Lake Scugog Historical Society Historic Digital Newspaper Collection

Port Perry Star, 22 Apr 1981, p. 4

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) A CRN CA RS AR AT rN SEA NAR BS ACL ERE rh SEA SI 0 ee SE SR LOWRY £73 TERRE SER OSLAD) Yr FIBER SAY x ASTER FALE 3 ¥ 0 184" app *- v4 A) ,, sy . 1 AR bE ba A 3 x 3 ah NavY AL RAN 3 VOR SR S COO Oe A Tp avis be fiGen ALAA | t Buildings should be inspected Port Perry was extremely fortunate last week . there was not a fatality on the main street when strong winds blew numerous bricks off the top of a building to the sidewalk three floors below. We understand that one person was slightly injured in the accident, but it goes without saying "that had one of those bricks struck a direct blow on the head of a pedestrian, serious injury or death would have been the result. The incident might serve as a reminder to the owners of buildings, especially those in the down- . town commercial core, that routine inspection of * walls, roofs, brick work and even hanging signs might not be a bad idea. Many of our downtown buildings are getting old and may be vulnerable to the elements, especially the high winds we have been experiencing in'recent weeks, ke The old saying about an ounce of prevention is quite appropriate in this case, and could very well help prevent disastrous consequences. Happy Easter Easter is the most important of the Christian holy days; a time for faithful the world over to rejoice in the Resurrection of Christ. It is a sad commentary on the world and times we live in when war and politics continue to snuf out lives of the innocent even as they are assembling in their churches for Easter worship and services. In Lebanon, a war ravaged country that seems to have gone insane, Moslem and Christian militia units declined to put down their weapons over the Easter holiday. Worshippers had just left several churches in Lebanon when they were attacked by rockets and grenades which left the buildings ablaze. ve The attack on the churches by Moslem forces, was in retaliation for an Easter Sunday artillery barrage by Christian militiamen in two cities, which left a reported 16 dead and 25 wounded. : Easter in that part of our troubled world is just another business day, and the business is killing and destruction. : Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, in the Philippines, a Catholic Church jammed with thous. and of Easter worshippers was attacked by guerrillas throwing hand grenades, and the result was 11 dead and more than 155 injure On a less serious note, motorcycle gangs went on . an Easter rampage in two Australian towns resulting in the arrests of more than 200 who threw beer The NOMINEES FOR THE BEST NON- suppor inG ROLE -.. PREMIER louGHEED c= PREMIER PECKFORD . . . PREMIER LEVESQUE ... PREMIER ... " :" oriol comments bottles, destroyed private property and brawled with police. And they know the meaning of Christianity in the Big Apple when an Easter Egg hunt for kiddies turned into a near riot, as people punched and kicked each other in an effort to get at the goodies which were being given away free.' : The point of this is that violence in many parts of the world is an everyday occurrence, respecting nothing and trampling into the dust anyone who gets in the way. . - ~ Ariotin New York City over a few Easter eggs is violence just the same as a grenade attack on a crowded church in the Philippines (on a different scale, of course). The world by and large is no further ahead in 1981 to finding non-violent solutions to human problems than it was in 1914 or even 1939. In fact, there are so many flash-points in the world right now, it is almost impossible to keep track of them. ~ They may seem far removed from North America, where fortunately, church goers on Easter Sunday do not have 'to fear grenade and rocket 'attacks as they say. their prayers. Violence around the world shows no sign of letting up. World leaders continue to work much, much harder at preparing for war than they do at trying to negotiate for peace. "It may be just a matter of time before one of the small flash-fires in some distant land erupts into a conflagration that will engulf the planet. There is nothing in world events and politics this Easter week which signals anything but pessimism at the chance of peace and harmony among men. Despite the advances .in human thinking and achievement, mankind has failed to learn the biggest lesson of all from the multitude of violet under- takings of the past. It is not a happy world we live in, by any means. : PROVINCIAL ELECTION This is being written on the eve of the provincial election in Ontario, but it could be the eve of any election in any province in this far-flung dominion. ~ Going up against the incumbent govern- ment resembles very much a