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V Letter to the Editor Section Two The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, Wednesday, June 1,1994 3 $ V-i Reader Wants to Preserve Respect for "Queen's Gang" Hii Sir: Laura Richards, in her 25 May tribute to Mrs. Onassis, shows yet another another side of her strong feminist views when she states "Jackie was placed on a pedestal by the Americans Americans the same way we once viewed Queen Elizabeth and her gang". Ms. Richards obviously has a great love for her parents who she mentions frequently in her columns. I too have a great love for my parents who taught my sister and me to respect respect our roots and traditions which included loyalty to our head of state and our country. My mother, who passed away in 1990 at the age of 96, had a favourite saying - "we are family" family" and both she and my father thought of the Royal family as a symbol symbol of our family strength and loyalty. loyalty. But those were simpler days when doors could be left unlocked, divorce was frowned upon, and a teacher's word was law. I remember as a young boy in 1939 we drove from Quebec where we lived at the time, to visit relatives in Toronto. We then sat for hours down by the old Woodbine Woodbine race tracks to stand and cheer King George VI and Queen Elizabeth as they rode by in their Landau. I have had the privilege of attending several functions involving Royalty since those days and still feel the adrenalin adrenalin flow through my veins at the playing of "God Save the Queen", and "0 Canada". It saddens me when people like Info Helpful in Morton Search Dear. Sir I Madam: / i I want to thank you for publishing: the notice which I sent to ÿôu requesting requesting correspondence from de- scendents of the Robert Morton family. family. Already I have received a reply which promise to provide the information information which I was seeking. I sincerely sincerely appreciate your co-operation. ; Yours truly, (Mrs.) Fay Crook. Delta. B.C. Ms. Richards and Alan Fothering- ham, to name only a few, obviously want to do away with the monarchy and instead re-place it with God knows what. This country was built by the French and the British and although although the demography of Canada has changed drastically since those early days why is it so many people seem bent upon eliminating all traces traces of Canada's roots? Is it because, as I suspect, many of our post World War 2 generations have grown up with the propaganda and life styles preached by that which they see and hear on TV and where our schools preach freedom of expression rather than responsibility? How many of those generations even bother to stand up, let alone stop smoking, chewing gum or talking to their buddy, buddy, long enough to sing "O Canada", let alone sing "God Save the Queen"? Ms. Richards, what will your column column read like when one of die greatest greatest ladies of all time - Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother - passes on to better things? Will you write about how she and her husband King George walked through the rubble rubble of bombed out buildings as they bolstered the spirits of their subjects. Will you write about her daughter (Queen Elizabeth II) becoming a driver in the Army Transportation Corps? I suspect you may mention her, or "them" in passing, but I suspect suspect that you secretly hope that "their" passing will bring you closer to your dreams of having someone like American Judy Rebick someday, somehow, take over as our Governor General.-God help us! ! ! Yours truly, Bill Stewart Bowmanville. Dear Editor, May 31, 1994 is World Notobacco Notobacco Day, and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the local municipal councils in Durham Durham Region who have recently passed new legislation to regulate smoking in public places. It is exciting exciting to see our local governments taking taking this proactive role in protecting the health of the community. I would also like to congratulate and thank all those residents in the community (smokers and non- smokers) who have supported the passage of these by-laws, hi addition, thanks must go to those people who smoke for their consideration of non- smokers. .. World No-Tobacco Day is recognized recognized around the world under the coordination coordination of the World Health Organization. Organization. The purpose is to discourage discourage tobacco users from consuming tobacco and encourage governments, communities, groups and individuals to become aware of the problem and to take appropriate action. There are many ways we can all help support World No-Tobacco Day. If you smoke and want to quit, or if you have tried to quit and didn't make it, give yourself another chance on World No-Tobacco Day. Most people try several times before they finally break the addiction to nico- tine. You can also get involved if you don't smoke by lending your support and encouragement to friends or family family who want to quit. Quitting smoking smoking can be very difficult, and most will greatly appreciate the extra encouragement. encouragement. Together, we can work towards a healthier, smoke-free(r) Durham Region. Region. Anyone interested in learning more about the Council for a Tobacco-Free Tobacco-Free Durham Region can contact me at 725-1166. Sincerely, Marilyn Mankiewicz Chair, Council for a Tobacco-Free Durham Region. Freedom of thé Press Lots of people these days talk about the freedom of the press or media media and the freedom of expression. Many people think that they can say anything they want and get away with it in the media. Ah, but that isn't so. There are many tidbits of "news" that we cannot print. For instance, we occasionally are asked to take the side of a person who feels he or she was cheated by or unfairly unfairly dealt with at a business. The reason we do not jump in and cover such disputes is because that is a problem for the customer to take up with the store owner/manager, not a newspaper. If necessary, the customer may even wish to pursue the problem in the courts or through the Better Business Bureau. But, it is not a newspaper's newspaper's job to take sides in a private dispute between a customer and business. business. Over the weekend I did some hard thinking about a problem I have come up against regarding the freedom of the press. Last week I went to an event, came back and wrote a powerful story on childhood sexual abuse. On Friday morning, the publisher, the editor and myself discussed the story and the implications of running it "as is" or running the article without without of few pieces of information which would identify the person and perhaps the person's family. It is early Monday morning, and I am unsure if the story will run at all. I believe this person's story about an abusive past can help other people understand why many children do not tell their "secrets" to adults. There is the fear of retribution, the shame of what has taken place, the confusion of "why me, what did I do?" Yet, without formal proof of what took place, a newspaper is in a legal bind. If an individual accuses someone of committing child abuse in a public forum, the