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BE «Lo BFE hy : { % $a ; { ; ~ Meet some Very Important People, just a few of the graduates from Cartwright Central Public School's recent VIP program. From left is Derek Channing, Alice White, . Shelley McMillen, Leanne McDowell, Jeremy Woodcock and Bryce Green. See story for details. VIP grads learn about drugs, police and friends There are some Very Important Neobie in Scugog Township these days. Since the graduation of the Rotary Club sponsored VIP program, 208 students from three schools in the township have newly acquired knowledge relating to Values, In- fluences and Peers -- the three words making up the program's 193 QUEEN ST., PORT PERRY (416) 985-7306 ALL LINES OF GENERAL INSURANCE VICTORIA \d VG ESE 91; 5 Year Annual Interest 9% % Semi-Annually Rates Subject to Change without Notice VIP is an in-curriculum program, part of the Grade Six teaching schedule at involved schools. With the cooperation of Durham Police, in particular Constable Peter Wraight, who does most of the teaching, students are given a whole new look at policing hospitals, their friends and a multitude of things that are bound to influence their lives as they grow older. Part of the course included a trip to the Oshawa police station and jail cells, a tour of the hospital, and a fresh look at the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. The trip through police head- quarters was listed as a highlight of the course by the young people who took it, as well as information glean- ed about friendships and relationships. Leanne McDowell of Cartwright Public School was impressed by the way she was taught to examine her "I liked the way the course sug- gested what I should look for in a friend, and what I learned about trust," she said. Alice White, also from Cart- wright, was amazed at the different number of drugs that can harm a person and her classmate Jeremy Woodcock was interested in the pro- fy , the law, drugs, LLL cedure used to pump a person's stomach after a drug overdose. Not only did the students pick up on the information they might not learn anywhere else, they also made - some new friends, including Con- stable Peter Wraight, "A few of them said they obtain- ed a new friend, Constable Wraight. They learned the police aren't so bad after all," said Tom Mullen, Director of Vocational Services at the Rotary Club. Rotarians were approached to sponsor the program three year: ago by Police Chief Jon Jenkins, and are responsible for supplying T- - shirts and diplomas to all who take the course. The program was initiated a year ago, and Mr. Mullen says it was even more successful than he had dreamed. 'The response that we're getting is excellent," he said. 'I got home from the Cartwright graduation and my hand was sore from shaking hands." Last year, Prince Albert Public School and R.H. Cornish Public School was involved with the VIP program. It was so successful, it . was expanded this year to Cart- wright Central Public School. Undoubtably, Mr. Mullen says, it will continue next year as well. WAY TO GO BOB! Best of luck with Switzer Motors, Port Perry. From your good friends -- Duane, John, Don, and the good guys and gals at Enterprise Ford Rising crime is a problem well- known to most nations in the world - 80 bizarre that we react immediate- ly to their proportions. We call for legislation to control and punish the - mass murderer, the terrorist and child molester. . To other crimes, however, we have often in the past given our quiet unspoken sanction. Impaired driving is one such crime; and yet, the driver who drinks also often maims, injures and kills. Last year in Canada close to 2,000 people died and another 60,000 were injured in alcohol-related traffic accidents. Recent initiatives. by Justice Minister John Crosbie and the federal government to reduce these statistics have raised Canadians' awareness of the dangers of drink- ing and driving. It is important now, however, that this awareness not give away to renewed complacency. Despite its tragic dimensions, we tend not to regard the crime of the impaired driver in the same serious way that we view other crimes. Because the individual is familiar to us, often a neighbour or a friend, perhaps someone in whom we see the weaker moments of ourselves, and because the person is always genuinely sorry, we forgive him or her and hesitate to call the act criminal. We ignore the fact that the im- paired driver hands us an annual bill in excess of $1 billion in medical expenses, higher insurance premiums, time lost from work and police and court costs. Of course, no financial statement can reflect the cost in lives, in human resources and in suffering. With the support of provincial ~ ments and such as ..as) (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and PRIDE (People to Reduce ° Drunk Driving Everywhere), John Crosbie decid- ed in December that Canada would no longer tolerate the costs associated with impaired driving. New amendments to the Criminal Code, called c.19 for chapter 19, Statutes of Canada 1985, were brought into force that redefined the way in which we view impaired driving and created stiff new Fight continues vs. accidents penalties for impaired driving oitsates minimum and maximum penalties are now more severe. The faces a minimum of 90 days in jail and a one-year prohibition from driving. imum penalty of 14 years in prison CARR = SN i - rete Er ----iet RE and a 10-year maximum penalty of § 10 years in hibition from driving. If manslaughter or criminal negligence causing death is proved, convictions carry a maximum life Driving while prohibited or with a suspended licence may entail a two-year prison term and up to three additional years' prohibition. Refusing to give a breath or a blood prison and a 10-year pro- §! no a sh Lo tw A I gH sample when requested to do so by | the police is also a crime. Unless the judge accepts that the individual has a reasonable excuse for refus- ing, the person can face the same penalties as would be the case for impaired driving. /The new law treats impaired driv- ing, boating and flying as the same | kinds of offences with the same | penalties. And it applies to all types {| of motor vehicles, whether cars, trucks, boats, aircraft, snowmobiles or all-terrain vehicles. Economists tell us that 1986 will need to be a year of budgetary | restraint and fiscal responsibility. The new and stiffer impaired driv- ing legislation means that it will also be a year of increased social respon- sibility. Canadians will need not on- § ly to buckle up, but also to sober up. For more information about c.19, Canada's impaired driving law, please write the Department of Justice Canada, 239 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario. K1A OHS. Opening Soon! photographic Portraits - Weddings - Commercial | 60 Water Street, Port Perry ) PICTURE FRAMING GUARANTEED INVESTMENT CERTIFICATES Annual Rates Monthly Rates CI IE II IP EE NAT LI A AP EE EY tress ersensrecsne EE I "esses ncsnnnnne -- MORTGAGES BOUGHT & SOLD -- Rates subject 10 change without notice. Call the office for information. SCUGOG JINANCIAL SERVICES N STREET -- PORT PERRY PHONE 985- 90-3832