The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

THE HERALD Saturday December 23 1989 Page Opinion Paqe Balancing profits and service 1 r I rare creatures exist only in 800000 but Marchment argued till the sector In the cost would be a minor Invest years ago Local Main Street merchant Graham was chosen as Worshipful Master of Credit Lodge No 219 and AM GRC at their annual election meeting Wor Bro Jim Linton thanked the brethren for their support last year and an- the retirement of two of ficers Bro Stan Wright and Bro GL Royal Santa came early to Georgetown and district crippled children during the Rotarians first annual Crippled Childrens Christmas party in Knox Church Hall Bill Hamilton arranged the party and was assisted by several members including Ed Paris Bill Tom Smith Ralph and George Glassford Mrs Robert Patterson celebrated her 91st birthday at the home of her son AG Patterson Members of the 1st Baptist Church Choir were entertained at the home of Mrs Thompson for their annual Christmas party 15 years ago Sheila Cannon has produced the best fire prevention poster in Halton Ms Cannon of St Francis of Assisi Separate School topped the list of winners in this years competition The best poster drawn by a boy was done by Russell of Robert Little Public School in Acton Runners up in the competition included Tam my Gould Lenore Andy Shoemaker and Christopher Cozier Mr and Mrs Bill Wright ac cepted a cheque in the amount of from Bob of the Georgetown Lions Club The che que was for a last goal in the Grey Cup game in a draw held by the Lions Club On behalf of the Eighth Georgetown Scouts Arthur Cook accepted a cheque from the sale of peanuts by the Georgetown Lions Club The cheque was presented by Dick Succee Haltons History from our files 10 years ago Halton Region has given its seal of approval for Corpora tion Ltd to build townhouses behind Georgetown Delrex Market Centre The development first proposed several years ago will be built on the site at Road and Sinclair Avenue Fred Oliver Deputy Chief of the Regional Police Force has announced his retirement after 31 years as a police officer He joined the former township of Trafalgar police force June He was the only officer on the force The Georgetown and District High Schools Christmas week wrapped up with a Grand Prix Tricycle race The eventual winner was Mike Sanderson a Grade ll student Three local charities were big- winners as the ticket proceeds of the game between the Gemini junior and the Oakville Blades went to the Contact Centre the Good Neighborhood Service and the St Johns Ambulance brigade 5 years ago Bell Canada expects close to one million phone calls on Christmas day In the past Christmas day has been the busiest day for long distance phone calls during the year The Egg Nog Jog was held at the Terra Cotta Conservation Area for both men and women The kilometre jog had over 100 entries this year The Northern Lights played by the Room students at Harrison Public School were part of the schools Where was Santa pro duction Those shopping mall mauls Donna I Kelt Kelt Its the last Saturday before Christmas and the perfect time to experience that annual phenomenon called Mall Mania I had the hellish experience of being in Square One Wednesday night where I was plowed into by little children usually being swung around by adults where caught glimpses of outrageously overpriced items and saw four harried Christmas carollers move at a fast pace around the malls four corners The same thing happened last year There was starving okay hungry and looking for a place to eat Not a chance with the wall to wall people so I sat in the middle of the mall while masses of shop pers swarmed around me and my pizza slice To me this is not the spirit of Christmas Malls where people grab like vultures for some items any items for Uncle Ned and that favorite niece while children with runny noses are forced around by a scurrying mom and dad This is not jolly Vic Parsons Ottawa Bureau If you felt the earth shake some time after Nov last rest assured it was not a replay of the giant California quake The tremor was more likely caused by Donald Lander Canada Post president after receiving the first report of the governments Postal Services Review Commit tee Lander you see is a private- sector man whos in charge of the twoheaded steed that has respon sibility for delivery of the nations mail One of the heads is labelled Service and the other is called These heads often strain in opposite directions Such rare creatures exist only in the government sector In the business world formerly inhabited by Lander Profit was If Ser vice didnt follow the beast ex pired Canada Posts problem is that profits are scarce and service to the public is essential So it frustrated Lander to see the review committee recommend that his outfit take another look at providing doortodoor delivery for newer urban and suburban divi sions That was an idea Lander and Co scrapped some time ago in favor of the muchmaligned boxes The aim was to save money EXPAND DELIVERY But Alan the com mittee chairman suggested it would cost a mere million and change to provide doortodoor delivery to about households now served by super- mailboxes This could come from the 72 million Canada Post will collect in through approved higher postal rates Marchment added By 1993 the number of additional homes served would rise to about 800000 but Marchment argued the cost would be a minor invest ment compared with the size and spending of Canada Post In private Lander is said to have done an imitation of the grinding of tectonic