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6 THE GEORGETOWN GEMINI = WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1996 OPIN ION Nothin'. He jst shook my hand, asted me how iy bench was, said he was sorry for what Hey, |got some Candy the Tories did fo me and then said Fitting conclusion to sad episode The shock, the hurt and the anger that many felt when downtown shopkeeper Michael Wong was viciously attacked last May has finally come to a fitting conclusion. Last Wednesday, in a Milton court room, Judge Douglas Latimer pronounced sentence on 30-year-old Craig Harrison, sentencing him to two years less a day in reformatory. No doubt, Georgetown is an admittedly WASP town, _ though the face of the populace has begun to change over recent years; a more true reflection.of Canadian society. It is a sad fact that the Harrison incident is not an isolated incident in Georgetown in recent years. It was only a few years ago that the Ku Klux Klan surfaced at the corner of Mill Stréet and Main Street, recruiting with their particular brand of venom -- hate for all things that don't reflect their own narrow point of view. Indeed, it was read into the court record last Wednesday that Harrison was found by Halton Regional Police constables burning a cross, Klan-style, in his front yard in 1989. At the time he was said to have been shouting racial epithets, claiming that racism was his religion. The sad irony is that many of those targeted by Harrison are of different religions than his warped sense of true Christian faith. By the logic of his argument, Harrison was free ta practise his aggressive religion of hatred against those whose beliefs differed from his own. To justify his actions in the name of God, or in the name of free speech is a sacrilege to anyone of any faith. In this business, we often have to deal with what some would call the lunatic fringe. In such cases, far too often, we have to resort to the tenet of, "if you give an idiot enough rope, he will eventually hang himself." Not to be take literally, of course, but under our system of democracy, everyone is entitled to an opinion, no matter how odious. By his actions, Craig Harrison has shown himself to be beyond the envelope of acceptable behaviour. In less than two weeks we will be honouring the veterans who gave all to fights for certain rights we consider to be so precious, that they are worth dying for. One of those rights, perhaps the most precious, is a right to live your life without being harmed by those who would do so to serve their own selfish needs. Michael Wong's rights were violated in a most grievous manner. Fortunately the judiciary saw fit to punish one who put his rights ahead of another. e What are you going @ out as for Halloween? "Probably a vampire -- I'm handing out candy to little kids." Lisa Laing, RR 1, Georgetown "T'm going as a fireman, with boots, and my firehat, ax and jacket." David Haynes, Georgetown Com and Mars Bars wae What d'you get ? real soon !? Ae hopes | find a job "ETTERS Fair trial or will vigilantism prevail? To The Editor, - A question arises (on reading the Wilson accident report in Wednes- day's paper (The Gemini, Oct. 23, Pages | and 3)) -- no, a few ques- tions arise. Will both Mr. Ogden and Mr. Ambroziewicz expect and receive full legal protection and councel? A fair and public trial? Will both of these men expect and receive full civil liberties con- siderations and all human and con- stitutional rights? Will these men be free to assume they are protected from physical and mental abuse and torture? Har- assment? Swarming? Degradation? Public humiliation? Or will they suffer the new vigi- lante justice that Georgetown and Halton-Peel have not only so de- lightfully accepted and condoned, but wholeheartedly participated in? I don't think so ... Ontario's radi- cal experiment needs a psychopath to administer and control the terror- ism and sadism, and hopefully nei- ther Mr. Ogden or Mr. Ambroziewicz have some one in their lives with that much hate! Heather Marchment, Charles Street An apple a day... To the Editor, Community spirit and support is alive and well in Halton Hills! Recently, North Halton Scouts, Cubs and Beavers offered apples to the citizenry of Halton Hills in the annual "Scout Apple Day." In spite of wet, chilly and dreary weather conditions, the turnout of Scouting youth and adult assistants for this "thank you to the commu- nity" autumnal event was heart- warming. The people of Halton Hills were very appreciative of the offer of a polished, locally grown apple by well-groomed, enthusiastic, uni- formed Scouting youth and they responded by contributing gener- ously into the collection jars. The funds raised on "Scout Apple Day" are turned wholly back into the vari- ous groups in our community al- lowing them to purchase camp gear, badges and supplies. To the citizens of Halton Hills, your North Halton District Council of Scouts Canada, on behalf of its youth and adult volunteer members, truly appreciates your generosity and continued support! Steven Norman, secretary Scouts Canada -- North Halton District Council GEORGETOWN GEMINI LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY to the Editor. racy. Letter to the Editor, The Georgetown Gemini P.O. Box 145 Georgetown, ON L7G 4T1 The Georgetown Gemini welcomes and encourages Letters Letters should be short and to the point. The editorial staff of The Georgetown Gemini reserve the right to edit for slander, style, libel, and length, and accu- Letters should be addressed as follows: SyVINI Publisher & Editor Paul Nolan Office Manager Linda Hayes Editorial Staff Kyle Goodlet Jamie Harrison Frances Niblock Joanne Stevenson Advertising Staff Lynne Buscher Trish Henry Production Staff Kim Konarzycki Distribution Manager Marie Shadbolt Regular Contributors Eve Martin Steve Martin Mike O' Leary Alex Tough THE GEORGETOWN GEMINI is published weekly on Wednesdays by Wicklow Hills Publishing Co. Inc. Mailing address: P.O. Box 145, Geor- getown, Ont., L7G 4T1. Phone: (905) 877-1113. Fax: (519)853-5040. Geor- getown administrative office: Per- sonal Secretarial Services, Unit 47, 360 Guelph St., L7G 4BS5. Reproduc- tion without permission is prohibited. Ideas expressed herein are those of the author only. AD SALES: Publisher is responsi- ble for errors in advertisements to extent of cost of that portion of the space occupied by erroneous item. PHONE THE GEM: (905)877-1113 FAX THE GEM: (519)853-5040