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THURSDAY, JULY 2, 1998 GRAP Books and berries The Acton branch of the Halton Hills Public Library invites the pub- lic to help celebrate 100 years of free public library service in Acton with a strawberry social on Saturday (July 4) at the River Street location. The Acton Citizens' Band will provide the entertainment, and along with the refreshments, there will be con- tests, draws and a chance to learn about the history of the Acton library. Free tickets are available at the Acton branch. Sonlight Island adventures Looking for something for the kids to do next week? There are still spaces left in the Bethel Christian Reform Church's vacation bible school that runs next week at the church. In conjunction with the Evangel Pentecostal Tabernacle, church members will stage what they call an adventure on Sonlight Island which will include games, crafts, songs, snacks and non-denomina- tional bible stories for kids entering kindergarten through Grade 6 this fall. The popular vacation bible school -- now in its seventh year -- attracts approximately 100 children each summer. The program runs from July 6 to 12, from 9 a.m. to noon daily. A donation of $2 per child, or $5 for a family to help pay for craft supplies would be appreciated. You can register in advance by calling Charlene at 853-1586 and if there is space available, registrations will be taken Monday morning. Postie says goodbye » R.R. 2 Acton postie Leah Youngblut, who ended 17 years of rural mail delivery on Tuesday, will miss many people along her route, and they will miss her. A cheaper contractor -- Haykor Distribution of Ottawa -- underbid Youngblut by approximately 25 per cent and then sub-contracted delivery on the 460- stop route, beginning today (Thurs- day.) : Youngblut, a non-union inde- pendent mail carrier, is worried that customers along the route won't get the care and concern she was able to give them. Canada Post communications spokesman Tom Dalby said Haykor was a "top-notch operator" which was the lowest of five bidders for the route. Haycor, which won the R.R. # 1 Acton route three years ago, offered it to the current driver at less than was paid eight years ago. Haykor has 140 routes across the province. The contracts for R.R. 3 and 4, Danville, Limehouse and Moffat are held by an out-of-town man who sub-con- tracts them out. Former garage sold The abandoned Little garage at 373 Queen Street E. is in for some much-needed repairs after being pur- chased recently by Ted Tyler, owner of the adjacent travel and transport company, and publisher of The New Tanner. The sale ends proposed plans for a drug store on the site which was owned by Acton Pharmacy Limited. Should a committee be organized to save the old arena? I think there should be a committee. It makes sense to spend money on it. Valerie Bloomfield, Georgetown Knock it down. It will create work. Rebuild another arena with the money. Steve Nye, Mississauga I think so. It can be put to a lot of use. There's not much for the kids to do in town and it could be a leisure centre and for other uses as well. Linda Fendley, Acton Yes. It should be saved. Two arenas are better than one. Mike Kentner, Acton NOT FORGOTTEN: Employees of Shoemaker Funeral Home and local families gathered at Fairview RORENA Ritn 1EAB gee Cemetery on Friday to place Canadian Flags in remembrance on veterans' graves. -- Ted Tyler photo Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman created quite a stir last Sunday when he led the Gay Pride Parade. It was too bad that some idiots feel it necessary to telephone in death threats to hizzonner. Mel ignored them, albeit with some extra po- lice presence, and for that I ap- plaud him. - If nothing else, Mel is an as- stantial gay community, most of whom probably did not vote for him last election. I'll bet my last nickel that, by showing up at the parade, Mel garnered more than a few votes. I also think he estab- lished an important principle. He reminded us that he is "Mayor of all the people." I don't want to get into a dis- cussion of whether people who object to Gay Pride Day are afraid of homosexuals or just can't ac- cept the lifestyle. Such a discus- sion is usually moot since neither end of the spectrum is liable to change their views. The vast ma- jority of people tend to have a neu- tral "live and let live" attitude. I don't understand why some people are so opposed to this pa- rade. Lifestyle not withstanding, why should anyone object to a sub- stantial number of people celebrat- ing their community? Granted, the gay activists are in our faces so often they can get moderate folks upset. But then, so are union ac- tivists, environmentalists, poverty activists and so on. To my memory however, no one has ever objected to a politician marching in the Labour Day Parade. Another argument that makes no sense to me is the "when do we ever have a heterosexual parade"! Gee -- almost all the time -- don't we? What is the Santa Claus Pa- rade? A celebration for children who are the result of some male/ female interaction. Toronto has many religious parades which gen- a The Way | I See It with Mike O'Leary tute politician. Toronto has a sub- erally celebrate the traditional fam- ily. Heterosexuals have ample oppor- tunity to celebrate their lifestyle in public. It's just that we do so under different names. I'm also fed up with people who take children to the parade and then complain about what they see. What are they expecting -- Barney? Holy smokes, if you don't want your chil- dren to be exposed to overt sexuality then keep them home. If an atheist went to a Passion procession at Easter and complained there was too much emphasis on Jesus Christ as God, would anyone pay them any mind? I think not. This is not a column which seeks to promote or legitimize the gay life- style. Quite frankly, it's not up to me, or you, to either approve or not ap- prove how these folks live. I have my own values and beliefs that I ex- pect others to respect. Shouldn't gay people expect the same? That said, I do have some prob- lems with parade participants. I think those who chose to parade sans clothes should be arrested. I can see no reason why anyone should be ex- empted from obeying the law be- cause they are in this particular pa- rade. Try the same thing in the La- bour Day Parade and they'd be scooped up pretty quick. Ditto for any other street performers who commit lewd and lavascious acts. Everything Ihave read indicates the average gay person is embarrassed and disquieted with such obscene public displays. Of course they are. Do you honestly think a person's sleeping arrange- ments would cause them to have dif- Marching with Pride ferent views on acceptable social behavior than the average straight person? I did see a great T-shirt in one photo which said: "I'm gay. I can't even think straight." Now how can you get angry with anyone who is so comfortable in their skin that they can be so delightfully Pe roc Another prob- em. ve 1 some acliv= | ists is their deannd that rest of the world has to accept them on their terms. Nonsense. I've met many people over the years who have a philosophy or moral belief I can't accept. I don't have to like them or accept them. I don't have to ever see or talk to them again. Last time I looked, it wasn't against the law to dislike some- one. What I can't do, however, is try to force this other person to live their lives according to my beliefs. If I try to take that route, aren't I being as intolerant as I accuse them of being! I would be pretty pompous if I claimed to have all the answers about how life should be lived. Hell, most of us don't even have all the questions. I'm all for people having strong personal values. As I ap- plaud Mel, I also admire the mayor of London, Ontario who refused to proclaim Gay Pride Week. It is also worth noting that, despite not campaigning, she was re-elected. Obviously she under- stood her electorate as well as Mel did. Also, like Mel, she followed her instincts and did what she believed to be the right thing. If more politicians did what they believed to be the "right thing" more often we'd all be better off. So to all those who took in last Sunday's parade, I hope you had a good time. You had a great day for it. Now, if we can just get a bit of snow for Santa, the 1998 marching season will be a success. od --- Write a letter to the editor! Deadline is Tuesday at noon