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the HERALD Wednesday December 11 1991 Arts and Ideas Page SB Private ownership of guns should be outlawed ByJOHNSOMMER Herald Special At this time of the year peace and happiness is on many peo ples minds and lips They will write it on Christmas cards and they will say it to each other It is a phrase that has become a part of the Christmas celebration and it is a kind of prayer Condensed into the phrase are all the good things we want our friends to en joy A peaceful neighborhood and workplace freedom from fear a mind that is at peace with itself I thought about all that when I came across a question in the Hal tonPeel Constituency Survey that was sent to each household by our esteemed representative in Ottawa Garth Turner a few weeks ago The question asked Do you feel that by taking guns out of the hands of responsible gun owners armed violence and crime will decrease A loaded question indeed If he had asked Are you in favor of outlawing all guns in private hands in order to battle armed violence and crime the answer could have been a straight yes or no to ones opi nion about the matter By wor ding it the way it was worded however any direct answer became impossible and I suspect the result of the survey will be ambiguous to say the least What is a responsible gun owner and how do we find out that somebody is responsible We could give people a test of course like a driving test and repeat the test every year in order to find out if the applicant is still in a responsible frame of mind or if he has developed in the meantime murderous thoughts of one kind or another Local hospital hosts Christmas celebration After a yearlong celebration Georgetown District Memorial Hospital is wrapping up its 30th Anniversary with an invitation to all staff and the community to en joy an evening of carol singing tree lighting and Christmas The event begins at pm Thursday tomorrow with a funfilled program thats sure to appeal to old and young alike The events to be held near the Hospital front lobby include the formal lighting of the tree as well as carol singing with choirs from Park and Centennial schools and St Georges Anglican Church and plenty of hot chocolate spiced tea and Christmas cookies According to Linda Dawson the Hospitals 30th Anniversary chairperson The Hospitals 30th Anniversary has been a great success thanks to support from staff and the community In fact were optimistic that the carol singing will not only wind up the yearlong celebra tions on a high note but that the event will become an annual festivity at the Hospital The Buy a Light campaign also continues until tomorrow Christmas lights for the Hospital tree will be on saleone light for or three for All pro ceeds will go to the Georgetown Hospital Foundation THE CORPORATION OF THE Town of Halton Hills Halton Hills Drive PO Box HILLS Georgetown Onlorlo L7G 8732600 NOTICE Notice of Intention to stop up close and convey a portion of the unopened road allowance between Lots and Con cession 2 Town of Halton Hills The Council or a Committee of Council will hear any person who claims that their land will be affected by the Bylaw and who applies to be heard at its regular meeting to be held in the Council Chambers at the Civic Centre located at Hills Drive Georgetown the da of January at the hour of pm This notice was first published on the day of December Janet Stewart Clerk for the Corporation of the Town of Halton Hills that would disqualify him or her It would have to be a pretty complex test with many ques tions asked that probe the deepest of the applicants psyche The past record of behavior would have to be ques tioned what he said to whom in anger etc etc We would quickly need a net work of informers who report about marital quarrels fights at work and threats uttered while drunk On the plus side we would give work to an army of investigators On the negative side we would create a powerful thoughtpolice that would eventually undermine our whole system all in order to accomodate gun in an increasingly dangerous world Let us rather admit there is no certain way to find out who can be trusted with a gun Therefore lets outlaw gun ownership for the individual completely and without exception and give very stiff penalties to everybody who owns or uses guns At this point in the conversation somebody will always ask What about the hunters what about the gun collectors Well what about them Do we really need them In my opinion hun ting as a sport is an outrage There might be a need to eliminate sick animals or to reduce the number of animals that have taken over a territory to the exclusion of all other animals But this should be done by foresters specially trained for the job who are handed guns for this purpose for a very limited time The killing of animals is not fun and should never be treated as fun or as a leisure time activity I know a huge of terrible hunting stories bragg- ingly told by keen sports hunters that would make you vomit if I repeated them here These stories illustrate to me that the handing out of hunting permits to everybody over a cer tain age is barbarous and out of tune with our civilized country Where are the fighters for animal rights in this Shouldnt they