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THURSDAY, APRIL 13,2000 GRAP Pinned Tim Hortons drive-through won- der Gail Thompson (Hi, honey) will be doing a little show and tell at Robert Little school tomorrow (Friday) for pin day. Thompson has a prodigious col- lection of pins from far and near - al- most all of them gifts from custom- ers. Thompson wears her pins proudly on a tie and coat and soon, on an apron another loyal customer is mak- ing for her. Thompson isn't wearing her favourite pin -- purple and yellow pins with stones and a puppy made by two little girls-- it's in for repairs. Walk the Cross Acton résidents are invited to symbolically retrace Jesus' Good Fri- day walk to his crucifixion at Calvary with a Walk the Cross event tomor- row (Friday) from Churchill Commu- nity Church to Trinity United Church. Last year about a dozen people walked the five-kilometres, down Churchill Road from the corner of 32 Side Road to Trinity and organizers hope to double that number this year. People who wish to participate, but can't walk the entire distance are in- vited to join the walk anywhere along the route. The walk ended at Trinity in time for the Good Friday service at 730 p.m. Wood wonder What a beautiful piece of work- manship Acton High Grade 12 stu- dent Mike Fowler has created in a cabinet making class. Fowler, 19, de- signed and constructed the arched pine and willow table as a project last semester, and just put the finishing touches on the piece, which earned hima mark of 95, and accolades from the head of Conestoga College wood- working program who saw the table during a recent visit to Acton. Fowler will keep the table for him- self, and may turn his woodworking skills into a career. Oh, baby The crying seemed incessant. It's had not been a fun three days for Acton High school Grade 10 student Maeghan McGonigle, who was car- ing 24-7 for a computerized doll as {VIN part of the parenting class. The real looking doll -- with a normal or cranky setting-- is programmed to cry just like real babies and the "parent" must insert a plastic key in its back to set- tle it -- or face the consequences when the teacher reviews a printout of the doll's care. "Tt sure re-enforced the fact that I don't want a baby," Maeghan said, adding it gave her a lot of new experi- ences, none of them good. Cancer raffle Feeling lucky and like to help a good cause? Why don't you pur- chase a raffle ticket in conjunction with the annual Paul Murr gold tour- nament to benefit the Acton Branch of the Canadian Cancer Society. The Halton Credit Union -- the tourna- ment's banker -- is selling the raffle tickets for organizers and has set up a display/kiosk in the bank. Tickets are $5 and are available until the day of the tournament, May 15 at Blue Springs Golf Club. The main prize is a leather wingback chair and ottoman, donated by the olde Hide House. Other prizes include a set of golf clubs and a bar- becue. This is the 16th edition of the tournament, which has raised $320,000 for cancer research in the name of former Acton resident, and golfer, Paul Murr. Chickadee a winner It continues to be a banner year for Acton's Peter Zions Construction and partner firm, Pat Stuart Develop- ments. Just a month after being named Business of the Year by the Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce, and builder of the month by Builder -- Architect magazine, the company learned one of its home designs is one of five finalists in the Greater Toronto Homebuilder's Association competition. The chickadee model was designed in-house -- the only one among the finalists, chosen by seven judges from across Canada. The winner will be announced in Richmond Hill on April 28, the day before the company holds an open house at its new Main Street North Home Store. af <u 8\ \ va bf EES gy a & Tories to blame ... Cont. from Pg. 6 would break school boards into smaller units. is to imagine a time, long, long ago. Many people in this community voted for Ted Chudleigh. I suspect because of tax cuts. Well, folks, there are not many things in this world that are free. Tax cuts have come at a cost. The decline in tax revenues due to tax cuts means there must be a de- cline in government expenditures. So across this province, municipalities, hospital board and school boards have had to find ways to reduce ex- penditures and generate other rev- enues. As we have seen. this gov- ernment believes that public land can and should be sold. regardless of its present or future value. Mr. Chudleigh is our local MPP and it is his government that has cre- ated the rules under which school boards must decide whether or not to see excess property or close a school before a new school can be built. His silence on this issue is deaf- ening. I am thankful that our local trustees are taking their time to make such very difficult decisions. If you are angry about the possi- ble sale of the McKenie-Smith Bennett property, you should direct your concerns toward the people who have created this situation: the Conservative government of Ontario. I suspect to people like our MPP, Mr. Chudleigh, the sale of two soccer fields in order to raise some extra money, would just make 'Common Sense." Richard Boychuk Acton THE NEW TANNER CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION: Heritage Acton committee members had a champagne nouncement that they had received a $75,000 Trillium Doug Fread, Stella Brunelle, George Elliott, Ted Tyler, Tyler and Bill Sanford. Absent from the photo was Vic toast Saturday following the an Foundation grant. Left to right, Alice Duby, Kathy Sanford, Tracey Bristow. - Angela Tyler photo When will the spirits of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy be al- lowed to rest in peace? Two recent events have