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. VIEWPOINT by John B. McClelland eo Citizen -- Fiesty, December 21, 1993 en LETTERS TO EDITOR Like everyone else who knew him, I was shocked and upset on learning that Pierre Leduc passed away suddenly December 11. My d t personal sympathies are extended to his mother Lorraine and all members of his family. Pierre was well known in Port Perry for his involvement in many community activities, He was a familiar face at the arena in the winter months and at the baseball diamonds in the summer. He donated his time to work at bingos for the Catholic Church and at the Red Barn in Oshawa. Over the years, he organized many hockey and softball games and turned the proceeds over to the Central Seven Association for Community Living. Pierre and I had something in common--we both rooted for the Monteal Canadiens and the Montreal Expos. It's not easy being a fan of the Habs and Expos living here in the_ heart of Leaf and Blue Jay country: When the Canadiéns or the Expos were on a winning streak, you could see the smile on his face and the twinkle in his eye a mile away. ' Several years ago when the Habs won a rather un-expected Stanley Cup, Pierre and I celebrated the occasion at a local watering hole. Of course, being a native Quebecois, Pierre also had a oft spot for th Nordique, especially when they ht | those great series against Montreal back in the mid-80's. During one series, I don't recall the year, Pierre displayed Canadien and Nordique sweaters in the windows of his apartment on Queen Street. A month or so ago, Pierre came into the Citizen office and presented me with a small gift. It was a coffee mug with the Canadiens familiar logo on it. It was a nice gesture on his part and today, of course, that coffee mug has a special significance for me. The day before he died, Pjerre stopped for a visit at the Citizen office. As always, he brought along a couple of cups of coffee--one for himself and one for me. We chatted for a few minutes and he talked in a positive fashion®bout up- coming surgery in January and the No reason fact that he had gained a few pounds. It was the last time I saw him. At his funeral December 15, Father Charlie of Immaculate Conception Church spoke warmly of Pierre, saying that he was a man who put the well being of others ahead of himself and material possessions. Precisely. That's the way he was. As I said at the outset, Pierre's death came as shock. In fact, I still can't believe that he is gone. But I do know this--I'm going to miss him. This will be my last Viewpoint until 1994. As we have done for the last two years, the Citizen will NOT publish between Christmas and New Years. We will be shutting down for a wee give all of us a chance to i the estive season with family and friends. It's been quite a yegf 'around this small office whére a group of extraordinarypé&ople works hard each week ta produce the Scugog Citizen. It's way too late for me to send them all Christmas cards, so I'm going to use this space to thank them deeply for their efforts and to wish all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. These good people are listed on our mast-head each week: Valerie Ellis, co-publisher gnd ad manager; Chris Hudson, out ad sales rep who also rolls up his sleeves every Tuesday for delivery of newspapers; Sibylle Warren in accounting who keeps us on track week in and week out; Liz Drebit, our eternal optimist who handles the phones, does type-setting, takes ads and stuffs flyers. Believe me, in this business it helps to have an eternal optimist around the office. Heather McCrae is our feature writer/photographer. She has a great knack for finding the human interest stories in our community. These people have made a significant contribution to the success of this newspaper. I have worked in several newspaper offices over the last 20 some years, and this one, by far, is the most congenial. Having said that, I will sign this column off wishing you the very best for the holiday season. We'll he back on January 4, 1994. for teens to be idle in this town To the Editor and Community; Thank you for the staggering outpouring of support re my letter of last week. | am overwhelmed. Now, if we can move to stage two in our return to civility campaign, could the parents/guardians/friends of those few sad youths practising mindless mayhem or vengeful vindictiveness as their concept of "fun", stand tall, refuse to be intimidated by young cowards and bullies? Make those who enact crimes against their ity fully responsible for their actions. Children often hide behind tissues of lies out of fear, guilt, sometimes even regret embarrassment. Demand truth. We ALL stand taller when we can walk in the sunlight or the shadows free of threat, vengefulness, or reprisal. And for those teens who really do have nothing better to do, I speak from ience when I tell you this lovely » wonderful doorways to your tow! futures: school music programs, cadets, all manner of special-interest clubs, sports activities, church groups, candy striping, volunteering, many more, and yes, the Millar Lights. Try some; you might like them. Sure beats drug deals at midnight, fried brains - or trips to the "Pound". Also, participation in organized, positive groups where useful skills are learned looks fabulous on your life resumes. We coaches are here to help ensure your success. Give up the 'terrorist' activities and misconstrued anger against the "old folks"; they still support many of you, oP™you know. Kindness and caring have far, far greater longterm rewards. Look to your futures To all supporters, thank you again for coming forth and speaking up. Respectfully, Diane Lackie Port Perry Tampering with Christmas alters our traditions To the Editor: Like many people I am disturbed by the news that the provincial government