves organized to put pressure on the government and the industry not to price our product into the stratosphere, which is where it is heading.