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Page 4 — Halton Hills This Week, Saturday, January 30, 1993 ~ EDITORIAL Editorial -- n. 1. an article in a newspaper pre- senting the opinion of the editor or editorial staff. That male-female thing By Wendy Long Today I turned to my colleagues and asked them what to write about. Some days editorial inspiration is just not forthcoming, and the proverbial writer’s block hits you like a brick. I received a few suggestions, like February is Heart and Stroke month. But I wrote my anti-smoking column last week and I don’t want to go into Ee “happy health” overkill. As I sat pondering at my ed I write something funny. of the typical gender antics. For example, have you noticed that most men (although I do note that sometimes women are the culprits) have to control the TV converter as if they’re holding the launch button of a SCUD missile? Even if a show has already been decided upon, chances are the converter is not relinquished. Chances are, as you read this you can relate. Are you the graspee or the grasper? It’s a subtle power struggle, artificially innocent on the surface but bubbling under the casual exterior. You know what I mean. Fingers are curled loosely on that black rectangle, relaxed yet poised to strike. Or that little box is only an arm’s reach away, ready to be grabbed at any given moment. A commercial comes on, and click! It’s a channel battle. Or how about that old we’ re-driving-and-we'’re-lost scenario. I bet you’re smirking already. Family holidays were usually driving - holidays when I was little, and you know what that means. The » dreaded map reading escapades, with mom and dad battling over ~ who got who lost. “You’re the one driving!” “But you’ ve got the map! What kind of navigator are you?” computer, a production staffer suggest- As I contemplated the idea, I thought Cedarvale Grand Prix “Well you’re the one who said to turn right!” ~ In our traditional family, Dad was designated driver while Mom woman and chief sleeper. After a “we're lost” status had to cross: getting Dad to sts maybe it’s Not to mention driving itself - but that’s another lighthearted story. Just remember that whatever they tell you about female dri- vers, it's not true! Bigotry has no place in Halton Dear Editor: I drove through Halton Hills over the weekend and suddenly thought it was Halloween. It had to have been! There were 7 men on the street corner parading around as members of the Ku Klux Klan or kkk (I never capitalize the “k”, they may think they are superior). As I drove closer I was spell- bound. It was not Halloween and these men were really “masquerad- ing” as kkk members. I was dis- wear such silly costumes. It is because they are hiding behind that cloth. They are a clan of cowardly bigots, too scared to reveal their true identity. What are you so afraid of, Bigots? Perhaps Society? Some words of advice: Crawl back under the rocks from which you came. This is 1993 and your racist beliefs of burning, killing, discriminating and mocking are no longer acceptable or tolerated in our society. To anyone enlightened by this show i dedi and sup- Halton Hills, our overflowing of caring, giving and non-discriminating people was being infiltrated by a dirty disease called bigotry, racism or otherwise known as the kkk. These men were not from our community as we didn’t recognize their shoes. If they were, they would certainly be driven out, or scorned upon. T’ve always wondered why they iow of pig) posed “superiority”: I suggest you move to a little island and take all the other racist bigots with you. Why not judge and criticize one another for your origins? To those white-hooded wonders from out of town, get out!! Your hatred is unwarranted and unwant- ed here! “KKK stay away”. A concerned member of f our community is = 2 The race was on when Tim Apgar, 11, and his 13-year-old brother, Ben, hit the Cedarvale Park toboggan- Photo by Laura Salverda Noel Duignan MPP Halton North Smoking has been determined as the province’s number one health problem causing more than 13, preventable deaths in Ontario each year. In order to reduce this health hazard and , in particular, to pre- vent the children of this province from becoming addicted to tobacco, Health Minister Frances Lankin has released a discussion paper outlin- ing proposed legislation and changes to regulations. The strategy aims to reduce tobacco sales in Ontario by 50% by the year 2000 and to eliminate tobacco sales to minors and have Queen’s Park Report wi -ducation, un: grams. and legislation will all be used to help prevent people from starting to smoke. The Minister plans on intro- ducing legislation this spring fol- lowing public consultation on the measures described in the discus- sion paper. Among the proposals are new initiatives to make it more difficult for children and teens to start smok- ing. Here are some examples: - establishing a minimum pack- age size to discourage the sale of five-cigarette or fifteen-cigarette “kiddie packs”; - ensuring adult supervision of cigarette vending machines; - raising the age for the legal pur- chase of tobacco from eighteen to nineteen; - making retailers responsible for selling tobacco only to those of legal age and for posting health warnings and age limits on their premises. There would be no tobacco sales from places which provide health services such as hospitals and phar- macies. ‘The proposals also target second- hand smoke. The province would end smoking in a wide range of public buildings and places fre- quented by the public such as schools, hospitals, licensed child — care centres, retail stores, elevators, n dering restrictions on smoking in the following places: - art galleries and museums = entertainment facilities includ- ing theatres and cinemas = sports and recreational facilities - restaurants and bars -service lines - shopping malls -churches, synagogues, temples - bingo halls . ‘Three resource centres have been given a total of $650,000 to assist in developing programs and poli- cies to reduce tobacco use: - Council for a Tobacco-Free Ontario which supports the devel- opment of local interagency coun- cils and organizes activities in Ontario for National Non-Smoking Week; - the Smoking and Health Action Foundation which provides assis- tance with policy development at the provincial and community level. Written submissions on the leg- islative proposals are welcome until March 15th. Registration for oral responses will continue until February 26th. They will be heard after March 15th. If you want to participate, please call 1-416-314- 5518 or 1-800-268-1154. For Pete's Sake by Roe ve MV? Mee wl. ‘ ANoTHER aise acl: VB, « to bt é eo ween Halton Hills This Week, Weekend Edition, is pub- MANAGER: Kathleen To HALTON HILLS THIS WEEK IS INDEPENDENTLY OWNED & OPERATED. PHONE: 873-2254 FAX:873-3918 | {