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THE Wednesday November 1 1989 Page Opinion Page LETTERS 30 years ago Mrs Wilfred was elected president of the Daughters of the Church at a meeting in the Archdeacon Thumpson memorial room at St Georges last Monday The executive elected to support i her included Mrs Stewart Phillips Mrs Alan Thompson Mrs Ron Mrs Stan Mrs I Walter and Mrs Charles Also elected as leaders were Mrs William McNally for group I Mrs Stan for group 2 Mrs Harold Catling for group and Mrs Bon Roberts for group Mrs Thomas Van Sickler held the presidents chair for the election before handing her position over to Mrs Brisbois Audrey Eileen Cain daughter of Mr and Mrs Robert Cain mar ried Douglas Robert Weir of Mrs Harvey Armstrong in the St Church in Glen Williams Rev John Rathbone officiated at the wedding in which the bride and groom were piped out of the church by Pipe Major Joe Sellers of the Pipe Scots Band Mr Weir is also a member of the band 15 years ago A candlelight service was held at the wedding of Hazel Brenda Vokey daughter of Mr and Mrs Roy William Vokey and Donald Cree son of Mr and Mrs William Kenneth TTegenza The doublering service took place at St Georges Anglican Church and was officiated by Father Gallagher The Ballinafad Community Cen tre was the place Mr and Mrs Frank Smith celebrated their wedding anniversary The events started Saturday night with a fami ly dinner party and continued Sun day in the Community Centre Frank Smith and Winifred Hull were married at the Methodist Church on Oct 28 Haltons History from our files and Rev Henry Caldwell of- ficiated They were the first couple to be married in the church after its construction and as far as the church trustees could find the only couple to take their vows in the church 10 years ago Georgetown is accepting the Vietnamese families with open arms Trang Tang recently started work at Mold Masters His fahterindaw Senh Thong is working on a local farm and his son Cun Tsan is working as an apprentice mechanic in Brampton The refugee families are all enrolled in English language courses and all have been able settle in apartments located close to each other 5 years ago Georgetown resident Ciaudette Smith was recently named as the new executive of the Georgetown and District YMCA Ms Smith replaces John Wood who was transferred to the Ys Metro facili ty- Georgetown resident Tom Reed was named as the new president of the Georgetown Kiwanis Club Also named to the new executive were Paul Taylor second vice president Tom Reed president David Sararas treasurer Vic Clark director Brian Goodlet first vice president Jeff Eason director Philip Jones director and Charles Forsyth director Blown away by the Windy City Gawd I love Well I dont love the town but I appreciate it greatly I am a changed person after seeing downtown Chicago In fact I may never be the same Driving back home from beautiful Georgetown and the Herald everyday I used to think it all literally and figuratively went downhill as I headed south in my Topaz But nay folks It could always be worse My guided tour of Chicago downtown the south which is said to be the worst area was narrated by my brotherinlaw a cop and my sister an insurance claims ad juster Both had stories that could make your toes curl Bob said that stabbings were constant Jean my sister said that she has claims where people have their nurses stolen while sitting in their car at a red light The assailant smashes the window and reaches in while the car is stopped I walked into a store in downtown Chicago where one car was up on blocks It appeared as if the wheels were stolen I gripped my purse tighter than I ever had before A woman with a scarred upper Up and it wasnt a hare lip scar watched furtively from the counter as youths milled around store I got my and left fast Condoms arent total protection against AIDS Christian party says Dear Sir Since there still is no cure for AIDS and it will likely be years if not decades before one will be found it stands to reason that prevention is the key to suppress ing the spread of the disease However the way governments are educating the public leaves a lot to be desired Take for example the recent showing of an AIDS information video to students of Georgetown District High School Called The New Facts of Life the video sup- the common belief that sex ual intercourse is only safe if a con dom is used The tape may become teaching material for the man datory Grade 9 Health Education course according to the Heralds quote of the school nurse We are being led to believe that sex with a condom is safe Although there is much evidence suggesting that the spread of AIDS can be slowed condom use everyone must realize that sometimes condoms do fail There can be no truly safe sex apart from abstinence chastity until mar riage and fidelity within mar riage The Herald reported that some students who had viewed the tape said they believed abstinence is an unreal solution They really cannot be blamed for this feeling because no one is encouraging them to try that solution What strikes me is that these same students reported ly said they feared becoming preg nant more than getting AIDS More than ever our youth need direction and values so that they may not fear the future Govern ment must immediately act to em phasize prevention through morallysound living Currently Canadas educators and media are convincing us that since teenagers lack selfcontrol and only self- gratification matters the means must be made available to have sex safely Instead youths must be convinced that they indeed can control themselves Wouldnt you feel insulted if someone told you you lacked selfcontrol Jeffrey Streutker Christian Heritage Party of Canada HaltonPeel Riding Association Ever the photographer and tourist my camera was loaded as we spun our wheels through up town downtown and hardcore USA I was warned by my season ed relatives to give the camera a low profile or I could regret aiming the Canon at the wrong person at the wrong time There is a district near Com- iskey Stadium referred to as the Projects The Projects are a group of highrise apartments dotted with bright lights some of which are said to be smashed out by gun shots or vandalism When we pass ed the Projects Bobs car didnt slow We hung behind cars at the stoplights and maneuvered through any yellow lights we could This city cant really be that bad I kept insisting Just then a fire truck drove into the Projects where we could see a group of youths surrounding a fire Bob who is a cop in Elgin out side of Chicago said firefighters get worse treatment from the Pro jects residents than police do Thats saying something After my tourdeforce of Chicago we boarded the plane to Toronto It was after am when I finally got back to my highrise multiplex