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PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, February 14, 1989 -- 7 by John B. Star reporter Cathy Olliffe has stolen my thun- der this week. | had been planning to devote this space to the Youthful Offenders Act, a piece of federal legisla- Yon that is getting its fair share of criticism these ays. > But Cathy has expressed my sentiments very well in her column in this week's Star. Not much that | could add to that. But | will say this. The news reports that have flooded the Toronto newspapers in the last few weeks are very alarming. Crime and violent crime appear to be on the in- crease. The police are under seige, accused of ra- cism, and when the coke do some nifty bit of police work, what do they get? A slap in the face. I'm referring to the undercover operation in To- ronto that resulted in many arrests for drug ped- dling. Two crack peddlers came before a judge last noe and got (are you ready?) seven and 14 days n jail. No wonder the cops in Toronto are struggling to keep morale up. They are being blasted as "racist," have had three of their members charged with mur- der, and then some judge slaps a crack peddler on the wrist with seven days in the slammer. I'll tell you what is going to happen in Toronto over the next few years, if it isn't already happening. When the middle class disappears,.as it is now, the city will become a place for two kinds of people: the very rich and those who live outside the law. Viewpoint McClelland lawless and they will drive the law abiding poor out. The very rich will settle in well-fortified enclaves, do their work in well fortified offices, and enjoy them- selves in well fortified places of entertainment. Some enterprising individuals are going to make a lot of money in Toronto in the next few years offering protection of all sorts to those wealthy enough to pay. Security of person and property is going to be- come a huge business, much as it is now in places like New York and Los Angeles. Soaring property prices are already pushing the middle class out of many areas of Toronto. And if it's not the prices, others are fleeing because they can no longer tolerate crime in the street and the dan- gers of trying to raise a family in this atmosphere. Does it sound like a nightmare scenario? Of course it does. But this is precisely what has hap- pened in parts of many American cities. Armed guards on the mass transit system; armed guards patrolling the halls and classrooms of schools; armed guards in banks and offices. These are com- mon-place in US cities. Elaborate security and surveillance systems sur- rounding not just homes, but entire districts and neighbourhoods are a fact of life in many US cities. Well trained and well armed personal body- guards double as chauffers and baby-sitters for wealthy families, and are paid large salaries for their services. Homes, factories, office buildings are rigged with electronic security systems designed to do And of course when the wealthy must venture beyond their security systems, they long ago learned to carry just enough hard cash to keep the mugger-drug addict-psycho happy and prevent a knife in the ribs. All other financial transactions: from buying din- ner, attending the theatre, or golfing at the club are completed with a flick of the pen. Shopping for things like groceries are handled by well paid per- sonal employees. As much as | hate to say it because Toronto was my home for several happy and carefree years as a student, the battle lines are being drawn now. There are areas of the city where one simply does not walk or drive. If present trends continue, Toron- to in a decade will be a vastly different place than they city we know today. * The start of the decline began a few years ago with the migration of the middle classes to plocas like Scarborough, North York, Oakville and Picker- ing. That migration is nearly complete. Soaring property values and crime in the streets are stoking the migration. The final push will hap- pen when the education dollars chase the middle classes. And that is taking place now. Tax money for new and better schools, more teachers and big- -ger programs eventually finds its way to where the students are. Inner city enrolments decline, tax dol- lars shrink, schools begin to look shabby. For the middle class, the thought that their kids are getting a third rate education is the final straw: pack up and move the family anywhere. Far-fetched? Wait and see. Or visit New York ~o Certain areas of the city will be taken over by the one thing: keep the un-wanted out. Remember When? 70 YEARS AGO Thursday, February 20, 1919 The ice harvest has started in Lake Scugog. Mr. Alan Goode started on Wednesday of this week. Join the Club - Have your Grafonola now - or later if you like. Order now and avoid likely disappointment. Grafonola and cabinet - $44.00. In S.S No. 2, Prospect School - Good Irish Concert and Box . Social. Ladies with boxes free. Gentlemen 17c. Come and have a good time, March 14th - 7:30 om, The Crown Attorney for Ontario County, Col. J.E. Farewell has raised an interest in the development of crime in parts of Ux- bridge township. He attributes this unfortunate state of affairs to the fact that the people had lived in one district for many years and have continually intermarried. 