The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, June 19, 1990 -- 7 KNUCKLES RAPPED Well, | have had my knuckles ra by several letter writers taking exception to a Viewpoint column of June 5. Let me add a final comment. | am not anti- environment, not in the least. The points | raised in that column were to show that, like all sensitive topics these days, there is more than one dimension. The letter writers who took me to task obviously are deeply committed to environmental causes, and for that, they have my respect. In fact, as | told one in a phone conversation, | agree with much of what they said in their letters. | do take exception to a statement made in one of the letters. And that was the suggestion tritium from Candu reactors is being used in the manufac- ture of nuclear weapons. Please, show me the proof that this is indeed the case. THE PUBLIC MEETING The public meeting held June 11 in the council chambers over the proposed expansion of recreation facilities for Scugog was about as "polite" as one would experience. The proponents and opponents of the proposals presented their feelings and arguments in a dignified ashion. And unlike some public meetings | have at- tended on contentious issues in the Township, this one did not break down into bitter sniping, thank goodness. That's not to say there are not strong feelings pro and con over this issue. But if past experience is any kind of teacher, the last thing Scugog Township needs is for this issue to turn nasty. | was somewhat perplexed by the comment made by one speaker who suggested that the propo- nents of the recreation facilities are "Port Perry or Viewpoint Ward 2." | am not sure exactly what Joel Aldred meant when he said that, but surely there are a lot of people outside Ward 2 strongly in favour of expanding the recreation facilities in Scugog. Just like there are a lot of people who live in Ward 2 strongly opposed. This is not some kind of a "rural-urban, us- against-them"" issue. And hopefully, it will never get to that. Lord knows, Scugog has had more than its share of "rural-urban" disputes over the last 15 years; the legacy of regionalization, which forced the creation of Scugog Township. But as | said, the meeting for the most part was conducted in reasonable fashion, with those on both sides of the issue taking the time to listen to the points the others were making. As for the issue itself, Scugog Mayor Howard Hall said later he would like to see the council make some decisions in the near future. And that's prudent. There is a great number of people in Scugog waiting to see what happens and this should not be left "hanging" too long, especially with a municipal election looming a year from this November. THE NATION Toronto Star columnist Gay Lautens wrote a piece June 13 which said clearly that in his view Que- separation may be inevitable, and if it is, then perhaps it should happen sooner, rather than later, so that Quebec and what remains of Canada can get on with life. | happen to be of the same feeling. A few years ago, | would have argued tooth and nail to keep the union together, even to the point of handing Quebec just about anything it wants. Not any more. Personally, | think the gap is too wide now. | don't think a large number of Qebecois will ever be satisfied within the Confederation as it | now exists. And | sense a mood in the rest of the country that more and more English-speaking Cana- dians can no longer live comfortably with Quebec. All these people that are wrapping themselves up in the Maple Leaf and Quebec flags, sending "je t'aime" poems and messages to the people of Que- bec may be expressing their heart-felt sentiments, but they are not facing reality. When Lucien Bouchard, the separatist turned federalist turned separatist again gets standing ova- tions from the Quebec Law Association, that tells you something. One of the suggestions put forward by Lautens which | agree with totally, is that if Quebec does leave the federation, life has to go on, and it must go on. | would venture to say that if the split occurs, both Quebec and the rest of Canada would get stronger in economic and social terms once we can divert our energies from this all-consuming attempt to keep it together at just about any cost. As for how Quebec and Canada would get along as neighbours indepedent of each other, I'd say just fine, thank you. We would all know exactly where we stand. The feelings of mis-trust and dis-like which fill the air now on both sides would vanish in a short pe- riod of time. Of course if | had my "druthers" | would hope this never happens. My heart is saying one thing, my head something else again. The gulf has widened too much. The separation of Quebec may be a perfectly logical conclusion to a process that began in that province some 30 0. As a Canadian, it hurts to say that. But wishing otherwise won't alter reality. anor Remember | Letters io the editor Voices strong reaction to column When? 45 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 21, 1945 L.A.C. Gordon Carnegie, RCAF of Mountain View spent the weekend with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. David Carnegie. We are happy to hear that Master Buddy Warriner is slow- ly improving from his serious illness. