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Page 6 — Halton Hills This Week, Wednesday, November 3; 1993 Opinion ise | HIS WEEN tien ae Tn Wo Georgetown, Ont. L7G 481, Ne aay: Halton His This Week claims copyrig soe ows al wg bo, ge or ufos PUBLISHER: Ken Bellamy OFFICE MANAGER: Jean Shewell Take time to remember November 11th is Remembrance Day. That spe- cial day.of the year we honor those who fought (or simply served) and died for Canada as members of our armed forces. Years ago, the 11th day of the 11th month, sig- naling the end of hostilities in World War I, was solemnly observed regardless of which day of the week it happened to fall In fact, Remembrance Day as such wasn’t offi- cially recognized in Canada until 1931 after insis- tent representation from the Royal: Canadian Legion. Parliament amended the Armistice Day Act to ensure that November 11th would be set aside as a day distinct and apart from any other observance upon which the nation could pay special tribute to those “who gave their lives that freedom might prevail”, according to information obtained from the Royal Canadian Legion. I have put the following thoughts on paper before, but I feel they bear repeating. Countries — and in the same sense societies — have a strange, ambivalent attitude towards sol- diers. A love-hate relationship that blossoms in time of need but is scorned in times of peace. One: need peer no further into the past than’ the Persian Gulf war to recall how Canadians reacted with pride to the performance of their men and women in uniform. There have been many.instances of Canadian heroism in the former Yugoslavia; under the United Nations peacekeeping auspices. The tragedy that is Somalia and the cloud that hangs over a number of Canadian soldiers because of alleged misdeeds, should not tarnish — nay, must not tarnish — the reputation members of the Canadian armed forces have built up over decades. A country’s soldiers are representative of the nation they serve. They are every man, every woman, every child: they represent the hopes and similarly, the fears of a nation. The responsibility is heavy. There is no glory in war — only for the story- tellers. A soldier does his duty, does his job when he kills or wounds; is killed or wounded. Cinematic excesses are the bane of the true ‘sol- dier of the country’. The real ‘soldier of the country’ is your father, perhaps your mother; your brother, sister, or the next door neighbor. Once the country (society) has been saved, their usefulness is over. The country wants to forget the savagery and the deprivations of war; the bloodletting and sometime atrocities committed. The soldier then takes the brunt of the blame and becomes the scapegoat. One to pity, even to avoid. The wounded ’— physically or mentally = for the most part, are relegated to veterans’ hospitals. Those aging veterans who still grace our com- munities and who make a habit of dropping into Legion branches to share comradeship and remi- -niscences with their few remaining peers are often frowned upon. For shame, Canada — for shame our so-called free society that owes so much t to these men and women who sacrificed their youth for the youth of the future! To accomodate realities of our modern-day world, Remembrance Day services will be held in Georgetown and Acton this Sunday and the times appear in the Georgetown Legion Lines and the Acton Legion report. Take time on Sunday to honor those who fought and died for Canada. It is a special day. Having noted this, however, also take time throughout the rest of the year to appreciate the debt that is. owed. Colin Gibson The People’s Corner 0 ‘Sold. Advertsing is merely an offer to sell which be withdrawn at any time. EDITOR: ‘Colin Gibson CIRCULATION MANAGER: Marie Shadbolt HALTON HILLS THIS WEEK IS INDEPENDENTLY OWNED & OPERATED. INE: 873-2254 Fi 373-3918 We should revitalize Remembrance Park To the engl ‘ar, poor, secluded Remembrance Park i Georgetown plays host to a colorful ceremony honoring the war dead. As the com- tades of those we mourn also die, memories blur, images fade and our heroes are for- gotten. Our annual homage 5 jogs us back to the sacrifice and freedom these deaths bequeathed to us. But we do forget. Hard won freedom becomes a civil right under whose rubric we fight and claw for perso We can do much better in honoring the fallen. Their symbolic’ resting place, Remembrance Park, can be hallowed by bringing it back to life. Remembrance Park is dead. Spring, summer, fall or winter it has rare visitors. ‘There is nothing there to catch the fancy of children, teenagers, yuppies or the retired. A bandshell would be a start. A piper’s practice pace pike would enchant. wading pool would add zest and a new Licata swimming Appreciation expressed To the Editor: e: Georgetown’s first children’s North American Pow Wow On behalf of the retiring members of Georgetown’s first Pow Wow Committee (Vi Haines, Elsie Faulhafer, Carol Harper and Dorothy Hunt), may I please express our sincere appreciation ig Halton Hills This Week, Th Georgetown Ind Through your support and following the closing of our accounts, we have presented a cheque to Georgetown and District Memorial Hospital in the amount of $1,050. Jean and Ed Cochrane, our native Indian liaison repre- sentatives, have formed a new 1993/94 executive and we wish them well in their future endeavors. With the Halton Hills business community and to everyone else. who contributed or attended the Pow Wow on May 29. Dorothy Hunt Secretary, Pow Wow mmittee Glen Williams Thanks for the help To