45 YEARS AGO Thursday, February 24, 1944 Yacht Club activities are rather out of season, but the Club has one job for all year round. That is the collection of books, magazines and games for the navy | . The Junior War Workers will hold a Ten Cent Social at the home of Mrs. Gordon MacKee on Tuesday evening, February 29th - 8:00 p.m. What a gay time the members of the Young People's Union and their friends had on Monday evening! The President George Channell was host at a party for the young people of Port Perry in the Oddfellows Hall. About seventy-five guests accepted George's kind invitation. 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, February 25, 1954 At the recent mid-winter examinations of the Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Alan Reesor was successful in passing Grade X examinations in piano with honours. Alan is a pupil of Mrs. J.E. Jackson. Port Perry Lions won the Lakeshore title here Friday night when they downed the visiting Bowmanville Kinsmen by a 63-37 score to take the series 2 games to 1. On Monday Svening a large crowd filled the United Church to hear the performance of Port Perry's "Stars of Tomorrow", and the voice of Vaclovas Verikaitus, a star of to-day. : 30 YEARS AGO Thursday, February 26, 1959 Two were arrested early Tuesday after they held Con- stable A.J. Warriner of the Ontario Provincial Police, Hawkesbu- . py, Ontario and another motorist, prisoner for several hours during 4 (Turn to page 10) Letters For all those born before 1945 To the Editor: We are survivors. Consider the changes we have witnessed: We were born before television, before penicillin, before polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, plastic, contact lenses, Frisbees and the PILL. We were before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams and ballpoint pens, Before pan- tyhose, dishwashers, clothes dryers, electric blankets, air con- ditions, drip-dry clothes - and before man walked on the moon. We got married first and then lived together. How quaint can you be? In our time, closets were for clothes, not for "coming out of'. Bunnies were small rabbits and rabbits were not "Volkswagons". Designer Jeans were scheming girls named Jean or Jeanne, and having a meaningful relationship meant getting along well with our cousins. We thought fast food was what you ate during Lent, and Outer Space was the back of the Riviera Theater. We were before house- husbands, gay rights, computer dating, dual careers and com- puter marriages. We were before day-care centers, group therapy and nursing homes. We never heard of FM radio, tape decks, electric typewriters, artificial hearts, word processors, yogurt, and guys wearing earrings. For us, time-sharing meant togetherness not computers or condominiums; a "chip" meant a iece of wood; hardware meant are; and software wasn't even a word! In 1940, '""made in Japan" meant junk and the term '"'mak- ing out" referred to how you did on your exam. Pizzas, "McDonalds" and instant coffee were unheard of. We hit the scene when there were 5 and 10 cent stores, where you bought things for five and ten cents. Sanders or Wilsons sold ice cream cones for a nickel or a dime. For one nickel you could ride a street car, make a phone call, buy a Pepsi or enough stamps to mail one letter and two postcards. You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600.00, but who could afford one; a pity too because gas was il cents a gallon! In our day, cigarette smoking was fashionable, GRASS was mowed, COKE was a cold drink and POT was something you cooked in. ROCK MUSIC was a Grandma's lullaby and AIDS were helpers in the Principal's office. We were certainly not before the difference between the sexes was discovered, but we were surely before the sex change; we made do with what we had. And we were the last generation that was so dumb as to think you need- ed a husband to have a baby! No wonder we are so confused and there is such a generation gap today! But we survived! ! What better reason to celebrate. Editors's Note: It is not our usual policy to print un-signed letters. In this case, we make an excep- tion, for those born before '45. Conserve To the Editor: . For over four decades, conser- vation authorities have made On- tario a better place to live. They have played a significant role in (Turn to page 8) 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. 3 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- umn 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 let- While we enjoy receiving letters from our readers, we must con- tinue to insist on knowing the identity of the writer.