apartment in Meadowvale I used to think that town was urbanized I opened the trunk of my car to get out my suitcases My hands were full as I turned around and saw four men in their late twen ties early thirties standing there looking at me Altered as I was by the fear of the day and the realization that life really has a seedy side I was terrified And I felt pretty helpless But they turned out to be nice guys one of them offered to carry my suitcases As he offered he asked if I was scared Heck no Chamber supports GST concept EDITORS NOTE The following letter to HaltonPeel MP Garth Turner was filed with the Herald for publication Dear Garth On behalf of the Issues Commit tee of the Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce I would like to thank you for taking the time to meet with us At our recent board of directors meeting I had the opportunity of reporting to my fellow directors some of what was discussed Many were unaware that any extra in come generated by the GST Goods and Services Taxi in its first year would not be applied against the deficit but rather distributed back to the taxpayers Concerns were also raised as to the number of exceptions that are be ing proposed and the number of groups that are now appearing before tne parliamentary commit tee asking for exceptions from the GST While we do not like the idea of more taxes the Halton Hills More Letters on Page 8 1 Chamber of Commerce realizes that the present manufacturing tax is unfair to Canadian companies and needs to be changed With this in mind the Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce supports the concept of the GST however we believe that the rate should be lower and that no exceptions be allowed The chamber is also concerned with the complexity of the proposed tax and the fact that a unified tax collec tion system must be put in place for the GST and the provincial sales tax Many small retailers will find the proposed system dif ficult to deal with and the small amount they will get for acting as tax collectors will not recompense them for their time and efforts The Hills Chamber of Commerce also feels that any ex tra income from this tax be ap plied against the deficit which is threatening our economy In con junction we ask that the federal government not rely solely on in creasing revenue but cut spending as well and that each area of government spending be closely scrutinized The attitude towards spending cuts must be at all levels of govern ment It will not help the country and the taxpayers if the federal government cuts spending only to have other levels of government irf- their spending and expand their services Accordingly we will be sending a copy of this letter to all other levels of government as well As per your suggestion we will meet on a regular basis so that we may establish clear lines of com munication about issues that affect the businesses located in Hills Yours truly John Chairman WRITE US A LETTER The Herald wants to hear from If have an opinion you want to express or a comment to make send us a letter or drop the office Our address is Guelph St GeorgeUm n 17G 1ZR All letters must be signed Please include address and telephone number for verification The Herald reserves the right to edit letters due to space limitations or libel We dont want to see The problem with so many news items is that they just dont give you the really crucial information And this was certainly the case with an unsettling little report out of Ottawa the other day According to the report House Speaker John wants to revamp the rules governing TV coverage of Parliamentary pro ceedings since the current method gives less than an accurate por trayal of what goes on in the House The Canadian people Mr Eraser continues should be able to see what I see And thats where the report end ed Right there With no regard whatever to the burning question that is now uppermost in our minds why precisely does Mr want us to see what really goes on in the House of Commons Does he honestly believe this in formation is important Or does he just hate us Lets be blunt Most Canadians are slightly cynical about the political process As such most regard the House of Commons in much the same way that they regard say an SPCA spayneuter clinic They know it exists They know- that what goes on inside is impor tant and even essential But theyd rather not have to watch Surely this is the rationale behind the current rules for TV coverage which stipulate that the camera must remain ex clusively on whichever Honorable Member happens to be speaking at any given moment This way the camera can give us a controlled glimpse of whats being said and done without the risk of showing anything that might frighten the cat If the gentlemen on the opposite benches are making faces and fly ing paper airplanes we dont have to see it If he Hon Member from Codswallop Is mooning the SergeantatArms the nation re mains gratefully ignorant As youll remember there wasnt even partial TV coverage of the House until the 1970s And at the time there were still people who argued against any coverage at all The House they maintained should continue to operate on the principles of those tasteful 1940s movies which held that anything even mildly shocking should take place behind closed doors Never mind about the audiences right to know Just encourage them to avert their eyes and think pure thoughts At this point actually I should stop and make a confession A few years back I did a stint as a parliamentary correspondent and so Ive actually seen what goes on in the House If youd like to send the children from the room please take this op portunity As a reporter quite frankly I was heartily in favor of the deci sion to televise Question Period This way you could cover it from the bar across the street But this begs the issue of whether the cameras should show whats really going on To be honest I found my own ex posure to the House disillusioning Just for starters the debates didnt unfold quite the way they were recorded in Hansard Hansard has a wonderfully quaint formula for recording spirited exchanges An Hon Member The minister is misleading the House Other Hon Members Oh oh Id always wondered about this oh oh business Then I discovered its actually Hansards coy translation for Sos mother and liar liar pants on fire On the other hand lets not stoop to exaggeration Generally speak ing the House stops well short of resembling a barroom full of in ebriated sailors on shore leave Its more like a Junior high school slumber party thats gotten slightly out of hand Its unplea sant but nothing you couldnt put a stop by phoning the ringleaders parents As such I really dont think million Canadians need the op portunity to witness precisely what John sees in the House Now you can certainly sym pathize with Mr