dredged up all the pain again. Convicted murderer and rap- ist Bernardo had his appeal for a new trial turned down. Hopefully the Supreme Court will decide not to entertain any further arguments. his own perversion, in videotaping the torture of these children, pro- vided irrefutable proof that he is guilty. The failed appeal was launched on a point of law, not that he was innocent. Justice would be well served if he was thrown into a rat infested pit; never to be heard from again. We're too civilized to do that through, More's the pity. I suppose, that even the most vile murderer should have some legal redress to safeguard his rights. One onsen ee = it was n 'or him to have four tuwyers? One of them was flown, at obvious extra expense, to Toronto from Winnipeg, You can't swing a cat around at Bay and King without hitting a lawyer. The court couldn't find one in Toronto? My understanding is that Bernardo is no longer eligible for Legal Aid. Instead, the court or- dered the government to pay for the appeal. Criminals get a free ride in this system while the victims are, for the most part, left to their own resources. It's sickening is what it is. Our judicial system has been hijacked by the criminals' rights groups. Hopefully, the people will remember the government's refusal to address these issues when the next election comes around. If we all agree, and I think we do, that everyone should have pro- tection from and under the law, then even Bernadro deserves to be suitably represented. Why, though, does he get the Cadillac treatment? If you or I hired four law- yers to represent us we'd be bank- rupt. The man who committed one of the most heinous crimes in On- tario gets nothing but the best. There is only one question. Why? Another question before the court also concerns this case. Bernardo's original lawyer, Ken Murray, is on trial for obstructing justice by witholding the infamous ao tapes. Murray is claiming The Way ; I See It with Mike O'Leary lawyer-client privilege. This is a situ- ation which requires the wisdom of Solomon. The judge has already ruled that Mr. Murray could use Bernardo's in- structions regarding the tapes in his defence. Last Sunday, (of all days) we were confronted by the murder- er's handwritten note, telling Murray where the tapes were and what he wanted done with them. Specifically, he told Murray not to view them. I have a real problem with this matter. I'm obviously biased since I think both Bernardo and his ex-wife are vile murderers. I would be satis- fied to see them both executed. My deep feelings make it difficult to ex- cuse Mr. Murray's actions which made it possible for Homolka to make her infamous deal. The tapes were later released and used to convict Bernardo. At the same time, I realize there is a need for lawyer-client privilege. If you were accused of a crime, the last thing you'd want to hear was your lawyer standing up and saying: "Your Honour, I say my client is guilty." So where is the line where a lawyer is no longer acting in their client's interest and crosses over to obstructing jus- tice? Once it may have been clear but this case has obscured it. Perhaps the key is in the client's instructions. If the client is telling his lawyer to commit a crime, such as obstruction of justice, then shouldn't the lawyer be allowed to take that in- formation to the court or an ethics panel? Aren't lawyers officers of the court? As such, shouldn't they have the right to refuse an illegal direction? Part of the problem could be the adversarial system our courts have become. Often, it appears that law- yers are consumed by the desire to win rather than ensuring that justice is done. In today's world that is probably a Pollyanna attitude, Still, doesn't this case underline the need for us to move towards that ideal. '-e >); Draw a line for lawyers! Everyone deserves a compe- tent defence. The state has unlim- ited resources and without safe- guards, individuals could be steamrolled into prison. There have been several high profile cases recently where innocent people have served significant time in jail. The law must find a balance where the rights of the accused are protected and lawyers can honour their duty to the courts and the Canadian people. Al- though I loath what he did, Mr. Murray should be cleared of the charges against him. At the same time, parliament and the courts must set a standard for lawyers to observe. Let's not put anyone in Mr. Murray's position again. The search for justice must prevail over any lawyer-client arrangement. It's the "how" which is going to be the tricky part. tototok The (yawn) race is on for the leadership of the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance. Alberta treasurer Stockwell Day made a swing through Barrie, to show us he is an Ontarian, as well as a West- erner. Supposedly, this will make him more electable. You have to wonder which back-room guy came up with that braindrizzle. Firstly - I don't care where anyone is from as long as they look to be a decent leader. It's policies not resi- dency that interest most of us. Secondly - no one in Barrie remem- bered him even living there. The family was only in town for a few years. Don't look for any signs proclaiming "Barrie - home of Stockwell Day" in the near future. Lastly, why do handlers stage photo-ops for politicians involv- ing sports? Remember poor Stanfield fumbling the football? In Day's case they had him pose as if he was going to throw a snowball. His arm is back, palm up next to his ear. Girls throw that way. Day looked like a sissie. Not a great start. Stay tuned. tototok One assumes the letter signed "Marilyn" in last week's Tanner came from the mayor. I really won- der if perfunctory missiles will solve her PR. dilemma regarding the MSB lands.