protest And as to the col lecting of guns This should be solely a Job for museums Yes the gun like almost everything made by man is also a work of art But at this time in our history the private collector who hasnt the security devices to make absolutely sure that none of his treasures get into the wrong hands can not possibly insist to continue with his hobby Our col lective peace and happiness is of greater importance than his pleasure Michael photographer and painter watercolors has moved into the Gal of the Halton Hills Cultural Centre for the duration of the Holiday Season His paintings are very fine and as detailed as handcrafted jewellery His photographs are even better The frames and in particular the many different col ored mats arranged in shadow boxes are however too much of a good thing They are demonstrations of the framers art and as such tend to lead the viewers eyes away from what should be the sole focus of his or her attention in this case the work of an accomplished ar tist Poinsetta is native to Mexico By TOM CA VAN Herald Special POINSETTIAS THE NEXT GENERATION HISTORY AND MYTH The polnsettia is native to Mex ico and originated in a present day region called Taxco The Aztecs of Central America where the first people to cultivate the poinsettla and they called the plant of its brilliant colour The tia was a symbol of purity and highly prized by king Montezuma The Aztecs made red dye from the bract and a medicine from the latex sap which proved to be a cure for fever In modern times tias have been incorrectly label ed poisonous they are not toxic How this myth started was in 1919 a two year old child of an Army Officer stationed in Hawaii died of accidental poisoning The cause was incorrectly diagnosed to be a They are harmless and according to Aztec history it was used as a medicine A Southern Plantation owner and botanist named Joel was appointed Ambassador to Mexico was so impressed with this luminous red flower brought some cuttings home and bepan to cultivate them in his greenhouse They performed so well that he gave some to his friends and the popularity began The botanical name had already been given by a German taxonomist in 1833 so the common name became the accepted name in english speaking coun tries MODERN DAY SYMBOL OF CHRISTMAS Since the 1920s the Ecke ranch has been the front runner in research and development of the Paul Ecke Sr developed the first poinsettia variety that could be grown as an indoor potted plant This was quite an accomplish ment of the times considering that a grows approx imately high in its own habitat He then set out across the countryside selling his vision of a living symbol of Today the poinsettia is not only the popular plant at Christmas it is the number one selling potted flowering plant in North America Even with its approx imate week selling time it has ranked No To further its strong hold on the floricultural market place the breeding of new varieties is now producing colours before never dreamed of In the beginning there was red of course Then came pink and white followed by a marble which was very slow to popularity but in the last ten years has become more popular than pink or white The bract of the marble has white petals with a flush of pink and blends richly as does marble THE NEXT GENERATION Jingle Bells This poinsettia features dark red bracts with pink flecks It has a real good Christmas look to it and is great for decorating because it is very compact in nature Pink Peppermint I think this should have been named peach peppermint because it has a resplendent peach bract with a soft pastel tone which is so welcome in modernday design and fashion Lemon Drop I think that this is one variety that became popular only in California It ap pears a dull yellow and leaves ab solutely no impression of Christmas whatsoever Me thinks modern times breeding has produced a dog Whether or not these new varieties turn you on not the poinsettia will always be the flower of Christmas STEPS FOR SUCCESS WITH Select plants with green foliage all the way to the bottom This is a good indication that the plants have active healthy roots Look for plants that have small green cyathia in the center of the coloured bracts This is actually the flower and will open up yellow in colour 3 When taking your home make sure it is protected for cold temperatures Chilling the plant will cause leaf drop Place in a bright location you should be able to observe a strong shadow with your hand 5 Check for watering needs When it ap pears dry thoroughly water and discard the excess water Be sure the plant is dry between waterings and never allow a poinsettia to stand in water Fertilize the plant approximately every fourth watering for long lasting cqlour and strength 7 should have at least a half day of sun to thrive 8 Keep plants away from draughts radiators and hot air vents To prolong the colourful bracts night temperatures should not ex ceed 72 in the day and 60 at night Carol Service Halton Hills residents met at Knox Presbyterian Church in Acton Sunday evening for a carol service This service was prepared by the carol groups of St Albans Anglican Church Churchill Community Christian Reformed Knox Presbyterian Trinity United Acton Baptist Church Herald Photo