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Np Mp T= ¢ fh 2 viol yshesuT - HATZ YARIS THOS 8 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, July 25, 1989 Letter S to the editor Recognize Festival organizers (From page 7) Carpet & Flooring), Glen Evans (Port Perry Auto Glass & Trim), Wendy and Don Murdoch (Port Perry Carpet & Tile), Paul Cur- tis (Baldwin Sales, Uxbridge) and last, but not least, my old buddy Ed Smale (Authentic Lock & Off The Top by Rob Streich Driving down the road, just minding my load The instant any boy turns sixteen, he knows everything there is to know about driving. It is like a natural law, sort of an instinctual thing. | used to think that there was nothing to guiding a ton of metal and plastic down the asphalt or gravel roads at home, raising clouds of dust and filling the air with tunes from my radio. At least that was the case until the first time | drove in the city. City driving. That is an expression which is sure to get knowing nods from anyone who has ever experienced the re- laxed feeling of going for a drive in the courntyside. Waving peacefully to the folks you pass on the side of the road, or ex- changing smiles with the other drivers at an intersection. In fact, everyone knows that city driving is awful, except ci drivers. They all seem to enjoy the challenge of testing the limit of their brakes at every stop light, and popping their clutch to beat the driver in the lane beside them to the next intersection. That isn't even to mention the surge of adrenaline that comes when you slip between two cars in the lane beside yours with only inches to spare, slamming on the brakes at the last possi- ble instant. No, city driving is a bundle of laughs. | have several pet theories about driving in Toronto, or any other Metropolis of similar size and confusion. One is that the number of people using public transit rises in direct proportion to how quickly you need to get somewhere, especially when you are already a little bit late. Don't get me wrong, | love TTC (the better way) and utilized it faithfully for about a year, but those #@"8&| streetcar tracks make the roads impossible for any vehi- cle to ride on smoothly, not to mention the way the transit vehi- cles seem to gang up sometimes to slow down all the traffic go- ing in one direction - at thé same time in parallel streets. . Another truism of Toronto traffic is that cutting other vehi- cles off is the best way to get from point A to point B in the shortest time possible. That is to say that since everyone is constantly in a hurry (not like lead-foot Rob), they don't care who they inconvenience to serve their own needs. In fact, the attitude seems to be one of, "if | cut you off and you have the nerve to rear end me, then you'll be buying me a new car, Bud!" The best part of driving through T.O. is the 401. Nothing quite beats a highway on which the standard speed is 120 knvh, ~ but most people are too impatient to go below 130 (J, of course keep it down to a safe 100, just like the sign says, Officer). | haven't quite gotten the hang of avoiding all the co uences of rush hour traffic, but | know to keep my radio faithfully tuned to CFTR to catch the frequent updates on the situation. One thing which | have noticed about rush hour is that as ou approach the on ramps, the traffic tends to be moving best n the left lane. . But just before the actual body of traffic comes in to merge with the 401, it is best to move into the middle lane, while everyone else is squeezing into the left lane to get away from the incoming flood of cars. While it doesn't seem like much, | bet | have saved as much as 15 minutes of an hours drive across the city by this type of maneuvering. Finally, the best thing | like about Toronto traffic is , that it's in Toronto. After all, that's probably the main reason | moved. For Better or For Worse® | KNOW WHAT VoU'RE. GOING THROLVGH GEO JOHN AND | HAD A HA TIME FINDING, WE. SEARCHED FOR AGES. IT COST US TWENTY-SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS, AND WE COULD HARDLY n AFFORD IT. vy Key). Without your help there'd be no show, so thank you, guys. We had our usual good turnout, with some really heavy-duty talent showing up for what is now a much-anticipated and respected event in armwrestling circles. I was refereeing this year, but next time I'll enter; needless to say I was very proud that my guys on the Port Perry Armwrestling Team did so well, taking two Firsts, two Second and two Third place spots (we 'swept' the Light-Heavyweight class, taking one, two, three!). The sport of Armwrestling is finally getting recognized and properly organized and there is now a Canada-wide association which is looking to have a number of national tournaments to culminate in a'final Champion- ship. Thanks to all the support I have had locally, our Annual Festival Days contest is to be in- cluded, and will probably become the "Port Perry Summer Classis" - this will attract even more com- petitors (and business!). So I think we can expect things to be even bigger and better in future. Finally, my sincere thanks to Peter and John at The Star - without you guys taking such an interest and giving us the publici- ty, we wouldn't have come so far in such a short time. If there are any potential pullers who want information on any events, they can call me (after 6:00 p.m.) at 985-4180. Sincerely, Mike Haigh, Port Perry Star of Interest to family (From page 7) rounding areas is of great pleasure. It is unfortunate that so many of the 'smaller' town newspapers, including our own, have removed these sections from their editions. The sports pages, of interest to my sons and me, are of top quality. The competition between Brighton and Port Perry during the days of 'C' hockey and softball still remain in our memories. Oh for the days of split loyalties. Once again, congratulations on a fine newspaper. May the presses never go silent and may the creativity in the minds and words of your staff never cease. Best Wishes, Kenneth Hutton, Brighton, Ontario by Lynn Johnston Editor thanks readers answering questions The Star would like to ac- knowledge and thank all our readers who took the time fill out the reader survey telling us what you like and don't like about this paper. Quite frankly, the sheer number of responses we re- ceived surprised us. We didn't expect as many. And we sincerely appre- ciate the honesty contained in the responses.Everybody likes a nice pat on the back (and we got a few of those) but the sug- gestions and criticisms were positivein tone. . We will be looking at all the responses carefully over the next few weeks, and we will en- deavour to respond to the sug- gestions in an effort to improve this newspaper with stories and features that our readers want to see. One aspect of the survey that was especially gratifying for us was the large number of responses from readers who stated they read the paper each week "from cover to cover." Again, our thanks to all who responded. Our readers are the most important people in the world in this business, and we want you to know we don't ever take you for granted. John B.McClelland Editor Editorial Comment (from page 6) That treasure is the Victoria Cross won by a Canadian (of Scots heritage) at the famous Vimy Ridge Battle in World War 1. The VC won by Private William Milne for his heroics, is up for auction in England this week, and our War Museum in Ottawa wants that medal. A lack of funds may prevent the Museum from pur- chasing it, though several private citizens and organiza- tions have told the Museum they will foot the difference if the Museum can't cover the full cost. Any other country would simply buy the medal at al- most any cost. Vimy Ridge was a turning point in Canadian history and if a Victoria Cross won by a Canadian comes up for public auction, it should be bought by the people as part of their heritage. How ironic that we can spend countless millions on Constitutions and language policies to supposedly keep the nation together, but we can't 'seem to find $40 to $50,000 for a VC for the national War Museum. It is perhaps a very vivid example of how this country has its priorities "bass-ackwards," if you'll pardon the ex- pression. Can you imagine the United States not having enough money in the public purse to buy the highest medal for val- our given to one of its citizens? Oh, dear, Canada. Where have you been? 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 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- ter to the editor. } While we enjoy receiving letters from our readers, we must con- tinue to insist on knowing the identity of the writer. TWENTY-SEVEN ELLY -ToDRY THOUSAND DOLLARS?! 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