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4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tues. December 13, 1983 AEN ANTI BBLS 3 WouLD YOU LIKE FOR CHRISTMAS 7 My STAND 15 WELL kNoWN --~1'M NoN-CommrTTAL ! chatterbox by John B. McCleliand ANGLERS DELIGHT Let's hear it for science. Anglers everywhere will be delighted to know that biotechnology could be on the verge of changing the timeless art of sport fishing. A researcher in biology and pathology at McMaster University in Hamilton believes the day is not too far off when science will be able to develop "super-sized fish,"' by tinkering with their genes. Can you imagine what this might mean? A ten year old kid on a warm summers day fishing on the end of the pier with hook, line, and old bamboo pole, latches onto a 38-pound sun-fish. An'old-timer, master of the art of dry fly casting, is working a dark pool in his favourite trout stream one fine spring evening, when suddenly a 40 pound speckl- ed trout rolls on the surface and takes the fly, the rod and the old-timer's right hand in one gulp. On Lake Scugog, a couple of local boys are spen- ding a pleasant Sunday afternoon in July, lazily fishing for pickerel. One of them thinks he hooks a log, but that "log" is soon pulling them all over the lake. They sight the monster on at least two occasions. It's a 12-foot muskie weighing 290 pounds. It surfaces beside their 14 foot boat, jaws open like a Great White, and the two terrified fishermen are staring into rows of razor teeth five inches long. The brute finally gets tired of playing games, spits the hook, takes a huge bite out of the bow of the boat before heading off in the direction of a beach where hun- dreds of young kids are splashing happily in the water. Seriously, this researcher claims it is now possible to make super-fish by "cloning a growth hormone gene and introducing this into a recipient fish." As a fisherman, genetic engineering sounds like a great idea to make a species more resistant to disease and pollution, but when I fish for trout, I don't want to hook a tuna. They'd be too tough to clean and pan-fry in butter.' - MR. CLARK Ever since he lost his bid to hang onto the Conser- vative leadership last summer, Joe Clark has become a forgotten man. He has almost dropped from public view, his profile as low as any other back-bencher in the House of Commons. Or is he a front-bencher? It doesn't matter. But suddenly, Clark has been vaulted back into the lime-light. He has been appointed by Conservative leader Brian Mulroney to conduct a study of the quagmire known as the arms race, arms reduction and what can be done about it. My first reaction on hearing this was to suspect that Mulroney is simply playing political games, trying to steal some of the thunder from the Prime Minister who's been jetting around the globe as a one-man missionary for world peace. However, Clark's appointment should not be view- ed in that light. The issue is just far too important to be a vehicle for scoring a few political brownie points. Quite frankly, the way the world is going these days, any initiative by anyone, anywhere, to try and reach an understanding and foster improvement in global af- fairs should be welcomed. I applaude Prime Minister Trudeau and his efforts to convince world leaders that the present course is a nuclear mine-field waiting to be tripped. Iam prepared to wish Mr. Clark well in his efforts, too. While I don't hold the view that nuclear war is just around the corner, the tension level is just a little too high for comfort these days. Countries like Canada must start playing a more activerolein world affairs. Canada alone cannot exert much influence on the two super-powers. But together with other middle power nations, Canada does have some leverage and the time has come to use it. Personally, I find it very distasteful that the course of world affairs is almost totally in the hands of the Soviets and the Americans. ! Pierre Trudeau did not register any stunning breakthroughs on his recent trip to several countries. And realistically, I don't expect Joe clark to pull off any major coups, either. Not on the surface, anyway. But dialogue is an important point of departure. At least Trudeau is talking to other world leaders, and Clark likely will be doing the same. That's more than can be said for Reagan and Andropov right now. The world so far has avoided a nuclear war, but only by an eyelash. Consider that Hitler went to war in 1939, a total war that touched every corner of the globe and cost about 40 million lives. Just six years later, the first atomic weapons were perfected and used. Six years is but a second on the time-clock of history. There's no doubt that if Hitler had had the bomb in 1939 or 1943, he would have used it, fully. I don't think