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PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, March 17, 1987 -- § em Viewpoint by John B. McClelland _ If it wasn't so darn serious, I'd be tempted to laugh aloud at CTV and Global deciding not to air a couple of public service TV spots about AIDS. On the advice of a committee which screens most TV ads and makes recommendations, the two networks last week decided the AIDS commercials gave thé impres- 'sion of condoning casual sex. These are the same networks which air an endless stream of mid afternoon soaps where characters flit around from one liason to another without batting an eye-lash. And any casual observer of television knows there are numerous commercials which may not come out and condone casual sex, but certainly make some strong ints. Unfortunately, AIDS is no laughing matter. More than 400 Canadians have died of the disease and the number of people carrying the virus is estimated at 50,000 and increasing all the time. AIDS is fatal. When the virus attacks the body's natural immune system, there is no cure. For these reasons; the time has come for society to "take the gloves off' in the fight against this deadly disease. There is no room for moral posturizing. Like it or not, casual sex is a fact of life in the 1980's. The message on AIDS should be prevention. If a person's life-style includes casual sexual encounters, they should be made plainly aware that using a condom ~ will greatly reduce the risk of contracting the AIDS virus. And if that means some blunt television advertis- ing, so be it. Trying to fight moral battles on the backs of millions of people in the risk category of getting AIDS is ludicrous. The same blunt facts about AIDS and its preven- tion should be taken into the schools of this country and presented to students in the vernacular using language they understand. If some teachers feel sqeamish about putting the facts on the line in thi$ fashion, the school authorities must find teachers (or outside lecturers) who are not. By all means, there is nothing wrong with presen- ting at the same time the message that abstinence or a monogamous sexual relationship is a fool-proof way to prevent AIDS. In fact, .this message should 'be stressed. But to expect all people in the 1980's to follow a life- - style of abstinence of sexual monogamy is not realistic. Sexually transmitted diseases have been with the human race for centuries, but did not put an end to casual sexual encounters. Likewise with AIDS in this century. I find it very troubling that there is even an argu- ment going on thé&e days about whether blunt preven- [tion messages about AIDS at the same tifive promote or condone the notion of casual sex. If telling people to use condoms to help prevent the spread of a fatal disease is tantamount to promotion a life-style of casual sex, then that's just too bad. Society needs facts and information about AIDS: how it is spread and how that spread can be minimiz- ed. The facts should be presented clearly and bluntly. For major television networks to get cold feet about air- ing public service commercials because the message may somehow be seen to condone casual sex is an ab- dication of the responsibility those networks (and all media outlets) have in providing critical information to the general public. ONLY IN CANADA Some guy out in Saskatchewan recently had his drunk driving conviction over-turned by an appeal court. The reason"? The appeal court ruled that w hen the guy was picked up and charged by police, he was too drunk to understand his legal rights. Thé Judges (two out of three) felt his rights under our C harter had been violated. But one fact remains. When this guy \ was picked up by police the blood/alcohol breath test registered three times the legal limit. Yet he beat the charge on a legal 'technicality. - It's no wonder the cops in this country are nervous about the Charter of Rights. What are they supposed . to do from now on when they haul a drunk from the car, wait eight hours til he sobers up before charging him? And if one really wants to stretch things to the ut- most, one could imagine somebody drinking to the point of oblivion, hopping in the car and then crying foul when the cops lay a charge of impaired driving. "Your Honour, Sir. You can't convict me on this charge because I was too blitzed to understand that I --2had been charged. That's a contravention of Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which says (and 1 quote) that everyone has the right on arrest to be pro- mptly informed of the reasons. "Your Honour, Sir. When the cops picked me up that night I didn't even know what month it was. So how could I be promptly. informed of the reasons." The weary judge checks his copy of the Charter, sighs and says "Case Dismissed." ie Only in Canada, you say"? Yesterday's | Memories ~ 70 YEARS AGO Wed. March 13, 1917 A number of friends and neighbours gathered at the home of Mr. and Mrs. James Davey, Scugog, to hid them farewell before their move to Port Perry. Mr. A.J. Carnegie was elected as 4th Vice President of the South Ontario Liberal Assoc., held in Whitby. Mrs. George Jackson and Mr. Morley Campbell were elected to the executive. Rev. J.W. Bunner, pastor at Manchester had a successful wood bee recently from Mr. W.W. Holtby's woods. He now has a good supp- ly of wood on hand. - Lieut. C. Vickery has been detailed to take a course on the Lewis Automatic Gun in Toronto. 