the HERALD Home Newspaper of Haiton Hills Established 1866 A Division of Canadian Newspapers Company Limited Guelph Street Georgetown 3Z6 Ontario GARNET Publisher and General Manager DAVE Editor PHONE J STEVEN FOREMAN Advertising Manager Page SECTION A THE HERALD Tuesday December IMS Why celebrate What does Christmas mean to you To us thats an easy question Its the gathering of the clans families travel miles to be with their relations Its watching the magic of Christmas on the smiles of playful children as they wait for Dec 25 Its hearing about the trials people go through in search of the perfect gift for their special person Through it all we see there is joy in giftgiving wnen friends and family share their feelings of love and friendships Its witnessing the time and generosity of charitable groups who work to make Christmas a special time for everyone Volunteers for Good Neighbors Kinette toy drive and Salvation Army know how hard it would be to celebrate Christmas without ensuring first that Santa doesnt play favorites For Christians its a reflection on the birth of Jesus to sing praises in His name and rejoice in the message He brought to the world Whatever Christmas means to you we hope your wishes come true on this very special day A Christmas card This is a Christmas card to you our readers From one week to the next as we struggle from one project to the next we find friends who offer their encouragement and readers who voice their appreciation This is a thank you to our weekly contributors and columnists whose dedication to their work reinforces a commitment to do our best This is an opportunity to tell our critics that we ap preciate your comments you make us a stronger newspaper for no one can learn without the help of honest critics From everyone from our staff in the press room to our general office staff two floors above we say thanks for helping us through 1985 May the beautiful promise of Christmas bring hap piness to you all Time for a woman We think its time for a woman on the Haiton Police Commission Regional Councillor John Graham was shocked that weve never had a woman representative Whats worse he was told only one woman has ever sat on an Ontario police commission The region has already made their choice to replace two representatives two men However theres still a chance because the provin ce also has to make two appointments The opportunity is there so lets use it Women can provide a different outlook to policing matters Any new infusion of ideas should be welcomed Poem for Christmas By BECKY RALPH Herald Special Christ mm Poem One Christmas Eve Santa had some terrible luck For that Christmas Eve Santa got really stuck In a chimney you know that was covered in snow For the night before that ho ate and got fat It would be very queer it he was skinny lor a year He dropped his patched sack that went tumbling back With toys alt In vain For Jack a toy train For little sweet Jane a doll and candy cane When Father got up to drink from a cup He heard a loud shout so he looked all about The house was so still that It gave him a chill So he started a fire and as the flames got higher Santa felt some pain and he yelped in vain Father heard the shout so he looked for a way out He got out a rope and with a litUe hope He tried to make a hole to on old grey pole So he could possibly get out to where he heard the shout So finally he succeeded in finding what he needed Some crazy glue to stick to his shoe So he could climb and find In time The shout he heard from below Such a very long lime ago When on top of the bouse he crept quiet as a mouse Till he found out who made the shout When he found Santa Claus he gave a short pause For he began to shake cause Santa saw him quake But when Santa was free he filled up their tree With presents like trains and sweet candy For parents Jack and tweet little Jane Then as you all know Santa went back to his world full of snow Encounter in the snow By PETER RALPH ENCOUNTER IN THE SNOW Through my windshield I saw him vault the fence and dash for the middle of the lane For a split second he bounced like an ape on the crest of the road then dove over the fence and righted himself watching me intently with his tenyear old friends Would I scow scoff berate ignore them Or would I pay game Eyes searched to know my expres sion as the car crept slowly along the fence Then we were alongside in that decisive moment when face to face I would render my verdict Eagerly his eyes searched my expression lor some gesture of appro val raised my hand and pointed my finger Then I snapped my thumb forward and his eyes flashed with recognition He knew the script by heart When gunned down by a pretend magnum there is only one thing to do clutching delightedly at his chest he back through the air and expired in perfect form amid a cloud of snow and the cheers of his friends I drove away rejoicing in ten yearold boys and goodwill toward men and realizing that there is more than one wya to give a gift Christmas Send us a letter Got a gripe or a reason to pralset Then lend The Herald a letter to the editor All letters must be signed and Include your address and phone number because we need to Verify The Herald reserves the right to edit condense or reject letters We have found the most effective letters are those that are concise and to the point no more than ISOwords Send letters lot The Herald 41 Street Georgetown OnL Think theyll ever pull wines that contain a REALLY dangerous substance like alcohol off the shelves Goes beyond job creation Ottawa Report It Until we get all the details of ine transaction which places de Aircraft into he hands of an American company whos to say whether on balance the sale is in Canadas best interest But when the Canadian govern ment finally consume tea its deal with the Boeing Co of to buy the Torontobased dc It had better be prepared to present an airtight case in this respect There are a lot of Canadians out there who may not be easily convinced It goes far beyond job creation and economic renewal subjects which understandably preoccupy the Mulroney government And for that matter It goes beyond the sale of a major Canadian Industry to foreigners no insignificant Issue in itself What we are dealing with Is the almostcasual