plates But Canada Posts recent public response was polite although mocking supermailbox pro posal it said should be read in context with the report on Canada Posts mandate and pro ductivity Then it quoted at length For Canada Post that report said the relatively minor in convenience for some customers in using the community mail boxes has some appeal Conversely it added its hard to convince Cana dians living in new neighborhoods that they shouldnt get the same delivery service as those in established areas PURSE DRAINED Yet compromises are necessary if the post office is to become more efficient and minimize the drain on the public purse and the of its users the report said That was taken by Canada Post as a go- ahead for supermail boxes So how about it Santa But then the fun part comes After doing all that extraordinary shopping you get to wrap presents Me I love wrapping The bright colors and pretty bows daz zle me to no end But the pleasure of wrapping presents must be knowing for each little package you enfold with beautiful red green and gold thats one less package you have to buy Dont get me wrong I love Christmas But what I love about it is being able to see a friend who lives far away come home once a year or watching my nieces and nephews when they see Santa alias my dad come through the door with a hearty ho- These things and rum and egg nog make Christmas worthwhile As Im writing this seasonal com plaint about mall mania I havent yet finished my yuletide shopping So many gifts so little time And Im dreading the parking lots where spaces appear like a mirage in the distance only to be quickly filled by some aggressive motorist And Im dreading the picked- over selection left to us the last minute shoppers a manic bunch who tend to not quite get what theyre looklngfor With all the stress and strain of shopping with all the pressure sur rounding a deadline worse than any I experience at the Herald its no wonder people say Christmas is a peaceful time The biggest labor undertaken Christmas day is to lift a fork to your mouth or unwrap the triumph of humanovershopping someone else has achieved To Santa North Pole Canada HOH OHO Dear Santa Well its that time of year again isnt it Time to send you my an nual letter just to let you know what Id really really like for Christmas and to thank you in ad vance for the shirts youll be sen ding me instead In actual fact Ive been thinking about writing you for ages ever since the Christmas decorations went up at the shopping malls after Labor Day Christmas comes but once a year but it lasts about six months Sorry about the letter un til the last minute But if you want to know the truth I felt kind of sheepish about writing it face it big guy Im kind of old to be writing letters to Santa At my age it feels weird to write a letter address it to the North Pole and scurry out to pop it into a mailbox So I dont suppose you have a fax number instead Anyways my customary greetings to you and the crew How are Mrs Claus and the elves And how are the reindeer Dasher Sleepy Grumpy and the rest of them But lets get to the point And the point Santa is that Im having a real problem with the whole issue of Christmas gifts Oh dont worry Im not about to make one of those huge im possibly idealistic requests I wont ask you for peace on earth or universal goodwill or even Kim Basinger And please dont think Im not grateful for all those shirts Theyve been lovely shirts and you and the elves have undoubtedly worked long and hard to make them Its Just well lets put it this way Is it just me Santa or do you receive letters from other post- thirty little girls and boys who find that Christmases just havent been the same since you stopped giving them toys The issue came suddenly to a head for me the other day when the brighteyed fouryearold an nounced he wants a motorized jeep for Christmas You know the ones I mean those huge jeeps that kids can actually drive around in The ones that un doubtedly cost several hundred bucks Naturally I strongly suggested to him that you would not be leav ing one of those jeeps under the Christmas tree When he protested I gave him the usual spiel That Christmas is a time for giving rather than receiv ing that he should count his bless ings that love is till greatest gift of all blah blah blah You know Its the wise and car ing spiel which translates as Forget the jeep bucko But what took me aback was my own reaction I was actually kind of miffed to hear that a little boy wanted a motorized jeep for Christmas And thats when it dawned on me I wasnt mad because I thought his request was greedy and unreasonable I was bitter because I want that darned jeep myself This is not a time for logic San ta Lets not pause to wonder what a 33yearold man would look like driving a motorized jeep gleefully round the living room on Christmas morning Lets just stick to the plain fact of the matter You havent given me a toy for 20 years and its my turn Just in case you dont think I deserve it please let me put your Ive been a very very good boy all year And if you give me that jeep Ill be even better Honest Ill be amazingly careful when driving that jeep In the house Itll never run over anyones feet or bang into the fur niture And best of all Ill even promise to let the kid use It once in awhile Maybe for or 15 minutes on Box ing Day if he asks pretty please with sugar on it So how about it Santa If you give me the jeep youll also be making a fouryearold very hap py- Otherwise I guess hell just have to settle for borrowing one of the shirts The balls In your court Chubby Yours Little Ian