15 YEARS AGO Thurs. March 19, 1942 At a meeting of the Farm Bureau held in the Port Perry High School, Mr. Wm. Newman was the guest speaker. Mr. A.C. Buckley, of the Attorney-Generals Department in Toronto has bought tiie home of Mr. and Mrs. Jas. Lucas. Rev. Mr. Tristram of the Veteran's guard is home for a few days. Mr. Robert Simpson of Chapleau has gone to work in Parrish's hardware store. - Mrs. Robert Clark, uso, attended the Red Cross Convention in Toronto recently. The members of the young People Union in Port Perry will at- tend the Y.P.U. convention in Hampton. - 30 YEARS AGO Thurs. March 14, 1957 What might have been a major fire, but for the prompt action of the Port Perry Fire brigade when they were called to a chimney fire at the home of Mr. Keizebrink, Prince Albert. Sargeant Arthur James of Port Perry, a member of the Royal Canadian Dental Corp. at the R.A.F.'s Nato Air Division Head- quarters is teaching basic English and Canadian Geography to a Hungarian refugee who intends coming to Canada to the Hamilton Misses Muriel Lamb, Carol Midgley and Mr. Ted Lamb of Man- chester attended the Junior Farmer's Conference at Guelph. 20 YEARS AGO Thurs. March 16, 1967 Brooklin Jr. Farmers won the 2nd Ontario Jr. Farmer Drama Festival held in Uxbridge on March 4th with their presentation of "Rise and Shine."" The cast consisted of Diane Graham, Pat Stell, Dave Hawthorne and Carol Wilson. A boys choir and a miked choir from Cartwright Public School won two firsts in the Peterborough Kiwanis Music Festival on March 7th. This feat was accomplished with the help of Mrs. R. Turner, choir leader: Mrs. Wannacott, music supervisor and accompanist Mrs. Venning. Past President Lion Storey Beare of the local Port Perry Lions was elected Zone Chairman of District A3. Zone 10S at the Zone Meeting of the Lions Club in the District held in Oshawa on March 12. (Turn to page 6) Letters Canoe race undergoes changes To The Editor: In response to the letter from Doreen Kendall which appeared in the March 10th issue of the Port Perry Star, we would like to provide the following information. But first we would like to thank Mrs. Kendall for showing her interest in the Canoe the Nonquon race by writing such a worthy letter. ; We, the members of the Historical Society and the Canoe the Nonquon committees, have over the past vear 'been asking ourselves many of the same questions raised by Mrs. Ken- dall. As pointed out by Mrs. Kendall this is a major source of income for the Historical Society and the museum. This is our main concern. This museum is toured not only by our local people and schools, it is also seen. by many from other communities. We realize we must make the race appealing to many people of all ages, not only in our own communi- ty, but in different areas of Ontario as well. Therefore this year we are introducing an all new Canoe the Nonquon race. The race will be star- ting at the 10th Concession rather than the 8th, and going to its tradi- tional ending location at Palmer Park in Port Perry. By shortening the race from 20 to 16 miles we are hoping more people will participate. As eveyone knows today's children are tomorrows future, therefore we feel these people should be incl in a special category all of their own. There will be special events for people 14 and under at the lakefront. By doing this we hope to see schools challenging schools in the form of teams in a. friendly competition. We also hope to attract Girl Guides, Brownies, Cubs and Scouts, "adets, etc. The local businesses in Port Perry have a great influence in this com- munity. The people in this com- munity support these businesses, now is the time we are asking for their support. Therefore we are set ting up a challenge course for , members of the business communi ty and their employees to par- ticipate in. For the avid C2 racers we are still concerned that you can race. For you, thie race will begin with a run- ning start from the corners of Queen St. and Perry St. You will be re- quired to run down Queen St. to the lake, paddle up the second bridge at Seagrave around a marker, and head back for Port Perry. This class is sanctioned and points are award- ed by the Ontario Marathon Canoe Racing Association, therefore your canoe must be 186" long to qualify to compete in this class. We would appreciate sponsor money from people in this class as well. Registration will be held at the Latcham Centre in the evening Fri- day June 5th and Saturday morning at the race start. As times have not been set please watch the paper for further information on the race. After reading this letter we hope that you will find a class to par- ticipate in. Along with your par- ticipation we are asking for your sponsorship to keep our museum go- ing. You can help preserve the past with your support in the present. Please come out and watch our event. It will not only be exciting for the canoers, but. for sponsors as well. For anyone interested in help- ing, our next meeting is March 19th at the museum at 8:00 p.m. Sincerely. Valerie Freeman. Terri Gibson, Executive, Canoe the Nonquon Comittee. Chairman resigns To The Editor: "I have paddled the ""Nonquon River Canoe Race" for 17 years, and my-sons and ! have always found the 20 mile course to be exciting and a real challenge. At our recent race committee meeting. a decision was made to start the race at the 10th Concession instead of the 8th. I find this totally unacceptable, because it eliminates all the records that were established over the years: records that paddlers trained hard to attain. A decision also was made to have the family classes and the 14 and under classes. paddle a hly dip course at the lakefront. Apparently. there were some complaints regar- ding the length of the race and the (Turn to page 6) ter to the editor Letters to the Editor . 'our policy It has always been the policy of this newpspaper to encourage our readers to make use of the letters to the editor column. Our readers have a right to freely express their opinions and view- . points on just about any subject, and we feel that a lively letters col-- "umm helps make a better community newspaper. ' "We insist. however, that a letter writer sign his or her n name On rare occasions, we will agree to with-hold publication of a letter writer's nam=. if we feel there are very good reasons to do so. Under no circumstances will this paper print an anonymous. let- While we enjoy receiv ing letters from our readers, we must con- tinue to insist on knowing the identity of the writer.