newspaper cannot print that disclosure based solely on that individual's individual's statement. If, on the other hand, the perpetrator had been tried and convicted, then the article could be printed. I have seen for myself how abuse can cripple adults later in life. I have witnessed the effects on children who disclose it after it happens. Now, I am struggling with this issue issue as a journalist. The only facts I have for this story are those spoken by the woman. I am not in a position whereby I can contact someone else to corroborate corroborate the information. It is not like a cut-and-dried council story. There are other people involved. For many people, like a lawyer, perhaps this could be a cut and dry issue. issue. Advice from a lawyer type might strongly suggest -- don't print it. I don't agree with that. Because people were not silenced, many privileges have become rights over the years. Just look at the history books for proof. Items in history that come immediately immediately to my mind, are those in the United States regarding the fight by blacks to be regarded as humans not as animals or merely slave material. Here in Canada, our native people are still fighting the prejudices against them. Each battle won has not been without without casualties. Across the globe, there are people fighting for rights that others still consider consider to be privileges of one color or another. Look at South Africa. By silencing children and adults about frightening events that have taken taken place in their lives, we are playing into a perpetrator's hands too. This predicament is furthered by the fact that I strongly believe this story story is real. What I am trying to say in a round about way, is this: A conviction is not the sole proof of a horror having happened. happened. Not everyone involved in the Holocaust Holocaust has been convicted, yet we know it took place, because it was ah event experienced by thousands of people. Continued on Page 4 by Rick James Missed it by one spot... Although still a far cry from having the vision of Nostradamus, I came close in last week's column when predicting that racer Jacques Villeneuve would win the Indy 500. He placed a solid second behind the more powerful Penske powered machine machine of A1 Unser Jr. But more importantly, the 23-year-old non-hyphenated Canadian displayed the. public relations skills of a seasoned veteran veteran when being interviewed immediately after the race. Now keep in mind, he just finished driving 500 miles on the edge of a razor blade, when he was swarmed by the media hounds. Judging by his responses, this kid must have ice water running through his veins. He didn't even break a sweat. He looked fresher after 500 miles at 240 m.p.h. than I do after 18 holes of golf! Watch for big things from this rookie sensation in the coming months. Now that he's been on the podium, it'll only make him go faster. Then again, he comes by it naturally. I can remember watching his father, Gilles Villeneuve, graduate from racing snowmobiles snowmobiles at Mosport to become the best driver driver in Formula One racing. It's too bad Gilles isn't still alive to enjoy his son's success. As for my prediction that Michael Andretti might also win, and that Lyn St. James would finish in the top ten, all I can say is that Nostradamus must have had his off days too, Speaking with a lisp... With all the media discussion surrounding surrounding the same-sex benefits issue, I was reminded reminded recently of the time my eldest brother, John Jr., threw gasoline on a similar similar topic about ten years ago when he owned the weekly newspaper, The Amherstburg Echo, near Windsor. In a column similar to this one, he made reference to members of a Windsor homosexual homosexual organization, quoting them with a sentence that read something like, "Ithn't it great to thee thuch a thuper turnout at our firtht meeting." After the Echo hit the streets, his telephone telephone lines went ballistic. He received threatening phone calls 24 hours a day at work and home. Unaware of what was happening, I phoned his house in the middle middle of the fiasco and my nephew blasted me, thinking I was another crank caller. It was clear that an apology in the following week's edition was going to be needed. But, rather than do that, John Jr. decided decided to milk the controversy for all it's worth. AfterSdl, there's no such thing as bad publicity. An apology was printed, but it was not what those offended by his humor were expecting. In his column, he claimed that his new computer keyboard was tempera mental, and sometimes when he typed the letter "s" the computer would print the letters letters "th" instead. He was shocked by the computer error and it was certainly not intended intended to suggest that homosexuals speak with a lisp. To illustrate how the computer had taken taken control and was creating the errors, the next edition carried stories and editorials that had the letters "th" printed wherever an "s" was supposed to appear. Even the masthead on the editorial and front pages were printed with, "The Amherthburg Echo, Piiblither -- John Jameth." That little stunt earned him column space in newspapers right across Canada. It was also picked up by some TV and radio radio stations. Even members of the Windsor homosexual association backed off, knowing they didn't stand a chance in this battle of wits. You don't have to be crazy to work in the newspaper industry, but it sure helps. This thing sucks...or does it? On my way to work each day, I've been watching the town's new sidewalk cleaner in action, creeping up and down the main street in its quest for litter. Nobody loves new gadgets with lots of whistles and bells more than I do, but the more I watch this thing, I'm really questioning questioning why we need it, and more importantly, importantly, why the town paid $37,000 for it? Let me explain. Remember when home computers first came on the market? One of the selling points was that housewives could put all their important information, like recipes, on it. Although it may sound like a good idea, there's still nothing better for recipes than a little box of cards that won't get damaged if flour gets on them. It's very easy to over-computerize a system that already already works perfectly well. The same holds true with the sidewalk cleaner. Instead of employing students in the summer to pick up litter with a broom and long handled dustpan, we have a very expensive town employee operating a very expensive piece of machinery, requiring very expensive fuel, regular maintenance, insurance, and transportation to and from its destination. Plus, after watching it for several minutes last week, the operator attempted to suck up a pizza slice container container five times before he was successful. It also doesn't appear to be able to pick up gum, get under benches or behind garbage containers. The use of this machine is over-computerizing a very simple and inexpensive inexpensive operation. The town works department claims the new machine has boosted productivity greatly. If this is the new and improved system, I'm glad I didn't know how poorly the old system operated.