the world can afford to come that close again. TYPICAL Here it is the middle of December with Christmas roaring down on me like a freight train and I still have yet to buy one present. i It is my own fault. I refuse to go Christmas shop ing in November like some people, but once the crunch comes (like it has now) I just keep putting off the in- evitable. The way things are going; I will be very busy (Turn to page 6) Parking Woes Is it our imagination, or is Queen Street in downtown Port Perry starting to become a motorist's nightmare? Sure, the downtown area is very busy these days with the approach of Christmas. That's to be expected. But even at less busy times of the year, there seem to be traffic problems, slow-downs and tie-ups on Queen Street. One reason may be the limited front street parking. We've seen cars stopped on the street, waiting for another car to pull away from a parking spot. And since all the parking is of the angle variety, there is a further delay as drivers negotiate their way into a spot, taking much time and care not to clip the vehicle in front or back. : Of course, there is plenty of off-street parking if drivers would just take a minute or so to get to it. And we all know the problems created by those who insist on parking in the laneways on either side of the Post Of- fice while they rush in to mail a letter. No stopping signs are posted, but a lot of people continue to ignore them. Lately, we have noticed another kind of traffic pro- blem on Queen Street: courier deliveries. Couriers have a job to do, of course. But we fail to understand why courier drivers think they have some God-given right to park wherever the heck they please. We have witnessed courier vans double parked on Queen Street, parked in the laneway beside the Post Of- fice, blocking the laneways beside the Post Office, stop- ped half in and half out of a parking spot with the tail end of the van forcing drivers on Queen Street to cut in- to the other lane to avoid hitting it. In short, the courier drivers seem to think they are above the laws, and way above notion of common courtesies towards other drivers. Not only are the becom- ing a nuisance in adding to the traffic congestion on Queen Street, they are creating a safety problem. There are a lot of drivers who have to make deliveries of one sort or another to the shops and businesses on Queen Street. If all of them parked the _ way the courier drivers park, the street would be a com- plete shambles. ' Surely, it is time for the police and/or the municipal by-laws department to have a chat with these offenders and tell them to park properly as they do their business, or don't park at all. Possibly, a quick tow-away of one of these courier vans would serve notice that what they are doing is hur- ting both the shop owners and the public on Queen Street. Killing the Bottle On page six of this edition of the Port Perry Star there is a rather stark advertisement. Unlike many other ads in the paper this time of year, this particular one does not have a happy Christmas ring to it. Quite the contrary. It shows a dismal picture of a man at an accident scene and the message doesn't pull any punches. "First he killed the bottle," leaves nothing to the imagination. ' The ad is graphic and hard-hitting, part of a series of ads and posters from the provincial government in what has become an all-out war against drinking and driving. Not too many years ago, this kind of advertise- ment just would not be seen in community newspapers. The intent of course, is to make people think about the perils of drinking and driving. Take a good, long look at that ad on page six. That could be anyone sitting there, head in hand. But it could also be you. - The Durham Region Police have started their Christmas-New Years program of roadside spot-checks, and the whole purpose is to get the drinking driver off the roads. : An ALERT machine records breath samples. If a driver records a pass, he Is free to go; a warning gives police the power to suspend the licence for 12 hours, but a fail means an automatic breathalyzer test. A per- son found with a higher blood-alcohol level than .08 faces a minimum licence suspension of three months and a hefty fine that could be as high as $1000 on first conviction. ? The drunk driver, flying on bottle courage, is a menace to everyone in sigh. More often than not it is an innocent person who becomes the victim. Nobody is totally sure how society should combat the menace of drinking: drivers. Some say tougher penalties, others suggest better awareness and educa- tion. Probably a combination of both is needed. Take a good look at page six. That scene could (and does) happen any day of the year. Think about it before you go out to "kill the bottle." i Be Eee TE -- A ------ em EE --