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6 - "WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2000 PUBLISHER....... eereane J. Peter Hvidsten GENERAL MGR.......... Don Macleod MANAGING EDITOR.. Jeff Mitchell OFFICE MANAGER... Gayle Stapley ADVERTISING MGR... Deb McEachem REPORTER................. Chris Hall Freelance Writers- Heather McCrae, John B. McClelland, Rik Davie Published every Friday by the Port Perry Star Company Limited, 188 Mary Street - Port Perry, Ontario - L9L 1B7 Distributed free in the following communities: Port Perry - Uxbridge - Sunderland - Little Britain - RR Lindsay Janetville Oakwood - Manilla - Seagrave - Greenbank - Brooklin - Ashbum - Columbus - RR Oshawa Caesarea - Blackstock - Raglan - Nestieton - Yelverton - Prince Albert expressed by columnists, contributors and letter writers are not necessarily those of The Port Star. Letters must be signed and the telephone number (which will not be published) included. Requests that a name be withheld will be honoured only I there is a compelling reason to do so. Errors wil bo corrected brought the edior's atlanon. We reserve he ight o edt o refuse publcalon of any atera submited. ADVERTISING POLICY: Tra pubboner 6 met ba for hen PHONE (905) 985-7383 FAX (905) 985-3708 E-MAIL: port.perry.star@sympatico.ca connection with any advertisement in any subsequent issue of the refund of any monies paid for the advertisement. Al claims of error in publication must be made by Wednesday, noon, prior 10 the next week's publication, and, if not made, will not be considered. No claim will be allowed for more than one insertion. VELEKLND S © changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher is not able for other emors or omissions in BUSINESS OFFICE: Judy Ashby, Kathy Dudley, Janet Rankin, Lesley West, Heather Callan ADVERTISING: Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, Gail Morse, Heather McGregor, Linda Clarke, Janet Archer, Malcolm Lennox, Lisa Monk PRODUCTION MANAGER: Pamela Hickey Production Staff: Trudy Empringham, Daryle Wright, Arlene Cheel, Richard Drew OPINION Religion and politics A reader whose letter appears on this page today raises some interesting points about electoral politics, and the suspi- cion surrounding.candidates who admit to being practicing Christians. It is a relatively recent phenomenon, with its basis in the emergence of the religious right, a populous and powerful lobby in the United States that strove to bring politicians onside on issues like abortion, prayer in schools, and the like. Those of a more liberal bent saw the workings of the Christian right, and its flagship lobby the Moral Majority, as threatening, because they perceived a potential erosion of hard-earned 'human rights. Many of the rights and freedoms that are enshrined in constitutions here and in America do not jibe with fundamental Biblical teachings; clashes between those liberals and those who live by Biblical law are inevitable. The attempt by a.-fundamentalist bloc to influence the Durham District School Board and its curriculum and program- ming over the past three years was real, not imagined; while opposition to their objectives and tactics was necessary, an unfortunate consequence was the arousal of suspicion toward other candidates who are Christian. Should Christian school board candidates be rejected on the basis of their religion? Of course not. If a candidate can prove they are interested in the education and welfare of children first, and will strive to better the board, that's the criteria that ought to be applied by voters. Gn MOM! ' | 3 T™M HOME! ( Hi! NICOLE! ) rll ua You SAW AS "BLAIR WITCHY, Y\ DIDN'T You? YES. HOW DID You KNOW? Carolann Brett of Nestleton submitted this photo of a youngster who's become wedged in a milk can. If you have an interesting picture we could use for Photo of the Week, please drop it by The Star office, or give us a call at 985-7383. LETTER Why the bias against religion? To the Editor: I was appalled to read the various news- paper articles regarding the questioning at last week's town meeting of those running for trustee. Some people would have you think that it is somehow sinister that a person practices their religion. Perhaps Martin Demmers was not trying to avoid the question of religion, but thought that people were interested in his qualifications to run for public school board trustee. Are we now to insist that a person's reli- gious belief be indicated beside their name on the ballot? I realize that Jane Weist, an Oshawa school trustee, caused great embarrassment to the people of Durham over her attempt to ban the Harry Potter books. But she was not the only person who voted for this initial ban. Other trustees did as well, but some apparently were unable to realize what they were voting for because they were too busy to read or comprehend what was being voted on. | firmly believe that the best person for school trustee would be someone who cur- rently has children in the system, who is . going into the job with eyes wide open to the $5,000 payment, and who will not be asking for a raise once they get into that position, as some have in the past. We need someone who is willing to work hard for the benefit of the students. What is this town, and for that matter this country coming to when just because a person has religious beliefs, they are appar- ently rebuked for doing so? When did being religious become a fearful thing? I am sure that a large part of this town are practicing Catholics, Protestants, Baptists, etc. That is not a bad thing, they are to be commended for having faith in something other than the almighty dollar, or for material possessions. How many people nowadays are willing to run for public office? Who is willing to put their time and effort where their mouth is? Not many I gather. | did notice however, that a large number turned up on the last day to put their name on the ballots. Perhaps they just forgot about the deadline, or they hoped that nobody else would run for that position and could be acclaimed, and not have to spend any money or time cam- paigning. | bet some people who ate running for council, and trustees, haven't even seen the inside of council chambers, much less the inside of a school. The results of this election will be interesting to see. P.S. 1 am not a practicing Protestant, I'm not even baptized, a heathen to some. So you can stop writing that nasty letter because you believe I might be an aarrggh!! religious person. Nancy I. Thompson, Port Perry