sale of a famous Canadian aircraft company which we taxpayers had propped up at enormous cost Just to keep it in this country And now all accounts It may soon turn the comer and perhaps even begin making money Not only is this difficult enough to deal with by itself sale raises all sorts of painful memories of how a previous Tory government killed the Arrow and Virtually destroyed our wo rid renowned aeronautical expertise There is no parallel The objective here Is to create Jobs not eliminate them but that doesnt discourage the on going comparisons And there are many other reasons why the Mulroney government should be prepared to face a highly skeptical public on this issue Were not dealing with a shoe company here PRIDE INVOLVED Canadians have always had a certain love airplanes a situation often attributed to the unique role they have played In opening our vast And on a per capita basis weve always been great flyers More than quarter of the pilots who flew In the Battle of Britain vierc Canadians And the development of Canadian airplan es ranging from the Otter and Beaver to the Arrow was always a source of unusual pride There is a widespread belief thai Canada now is a world leader in the development of landmg planes largely because of Caribou Buffalo Dash and Dash models And it was mainly because of confidence In these planes that the previous Liberal government funnelled some WOO million of our money into the firm The timing of the sale for Boeing is near perfect the major development costs out of the way the Dash and Dash could easily become an enviable inheritance Its the governments view that the sale of de will accelerate potential profits largely because of Boeings reputation skills and massive marketing network Far from giving a Way a Canadian industry says Treasury Board President Robert de the government Is bringing in a good corporate citizen which will be beneficial for the entire country And its the view of Prime Minister Mulroney that this fulfills a campaign commitment to privatize Crown corporations to the advantage of Canadian taxpayers But to be absolutely accurate there was no suggestion during the campaign that these corporations would be privatized foreign hands And with the prime minister in the process of trying to establish a freetrade arrangement with the Unit States its little wonder that the sale would raise nationalist ic hackles GOOD BARGAIN What makes the transaction so susceptible to initial criticism is the price Everyone seems to agree that Boeing struck a very attractive deal getting the whole de operati on for million which as someone pointed out is roughly the price of one Jumbo jet And providing Boeing spends a certain amount in Canada It will earn a million reduction in this price Obviously no one has suggested the company got ripped off The opposition parties to the surprise of no one talk of a giveaway and fire sale and while the government Is convinced the deal will bring us a flourishing aircraft industry the Liberals and New Democrats perceive disaster And with one group of potential Canadian buyers crying foul the deal Is likely to rekindle many nationalist sentiments As mentioned earlier there Is clearly something special about aircraft Industries Canada Not only must the government present a very convincing case when the details finally come out but it must brace itself for one unholy outcry If de doesnt flourish under Boeings control If just one Canadian project is transferred to the Seattle headquarters watch out On the other hand should de planes become world beaters there will be many who will say this was inevitable even without Boeing participation And this will prove to the critics that the firm should have remained entirely ours The government keeps talking about Boeings marketing skills But it might need some marketing skills of its own if Canadians ore to be convinced that this transaction is In our best interests At the moment this is far from established Its free trade posturing TORONTO Well be seeing interesting times if Ontario and its fellow provinces really are In charge of negotiating free or freer trade with the United States This provinces negotiating stance will have the Americans rolling In the aisles with laughter Its essence seems to be that well support free trade as long as it is a oneway street In our favor How else to Interpret the ongoing musings of Liberal Premier David Peterson For months now he has projected an overall aura of hostility toward the whole concept of free trade talks His government has released stud ies and he himself has emphasized the number of jobs threatened by free trade He never speaks about the wealth of jobs that might be created by such an arrangement He also had gone around warning that suchandsuch industry or items Is from the auto pact which Ironically is a free trade agreement to our socalled cultural Industry it Is the duty of all good Liberals to protect the monopoly they gave Macleans magazine years ago Yet Peterson rejects walking away from the whole free trade business as not sensible at this point The assumption underlying the need for free trade with the US is that we cant compete with Europe let alone the Third World so wed better secure our access to our biggest trading partner the S while we can We need them much more than they need us There does seem a glimmer of awareness on Petersons part of this reality has spoken of certain Jobs being in tenuous areas anyway during the ongoing India trial restr ucturing were facing but be norm ally hides it in his antifree trade political rhetoric And it was certainly the negative aspects of his vision that shone at tbe first ministers conference In Halifax where Peterson boasted that Ontario and the other provinces were now ultimately responsible for free trade negotiations Assuming thats true is Prime Minister Brian Mulroney really such a malleable patsy what wdl be the aim of the veto- wielding premier of Ontario The thing we ha to do out of this is make sure we get better deals for our exports and at the same time not give away the store he told Assembly here He leaves the impression free trade is a winnerloser game that if we win the other guy must lose There is no sense that enhanced trade bcnflts everyone