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PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, March 6, 1990 -- 7 Viewpoint NO SYMPATHY HERE | have absolutely no sympathy for any of the par- ties involved in the baseball lock-out that has kept players from their spring training camps in the sunny south. This has to be the most ridiculous labour dispute ever. On the one side, the owners of professional baseball teams, most of whom are so filthy rich they make Harold Ballard and his millions look like a pau- per; and on the other side the players, many of whom earn more for six months "work™ than the average "joe" makes in a lifetime. Heck, even second string role players earn more than heart surgeons. As for those poor fans who are missing the "rites of spring" in Dunedin, | say too bad. Perhaps if base- ball fans were not so loyal and fanatical about the sport, the owners and the players would come to their senses and get on with what they are supposed to do: play baseball. Of course, money really is not the issue in this dispute. It's about power and what is going on is a 'good old-fashioned power struggle between employ- ers and a union. The fans, the suckers who pay highly inflated Prices for a ticket to watch these players "earn" their ighly inflated salaries, are getting very upset about this lock-out. Groups are springing up in Canada and the Unit- ed States urging a boycott of games, when and if the season ever gets started. | say, right one. If enough fans decide to stay away for the parks this summer or flip their TV sets to another channel, maybe the owners and the players might get the message. As for me, | plan to tune in a couple of games early in the season on radio and television. | am go- ing to make a list of the companies that sponsor those broadcasts, and | plan to take the time to write to those companies to say | will NOT be buying their products. That's my personal protest, and if anybody read- ing this column wants me to add his/her name to the letters, by all means, let me know. THE FIRE Just about everyone has heard of Hagersville, by now, site of the world's largest bonfire. After 17 days, firefighters finally managed to wrestle the tire fire to the ground at a cost of millions. Just how much environmental damage has been done will take years to assess. The burning of those 14 million scrap tires creat- ed more oil than was spilled into the sea when that Exxon tanker ran onto the rocks off Alaska last year. The question everyone wants answered, of course, is how come some guy can get away with storing 14 million old tires? The answer is simple. When the provincial Minis- try of the Environment tired to get the owner of the tire dump to make the place safer a couple of years ago, he balked, hired himself a lawyer and tied things up in court. So, today, the tax-payers pick up the tab to put the fire out, and the environment suffers un-told dam- age. Are there no teeth in the law when it comes to the environment? | mean 14 million old tires kicking around a field is a disaster waiting to happen, and it did. How many "disasters" are just waiting to happen out there. I guess I'm like a lot of other people these days. | get mad when it comes to the environment and the way society has done its level best to pollute this planet. Some say our environmental laws and regula- tions are too tough. Sure, just ask the people of Ha- gersville. GUN LAWS Speaking of laws, we can expect another go- round on the gun laws in Canada in the wake of the shooting at a Burlington high school last week. A 17-year old, apparently jilted by his girl-friend, took his father's .22 pistol to school, shot up the cor- ridors and wounded three students. Every time something like this happens the noose tightens slightly around the necks of the mil- lions of bona fide gun owners, who use them for le- gal reasons, like hunting, target shooting, br collect- ing. Just to set the record straight, | am not a gun owner, and haven't owned one for years. Nor do | have any desire to own one. Tougher gun laws are not the answer. All they | do is penalize law abiding gun owners. You can't leg- islate against stupidity or insanity, or the fact that every once in a while in this modern age somebody "snaps," and goes "off the deep end." IN CLOSING Had a conversation with a chap who mildly dis- agreed with the editorial in last week's Star about user fees at the Scugog Arena. He decks his son out in $200 skates, shells out $20 at least for hockey sticks, drives the kid all over Ontario to tournaments and games, and he winces because the registration fees might have to go up $10 or $15 next winter. Sorry, no sympathy on this one. As the editorial said, registration fees for hockey in this town are a bargain. Remember When? 45 YEARS AGO Thursday, March 8, 1945 The Sebert House Dining Room was the scene of a very plea- sant event last Friday evening when executives and players got together for a dinner party. Each player was the recipient of a Perkins Leather Billfold as a souvenir of his association with the club. On Scugog the new church is being wired with electricity and the new furnace is at Mr. Parrish's store ready to be installed. 