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Rodman, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Graham and Mrs. T. Redman are enjoying a motor trip to northern parts of Ontario. 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 23, 1955 Maybelle Rebekah Lodge No. 348, celebrated its seventh bir- thday party on June 7th, 1955 in the Lodge Rooms with N.G. Sister Wanamaker presiding assisted by Sister Diamond. Mr. Alan Reesor was guest organist at Queensville United Church on Sunday morning. "30 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 23, 1960 Honeydale W.I. celebrated their 25th anniversary. Attending were Mrs. Roberts of Whitby, who organized the Branch 25 years ago and Mrs. W. Brown, President of South Ontario District. The Port Perry Junior Farmers' 50-50 Draw took place Saturday night, June 18th. The lucky winner was Don Ashbridge, R.R. 3, Port Perry. oo Miss Pat Midgley is attending the Leader Training Centre Course in swimming instruction given by the Water Safety Ser- vice of the Canadian Red Cross Society at Hart House, Univer- sity of Toronto. During July and August, Pat will be instructing at Cedar Stone Park. 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 24, 1965 Carol Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Smith, R.R. 3, Uxbridge, graduated from Oshawa General Hospital School of Nursing on June 4, 1965. She received the Dr. F.W. Rundle award for efficiency in surgical technique. Carol is a graduate rt Perry High School. of BO and Aa Cox and Fred DeNure were winners of the Foxhall Trophy in Peterborough recently. They competed in District 14 Annual Lawn Bowling Benevolent Tournament. Ontario Health Minister Dr. M. Dymond, accompanied by Mrs. Dymond, left on Friday, June 18th for a month long tour European countries. of git News Miss Linda Fralick has returned home after spending seventeen months in England and the Continent. (Turn to page 10) To the Editor: As soon as I read the 'View- point' column in June 5th's paper, I knew I would have to write and voice my strong reaction to it. My apologies for the delay in my do- ing so. Food for thought To the Editor: Your Viewpoint piece published on June 5, indicates that you ob- viously haven't been hearing what environmentalists have to say. And to misrepresent us dur- ing Canadian Environment Week of all weeks! On the subject of nuclear energy, you say that the alter- native is fossil fuels. You are just repeating what the nuclear in- dustry wants everyone to believe. It's not a question of nuclear or coal -- it's a choice between non renewable, polluting supplies of energy and renewable sources coupled with energy efficiency. We can save more than half the electricity we now use by doing what we do more efficiently (very little change to lifestyle involved). If the $12 billion spent on the Darl- ington Nuclear Station had been invested in electrical efficiency improvements instead, we would have saved more electricity by now than the Darlington reactors will ever produce - and they aren't even running yet! Now that's food for thought! Sincerely, Irene Kock, Durham Nuclear Awareness, Oshawa, Ontario. To refresh people's memories, this was the column in which it was suggested that disposable diapers are perhaps not the en- vironmental "bad guy" we have come to see them as; and that the logging industry's practice of clear-cutting, and Canadians' continued reliance on nuclear energy, are not issues that we need worry ourselves about. First of all, while lining landfill sites with a material similar to that contained in disposable diapers may one day be con- sidered desirable, this surely does not suggest that people's current use of disposable diapers should be encouraged or even condoned. The manufacture of disposable diapers not only consumes hor- rific numbers of trees (millions of them annually worldwide, or a ay a ar X billion according to one estimate), it also contributes to environmen- tal pollution associated with the bleaching process. While the '"authority" quoted believes that the viruses contained in used disposables pose no threat to health, other medical experts (such as those at the U.S. En- vironmental Protection Agency) have suggested otherwise. Setting aside the issues of the overuse and abuse of our natural resources and the potential for the spread of disease, we are still left with the unpleasant fact that 250,000 ton- nes of used disposable diapers are dumped in Canadian landfill sites every year. Canadians, who hold the dubious honour of being the world's largest producers of gar- (Turn to page 8) "Let me know if this medicine works--I'm having the same trouble myself."