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I ver op £ 3 | EN aa iT Ta T----,, - -- a, PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, October 28, 1986 -- § Vi e W P oO i N by Sorin B. McClelland Over the Thanksgiving Weekend, the people of Toronto and area were asked to donate groceries to an emergency food centre. Special grocery bags were distributed in a daily newspaper and the result was over $1 million in food was donated to the emergency centre. The food will be handed out to those who truly are in need: the homeless and the hungry in the city of Toronto. Emergency food centres have sprung up in the last few years in most large Canadian cities to help the peo- ple who have "slipped through the cracks' of all the social welfare programs in place in this country. The people who staff the centres in Toronto say the more than $1 million worth of food donated over Thanksgiving will keep their supplies going until Christmas, or about three months. 'That means that over the course of a year, some $4 million in food is needed. People who staff these centres also say there are about 50,000 people in the city of Toronto alone who need food on an emergency basis. I have no reason to doubt these numbers, but never- theless that is a lot of people who have "slipped through the cracks" of the more conventional welfare programs. One can't help but wonder if the welfare system is fail- ing. One also has to wonder if appeals to the public for food donations to feed the hungry are solving what ap- pears to be a worsening problem for our society. Sure- ly this is a stop-gap measure that treats only the symp- toms and not the cause of the problems. Last week, I made numerous trips to Toronto to visit A STARTLING CONTRAST my wife who is a patient at Toronto General Hospital. Driving through the streets oi that city on my way to the hospital, I noticed what seemed to be a lot of real "down and outers." People, young and old, very shabbily dressed, shut- | fling along the sidewalks, leaning against buildings, or just standing on the curb alone or in small groups. I was shocked at the number of people I saw sleeping beside buildings, on the grass or benches in parks. Years ago when I was a student in Toronto, one had to venture in- to the seedier parts of Cabbagetown to see the real "down and outers,' usually older men and a few bag ladies. Last week, I noticed them in all parts of the city and a good number seemed to be in their teens. I saw one young person fast asleep at high noon in a parking lot right across the street from a posh hotel. Another was curled up under a tree near the entrance to Toronto General Hospital. On the other hand I was amazed at the indications of affluence in the city. The streets and parking lots seemed to be filled with very expensive foreign cars like Mercedes, BMWs, Porches and Audis. New Corvettes seem to be a dime a dozen and models like Firebirds are too numerous to count. Maybe I noticed these things last week because I haven't been in Toronto very often in the past few years. But the contrast between what appeared like utter poverty and affluence seemed to jump out everywhere I looked. I'm not surprised that emergency food bank workers say there are 50,000 hungry people in Toronto. Nor am I surprised that a weekend food drive can realize more than $1 million worth of donated groceries. Of course my observations of what I saw during a few hurried trips to the city in the course of a week are hardly scientific measurements of poverty and af- fluence. Yet there were too many sharp contrasts for them all to be merely coincidental. Maybe I'm being a bit naive, but there is something very troubling when one sees a person in rags sleeping in a parking lot filled with $50,000 automobiles. There is something very troubling about a city where 50,000 people need emergency food handouts, yet construction has started on a domed stadium which will cost hundreds of millions. The limits of credibility are stretched when one sees a pitiable bag lady in filthy rags stop for a rest by leaning against the upright of a billboard that advertises luxury condos 'starting at $199,000." As I said, maybe I've been living "in the country too long."" Maybe my eyes have been blinded by the mid- dle class wav of life that is prevalent in Port Perrv. Maybe it is unwise to jump to hasty conclusions bas- ed on piece-meal observations over a short period of time, but I can't help but wonder about what appears to me to be increasing poverty and increasing affluence in the city of Toronto. : Maybe Toronto is becoming like New York, where (Turn to page 6) Yesterday's Memories 60 YEARS AGO Thursday, October 26, 1927 Four officials of the Ontario School Trustees and Ratepayers Association made a tour of Eastern Ontario. The following are those who took the trip: Mr. W.M. Morris, Secretary-Treasurer, Toronto; Mr. D.B. McPherson, President, Port Stanley; Samuel Farmer, Vice President, Port Perry; and Mr. G.R. McWhirten, President of the Rural Section, Colebeck. The 850 mile trip included visits to Bowman- ville School for unadjusted boys, Colborne School, Wellington Con- solidated School and Kingston. Mrs. Sybilla Spahrs Tonsilitis treats bronchitis, catarrh, cough, sore throat and tonsil ills successfully. Sold by J. Davis, Port Perry. 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, October 25, 1951 Port Perry will be "dry" for another three years. 60 per cent of the vote needed for a Brewer's Warehouse to be opened here was not achieved. The votes for being 511 and 485 against (51.3 per cent). Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Payne of Buffalo visited with Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Jackson over the weekend and also attended the Gray- Mark wedding. Miss Ada Stephenson, Utica, picked a bowl of raspberries last week. The berries are from an everlasting variety. 