promising heavyweight fighter going up against the world champion. He has to knock the champ It means that the government can ruption and fear. And it happened before squeaked into the leadership about the same margin as Joe Clark, and only because @ oR 2B : i the Northern Ontario voters had to get home : NN ¢ : . by bus, rail and plane, and couldn't vote in 'BN : - the last ballot, and who chooses to scatter : my money wherever it will buy a vote. i Why not vote, then, for the NDP man, a good man, a man of intellect and integrity? Because, while he is a good man, and would make an excellent representative, his party out, or make him look so foolish that even the judges have to award the challenger the title. If it's anywhere near close, the champ wins } How does this apply to provincial politics? Well, in the first place, the party in power has it fingers in a stranglehold on the public purse. This means that it can run an over- - whelming advertising campaign, conduct its own slanted polls, and throw grants, and patronage in all directions, especially when a seat is in danger, ; ~ Every nickel of this vast wastage comes out of: your pocket and mine. A provincial election costs you and me anywhere from ten to a hundred dollars, most of it disguised 'in the form of government information, government announcements of ten million here, two million there, eight million else- where, and so on. ; It means that the government, fighting a supposedly democratic election, is in with . both hands to public money, scattering it wherever it might glean votes, regardless of the cial debt, regardless of us, who rine up the bucks. cynically hire . clever people to write speeches, brilliant people to plan glossy ad campaigns, brutal people to twist arms and remind of past favors, and opportunists to "denigrate the opposition parties. The latter, without access to our money, can fight only with what they have, and it's an uphill battle. They can't afford the opulent advertising, the sybaritic sycophancy of a venal press, the bus or the plane with the free bar, the free buses to pack nomination meetings. . But, lo, all is not lost. People are not sheep; not quite. Every so often, a slick, glossy government campaign goes down the drain, as The People suddenly demand to know what the hell the government stands for, besides motherhood, prosperity, and a turkey in every seat in the legislature. It happened in B.C., when Dave Barrett . knocked out the right-wing government of Wacky Bennett. And in Manitoba, when right-wing Sterling Lyon knocked out the left-wing NDP. It happened in Quebec, when the PQ knocked off the smooth Liberal 'organi- zation, riddled with patropage and cor- that in Quebec when the Liberals, before they became rich and slick, bumped the Duplessis, right-wing Union Nationale, now -a mere shadow on the Quebec horizon.-- Being of Irish extraction, I always, without fail, vote against the government. By the time this appears in print, the Tories - in Ontario, who have a menage a trois with the NDP federals and the Liberal govern- ment in Ottawa (doesn't that boggle the mind?) will likely have formed another minority government. How could they be defeated, with all that money, and a leader who epitomizes all the small-town, small- minded attitudes of 'traditional Tory Ontario? But I'm in a quandary. Out on my: front lawn is a sign, urging people to vote NDP. My wife, in a weak moment, allowed a friend to talk her into installing it, with my urging. I can't vote Tory, because I detest and - despise a. government that has allowed Ontario to, become a second-rate province, despite its enormous resources, and because I resent the manner in which the Tory, leader, a fairly mediocre politician who can't win. Thus, I'm going to vote Liberal, even though I don't know a thing about the Liberal candidate, except what I hear. - As a result, I will be drummed out of the teachers' union, which has urged all teachers to vote against the Liberals, : Why? Because the Liberals have chosen education as one of their sacred cows to attack. And not a bad choice. The public, as well as many teachers, is fed up to the ears with the present educational system. Include me in. : i I think the system, which by the way was architectured by the present provincial premier when he was Minister of Education, - neither knows where it has been nor where it is going. Itis full of brilliant young le with new ideas, old fogies who fight did ideas at every turn, and middle-aged nyerps who can't see past salaries and pensions. ; Bury me not on the lone prairie. Bury me instead under a heap of frustrated young people who are getting neither an adequate education for a job, nor an adequate education for life with a capital L. J -- le

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