and many schools will not be celebrating Christmas thi year. In the interests of multiculturalism, the holiday will be turned into a generic winter celebration with "season's greeting" to replace "Merry Christmas." This is not an unusual reaction except that I am one of the people the ernment is trying to protect. I am not a Christian. I follow no religion and I am skeptical --sometimes scornful--of all organized religions and their teachings. It is my right to be. It is also the right of others to follow theirs. I strenuously object to people forcing their views on me, such as mandatory prayer in schools or making laws based solely on Biblical werses. Wishing me a "Merry Christmas" and putting up a creche on the front lawn is an entirely different matter. My house has lights on it, andefle have a tree and gifts and eggnog at our Christmas Open House. I love the melodies of the classical Christmas carols and I love the King James version of the Christmas story, even if | read it as a well written piece of literature and do not take it seriously as Christians do. I treat the holidays as an excuse to have some fun in the middle of a dreary winter, an attitude which doesn't seem to bother any of my Christian friends. None who visits insists | put the three wise men on the mantle; I'm happy and that is good enough for them. While I don't have isti ifi gathering" means absolutely nothing. This seems to be a consensus among the people I know who do not celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. To them, it is either a day off, or a day filled with Santa Claus, decorated trees and gifts, all of them traditions tacked onto the holiday with no religious history at all. I don't have a problem with my local politician putting up a "Merry Christmas" sign on his door. I also don't have a problem with my Chinese friends wishing me a Happy New Year months off the date I celebrate, or my Jewish friend who sends me a Chanukah card each year. They are simply sharing the joy of their own religions, without insisting that I follow them. The problem is not with people who do not celebrate Christmas, but with those who think it is essential to protect them. In the eyes of those denied their special holiday, the non-celebrants are the grinches who stole Christmas, even if they were not responsible for the actual ruling itself. At the same time, those "grinches" probably could not care less if they are wished a Marry Christmas or a season's greetings, but because of the political correctness they are now the bad guys. Everyone suffers, and the rift that the multiculturalism program is trying to prevent just opens wider and wider. Any policies regarding Christmas decorations must be amended diately before more damage is done. If Jews can light menorahs in Mel Lastman Square, if dragons can dance in data, I have found it very difficult to find anyone who objects to Christmas being celebrated as it always has been. I work with a Muslim who purchases but one Christmas gift each year, to give away at our office party gift exchange. To him, it's a social event and whether we call it a Christmas Party or a "seasonal hi , if Greeks can parade along the Danforth, and gays and lesbians can have a pride day, then it's only fair that ° Christians can proclaim that they have a celebration of their own that they'd like to share with everyone. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. Jn McIntosh, RR f, Oshawa, Ont. Put letter writing energy into action To the Editor: It being the Christmas season and a time for giving, | write to give my thanks for the wonderful support I received from the town of Port Perry and the Scugog Citizen during the recent federal election campaign. - To all who gave and were supportive of my endeavo my most heartfelt gratitude Be holiday season. We were unfortu ly unsuccessful in our bid to take the seat (as an independent candidate) in the Ottawa riding of Ottawa-Vanier, but it is no shame to fall at the hands of the future speaker of the House of Commons. We did win victory after victory in terms of the media coverage and the attention that afforded the cause of young people in this country. I was somewhat disturbed to return to Port Perry and find the debate raging in the letters to the editor column about the so-called hooligans and the sub personal attacks being thrown amongst "mature" adults. Perhaps, as Dr. Millar suggested, this energy could be better spent getting to the root of the problems rather than simply placing blame and hurling accusations. I find this pass-time to be a favourite among Canadians: to gripe and whine about the severe problems facing the country, yet not to take action in hopes of solving them. Curious, is it not? I found during the recent election campaign that the problems facing young people, the future of this wonderful country of ours, are sadly ignored by older generations. Whose fault could it possibly be that youth are apathetic and bored? We were not born that way. Society has granted today's young people less opportunity than any other generation in the history of this country. How would the more mature readers of the Citizen like to be told they were to be part of the first generation in Canadian history to be worse off than their parents? That isn't much motivation, is it? So the next time this debate or any other for that matter begins to rage on the letters to the editor page, let's examine what we ourselves have done to make a difference. Dr. Millar's credentials in this community stand up for themselves. | myself, have taken the first step into a battle that will most certainly consume the better part of my life, that of bringing the plight of youth in this country to the forefront. To use a horrible cliche, actions speak louder than words. David Talbot, Ottawa, formerly a Port Perry resident.