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, October 26, 1961 Making way for more parking in the downtown area, the house 'on the Hall Estate was demolished by Tripp-Construction Ltd. Located at the rear of Brock's Department Store, it will provide off- the-street parking for Brock's customers. Mr. and Mrs. E. McCrea, Prince Albert, have returned from a two-week holiday with their daughter Hazel, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Smylie and son, Mr. and Mrs. Gerald McCrea and family, Georgetown. 20 YEARS AGO Thursday, October 27, 1966 James Purvis of Port Perry was recently honoured on the occa- sion of 50 years membership in the Masonic Lodge. F.T. Cameron of Wynyard, Sask., presented Mr. Purvis with his certificate. Sharon Baird, Port Perry was presented with her Gold Cord in the United Church of Port Perry on Sunday evening at an impressive ceremony conducted by Rev. Alec Rice. 10 YEARS AGO Wednesday, October 27, 1976 Don Crosier announced his intention to run for the position of ward I councillor (Reach) while Dr. Matthew Dymond announced that he would not run for political office in the elections. Sue Gribben, of Port Perry, captured the title of the World's Women Judo Champion in competition at the Crystal Palace in Lon- don, England. Twenty-eight other countries took part. Cartwright Central Public School officially opened a $650,000 new addition at a ceremony last Thursday evening. Scugog Township Council decided to leave Hallowe'en alone. It would be held on Sunday, October 31 and not on Saturday, October 30 as was hoped. Some felt that it would interfere with school the next day, but it would not be changed as to avoid future confusion. Letters Neighbourhood dogs a nuisance Dear Sir: I am writing to respond to the let- ter in the October 21 issue by Adrian Brobbel of Seagrave. I am very sympathetic to her plight, and sorry to hear of the in- jury to her little girl. _ Although, I have no children of my own, as yet, I too have problems with neighbourhood dogs running free. I have not yet been bitten, but it seems my garbage suffers every week. I find it intolerable that I can- not put my trash out more than three hours before the arrival of the disposal truck. If it is left out any earlier, whatever the canine popula- tion has spread over my front garden must be picked up. There have been occasion when I have picked up the same food from my lawn and curb for three weeks, un- til finally, it made it safely into the trash compactor of the truck. Frankly, I've had it up to my ears with looking at the same trash spread over my lawn, week after week. Port Perry Memories To The Editor: It was five years ago that my wife and I moved to this small communi- ty from the madness of Toronto. It was quite a change, people were ac- tually friendly and went out of their way to be so, a far cry from our old apartment neighbours of whom we never even knew names. It was here that my wife gave birth to our three children, each one born in a different house in the area. It was here that I had the pleasure of coaching a boys baseball team, and a ladies lob-ball team. I played on a mens lob-ball team and even though we seldom won a game it was always fun. Getting up early on a Sunday mor- ning to play in the Scugog Men's Hockey League was sometimes an effort but I was grateful to receive an opportunity to play organized hockey for the first time in my life. It was here in Port Perry that my father and I gambled and opened the One Hour Photo Store in the Port Perry Plaza on a cold January day almost three years ago (has it been that long?) Business was good right from the start as the townsfolk supported our new venture. Over the three years I've met peo- ple from all over the world who have popped in with their friends or relatives being in town or nearby. I looked forward to seeing the peo- ple of Port Perry, Blackstock, Caesarea, Seagrave and Greenbank who became "regulars" in the store. I enjoyed processing their photos of new born babies, kindergarten graduation, prom night, wild par- ties, camping trips, sunny south vacations, Brownies becoming Girl Guides, summer camps, farhily get- . togethers or traditional dates, showers, weddings, and receptions. There were times though that I could not help but feel sympathy as a family member received the last smiling photo of a suddenly deceas- ed loved one. (Turn to page 6) - Another problem I seem to have is finding little (and large) piles of canine treasure on my front lawn. This, along with the trash, must be delicately removed with gloved hands as not to endanger the equilibrium of my houseguests as they approach my front door. THIS IS NOT FAIR!! My own dog is not let out-of-doors unaccompanied, so as not to pollute the property of others. I go out, arm- ed with plastic bag and rubber glove, to dispose of any little treasures my dog leaves behind. At "other times, she is kept in our fenc- ed backyard. Thus, she has room to run and play, without being a nuisance to others. Actually, I have had no problems with my neighbours dogs. It is the dogs who come from one or two blocks away which cause my strife. It makes me wonder in what regard do these 'dog lovers' hold their pets. What feelings would run through these owners hearts if they came home to find their pets lying on the side of the road hit by a car. Please be responsible for your pets and their actions. Remember, a dog is for life, not only for Christmas! Joanne Smith Port Perry, Ontario Letters to the Editor ... our policy It has always been the policy of this newspaper to encourage our readers to make use of the letters to the editor column. Our reade ; have a right to freely express their opinions and view- points on just about any subject, and we feel that a lively letters column helps make a better community newspaper. We insist, however, that a letter writer sign his or her name. On rare occasions, we will agree to with-hold publication of a letter writer's name, if we feel there are very good reasons to do so. Under no circumstances will this paper print an anonymous letter to the editor. While we enjoy receiving letters from our readers, we must continue to insist on knowing the identity of the writer. a --