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THE NEW TANNER a EDITORIAL with Hartley Coles Danger at intersection Another incident at Mill and Main has again focused atten- tion on pedestrian safety at this busy intersection where Highway 7 and Regional Road 25 (formerly Hwy 25) meet. This time a grandmother and her three-year-old grand- daughter were attempting to cross Main Street, walking east, when a van, turning left onto Mill from southbound Main, struck the grandmother's leg. Although she wasn't seriously hurt, it was a frightening experience for both her and the youngster, who was bumped by a van at the same intersection six months ago. The three-year-old's mother says, "You always take your life in your hands when you cross this intersection." Most of the cars don't wait for the pedestrians to cross when they have a walk sign and it's always busy with lots of huge trucks." The mother is right. The intersection can be a frightening experience, especially at rush hours when large trucks and bumper-to-bumper cars and vans come from all four direc- tions. In spite of the fact the Province has relegated Highway 25 to a regional road, it has not reduced the volume of traffic. Indeed, since the former Hwy 25 has been paved from Acton to Ospringe, it most likely will attract more vehicular traffic, especially trucks. A statistical history of the intersection indicates there are 6.6 accidents a year there, and in the five years ending in 1996 there were 33 accidents, six of which involved personal injuries. Halton Hills traffic analyst Bob Butrym has said the numbers of accidents at the intersection are at a level that warrants study. However, statistics don't tell the whole story. The numbers of near misses and heart-thumping experiences at the intersec- tion are not recorded in data banks. It's an intimidating place for both pedestrians and drivers, compounded by its proximity to the IGA plaza where there is a constant flow of traffic, in and out. When the Town installed a pedestrian traffic light at the Robert Little school crossing where the-School Lane meets Main Street North, it helped slow down incoming traffic from Hwy 7 and 25. Police constantly patrol Main Street North and issue tickets: to speeders but they can't be on patrol at all time. So unless there are better answers to the problem at the intersection, some thought should be given to slowing traffic down before it reaches Mill and Main. River. By Senator Colin Kenny Young people are intricate. Not that older folk aren't intricate too, but at least we've had a bit of time to a to figure out what makes us tick. Not so with young people. Any- one claiming to know how to spew out a quick assessment of what mo- tivates any given teenager, or group of teenagers, is a fool. Let's say you've got a kid who smokes. Fresh young lungs headed for the long dirty road. Why a young person smokes may involve a number of factors: to be part of a peer group, rebellion against parents and other authority figures, striving for independence, the excitement of risk-taking behaviour, weight con- All of these factors, of course, are exacerbated by tobacco advertising and cigarettes that are a lot cheaper than they used to be. What to do, parent, what to do? Do you scold? Bribe? Cajole? Use seare tactics? Threaten? Reason? Plead? Made a deal? Or ignore? part of the mix that makes cigarettes appealing? That probably means that whatever strategy you employ will be tle one you can imagine. Hey, they eyes. So, what's the alternative? Turn the problem over to ad agencies? voted to manipulating people's be- help. But young people have been watching these clever schemers for a long time too, and when the mes- sages gets righteous most of them twig to the fact that ad people are just parents in disguise. DRY DAM: A good illustration of the drought which has reduced provided by the dam on mill Street where the Black Creek leaves Fairy lake on its way to the Credit Only a trickle of water is going over the dam because of the law water levels in the lake. Rain which pounded this area Tuesday and Wednesday helped to alleviate the drought which has dried up wells in the rural districts. - Frances Niblock photo Young people who smoke trol, stress release - the list goes on. What if rebellion against you is - countered. Even if it's the most sub- | know us. They watch us with big . Wily masterminds, their lives de-- haviour? Sure, maybe these folks can . THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1998 water ground levels in this area is ..- how do we help them? tal guidance won't work, if the slick guys at the ad agencies are a lot bet- ter at selling cigarettes than they are at selling clean living, how do we give our young people a chance to avoid the kind of addiction that is killing off 40,000 Canadians a year? I say there are answers. But they are complex answers. They will in- volve ar kinds of initiatives taken by the collective efforts of all kinds of people. And they will cost money. But we can get that money, and we don't have to take it from taxpayers. Remember, the tobacco compa- nies say they aren't out to entice young customers to replace the ones who are dying off. They have said publicly that they want to help dis- courage that very thing. You may laugh at that - | admit it makes me laugh - but there is a way of making these companies put their money where their mouths pretend to be. Bill S-143, the Tobacco Industry Responsibility Act, has passed the the Asked doctor what to take for varicose vein... he said 'What ever they Senate and is ready for the House of Commons this fall. It would slap a levy of 50 cents on every carton of cigarettes sold in Canada. The $120 million in revenue raised would be distributed to community groups and national organizations across Canada who want to put real people on the front lines against tobacco addiction among the young. There has be a sense that young people and adults are working to- S gether to beat this thing. Not just clean-cut young people that appeal to every parent, but kids with pins sticking out of body parts as well. Not just clean-cut, nonsmoking par- ents and social workers, but adults who have tried 20 times to quit and failed. And adults who have been diagnosed with lung cancer and heart disease and have a story to tell. We need everybody involved. I can't tell you which approaches will work best in which communi- ties, and where the kids will be run- ning the show and where the adults will have a say, but I can say that we need face-to-face encounters all across this country that come to grips with tobacco addiction and offer healthier alternatives. The government of Canada col- -lects $1,000 in tobacco taxes for _ every dollar it puts into anti-tobacco initiatives. Frankly, that's an insult. Since California's Proposition 99 applied a 25 cent tax to every pack- age of cigarettes sold and used the money for inventive anti-tobacco programs, adult smoking has de- _clined precipitously and smoking among young people - on the rise nearly everywhere else - has stabi- lized. The pressures on young people in this society are enormous. Only if we 59 Willow Street North Acton, Ontario L7J 128 (519) 853-0051 Fax: 853-0052 Advertising Sales Maggie Mike O'Leary Angela Tyler Circulation Marie Shadbolt Composing Penny Zurbrigg offer.' What to do, what to do? If paren- EB See Bill S-143 on Page 5 Publisher Ted Tyler Distributed to every home ee in Acton and area as well as Editorial Hartley Coles adjoining communities. Frances Niblock Ellen Piehl Petrushevsky ADVERTISING POLICY Every effort will be made to see advertising copy, neatly presented, is correctly printed. The publisher assumes no financial responsibility for typographical errors or omissions in advertising, but will gladly reprint without charge that part of an advertisement in which an error may occur provided a claim is made within five days of publication.