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the HERALD Page Editorial Wednesday December IS mm Home Newspaper Halton Hills Established 866 A Division of Canadian Newspaper Company Limited Guetph Street Ontir L7G K ROBERT MALCOLMSON Publisher and General Manager 8772201 COLIN GIBSON Managing Editor SUBSCRIPTION Town should practise what it preaches It only makes sense the municipality of Halton Hills prac tise what it preaches if it expects cooperation from its residents However the Town appears to be slow in following this common sense approach to governing in the area of the 3 Rs reuse reduction and recycling As the saying goes environmental protection starts in the home the Towns home being the Halton Hills Civic Centre Sure people can find blue boxes scattered throughout 1 Hills Drive And yes civic centre cafeteria staff com posts organic material and only uses stainless steel cutlery instead of the disposable kind Whats the problem then Its no secret a recycling program is only financially viable if recycled products are bought The public for long time now has been bombarded with press reports about how municipal recycling programs are in because of a lack of markets for recycled products Its in this area that local municipal governments should take a leadership role since they are prime supporters of recycling programs However its in this area where the people a 1 Halton Hills appear to be lagging behind According to Stephen Thompson Town Administrative Assistant the Town purchases no recycled paper except for the envelopes it buys He explains the Town uses such a small amount of recycled paper because it is approximately 15 per cent more expensive than virgin paper Furthermore said Mr Thompson recycled paper doesnt lazer print or photocopy well However Halton Region has a policy that wherever possible only paper with a minimum of per cent recycled content is purchased Kevin Jones of the Regions purchasing department couldnt say exactly how much recycled paper the Region buys but he did stress it amounts to much more than the number of envelopes purchased Higher costs aside Hills councillors have said on several occasions the environment is of primary concern Community Forum Meaning of Christmas CATHIE MARTIN Georgetown Giving love and Christ The meaning of Christmas has been lost through commercialism but I think weve demanded it and com they stores have met our demands It is not what it used to be DAVEMADDIGAN Georgetown Christinas is a time for family We have a tendency to forget the real meaning of Christmas It is like a start of something new KEN Glen Williams Christmas means goodwill and children always look forward to Christmas CATHIE Georgetown amily and sharing Christmas has been exploited by making Kir kids believe they can have all the they Peoples Forum- Letter writers take offence to column on gun control Dear Editor I think Mr Sommers article Private ownership of guns should be outlawed requires some comments Mr Sommer mentions handing out hunting permits to everybody over a certain age As my band is Chairperson for the Hunter Education Programme in County I would like to point out that this statement is totally false Hunting licences are not just handed out when you reach a cer tain age Anyone wishing to have a hunting licence must first take a Hunter Safety Course Upon completion of the course there is a written examination with the Ministry of Natural Resources as well as a test on the practical handling of a firearm Only after passing both of these tests is a person qualified to receive their hunting If the hunters described in Mr Sommer s article were doing something wrong they have been reported I the Ministry of Natural Re Every gun owner be judged by a few bad apples As far as determining who is a responsible person there is no cut method and the same problem anses when so meone sits behind the steering wheel of a car or is faced with alcohol and drugs How do we determine who is going to act responsibly Maybe cars alcohol and drugs should all be outlawed so that we can have our peaceful neighborhoods free of fear What about all the violence and sex on the television and in the movies which give the wrong people ideas which they copy Shouldnt this too be outlawed I am also very concerned about the crime and violence in our society today and agree that anyone using a firearm in a crime should be penalized severely Gun control does not stop crime criminal justice does Mr Sommer also goes on to malign gun collectors How does Mr Sommer know what security devices each collector has or whether they are adequate or not I would also like to point out that there are many responsi gun owners who enjoy target shooting trap shooting and other types of competition shooting Why should they have to be deprived of their sport just because Mr Sommer feels that guns should be outlawed Taking all the firearms from legitimate gun owners would not stop crime and violence Legitimate gun owners are car concerned men and women with families who also want peace and happiness the same as Mr Sommer Yours truly Clow Acton Letter to Editor Mr John Sommer s poisen pen strikes again Your recent article suggesting the outlawing of hun ting and gun collecting serves once again to display your nar row minded left wing socialist attitude Youre fortunate that you have Canadian newspapers to write to because this kind of communist diatribe is not even tolerated in the Soviet Union any longer How dare you use your privilege as art critic for the Herald to blabber on about outlawing anything Your col umn is nothing more than your own personal opinion and of dubious value at best If you real ly wish to serve the community then resign and spare us your mindless dnvel Open your mind Mr Sommer and realize that the world has a lot of things that we dont need We dont need guns We dont need fast cars golf baseball alcohol cigarettes pleasure boats and a great many other things that people do and enjoy in their leisure time We art galleries either But the fact is that we have all these things In a free society we accept varied tastes and ac tivities just as we accept people of different races We as Cana dians have the most basic right to enjoy activities or hobbies pro vidmg we do so in a peaceful and law abiding manner What we don t need is more government and more laws to loll us what we cant do But that philosophy represents something you ap parently dont understand Freedom Write us a letter The Herald wants to hear from you If you have an opinion you want to express or a comment to make send us a letter or drop by the office Our address is Guelph Street Georgetown Ontario L7G 3Z6 AH letters must be signed Please include your ad dress and telephone number for verification The Herald reserves the right to edit letters due to space limitations Sap I saw it in Herald