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published by Scugog Citizen Publishing L.td. or Phone : (905) 985-6397 Fax : (905) 985-1410 « "Prowd Canadians, prowd to call Scugog Township home." Spring training? Spring follies The owners of major league baseball teams must be daft if they think they can stage a using repl players. Spring training camps in the sunny south have already opened and the sports pages have been filled with photos of these replacements. There may be a few decent players among them (who knows) but most are wannabes, teen- agers, or aging over-the-hillers hoping to fill some mysterious fantasy. And many, if one can believe the photos and stories, are decidedly out of condition for just about anything physical, never mind hitting a fast ball or tracking down a long fly to the gap in left centre. The strike by the players, which cut short the season last summer, has dragged on and on with no end in sight. The issues in this one have long ago blurred over, but at the centre, of course is money. Whether it gets settled by the time the season is due to open in about six weeks is anybody's guess. But those on the inside say don't put any money on an early settlement. So, what should be spring training has turned into spring folly. For countless sports fans in every corner of North America, spring training has arrived each February like a welcome tonic. The boys of summer back in the sunshine, green grass, blue skies, hot dogs and beer, the promise of a new season, a pennant race, maybe even a World Series miracle in October. This year, the fans are staying away in droves and well they should. They can't give away the ducats to entice the fans out to watch replacement players at spring training. About the only person in this heart-breaking dispute (for the fans) was the venerable Sparky Anderson, manager of Tigers. He told his bosses there's no way he's having anything to do with replacement players and his bosses promptly put him on an un-paid leave. Hood for Sparky. This guy's under contract for about $1 lion per year, yet says integrity won't let: him manage replacement players. Integrity? In pro baseball? In pro sports? We thought the word had long disappeared, like the Polo Grounds and Ebbetts Field. If major league owners think they are going to carry on with replacement players and actually open the season in a few weeks, it will be the ultimate slap in the face to the fans. Do they really think the fans are going to shell out tough- earned (after tax) dollars to watch this folly? Sorry. The lines have been drawn on the infield sand and the fans are going to stay away in droves, just like they are at Lorrie Sorpublishes: Join 3. MeCwilard, Va Elli i THE SCUGOG CITIZEN advertising manager : Valerie Ellis CCNA Member an independently owned and operated Advertising seis icon. Br melee @- CONA weekly community newspaper, lle Waren is distributed, free of charge, a to over 13,800 homes and businesses wet 8 ---- in and around Scugog Township. 36 WATER ST, PORT PERRY, ONT. L9L1j2 on Taya Can CENA Verified iptions sold outside Scugog Township. NEW FROM K-SMELL THE PRESTO MANNING DEWX DEFICIT REDUCER... LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Banting backs up her views on golf courses To The Editor: Last week I was accused of using "scare tactics" with regard to the environmental stresses associated with golf courses. Here are a few quotations to back up the comments I'd made. Re: the amounts of water used: says Environment Canada in its Freshwater Series, "the way we use water is very important...worst of all, most uses actually lower the quality of the water" (pamphlet A-4). If water returns to the water table and atmosphere poisoned, can we really justify this in the name of recreation? Re: pesticides and fertilizers being "rigorously t of the chemicals that enter the water are, even in minute amounts, toxic to humans, plant and animal life. Pesticides...are Spiel examples" (Env. Can. Series, A-3). training where a grand total of six showed up Si morning to watch the replacements. * Sports fans these days have had it up to the teeth was lock-outs and strikes and the posturing of all involved. Nobody seems to give a hoot at the long-suffering fans 'who pay the very expensive freight in professional sports. * contamination problems are increasing in Canada primarily because of the large and growing number of toxic compounds used in industry and agricul ture. In rural Canada, scientists And the owners expect them to sit in the bleachers and watch replacement players. Bring on the Teamsters and Jimmy Hoffa Jr. Put an end to this Spring Folly. Get the players and the owners together, put them in a room, lock the damn door and tell them to stay there til they come to their senses and reach a settlement. As for the fans, average folks from every walk of life, all they want is to see baseball--real baseball. _ Throwing them replacement players is utter nonsense and the ultimate slap in the face to the people who pay the bills. ; pect that many h hold wells are contaminated by substances from such common sources as septic systems, underground tanks, used motor oil, road salt, fertilizer, pesticides and livestock wastes..studies have documented the migration of contaminants from disposal or spill sites to nearby lakes and rivers as this groundwater passes through the hydrologic cycle, but the processes are not as yet well understood" (Env. Can. Freshwater Series, A-5).. ~ Are pesticides safe? As the Attorney General of New York State's Environmental Protection Bureau's handout "Lawn Care Pesticides and Safety: What You Should Know" comments: "No one can give you that all p To find out more, call Environment Canada at 1-800- 668-6767 and request a copy of the Freshwater Series; call Greenpeace at (416) 345-8408 for information on their chlorine campaign; pick up a copy of the American Cancer Society pamphlet Marine: the use u h a are associated with some risk of harm to human health or the environment". It goes on to document various short and long-term health effects, and to explain that EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) registration is not a guarantee of safety. Scientists have discovered that des may your health" at Scugog ar call me (985-3225) for a copy of the Attorney General handout; attend Durham Environmental Network's March 23rd meeting at Durham College to hear a panel of three (a scientist, an author and a Great Lakes United activist) discuss chlorine; . and/or pick up a copy of DEN's "Pesticide Information Kit" many chemicals of the chlori family (some pesticides included) (available at the Earthdance are endocrine system A host of disturbi health effects (including cancer) is now being suspected to result from the ways in which many chemicals affect our bodies. store, 263 Queen St. in Port Perry) to learn about alternatives. Janet Banting, Greenbank. Bob Rae and To the Editor: ¥ It is often said that "people get the kind of government they deserve." 1 don't know what we ever did NDP be warned for the first time. This past weekend, myself and 400 other PC's nominated John O'Toole as our candidate in the soon to be announced provincial election. : . This time, we will get the kind of government we deserve! Peter A. Etmanskie, Orono, Ontario.