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THE HERALD Wednesday February I Page LETTER Question of abandonment Where to draw the line News release draws ire Dear Sir In an article in your Jan 1989 Herald Outlook I believe you gave the wrong impression of abandon ed I Your written statement to take I over postal services abandoned by the Gatskill Cadwalladers of General Store hardly seems correct and implies the Gatskill Cadwalladers have done something less than professional I feel the GatskillCadwalladers should be commended for trying to operate the Post Office from their store and maintain 130 years of service The fact that changes made by Canada Post do not offer compensation enough to make the Post Office pay is reason enough to terminate the contract I am sure the Gatskill Cad gave it their best shot and labored long over their deci to terminate If anyone abandoned it was Canada Post Don McQueen R 1 30 years ago A special service was held by the Anglican parish of St Glen Williams Jan to bless the new rectory Evensong was sung m the church by the St Albans choir assisted by the third year divinity students of Trinity College Toron to The lessons were read by Mr Tom Beaumont lay reader of the parish and Michael Peers of ty College Rev Gifford assistant curate of St Johns Church Ancaster preached the sermon A dozen Sunkist oranges were selling for 39 cents at the local store A 16ounce jug of table syrup was 21 cents and Grade A turkeys were selling for cents a pound in February Members of the Anglers and Hunters Club held their annual meeting at their club house on Jan President for the coming year is Gordon Spence Sr Don Hancock will be vice president Don Powers treasurer and George will be secretary Mrs Ross Duncans first place Chop Chops were the victims of a surprising upset by Mrs Leu Wards last place Squibs at the Lucky Strike bowling alleys on Monday when the Squibs exercised their new found pin bouncing abilt ty to take seven points from the top team 15 years ago The initiation of three new members highlighted the January meeting of the Kinette Club Members enjoyed a pot luck sup per at the home of Marilyn Cook New Kinettes Carol Beatty Bren da Novar and Alma had to pose as babies for the informal part of the evening They were diapered bibbed given baby ties and permitted to use only spoons as cutlery during dinner Rev Peter Barrow was the guest speaker at the Hospital Auxiliary annual meeting At the Jan 22 meeting of the Georgetown and District Memorial Hospital Aux Rev Barrow spoke of the North Contact Centre Rev Barrow a rector at Knox Presbyterian Church was in traduced to members of the iliary by Mrs Jean MacDonald first vicepresident and thanked by past president Mrs Ann Gray who presented a token of apprecia tion to the Centre Tom was ap pointed to the executive of the On tario Research Council Board of Directors There are members on the executive representing the Ministry of Education Colleges of Education Universities of Ontario the Ontario Teachers Federation and other education groups The OERC spring conference was to be held April and 27 in Burlington 10 years ago The Georgetown Business provement Area BIA would like the merchants in the BIA to become more involved decisions made by the Board communica Betty champ said last week Mrs Mon champ owner of the Lingerie Boutique in the Old Bank Building said the new board of management is looking for more active par in the decision making process from the merchants in the The new board includes Lynn Barnard of Penntesworth Bill Crawford of Union Gas Bob Gougeon of s Furniture Monty Hyde and Betty Two months after Halton Regional employees and moved into their brand new million headquarters on Highway in Oakvdle extensive structural defects remain that are posing problems with varying temperatures ceiling leaks and toilets that don t flush Chief ad officer Ernie Reid the architect who designed the sprawling lime green head quarters as a permanent replace ment for third floor home in a Burlington office building has prepared an extensive list of minor defects in the new structure that were left unattended by the general contractor With Stewarttown already iden as a hamlet on signs erected recently at the villages two en trances on Trafalgar Road the towns budget committee has been directed to report on getting signs installed for Norval and Glen Williams years ago Kindergarten pupils make up only one per cent of the population in Halton Region In they made up 91 per cent In its expected theyll make up only 78 per cent of the school population The figures come from a Halton Board of Education study released this week projecting school enrolments for the next five years The elementary schools hold ten per cent of the Regions popula In 1970 it was 67 per cent In its expected to be 5 52 per cent Theres no reason VIA rail should ignore Acton now that the communitys population has grown with commuters Actons Coun Rick Bonnette said Monday night He successfully encouraged coun cillors to urge VIA rail to add Ac ton as a stop for trains travelling between Kitchener and Toronto To catch any of the VIA trains heading into Toronto Acton residents must first commute to Guelph or Georgetown In the ear ly 1970s when Acton was dropped as a stop there might not have been a great deal of train use from the community Mr said A new apartment project has been proposed for the Georgetown Moore Park area and residents have been invited to find out more about It The proposal for rental units was presented to the towns general committee Monday night by the planning department By REV DR THOMAS BANDY St United Misunderstanding seems to be the rule today No one seems will Ing to take the time or trouble to ascertain what another person is really saying A good example of this happened last week Both Georgetown newspapers printed a supposed news release about the annual meeting of St An drews United Church and refer red to a vote to be taken regarding agreement with our denomina tions recent policy on sexuality and ordination The supposed news release