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PORT PERRY STAR -- Wednesday, July 2 1986 -- 5 2 | Viewpoi alr oY John B. McClelland _ The world of professional sports reeled last week with yet another drug-related tragedy. Lenny Bias, a 22 year old basketball wizard who had Just inked a contract with the world champion Boston Celtics of the NBA, died of heart failure which doctors believe was caused by cocaine. Incredible. Here's a young man about to grab the . world by the tail. He could have made a fortune play- Ing a sport he loves, padded his bank account further with public appearances and commercial en- dorsgments, and could have been chosen a hero and role model for millions of American kids who dream of some ay slam dunking in the NBA. And what happens? It ail goes down the tubes because Lenny Bias snorted cocaine. A young life, a pro- mising future, snuffed out at a coke-snorting partyin a university dormitory. The news of that tragedy comes at a time when law enforcement people in Canada are running into a new form of coke known by its street name as "'crack," or "the rock." "It has a particularly addictive affect to it. A hit is relatively cheap, but the high only lasts a few minutes, after which the user is craving for more. A vicious, pushers are finding a ready and willing market among-- high school kids on limjted budgets. ' It is impossible to compute the costs of illegal drug abuse in North America. Police forces readily admit they are fighting a losing battle. For every street pusher - they nail in court, there are two or three more waiting to step in line. The value of illegal drugs is estimated in the billions of dollars in North America, the profits bigger than those of the largest legitimate corporation. The cost in human and social terms is staggering. Deaths from overdoses and impurities are common- place. The streets of every major city in North America ., are littered with walking zombies whose brains have been frazzled by drug abuse. ~ Society seems to have run out of answers. Despite warnings from everywhere, stiff jail terms for pushing, trafficking and importing, and the realization of the im- mense dangers, the trade flourishes. Last year, major league basepall was rocked by a drug scandal. This year, Sports Illust-ated magazine printed an article based on anonymous sources that some members of the Edmonton Oilers allegedly used cocaine. Toronto Maple Leaf defenseman Bor je Salm- ing went public this spring and admitted he once tried cocaine several years ago. Other hockey players (who remained anonymous) have been quoted as saying every time they went to a game in New York, it snowed. And they were not refer- ring to the weather. Drugs, it seems, have become a part of the social ; fabric for many people. Heck, there has even been a murderous circle. Because the hits are cheap, the street very successful television series built around a couple Sof narcotics officers in Miami. Is society losing the battle over drug abuse? One might be tempted to say yes. One might be tempted to say that governments should maybe give up the fight: call off the law enforcement, and simply supply itiunder controlled conditions to any fool who wants it. The sav- ing would be enormous in police costs alone, and the taxes on the stuff could be used for hospitals where the or anybody else. testing? [) hard and soft drugs. vegetables could live out their lives. : Of course, I'm not totally serious in saying that. But it has been suggested on occasion that by bringing drugs under government control, out in the open and available, might just be a better way to control their use and treat the victims, than what's going on now. That probably will never happen.- What will happen is that every day of every year, countless young lives will go down the drain. Some will die, like Lenny Bias, others will just shrivel up as human beings until they are of absolutely no use to themselves And every once in a while, a super star like Lenny Bias will make headlines when he's found dead with a nose full of coke. People will go ""tut-tut-tut," politicians and police chiefs will pledge 'continuing vigilance' in the fight against drugs. But nothing will change For the life of me, I can't understand why some pro- fessional athletes and leagues are balking at the idea of mandatory drug testing. It is the super stars in sports who are the role models for so many young people. What the heck is a 13-year old supposed to think about drugs if the hero he/she sees on TV every week may be tak- ing the stuff, or has refused to take part in mandatory As the social and human cdts of this evil continue to spiral upwards, governments eventually are going to have to intervene. The quickest way to kill the supp- ly of something is to kill the profits. Governments have steadily gained control of just about everything in socie- ty, someday they are going to have to take control of ] Yesterday's Memories 60 YEARS AGO : Thursday, July 1, 1926 Three rinks from the Port Perry Bowling Club attended the tour- nament at Cannington held on Wednesday and two of them brought home first prizes. The rink skipped by Mr. D. Carnegie won first in the Primary and that skipped by Mr. E.H. Purdy, won first in Consolation. } : 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 28, 1951 - Dr. E.A. Hodgson, Chief Seismologist of the Dominion of Canad recently attended in Ottawa a meeting of the Seismologist Society of America, at which Dr. Hodgson was honoured as "one of the world's very best Seismologist.'"' Dr. Hodgson and his wife reside in Port Perry. _ Congratulations to Mr. Wm. Brock who received second class honours at Victoria College, U. of T., in the course of Commerce and 'Finance. Mr. Brock will spend the summer as a Flight Cadet with the R.C.A F. in a reserve officer training school at the Royal Military College in Kingston. 