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IX SERINE TNs - le no a Se Dr We Tw EL em a 2 CY aad 3 Ze JF = aE A A NS RO SE rl A ar er EE 0 STR AAS or, ~ = A \ ow "Fy Fara yatta (1 editorial poge Vandalism R.H. Cornish Public School sustained some $2000 damage; a portable classroom in Blackstock was damaged to the tune of $150; and public washroom facilities at a park in Port Perry were hit for about $200. All three incidents in Scugog took place over the long weekend and .all were apparantly caused by vandals. The willful destruction of public property seems to be a form of crime that is on the increase in all areas of the country, and police, civic leaders and school officials are looking for ways to help prevent it from happening. Just why somebody, especially a youngster, would feel a need to purposely damage or destroy property, is behaviour that will likely never be fully understood. But understanding the problem does not necess- arily add up to a solution. Some would argue that stiffer fines or even jail sentences may serve as a deterrent. That is open to debate. One thing is certain in the wanton destruction of public property: the cost of repair is usually picked up in one form or another by the taxpayer. And that is not fair. The courts must move to impose retribution payments on those who are responsible for the damage. If they are under 16 their parents or guardians should pay. And on top of the payments the courts should demand that those found guilty must also perform some useful service or work for the community at large. Society may not be able to eliminate vandalism, but it is within the power of our courts to ease the financial burden on society that results from vandalism. Fire Prevention Last year in the province of Ontario there were more than 24,000 fires, destroying property valued in excess of $156 million, and claiming 238 victims. According to the office of the Ontario Fire Marshall many of these fires COULD have been prevented. More often than not the action required is something as simple as removing old rubbish from the basement or having the electric wiring checked. October 8-14 is Fire Prevention Week in Canada, a tradition by the way, which has been around since 1922, and the message again this year is increased public awareness and information about how to protect against fires breaking out, especially in the prevent tragic fires is your local fire department. The local department can give you expert advice on everything from where to place a smoke detector to the maintenance and operation of home fire extin- guishers. All you have to do is ask. On Saturday and Sunday of this week an Open House will be held at the Port Perry Fire Hall and an invitiation is extended to the public to drop by, view a couple films about fire prevention and talk to the firefighters. Equipment used by the department will be on display. , If you are concerned about your property and your loved ones, find out about fire prevention and what you can do about it. As the ad slogan says "fire is so final."" While most of us do take notice during Fire Prevention Week, it is obviously something we v should be thinking about seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. iP Lo oe "d A he) PY Y home. The best source of information about how to bill Canada's sights While we were travelling this past sum- mer, my wife remarked something to the effect that it's too bad Canada doesn't have the attractions to lure hundreds of thou- sands of tourists that Europe has. I assured her tartly that she was all wet. This country has everything to make it a tourist's paradise: mountains aplenty, great plains, deep forests, thousands of miles of coast line, a million or so lakes, good hotels, interesting cities in French and English and good highways. It's not that we don't have enough for the tourist. We have too much, and we take it for granted. Tiny Switzerland doesn't, and it makes use of every inch, milking the tourist as carefully as it milks its cows, those brown ones that graze up the moun-' tains in summer and give chocolate milk. We have tremendous sports facilities: skiing, sailing, fishing, hunting, hiking, alot of it free or very cheap. Try going skiing or fishing or hunting in Europe. It will cost you an arm and a leg, and in many countries is impossible for foreigners. We don't have any ruined abbeys or falling-down castles, but we have plenty of , TT TY A i oA ALS in Ro £2 er . wa. ly Eo) f smiley abandoned log houses, which, in terms of humanity, are just as touching, if not as impressive. We're a little short on cathedrals, but not on churches. Some of our towns of two or three thousand have as many as ten different churches. You can pray standing up, sitting down, on your knees or flat on your back. You can't do this in Europe. We are nationalistic, but in a lackadaisi- cal way, with nothing of the prickly pride of the French, the deja vu pride of the Italians or the smug complacency of the Swiss or Germans. We have a certain blandness, a lack of local colour perhaps, to the unobservant eye. But local colour often consists of nothing more than rolls so hard you can't eat them, dirty toilets, and execrable wine, in Europe. And we certainly have all those. As local colour, try a house party 'in Newfie, Saturday night in Sudbury, a stroll _ down Yonge St.'s Strip in Toronto, or amble through downtown Montreal or Vancouver. Or try Friday night in a beer parlor, anywhere in the country. We don't have many ancient ruins. We put them away in nursing homes. But a visit to these could probably be arranged for the tourist. People think we don't have much history. We do. We have all kinds of it. It's just younger than that of European countries. But the Battle of Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, is just as important to this country as the Battle of Waterloo was to Europe in its time. The restoration of Ste. Marie Among the Hurons at Midland, Ontario, the 17th cen- tury Jesuit mission, is just as valid as the restoration of the Roman Colosseum, ig- nored by the Romans for centuries. Furthermore, for the delectation of the tourists, we have a dollar that is worth 85 cents. That means their yen and marks and francs will stretch like elastic bands. And finally, we have something no other nation in the world can touch, Thanksgiving weekend, and everything that goes with it. The great sad, final flaming of our foliage before we close down for six months. If our tourist industry wasn't such a weak sister, Canada would be crawling with millions of Japanese and Arabs and Ger- mans and Italians from about September first to the middle of October, to the point of where we wouldn't have room to rake our leaves and burn them. Speaking of Thanksgiving, I hope you "have a lot to be thankful for. I'think we do, as a nation. We have the most bracing, . delightful, exasperating climate in the world. We still have vast, comparatively unspoiled wilderness. (Witness the scram- ble for recent Europeans, now Canadians, to buy a chunk of it.) We have a very high standard of living, despite unemployment, strikes, high taxes, fumbling politicians. We have a country in which Jack is as good as his master, and servility is scorned. Don't believe me? Try hiring a cleaning lady or bawling out your plumber. Ask among the first generation Canadians _from-Europe how many of them would gos back. Nary a one. Aside from thinking this is a pretty good place to live, I have lots of personal reasons for thanksgiving. A good wife who can cook like a chef, sew like a couturier. (We almost remembered our anniversary this year. Were just a day late.) My daughter, with two children and three degrees, finally got a job. As a file clerk. My son is alive and well in a South American country, which is sometimes a difficult thing to be. h I have a great lad next door-who-cuts my lawn and shovels my snow faithfully. I have a job I like with people I enjoy working with. I have good neighbours. But I must admit I'm looking over my shoulder quite often these days." I'm thankful that my health is good, but I think the Lord is trying to tell me something about my English Department. Two of them have faulty tickers. A third sprang his back and was flat on it all summer. Another, a recent addition, had his gall bladder removed recently. And finally, Roger Bell, whose contributions you may have read in this space, fell off his motor-bike and dislocated his shoulder. It's a good thing they have a strong, virile Chief. Be thankful for what you have. » _-- ------ eT tr ------ ------_--