appeared in the of fice of the Herald and the Indepen dent unsigned and handwritten apparently left in the middle of the night One newspaper printed the supposed news release on the front page Yet neither paper took the trouble to verify the story Neither paper questioned an signed news release As a result an unauthorized news release was printed with inaccurate informs that caused needless conster nation to many m the community No doubt both papers are rassed by this mistake and we in the church try to be sympathetic Yet an issue emerges once again Why are there so many documented media errors in repor ting religious affairs across Canada It is not just the United Church Every denomination is complaining about press coverage Why do clergy have to write countless letters to the editor of protest or clarification Why have religious bodies sought legal help or the advocacy of professional or government ombudsmen to com plain about the media About ten days ago the highly respected CBC TV Journal aired a story on the United Church in Orangeville Yet the United Church there refused utterly to participate in the story or to grant a single interview Nevertheless the CBC did the story relying sole ly on the biased Interviews of a small break away group from that church Is this accurate objective reporting Or does it merely foster more misunderstanding CLERGY COMMENT The issue of of course is larger than a media pro blem It runs through our society and through our Georgetown com Perhaps it is gossip around somebodys mamage pro blems or family problems or perhaps it is premature judgement about someones legal problems or personal problems or perhaps it is opinions about groups or organiza based on a single conversa tion or experience People rarely take the time and trouble to really understand another point of view It is a lesson the media in par ticular should learn but it is a lesson every one of us should learn Verify the story I Check out the facts Listen to both sides Try to understand all perspectives Dont assume you know something when you dont Avoid hasty conclusions Take the time and trouble to find out the truth As any gossip knows sensationalism attracts an au dience But as any Christian knows sensitivity builds com munity It wasnt uncommon to see fine automobiles like this one chugg ing around the countryside back in the early 1900s The photo was provided by a member of the Historical Society which meets the second Wednesday of each mouth The Societys next meeting la Wednesday Feb 8 at at Knox Church where John McDonald will show slides of old Georgetown and area Cardboard cops coming next Good old British Columbia has done it again Already famous across Canada for its brilliant and innovative political notions B C is poised to introduce a breathtaking new con cept to the world the cardboard police officer Talk about a vision and imagina tion Elect a premier who lives in a castle and there no stopping a province Apparently the proposal is the brainchild of Solicitor General Angus Placing cardboard policemen on the side of the road Mr has suggested might be a cheap and effective way to scare speeding drivers into slowing down Well To begin with its reassur ing to know that Mr believes cardboard policemen should restrict their activities to deterring speeders Thered be cause for con if he believed cardboard policemen could also be sent out to investigate crimes I mean youd have to mail them and this could take weeks Dear suspected malefactor Please give full details of all your recent activities on the form ed to the officers forehead and then mail him back to us Affixing postage will be regard ed as a sign of probable guilt And its certainly likely that drivers will be in the main strong supporters of Mr idea If youve ever been clocked at 70 in a 50 kilometre zone then youve undoubtedly voiced that time- honored lament a cardboard policemen when you need one Thomson News Service Still Mr proposal re quires some cautious analysis Just for starters there are ways to scare speeding drivers that might be even cheaper and easier You could for instance post roadside signs saying Caution highway designed by engineers with drinking problems or perhaps Dont look now but your right front wheel is about to fall off Its also possible that crafty drivers could spot the difference between a real policeman and a cardboard cutout even at a distance There are after all a couple of telltale differences Real policemen re sturdy and muscular which means a gust of wind seldom leaves them leaning upside down against a fence And you only rarely see a real policeman with a pigeon on his head Besides cardboard policemen would face an additional hazard In BC Much of B C population Is con centrated in and around Van couver And as we know it has been known td rain there Mr whole scheme is based on the premise that any driver will be startled into slowing down by the sudden cry Look out Dear theres a policeman on the road side just ahead Comparatively fewer drivers would be daunted by the exclamation Look at that a soggy lump of cardboard in the ditch As such Mr might consider whether he should opt for plastic policemen instead Perhaps even deluxemodel plastic policemen with noses that light up and eyeballs that go bmg when someone zooms by them at 130 And this of course raises a fur ther issue Cardboard policemen are to be sure wonderfully inex pensive Theyll work non stop for weeks on end with never a word of complaint But all the same are they really likely to enchance the image of the police force What does it say about a profes sion if its function can be perform ed by cardboard cutouts What would then separate policemen from senators or weekend news anchormen No All things considered its probably best if BC sticks with live policemen Cardboard cops are a fascinating concept but there are just too many logistical problems On the other hand you wonder if Mr has ever given any thought to plastic firemen Theyre inexpensive and they look great although you have to be careful to keep them away from heat if you dont want them to melt