The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

LETTER TO EDITOR 1 don't know about you, but the strange case of Phillipe Clement caught my attention last week. Clement was doing time for murder at the minimum (no bars, no fences) security Beaver Creek prison near Gravenhurst when he walked away. Before he was re-captured, he had gone on a break and enter spree, sexually assaulted a woman, choked her and stolen her vehicle. News reports said Clement, who's 33 and has been in the slammef since he was 18, was facing a parole board to get un-escorted day passes. He bolted because he didn't think he was ready for even limited time on the outside. 'The logic of that escapes me. If this guy isn't ready for any kind of parole (his behavior during this brief escape is obviously proof) just why in heck was he being considered for day passes? And why is a guy doing big time for murder, (he brutally stabbed a Montreal lady in 1977),"locked up" in a minimum security place where prisoners are not considered a threat and walking away is about as tough as crossing the street. I am not, by nature, a vindictive, spiteful person who wants to see others treated badly or even un-fairly. But the prison and parole system in the country obviously needs some kind of a serious examination. Too often, we hear of somebody out of prison, or a halfway house, or a ward for the criminally insane, going on a rampage that causes utter terror to innocent people who happen to get in the way, and in some well known cases, it costs them their lives. All my life I have believed (naively, I guess) that anyone can make a mistake and those who do deserve one second chance. The stuff going on today badly shakes that belief. Sure, I know that the bad cases get all the media attention and the " 'success stories" go un-noticed. In the case of Clement, was it not noticed that he wasn't ready for life outside? If he wasn't ready for parole, why even consider it? THEY DESERVE IT. Speaking of "justice," a Scugog fastball club, the Greenbank Gamblers, got exactly what'was coming to them last Thursday evening up in Peterborough. The Gamblers won the League title four games to one with a convincing 5-1 victory. After what this team has been through this season, victory never looked better. About five weeks ago, the Peterborough Mens League decided that all playoff games would be held in Peterborough (the reason for this decision has never been made clear) Gamblers have a loyal following, but it's a bit much to ask them_to rive to Peterborough to see the team in playoff action. Members of the team were furious at this "ruling," and there was some talk of pulling out. But they stuck with it and on Thursday night with victory within grasp, you could just see the look of determination on the faces of the'players. There wasn't much doubt as tothe outcome, and when it was over, the team accepted the trophy and shook hands'with their opponents. Next season, Gamblers most likely will be looking for another league, and personally, I'd like to see them in the Oshawa City and District League with the Port Perry XL. Eagles. This is a natural rivalry (has been for years) and would certainly stimulate a lot of interest among fastball fans in the Township. yway, to Gambl Rod Foster, playing coach Gary Baker and thegest of the guys, nicp' work. As somebody once said, good things happen to those Fo are IN CLOSING.......... I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank some special people at the Citizen. Chris Hudson is working full time in ad sales and has brought a large dose of energy, enthusiasm and new ideas. His background is in radio ads, but made the shift from electronic to print sales without missing a beat. Nice to have you with us. Darlene Hlozan is managing the office, and doing a great job. She keeps us all "on our toes" around here, and is also '2arning the computer program for page layout and design. Both Chris and Darlene have excellent "people skills," and their contributions over the last few weeks have been invaluable to this newspaper. Just wanted to say thanks. Letter to the editor Letter missed point To the Editor: This is an open letter to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. New Deal, eh? Distinct Society for Quebec will automatically make all Canadians outside Quebec second class citizens. Likewise for all English speaking citizens within the province of Quebec. Am I the only person in this country who sees this? Family members and friends who still remain in Quebec know it to be a fact. It's reality to them. All Canadians, regardless of race, language, colour or religion should be equal; not just the chosen few. The commitment to the vitality and development of official language minority communities throughout Canada is just another way of telling us we are going to keep dh paying for bilingualism in every way to appease a few. The country is broke now because we are forced to eat, sleep, drink and dream French. Most of us footing the bill for all this do not think it is tres chic to switch from English to French during your press copferences, Sir. All the while Quebecgets to remain a unilingual -- Letter to Mulroney French speaking Distinct Society. And I certainly don't like the clause which states the role of the Legislature and government of Quebec to preserve and promote the distinct society of Quebec is affirmed. Why is there no clause in this new deal signifying the other provinces can do likewise. Theycan choose not to use the French language in their provinces without being penalized by having transfer payments cut off by Ottawa. As for strengthening the economic union of Canada, does this mean now Quebec is willing to accept construction workers from other areas of Canada? At present, Quebeckers can work construction anywhere, but those from outside can't work in Quebec. As for 25 per cent of Commons seats going to Quebec, are Canadians crazy? This whole country is crazy if we allow this deal. We are presently paying salaries and perqs and pensions to a bunch of separatists in Ottawa right now; people who have and will continue to try to break up the country. Eugene Forsey said it before, but I'l Turn to page 10 B= [NBiLvED MysIERYIE= Have you any idea who this well-d d and dist g couple may be? If you can shed some light on this unsolved mystery the Scugog Shores Museum would like to hear from you at 985-3589. To the Editor: servicing and thus eats up domestic With respect to Glenn Malcolm's letter in the September 9 edition, he has missed the most important issue in our current economic predicament. First, let me say that | am not a Free Trade proponent and do agree with most of the points made by Mr. Malcolm, especially that Canadians face the greatest downward But I heth NAFTA is the key driving force behind our loss of security. _ Consider that the un-folding of thie 1 debacle rests squarely on the shoulders of an un-informed public and a government of fools. Federal finances are in a shambles, r i deficits di tax 8, despite the introduction of the GST. The federal debt is growing and compounding, eating this country alive. The debt factor is not unique to government. During 1988, the public and corporate debt reached a pinnacle previously un-heard of. Indeed, this debt factor needs ings, current i and nearly all sources of available capital. In fact, the consumer appears much wiser than governments, restricting spending to reduce debt. For the first time in our history that such figures have been kept, the consumer has reduced net debt for nine months in a row. And at the same time, has refused to borrow even at the lowest interest rates we have had in 30 years. Add to this that our average growth in the economy since 1980 has been 2.6 per cent, which is the lowest since the 1930's. No wonder, no "real growth" in personal incomes has been experienced over this same period. This has been the first recession (depression, if you like) that government has actually increased taxes. The public and torporations have responded with a desperate rush to liquidity. Survival in many cases means laying off employees in huge Turn to page 10 SNAPSHOT OF THE 5 WEEK EE : Linda N Bowers of Port Perry submitted this picture | of her | daughter Emma, who is 18 months and constantly getting into going In the tollet, but she's still smiling". She assures us the tollet Is clean!