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Page 6 — Halton ‘Hills This: Week, Saturday, July'24, 1993 Opinion tie | HIS WEEN Georgetown, Ont. L7G 481, Halton Hills This QE. Web Abels set tae any time, PUBLISHER: Ken Bellamy —_ EDITOR: Colin Gibsor PRODUCTION MANAGER: ieiieen sas orciset: PHONE: 873-2254 MANAGER: Jt il SECEATION MANAGER: Marie Shadbolt HALTON HILLS THIS WEEK Is Be PENDENTLY OWNED & OPERATED. "AX:873-3918! 4 Tragedy demands change This column was going to be devoted to Ontario Premier Bob Rae and how the ‘Social Contract’ issue would affect our area. However, the tragic death of young Harmony Bull last Monday has cast a pall on Halton Hills that makes other matters seem more than merely mundane in comparison. Funeral services were held Thursday, and it wouldn’t be out of place to suggest our whole community mourned the young woman’s death and shared - to a degree - the anguish and emotional turmoil which threatened at times to understandably overcome her father, Arthur Bull Some might suggest the media has no right to intervene in such moments of personal grief and in this case, com- munity catharsis. To a point, I agree. But the circumstances surrounding the Bull frie 'S tragedy cry out for at least justification - if not justice. I was Managing Editor of the Halton Hills Herald the evening of May 26, 1990 when word came through of a horrific crash near the top of what we refer to as Norval Hill. chance, I was at the newspaper when a shaken reporter returned from the accident scene. Near tears, he attempted to describe what he had witnessed, but broke down before he could finish. Omitting the obscenities, he related how some punk scum had crashed head-on into a car killing two people and leaving a third critically injured. Sheila Ann Bull, 42, her daughter Amanda, 14, were pronounced dead at the scene. The other daughter, Harmony, then 16, was not expected to live. Harmony was airlifted to Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto where she underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her brain. The surgery was successful, Harmony, although disabled, would live. And she did, until last Monday. Through pluck, courage, perseverance ‘and the’devotion of her father, Harmony defied the odds and willed herself to live. Thad the pleasure of talking with Harmony, on occasion through her convalescence, and her innate intelligence, sense of humor and inner spark never failed to send me on my way with renewed hope that somehow humankind might yet muddle through its self-inflicted wounds. ' As for the scum who directly, or indirectly, caused the death of Harmony Bull - he’s still alive and comfortably living in a federal prison with the possibility of being released as early as March 13, 1995. ie scum’s name is Scott Leonard Boyes, who was alcohol and drug-impaired and driving a stolen car, when he slammed into the Bull vehicle. I did a bit of checking and through various sources, dis- covered that both the Toronto Star and the Georgetown Independent were wrong in what they reported. Boyes, convicted on Oct. 17, 1990, got seven years and five months for his role in taking three lives and on Dec. 16, 1992, was refused parole when he applied for-early release - under our ridiculous system. He is eligible for mandatory release on March 13, 1995 and unless he chooses to remain behind bars, he will be able to walk the streets under parole restrictions (another joke) until his full sentence expires in April of 1997. Solicitor General Doug Lewis has been making pre- election promises about revamping the justice system. Other than introducing the very-flawed anti-stalking and anti-child pornography laws (which will be tossed out as soon as a court challenge is mounted) what has our feder- al government done to safeguard our society. Closer to home, what has Garth Turner done - other than further his own political ambitions - since he has been in office in regards changing the perceived justice system? The injustice done to the Bull family happened in Turner’s own riding. Yet ary a peep from this self-pro- claimed ‘voice of the peopl We mourn with Arthur Bull. Nothing that is said or written can compensate or even come close to appreciat- ing his heart-rending losses. ie scum Boyes had previously been sentenced in a Toronto youth court in 1987 to 18 months for stealing a car and dangerous driving which resulted in six police officers being i injure Maybe it’s about time our local federal representative, be it Turner or whoever, come the fall ‘election, started addressing local concerns. It just might save a life. Colin Gibson The People's Corner We can support our community in many ways To the Editor, T have read, with interest, your editorials over the past few months knowing that you wl a “saying it like it is.” /as particularly interested in ‘ie last two editorials where you wrote about the economic woes of our communities, both Acton and Georgetown. Tam in full agreement with what was written; If we want to enjoy living in our mid-size communities, we must, as you Suggest, support them by shopping locally. But why stop there? I suggest we sup- port and sucqurage those dedi- cated ms giving their time to beautify our town with plants and greenery, those who work tirelessly in local sports organizations, others who give us special communi- ty events beste a the year jose who do fundraising ~ or hands-on activities to help those less fortunate than them- selves. Maybe if we all picked up the piece’ of garbage we stepped on in the street, smile at the person you pass, put ack the flower someone tugged from the planter - in short - if we all did a me me for the betterment of out towns, we would attract an siders and in the process, may even help us endure our “eco- ic woes.” Eileen Dix, Acton Apology demanded from GOTrain service To the Editor: On July 3 I wrote and deliv- ered to your office a lengthy letter ann an incident that a he The following is a short- ened version of that incident which occurred as I attempted to disembark the GO train at its final destination, Georgetown. 