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THE HERALD Wednesday pm Christmas at Summerside We just keep hoping In Ballinafad There s a little plastic bottle on desk with a yellow ribbon tied around it Inside are a few ounces of dirt sandy bright red dirt dug from the fields of Prince Edward Island Now this is a long way from Ac ton or Caledon or my house in Georgetown but for the last few months I ve set a few minutes aside each week for the people of Summerside PEI Now that Christmas is coming I wanted to share you some of what is happening there In a way this matters to us because Summerside is like Ac ton or Caledon a good example of small town Canada It a com munity of people who find themselves tossed about on the tide of national events Right now it is facing the imminent closure of a military base which is the major employer and economic of the town The feds are axing CFB Sum in an effort to reduce costs and save money This was also the reason we had those other cuts last which nailed the House of Commons the Ottawa region and civil servants I died last n day cuts a victory for the peo ple because that exactly what taxpayers of Halton Pee had been for So isn the closure of Summer side base the same thing Don t we all have to hhare the puin involved in reducing the federal deficit and getting this debt monkey off our backs Well we have to shire as equally as we can And it s hard for us to if here in southern Ontario an equivalent blow to that poised for that tip of EI It would be like losing the entire auto manufactur business and then some We just keep hoping and hop ing Basil Stewart told me the other day He the mayor of Sum merside who has travelled regularly to Ottawa to buttonhole just about anybody who will listen They are frustrated and confus This is going to be a long and a cold winter unless something hap pens There was a chamber of com meeting at the base last week and the base commander inclined plans to phase out all the That sure was a depressing meeting Jack Balcom told me He chairman of the region in which CFB Summerside is located Operating out of the base is the Search and Rescue Squadron which critics of the government in sist is in the best place to serve the needs of manners National Defence plans to move it to a spot in Nova Scotia where among other things there s a lot more fog Also taking off from the base are regular patrols which give surveillance to the fishery and help keep foreign poachers and would be drug smugglers at bay The plan now is just to wipe that operation out The people in Summerside believe they have a case and have been fighting now for eight mon ths In a way I have joined that fight and have urged Ottawa to work on alternatives that would help save the community Hell if we have to hire a small army of GST collectors then why not put them in Why not try to privatize part of the base opera lion maybe the fishery surveillance Cant some creative long term alternative use In made of the impressive there There a kind of weary last minute hope now that a meeting between Brian and I Premier Joe will result n some kind of a compromise I so Last Sunda evening Brian Mm rison who works at the base and some others organ a Christmas carol sing near a decorated tree It s just to try and raise peo ple s spirits a little he told me beforehand So we re going call if an Eve of Hope There is a very human side government and when I went to Summerside a few months ago I stared directly into that face And then I wondered later hov it would feel here where we live lo have such a political thunderbolt strike one of our towns Would we fight back as well Would in government listen Again I hope so We all need our government to be responsible and that means not saddling us with debt our children will curse We also need govern ment to be That means balancing economics and the of peoples lives Ottawa needs to have a head but it cannot rule without a heart This season 1 11 be giving thinks for all that Dorothy and I have and for the abundance of the town we live in But I will also be thinking bevond that of the new friends this job has given me and of the PEI mud tied on my desk As long as hope lives it stays right there Engaged Steve and are proud to announce the engagement of their daughter Suzanne to Albert Jeffrey Dykxhoorn son of Clara The wedding date is June 1 1991 Main Street South Downtown Georgetown 8731470 Foodstuff 92 Main S Downtown Georgetown 8776569 Christmas pageant at United Church BETTY Correspondent What a busy time this past Sun day for members of the Ballinafad Church The congregation were treated to a wonderful Christmas pageant which had all members of the Sunday School and the Junior Choir participating As well as the act the pageant was filled with lots f singing Alex Pinkerton had the lead in the play and gave a memorable performance There were a great many lines for him to rcmembf Mrs Pal Kerr had given many hours in organizing and for With help from the Sunday school teachers and others the pageant was exceptional Mrs Ke was presented with flowers at the end of sen ice in appreciation of her efforts Then it was off to St Andrew Church in Georgetown Sunday evening for the Senior Choir and other members of the tion Here a spfcial Christmas Carol Service was honor of Rev Band Rev is leaving the St Andrew and con to take a position in Guelph The Ballinafad Senior Choir had been practising with St Andrew s Choir lo prepare for this evening Their efforts were rewarded with the sweet musical notes emitted Rev Bandy was presented with a few parting gifts which included a computer desk Mr Floyd Shortill represented the congregation gave fine words of best wishes for Rev Ban dy The Women Institute were join ed by their husbands for a Christmas supper at Mrs Dons Burt home A gift exchange that included the husbands was enjoyed by all The ladies found time among the merriment to attend to business Plans were made to distribute food baskets for shut ins in the area with a tentative delivery date of Dec 20 A note was made for the donation given to the Foster family who had recently suffered the tragedy of a house fire The evening ended with euchre being played Their next meeting will be on Wednesday Jan RECYCLING nl all do our pari Please Remember to Recycle This Newspaper WESTERN carpet VINYL BR0ADL00M VINYL TILE AREA RUGS FULL INSTALLATION DEPT FAST FRIENDLY SERV 184 GUELPH ST 8732355 86 KENNEDV BRAMPTON OPEN MonFri 99 Saturday 96 PREBOXING DAY SALE SAVE OFF ENTIRE WINTER STOCK DRESSES Parly Dressoi Chang Rou L da Lundnltom London SAVE 30 Regular and CAREER DRESSING Blazers skirts pants blouses and sweaters from Jones New York Mr Simon Chang Mister Leonard Garey Tan Jay and more ALL AT 30 OFF Regular and Petites OUTERWEAR All winter coats and ackets from London Fog Sterling Stall Luhta Novelti Far West and more 30 OFF Regular and Petites ACCESSORIES All Hats Scarves Gloves Mittens and Jewellery 30 OFF SAVE OFF ALL