the Editor: The Beaver Lumber Major Novice Raiders hockey team would like to extend sincere thank-you’s to all of those members of our community who supported our team’s recent fundraising bottle drive. anks for all of the refundable bottles and cans donated to us. A special thank-you to “The Beer Store” for their efficient and courteous man- her and last, but not least, thanks a million to. Lynn Ferguson and staff at “Mac’s Milk” (Mountainview Rd.) for allowing our pop bottles to be returned to their store. The fund-raiser was a tremendous success thus allowing our boys to enter tournaments and to wear their new hockey jackets with pride. Our raffle tickets are now in full swing with the first place winning prize to be a set of “Gold Rail Seats” to a Leafs game in the new year. “Go Leafs, Go!” Sincerely, The Beaver Lumber Major Novice Raiders. Another perspective on development To the Editor: This letter neither supports nor rejects the rezoning for the Mackenzie-Ferraro apart- ment building. It is intended to provide another perspec- tive with respect to Mr. Pov McNally’s recent let- a seems to me the issue at hand is how development Proceeds not should it pro- ceed. While indeed, “people have to live somewhere”, people must also live. Time and again people have expressed extreme distaste with urban development in Mississauga, yet develop- ment in Georgetown South, Mountainview North and Trafalgar and Highway 7 demonstrate that Halton, Hills is heading toward the same destiny. We are. losing opportunities to generate community cohesion, spirit and pride and instead, foster- ing qualities we need the least; anonymity, isolation and bitterness. 3 With vision and leader- ship, we can provide local homes, local jobs and local food for people in away which generates enthusiasm and commitment from every- one. Idealistic? Perhaps, but the alternative is a future of end- less haranguing and “nega- tive activities” by an increas- ing number of discontented residents and “pressure groups”. Ms. J. Fulton Milton pool would at least make for summer action. Some licensed vendor stalls for spring through fall could add a parade for hot dogs or ice cream. People would drop off their kids to shop downtown, knowing they would be safe by dint of many people — Jane Jacobs’ argument on side- walk safety. The Downtown area ha: been fighting for its life for almost a decade. Arguments to sustain life here include high rises, high intensity dwellings, and the conflict this brings to existing dwellings. The noise is loud so that even. town ordinances, mangled and distorted as they become, are unlikely to pro- vide either compromises or ans swer>s. James Street is the lon dimension of Remembrance Park. It is also the street for the eight storey apartment house. Surely the Site Plan Turner To the Editor: Lhave a message for our former M.P.— stand tall, Garth! I know that close only counts in horseshoes, but you did get the highest percent- age of votes of any Tory in Ontario. You should be proud that you did so well in the face of a Liberal sweep in 98 Ontario ridings. You accomplished this with hard work and hard hit- ting ideas and people respect you. I overheard a Liberal campaign worker say to you, at Julian’s victory party, “I couldn’t vote for you because I’m a strong Liberal.but I have to. say you’re the best committee. could ensure con- tinuity which would use the ground floor for commerce and constancy in support of the park. It could be the focal point and an enclosure for the park and rejuvenate it, while easing Present tensions. As we savor the sadness of the Armistice services, let’s i s to spec- ulate what would-constitute a living memorial, something less impersonal than monu- ment and cannon, for the fall- a . n. Revitalizing their park for people would honor them. The yells of kids and the quiet enjoyment of the old as they made a daily sojourn to the symbolic graves, the park, is the dynamic memorial Remembrance Park should become: Lest We Forget. ° Bill Hyde Georgetown . is tops M.-P. we've ever had”. Quite a compliment, don’t you ink? Garth, ‘there are 18,321. of “us out here who thought you would do the best job for us. T also don’t buy the idea that the Conservative Party is dead. Next to the Liberals, more Canadians voted P.C. than any other party - over two million people national- ly. You may have been “trad- ed” but we hope to see you “up to bat” again soon. Thanks for being such a great M_P. Julian Reed surely has a tough act to follow! Lois Fraser, Limehouse Why take a chance? To the Editor: On Oct. 24, I was travel- ling west‘on 17th Side Road at 4 p.m, driving 60 km per hour and noticed a wale car. in my rear view mirr Suddenly a pickun truck was beside me, he had crossed a solid line to pass on a knoll. A car traveling east had to hit the shoulder and ditch to avoid.a head-on collision. The “idiot” in this truck knows what he did was wrong. Do we have to wait for a fatality to occur before you impatient folk wake up. Maybe two minutes was saved by passing. I had nightmares as I am sure the driver coming east did also. My family uses this road daily. I have reported this to the police but they cannot be everywhere. Maybe one day this driver will have a-son or daughter driving a vehicle. Hopefully they will not be so stupid. Why take chances to save a few minutes? I remember in the 1970’s there was a fatality near this very spot. The driver of this truck knew he was wrong. Please try to be more patient and use your brain. You do not pass on a solid line! Norma Elliott Georgetown sort of _