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, March 10, 1955 Miss Barbara Love was crowned Queen of the Carnival by Miss Grace Davis at the high school. The Queen will reign in her glory March 11th at the Memorial Gardens Ice Revue and Carnival. 30 YEARS AGO Thursday, March 10, 1960 The Creamery Package Co. Trophy was won by a local rink skipped by Marie Snooks. The other team members were: Jean Gray, Verna Buller, and Elma Doyle. Teams were present from Keene, Bobcaygeon, the Toronto Granite Club and Sunderland. Port Perry Senior boys climaxed an undefeated season Saturday, March 5, when they travelled to Belleville to capture the Central Ontario Secondary Basketball title. Team members were: Neil Palmer, Arthur Jefford, David Milne, Lloyd Wilson, Brian Taylor, Murray Blain, John Croxall, Ronald Willerton and David Morton. 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, March 11, 1965 Dianne Hall, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Hall, Port Perry, received the highest award in Girl Guides last Saturday evening when she was presented with the "Gold Cord' by her mother (Captain) Mrs. George Hall. Mrs. Baker was presented with her 'wings' by her husband F.A. "Bill" Baker of Port Perry at the recent "Wings" ceremony held at the Oshawa Airport. Mr. Baker has been an enthusiastic flyer for the past six years and his wife Evelynne, who can now fly a Cessna by herself, found the course stimulating and challenging. Mrs. Baker is the first lady in this community to receive such an award. She is the daughter of Mrs. Louise Patterson. March 3 was the occasion of the 50th Wedding Anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Vernon. Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Reynolds, Seagrave, are on the move, (Turn to page 10) Lelters io the editor Great sportsmanship, poor fans To the Editor: On February 24, 1990 Port Perry hosted a Pee Wee/Atom hockey tournament at our arena with eight teams involved. i The Pineridge Atom "B"' boys made it all the way to the final championship game in which they met the Aurora team to decide the champions. In great anticipation, all parents, grandparents and friends of all boys involved, took their places in the stands for a great game. Unfortunately, numerous Aurora "adults" decid- ed to stand on their seats and cheer their team on. Nothing wrong with this, however, they blocked the view of many others including the Port Perry fans who sat to cheer their team on. Prince Albert development To the Editor: I have just recently moved to Prince Albert, and enjoy reading your paper. In your February 27th issue, you mentioned future develop- ment in Prince Albert. I unders- tand that the farmland just south of Prince Albert Public School has been sold to a developer. My question is, what type of development has been planned for this area, and in what capacity? I would also like to know if there are any proposed dates for construction. Yours truly, James McBride, Prince Albert Twice, the cheering group was politely asked to sit so everyone could see and enjoy the game. Twice, we were told to mind our own business and being adults and good fans, we put up with this situation. Fortunately, Port Perry outplayed Aurora so badly that we were in their end all three periods therefore, we only miss- ed the middle period of action, due to this group of inconsiderate Aurora fans, particularly their leader who also wore a coaches crest on his jacket. What a great example he set for their team, the other Aurora parents in the crowd and the town of Aurora. This man was a very poor fan and did not consider others in the arena...a truly poor sport and one who I would not like coaching my son or anyone else's for that matter. Needless to say, the Atoms won a great game and they can be pro- ud of their parents for keeping their cool and ignoring the Aurora fans. The Aurora boys played with great heart and should be proud of their effort. Unfortunately, their parents lacked their great sportsmanship. I truly hope that Port Perry people show the same common sense and sportsmanlike attitude that was displayed at this game when we visit other towns. I am proud of our town and would not like to see our name tarnished, particularly at a hockey game. Dave Halligan, R.R. 3, Port Perry Smile For The Day NX ==" glut fh NOT "HE'S BEEN COMPLETELY FAITHFUL, GENEROUS, AFFECTIONATE, KIND AND CONSIDERATE -- BUT JOAIANAM $0432vU00 NN 2Than, TO ME." 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