and timber Industries that does not threaten our other industries then obviously it is in Canadas interests he said And what are the Americans expected to gain In return a people whose Congress seems to slam the door on our existing exports never mind the new ones Peterson dreams we con have without risking anything On that Peterson is silent just as he is silent on how to protect our existing billion trading surplus with the V S Well as he soys he and the rest of the camelcreation committee are supposedly In now end was accident free There was only one minor accident which resulted In a scraped fender Wynn Dunbar who fell feet off a scaffold three weeks ago will be home for New Years TheRockwoodmanisa foreman working on the new Coop building in Guelph The Raiders are leading the league with eight wins and five losses They arc also now at full strength as Joyce rejoined the team after missing seven games Mr and Mrs Sarnla announced the engagement of their daughter Tlneke to Laurens of Glen Williams Mr moved to after emigrating from Holland and later moved to Glen Williams FIFTEEN YEARS of Georgetown High won the Georgetown Insurance Agents Trophy for her first standing in a driving instruction course Ted Scott taught the course Four Georgetown TriCounty leaguers will be part of the Midget and Juvenile allstar teams Brad Butter- worth and Brian Beaumont will play far the Georgetown Midgets and Benny Heppes and Dave Irons will play for the Juveniles Ray Roberts announced the selling of his Gulf Service Centre on Highway 7 at Delrex Boulevard The new owner of the station is Ray Wbyte John of Centennial Senior Public School won the 13 year old division of the County cross country finals John won the event last year too TEN YEARS Harold Mart in of St Johns United Church is leaving Georgetown for Richmond Hill where he will be minister of St Mathews United Church He has been in Georgetown since Hills Mayor Tom Hill was selected as one of two regional representatives on the Haiton Region Police Commission Mayor Hill was one of three trying for the Job Mayor Harrington of Burlington was not appointed Mike and Ann Hurst of Mississau- reopened The Country Gallery in Terra The gallery will feature oil paintings and pastels by Mrs Hurst and string art and stain glass art by Mr Hurst Drummer Gray don Hillock son of Mrs Dorothy Hillock of King St West is writing the music for a TV video play produced at Boston Univer sitys School of Communications Mr Hillock is working on a degree- in composition at the Berklee College of Music I FIVE YEARS Georgetown District High School wrestling team placed fifth of 13 teams from Ontario at the Bishop Ryan Invitational wrestling tournament Doug Gillespie had the best finish for Georgetown He finished second In the 5 pound class Police Chief Harding announced Acton will get 13 police officers officers will be patrolling permanently which will allow residents to get to know them I Plans for the Georgetown Miflor Hockey Support Groups Annual Midget Tournament are being finalized by Chairman Bryan Turner Teams from the Toronto area are entered Poets Corner REALITY I can always tell you that Is doesnt mean a thing It might make me feel better but It would be I a dreadful He You matter Like spring rain summer sun fall leaves with life For now Ill cuddle the essence of your reality In my heart By MARLOWE C DICKSON God gives lasting joy Santa Claus Is loosely based on St Nicholas of a fourth century Christian pastor in Minor The modern name and Ihe modern idea are both corruptions of St Nicholas Legend says that SI Nicholas gave money to a needy family by throwing It down their chimney He chose that route as a way to give anonymously It would be better to follow that example than the modern myth of Santa Claus Today we usually give what no one needs to those who need nothing or Jack little It Is fine lo give tokens of love to those we love It Is better to give privately to those in need who cannot return the faVor Anonymity la also good We should without needing peoples praises return Selfcongratulation is also vain If we give because It makes us feel good we are doing It for ourselves not for others It Is selfishness disguis ed praise being prone to pride Then what of the modern myth of Santa Clans Santa is really Just a tame little false god on unnecessary god who gives little takes nothing away and asks only a brief superficial cleaning up of ones act one month a year The true God is no Santa There Is no comparison God in Infinite Santa is infinitesimal Santa gives a few shortlived toys God gives life and all things Santa gives only to those who are nlcenoltothosewhoarenaughty God gives to the unjust and the evil To His He gives countless blessings in this life Matthew God makes Santa look like Scrooge Santa does not ask much A slight improvement in ones behavior for a fraction of the year easily satisfies him God demands perfection in attitu des as well as actions all the time Santa requests God demands goodness And when little boys and girls are naughty Santa does not take it seriously There Is no actual punish ment Even the threat of withholding gifts is seldom carried out Gods threat of hell had to be carried out Christiana believe that Gods threat of punishment the sentence to hell has already been fully carried out It was executed when Jesus was executed God the Father gave His own natural Son Into death the death that we deserved to buy our way out of hell and damnation Gods real bounty and generosity are In His grace for Christs sake the forgiveness of sins salvation eternal life because of Jesus He died for sinners saints would not a Savior His love and grace easily dwarf the present prosperous preposterous worlds idea of Christmas giving into significance Santa gives trashy trivial trinkets God gives eternal life for Jesus sake to those who have deserved it at alt to those who have deserved the opposite- to us I Jesus deserved earned eternal life for all people by His life and death In our place What a tragedy that unbelievers refuse to open the real Christinas present purchased and delivered by Godl Compared to God Santa is a piker a small meager caricature of real generosity Santa Claus is hardly good for a laugh The true God gives lasting joy