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2 * 01-000 WOfefcfr Tiroes. Wednesday. August 23, %m> )* Weekly Tïmes BE Subscriptions $23.36 + $1.64 G.S.T. = $25.(X)/year Publications Mail Registration Nô. 09301 Publishing 50 Issues Annually at the Office of Publication "We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing costs" 5310 Main Street, P.O. Box 209, Orono, Ontario LOB 1M0 E-Mail Address: oronotimes@speedIine.ca Phone/Fax (905) 983-5301 Publisher/Editor Marg Zwart A Time To Be Counted by Roy Forrester Come the month of 'September the Federal and Provincial governments are to meet settling disputes on the dispatch of health/medical care throughout. Canada, sea to sea. It is something that we all should have concern for and that we realize we are all Canadians whether in relative relative poverty or affluence, in sickness or in health and irregardless of areas of prosperity or areas not so prosperous. prosperous. The Federal government must take a stand for all Canadians and certainly restore the $4.2 billion it has taken from the health care system in transfer payments in 1996. , On the other hand the provinces must spend such health care transfers for all Canadians in a one-tier system. system. and restore the losses through cuts that have' been made in the past few years. It is interesting that in Ontario • we have been faced with downloading by the "Harris government in areas of affordable housing, roads, possibly ambulances in the near future and cut budgets in education that, have been affecting Ontarians of lesser means in a quality of life. Richard Gwyn writes about "mean spirited in government" government" while Dalton Camp hangs a title for the new Alliance party as a "party of angry rich". In a recent meeting of the provinces pertaining to health care, certainly all were not of the accord of Harris and Ralph Klein. In fâ^t it .would appear that they were in the minority. ' . The Federal government must take the initiative in the upcoming September event to make.sure the outcome and the possible $4.-. 2 billion goes to education as It had in the past. Canadians must also support the ideal that Canadians of whatever region, social or wealth standing have the. same opportunity- for health benefits. A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian. Get behind the Federal government ■ and the majority •of provinces in assuring a single tier health care system, is available to everyone in the country. The time is row to take a stand. Letter to the Editor Dear Editor: It behooves me to write you fot the following reasons. My mother sent me a write-up re: Sports & Yesteryear and the way it was- submitted by Dean (Weiner) West, I love to hear from folks way back. when. One of-the more outstanding outstanding memories. I have of Orono sports was the Junior "D" Orphans bringing home «thé O.H.A. Junior "D" championship. championship. We skipped school that afternoon to welcome home the bus. I guess I got it in the end for that and I'm not talking about catching 'the bus. By the way the name of that town Dean refers to in his letter is spelled "Pawassan". It's Just south of North Bay about 20 miles. Any way for nostalgia purposes purposes I'd like to relate a story 1 almost joined the NRA the other day. The NRA, for those of you unfamiliar with them, is the National Rifle Association and is headed by none other than Charleton Heston. Heston is best known for playing Moses in the Ten Commandments. Moses didn't, didn't, however, carry a gun back then. Just a big stick. I'm one of those few Canadians who actually believes in the right to own a gun. I think adults should, barfing relevant criminal records, have the right to carry a firearm for either self- defense or hunting, I prefer the - former reason, and I. believe that a gun is an effective effective way of protecting yourself, yourself, but the latter is fine too. If you like that sort of thing. The United States is, right now, in a heated debate about gun control. Bill Clinton, Rosie O'Donnell and the rest of them would like to suppress, suppress, the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Charleton Heston and libertarian-minded libertarian-minded folk, like myself, would like to re-emphasize the Second Amendment. The Amendment runs like this, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." This Amendment has two main justifications--- the first is the right of each person to defend themselves and their property. A gun will accomplish accomplish this task. If you don't think so put a sign in your front lawn saying something akin to the following, "No Guns here...Nope, not a one", and see if this encourages or discourages criminal's to forage forage through your stuff. I wagêr you'd take your sign down faster than you can say, "Ooqops." The'second justification is as a final tool to use against your own government This justification do'esn't sit well most will bave forgotten. Ab West, Dean's father was playing second base one evening for the Orono baseball baseball ■ team, I think' against Kendal. He reached and caught a line drive with his bare right hand. There were men on 1st and second. He touched second base, threw to 1st thereby completing a triple play with his bare hand. He then blew on his hand and the crowd laughed and gare Mm a rousing ovation. ovation. '. Another anecdote: ' Sometime during one of their games they would put .. Ronnie (the youngest West) in as., a pinch ' hitter ' He always walked as the pitcher couldn't see the strike zone. Ronnie was too short. Î don't think the unip could see over the catcher. Yes, it will be 50 years ago this month our family moved from Orono, the year the Korean War began I believe. A great many events have taken place since then. If anyone wishes te. write me, please ask the Orono Weekly Times to 'give you my address. . Wishing you and yours all the best. Sincerely ■ Denny Lynch with me here in Canada in the present day. 1 But I've had conversations with people from all over the world. They intimate that we are the exception rather than the rule for 'good government'. That we have a short historical memory and that we refuse to believe that we could ever be like Cuba, China or the former former Soviet Union. I wager you're cringing. 'Don't guns kill people?' you ask. 'Don't we need more laws to keep criminal's from getting guns?' Good questions, both. The first is something of a misnomer, misnomer, though. Guns are a tool, end of story. Just like a baseball bat, a kitchen knife or a Teletubby plush doll. Depending on whose wielding wielding these potential 'weapons', you could end up . with a funeral. It's people who kill people. Nothing inherent, in the object itself will cause any ( kind of death whatsoever. A gun sitting in a drawer somewhere somewhere will - accomplish little on its own. The second question is also off. Let me remind you that a criminal is, by definition, someone who does not obey the law. Insofa# as we inçrease the strictures to getting getting a gun, we inhibit law- abiding citizen's from getting access to an effective means of defense. We can come up with all manner of rules and regulations with respect to guns. But criminal's aren't going to follow them. And they won't buy their guns from legal sources either. They don't- adhere to the law--they're not law-abiding citizens. All this aside, there is just otie _ 'burning question that keeps popping up in my (continued page 4) 9R.WUiLE'v& HAVE THEM HERE ...WE SHOULD ASKmmTWiCm. ' RESCUE rôffi® HELP ïoS»