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6 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, October 18, 1988 Editorial Comments FIGHTING DRUGS There has been no shortage of news reports recently in the Toronto media about the drug problem in that city, which appears to be reaching epidemic proportions. Cvery day, it seems, the papers are filled with stories of drug busts, drug-related crimes including murder, and often the heart-wrenching details of how drugs destroy young lives and rip families apart. The Metro Toronto Police, in the wake of the Beniji Hayward tragedy of last spring, have been granted per- mission to hire 100 new officers for assignment with the drug squad. Clearly, there is an enormous amount of concern from police forces, municipal politicians, teachers, health workers and the general public. Yet despite all the stories, all the gnashing of teeth, the use of illegal drugs and the crime that comes with it continues to increase. An indication of just how desperate the problem has become may be illustrated by the fact that the Metro To- ronto Housing Authority over the weekend took the first steps to evict 40 families from their rented homes be- cause of drug dealings. Families presumably mean children, quite likely very young children. One can't help but wonder what is going to happen to the young children if their parents are turfed out onto the streets for pushing drugs. This is a most unu- sual measure to take. Would the parents be turfed out for shop-=lifting, or some other crime? We wonder. Clearly, there is a sense of crisis. Turfing families from their homes may be punishment, but will it come any closer to solving the crisis? Likewise, with hiring 100 or even 1,000 new police of- ficers for the drug squad. No doubt this will lead to more arrests, more drug seizures and so on, but will it get to the root of the problem. For every pusher or importer the police remove from the streets, another is more than will- ng to step in and fill the void. And there aren't enough jail cells. The drug problem has been studies and analyzed from every possible angle for the past 25 year in North America. And about the only constant is that the drugs used have become more lethal and dangerous, cheaper and more readily available. There are some who suggest "quick-fix" solutions like locking up the peddiars of drugs and then throwing away the keys, Removing the profit motive by seizing the as- sets of drug deals is often suggested. Neither seems to be working. Frankly, we don't think anyone--the police, social agencies, educators or politicians-- has an answer to this problem that is effective and workable. Despite all the risks, all the education about the perils of drug taking, the problem remains a plague on socie in the last hall of the 20th century. Pag y The battle lines are being drawn. We fear the war is going to last a long time. FEDERAL DEBT = $0564 FOR EVERY MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD statistic RAIN Lia! i: 'IF you THINK Tar | A KICK IN THE PANTS, PAL, WAIT LL YOU LEARN YOURE TEN GRAND IN DEBT!" Port Perry (3 % CNA STAR 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO Phone 985-7383 P.0.Box90 LOB 1NO J. PETER HVIDSTEN Member of the Publisher Canadian Community Newspaper Association and Ontario Community Newspaper Association. Advertising Manager Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Ltd., Port Perry, Ontario. J.B. MCCLELLAND Editor Authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, and for cash CATHY OLLIFFE payment of postage in cash. News & Features Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 go Conn y » - A, Subscription Rate: In Canada $20.00 per year. Elsewhere $60.00 per year. Single Copy 50° Sp rl APens A3305 © COPYRIGHT -- All layout and composition of advertisements produced by the adver- tising department of the Port Perry Star Company Limited are protected under copyright and may not be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. As mentioned in my last column, | made a quick trip to Houston, Texas last week, and al- though it was uneventful there were a few in- teresting things happen along the way. 'We left Port Perry in a motorhome, trailing a compact car behind us, about 1:30 on Thurs- day afternoon. About 1800 miles of highway lay ahead of us, but with three drivers and. a refrigerator full of buns and cold cuts we planned to drive straight through. The first leg of the journey was handled by Jack, who drove until we had passed over the Ambassador Bridge at Windsor and entered the U.S.A. at Detroit. From there to Texas we alternated drivers every four hours, or when the we stopped to fill-up with gas. First observation! The price of gas in the United States is much, much cheaper than here at home. We payed as low as 80.9¢ per gallon for gas south of the border. The same size gallon would cost about $2.00 in Canada. Just why there is this much differential, | don't understand. We found the roads in Canada in far better shape than those in the U.S.A. Our entire trip, travelled on Interstate and other major highways was done on rough, bumpy roads. In fact they were so rough, we couldn't sleep in the rear bed of the motorhome while it was moving. Maybe this is one of the reasons our gas cost more in Canadal The money is being used to build good roads! As we travelled south-west through Dayton, Nashville, Memphis etc. we couldn't get over the number of "golden arches" erected on towering poles along the freeways. There is no doubt, MacDonalds is the king of the fast food business, with their signs outnumbering any other chain by at least two to one. We drove through Memphis, Tennessee about 7:30 a.m. on Friday, and decided to put another hour under our belt before stopping for a good breakfast. Finally we pulled up to the "Ole South Pancake House" in Forest City and sat down to a great breakfast. While Jack and | are not that big on breakfast we managed to pack away a healthy breakfast. But Elgin's appetite was more than even we could believe. After a double order of saus- age and eggs, and an order of buttermilk pan- cakes, he still managed to polish off Jack's toast and my blueberry pancakes. We're still not sure where it all goes! A half an hour later we were back on the road again, passing through Little Rock, Ar- Jottings by }. Peter Hvidsten kansas, Texarkana, and finally arriving in Dal- las, Texas exhausted. Since we still had a six hour drive to get to Houston, we decided to stay in Dallas over- night, so we stopped at a motel and collapsed on a bed that wasn't moving. After a short rest, a shower and a drink, we called an old Port Perry friend who has lived in Texas for the past 10 years. John Young, who ° operated a body shop in Prince Albert, and lat- er in Blackstock joined us for a great prime-rib dinner at a local restaurant, and we reminiced and drank a few beers before retiring early for the evening. We were up before the sun the next morn- ing to begin the last leg of our journey to Houston. Still a little tired, we shortened the driving shifts to 2 hours and finally arrived at our destination about 1:00 p.m. The remainder of the day was spent finding a spot to park the motorhome, locating a hotel nearby and getting familiar with the surround- ings. At 5:00 p.m. we found ourselves at the airport picking up Jack's parents, and then tak- ing them to the motorhome park. That evening, after a huge steak dinner at "The Stables" (sounds and looks a lot like a barn), we decided to go exploring. Elgin un- derstood that the world famous "Gilleys" bar was somewhere in the area, so after getting di- rections we headed for Pasedena to see this famous landmark. To say we were Jisappoined would be an understatement. The huge bar, dancehall, and rodeo is in a state of dis-repair as manage- ment and the bar's namesake, Mickey Gilley are in the middle of a lawsuit. But we did stay for a while, watched some calf-roping, strolled through their souvenier store, and even had a ride on the "mechanical bull". Now | know why Texan's are portrayed as being bull-legged. Or our return trip by air, we had a stopover in Dallas for about 45 minutes, and were fortu- nate to be picked up and delivered to the right terminal by Jack's cousin. In fact she was so ef- ficient in getting us to departure gate we had a chance to throw-back one more cold beer be- fore boarding the plane. The trip home on the plane was uneventful, although we sat beside a very interesting lady from San Diego, who was coming to Toronto to give a seminar. The trip passed quickly as we chatted and before we knew it we were back in Toronto. Six weeks from now we will be doing the re- verse trip to bring back the motorhome! Be ol |