5:45 p.m. train to Georgetown was approxi- mately 15 minutes late as it pulled into the Georgetown station at 7 p.m. I was anxious to meet someone who was to be waiting at the station to give me a ride home. I was standing directly behind two other people in front of the exit doors on the right-hand side. When the doors opened, the two people in front of me exited and I followed quickly behind, only to have the doors abruptly slam shut in my face. I noted to my left two other Passengers who had also been affected. We waited, momen- tarily thinking the doors would re-open shortly. When it became apparent this would not be the case, we sprinted to the next car, arriving in time to see those doors as well closing (it occurred to me at this point that the train staff, despite the efforts of passen- gers outside the train to alert them, were unaware that pas- sengers were still on the train. I managed to push my left arm through the doors just before they fully closed, hop- Did reporter exhume Izaak Walton? To the Editor: T note your Editorial in the July 21styissue of “Halton Hills This Week” where you suggest that “Once you enter the TwActon Zone, reality takes eat lay I suggest that a Similar flight from reality may have taken place on the front page of the same issue? Your lead article by Oksana Buhel regarding the Municipal Board hearing reports, at some length, the testimony of one “Izaac Walton, of the Fly sche i Association” in. the preservation of i nen of Black Creek. ‘Mr. Walton’s name is used no fewer than five times in this article. And yet I have it on good authority that Mr. Izaac Walton did not appear at this referred to in the hearings, and honored in the name of the fishing club, represented there, was the famous author of the well-known book “The Compleat ”, first published in Walton lived a full life of 90:years (which may say something for the therapeutic Young people commended To the Editor: The several hundred young people ‘who used the Georgetown Fairgrounds all day on Wednesday, July 21 to play baseball are to be commended for leaving the fairgrounds as they found it - NOT ONE piece of garbage to be seen this morning at 7 a.m., July THANK YOU! Dr. Esme Ball Georgetown value of fishing as a pastime) and died on December 15, 1683. He lies buried (or did, until Oksana exhumed him) in Winchester Cathedral in England, where you can see a stained glass window show- ing him in characteristic pose, a book in‘one hand and a fish- ing rod in the other. Allan Johnson Georgetown Editor’s note: A correction appears on page 3. Miss Buhel is new to our communi- ty. However, she maintains that when she approached the aforementioned speaker, he identified himself as Izaac Walton: Yet another example of the ‘TwActon Zone?’ ing to draw attention to the GO problem. Train staff remained oblivi- ous! In fact, it was some time nae having finally resorted to knocking with my out- stretched arm on the outside window, that a track worker eventually appeared and unlocked the doors from the outside. That GO Train staff had allowed a considerable amount of time to elapse before responding to and recti- fying this problem is evi- denced by the fact that when I ived at the parking lot, my “tide home” was leaving the parking lot in the belief that all passengers had. long since disembarked, I should mention at this point that it has been routine procedure on this train for an announcement to be made that* the doors will be closing. In fact, it has been my experi- ence that this announcement is broadcast on the P.A. system three to four times to allow ample opportunity for all pas- sengers to exit. On July 2, this ‘was omitted from routine pro- lure. In light of the fact that this was the last run of the day and the last stop, I fail to under- stand how this situation was allowed: to occur. What was the rush’ Cet, this incident should not have happened in the first lace. Regardless of the motiva- tion behind it, carelessness (let’s hope not - this “brand” of carelessness could result in serious injury), incompetence or malice (a mean-spirited joke in response to proposed cutbacks maybe?) - I, and my fellow travelers, are deserving ae 2 oe (something that teceive aT ere train that day). Furthermore, the traveling public deserves better service. The reduction of service on this line (which has since become a fact of life) is an inconvenience that some of us will have to endure, but to dis- regard public safety, common courtesy and conscientious- ness would only serve to add insult to injury. Let’s hope this incident is not indicative of future (reduced) GO Train service. Stephanie Nicholl Georgetown Calm prevails as local governments deal with budget cutbacks