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2 - Orono Weekly Times Wednesday, December 1, 2004 Weekly Times Subscriptions $29.91 + $2.09 GST = $32.00 per year. Publications Mail Registration No. 09301 • Agreement No. 40012366 Publishing 48 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. CanadS % A ocna ORONO WEEKLY TIMES - 5310 Main St., P.O. Box 209, Orono, ON LOB 1M0 Email: oronotimes@rogers.com or Phone/Fax 905-983-5301 Publisher/Editor Margaret Zwart Sports and Display Advertising - Donna Wood Front Office and Classified Advertising - Rosey Bateman The Orono Weekly Times welcomes letters to the editor on subjects of interesttcrerunreaders ^ returned"^ re" OTete ^°LlïSÎlf^!ï SrtgNo^of an f «, «° pm<- Ih. Orono Weekly .mes will no, Irresponsible for the loss or dama 9 e o, such „ems. ^ A cry to the heart! Recently, we received a pamphlet regarding financial problems at the local United- Church. We are thus infoimed that the beautiful building may be in danger of closing.The problem is stated as "givings on Sundays have decreased", and an annual deficit of $40,000 is mentioned. There are many thoughts that can surface as we consider this heart felt plea. One thought is that $40,000 is not much money. That works out to less than $800 per week. Vince Carter earns more than that for every minute that he plays basketball! The lawyers debating the nonsensical computer fiasco in Toronto, earn $500 per hour. So, $800 per week to retain the finest building in Orono _ seems achievable. It would be a shame to see the building sit idle. However, other thoughts also come to mind. We might suggest that the decrease in giving is a result of several deeper problems. Some critics feel that the mainline Protestant churches no longer focus on preaching the Word of God, and re-iterating the teachings of Jesus. Such people would note the article in "The Globe" on Monday which reports on the continued drop in the percentage of Canadians who claim to be affiliated affiliated with a Protestant church. . . . Another publication reports on the activities of a small number of United Church clergy to unionize. The article is headed "In Buzz we trust". These articles give comfort to those deep thinkers who claim that the world is already in the "post Christian" era. However, those heavy thinkers have a few problems of their own, including the fact that there are many more Christians in the world than ever before! Even, in sometimes pagan Canada, 83% of us still claim a religious faith, according to that same Globe report. Yet claimed affiliations are one thing, church attendance is a different matter. Christianity, as well as other faiths, lives in the heart and soul of the believer. Church buildings are not a necessity. But to Orono, that building is vital. Let's save it! . . , , . One step could be for the two remaining churches in the village to agree to keep one church building open as a functional functional place of worship. There could be the Anglican service at 9.30, followed at 11.00 by a service in the United format. Would such a sharing arrangement be the Christian thing to do? The alternative seems to be that both buildings will soon join the railway station, the service stations, the armouries, and the Masonic Lodge, in the "torn down", or in the "standing, "standing, but redundant",.categories. People who do not attend church may underestimate the sacrifice the would be required to close a church building. The congregation of the remaining building would have to practice love and tolerance to make such a plan work. What a great example for our citizens to se;e! Sacrifice, love and tolerance can achieve wondrous results. We might then see a miracle of a vigorous protestant church right here in Orono. . Letters to the Editor JWDCltMfcAU. mUMlLE,. (ONFfiCAB AHDproro &WV0HUE PKWLWHI Ÿ*~â .1 j ViBWPOint by Robert R. MacDonald Smokers' rights While listening to the radio the other day I heard an advertisement advertisement for a web site that provides a voice advocating - get a load of this - smoker's rights! Now if ever there was a group who'd know anything about running roughshod over the rights of other people, smokers would be that biinch! I assume that the Canadian Tobacco Manufactures' Council Council that organized this site so that these poor downtrodden Peaches, pecans, zapping and trapping Dear Editor, Driving back from Florida along U.S. 1-75, we came to the State of Georgia--famous for its peaches, pecans, and zapping and trapping drivers for speeding. Believe it or not, this time 1 saw very few drivers drivers being given a ticket. However, I did see a very surprising action that I have never see before; a policeman, his car stopped at the side ol the road displaying all the cruiser light systems in full flash, changing a tire for a citizen. citizen. 1 was astonished and slowed down to make sure that I was seeing a true situait situait was verified. I have never seen an officer of the law in Ontario perform a true act of kindness as 1 have been driving many and the only thing li ever received from a police squad car is heartburn lion. such this, years have and a ticket. My wife has suggested that the only reason for the Georgia policeman's actions was because the motorist in trouble was a Georgian peach. I would like to think that being a woman had nothing to do with it! Right!!!! Rolfe Wakefield Orono and abused members of our society would have a voice, also paid for the ads I keep hearing on the radio. It doesn't take a quantum leap to also assume that their interest in this cause is anything other than monetary. When they start to come to the aid of victims victims of sexual abuse, multiple sclerosis, or any other countless countless worthy causes, then I might accept their motive. Until then, l see them as a front for the tobacco companies companies making billions trading on the health of Canadians, for profit. If the government were to step in and take over every facet of tobacco growing and cigarette manufacturing, this group would no longer feel the need to protect smoker's rights! While perusing their site, the first thing that came to mind is that these guys are spin-doctors extraordinaire! The site refers to the fact that there are 5 million "adult" smokers in Canada. Never does it mention how many underage smokers there are, or what percentage of these adult smokers started smoking and became addicted to their product, product, well before reaching the legal age (19). Nor does it mention that women are the fastest growing consumers of tobacco; young women (little girls) in particular! Remember Remember when they used to advertise advertise Winston cigarettes on the "Flintstones". Who was their market? How many people do you know that started to smoke when they were actually actually adults? They don't mention the fact that most start as young people making adult choices long before they're able to consider all of the long-term consequences-- cost, health, etc.--and long before it's legal. Once addicted, addicted, smokers always find it difficult difficult to quit. Everyone knows it, and tobacco companies have made gazillions exploiting exploiting that addiction! The web VIEWPOINT see page 4