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 29, 1961 The Port Perry Lawn Bowling Team, consisting of Fred DeNure, lead; Alma Cox, Vice; and Art Cox, skip; won the Benevolent Fund held in Peterboro on June 25th. They competed against 40 teams for the Victor Foxhall Trophy. Congratulations to Rosemary Nodwell, Seagrave who took two firsts in the Highland Games at Caledon East. Rosemary won medals in march and strathspey and reel. She is the pupil of Mr. James MacGregor of Oshawa. 20 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 30, 1966 Family, friends and colleagues came from as far as New York to pay tribute to Mr. R.H. Cornish on the occasion of his retirement. Mr. Cornish had been principal of Port Perry Public School for 35 years. Congratulations to Dean Beare, a student of Port Perry Public School who has never missed a day of school during his nine years of attendance at the school. Cartwright Central Public School held its first Grade 8 gradua- tion dinner on Tuesday evening. Linda Mountjoy delivered the Stu- "dent Farewell Message and I4rs. Venning responded with a Farewell message which offered advice and encouragement. 10 YEARS AGO Wednesday, June 30, 1976 Port Perry's Sue Gribben won the all-Canadian Judo champion- ship at competitions held in the Villadrome at the Olympic site in Montreal over the weekend. She outfought six top competitors from across the country to take the win. Bob Brinkman, a member of the Port Perry Hospital's nursing staff for the past 11 years is taking up a new position and respon- sibilities this fall when he becomes the new director of nursing in Uxbridge. Paula Lishman of Blackstock area took part in the official open- ing ceremonies at the C.N. Tower i. Toronto last week. Paula, who is 6 feet, 314" tall, helped switch on the lights that flooded the world's tallest freestanding structure as the clock reached midnight. Letters ~ Our special people deserve a lot more h Dear Sir: This letter is being written as in- 'formation for Brett and Debbie Har- rison, "Lack of school' letter to the editor in June 17 edition of tite Port Perry Star. At one time there wasi't any kind of help for retarded children and This summer there is plenty of ac- tivity going on at the Scugog Memorial Public Library! In July there will be reading clubs for junior readers; The Comet Connection for readers in French as well as English, and the Read-to-me Club for reluctant and beginning readers. Girls and boys over 10 years old can bring their cameras and learn the secrets of taking great pictures from Phil Walmsley, then they can enter the Library Photography Con- test. The contest features a mystery as well as great photos: "Can You Find This Port Perry Location?" Polka Dot Door visits Palmer Park as part of Festival Days ac- tivities. The Library has been assisted in this presentation by the province of Ontario through the On- tario Arts Council. This fine childrens program is seen daily on TV Ontario; tickets may be pur- chased at the Library, Ted E. Bear, Children's Den, and Stedmans. Keep cool and enjoy films from around the world: The Ransom of Red Chief, from a story by O. Henry; The Fish From Japan offers a lesson from a well-known fairy tale; Madeline, and Madeline's Rescue are two more films that feature the activities of little girls at school in France. These and other films are free at the Library in July. There will also be another of the very popular Canoeing Workshops with instructor Barry Page. This year it will be an all-day affair. Bring your lunch and a life jacket and we'll provide all the rest! There will be films and outdoor apprecia- tion, and plenty of opportunity to '""paddle-your-own-canoe." Parents adults, other than placing them in an institution or a dark closet. Some of us realized the potential of these people and gave them a chance. Thus Central Seven was formed. We, the parents and friends of these people have worked hard and Summer at the library are welcome to share this ex- perience with children aged 10 and over. It's a great opportunity to learn the basics or improve your ex- isting skills. During the month of July the Library will be the location of the Scugog Fibre Artists exhibition in celebration of the Convergence '86 Conference, being held this year at the Metro Toronto Convention Cen- tre. Galleries in Toronto and Southern Ontario have mounted a multitude of exhibitions displaying the work of weavers and fibre ar- tists as part of the Handweaver's Guild of America. It is a unique, gathering of superb talent and th Scugog Memorial Library is proud to host the wonderful artists from our area. Reminder: New hours for the summer: open Mon., Tues., Wed., and Fri. 10a.m. until 6 p.m.; Thurs. 10-9, Closed Saturdays. long to have special accommodation made for them. - - Our Township Council and com- munity have greatly helped us on our way. My daughter, will, unfortunately never have the opportunity to live and work in these new facilities. She -did not live long enough. For everyone else needing special care, you have shown this town what you really can do. To Brett and Debbie -- your fami- ly will have their excellent educa- tion in English or French in a new' school. You will live in your nice home and have your careers .... unless; someone you love and care about has a problem at birth, is very ill or in a serious accident; resulting in mental retardation. Then, we sup- porters of Central Seven will be hap- py to help and encourage you. ~ We all would like to see a new school built in Port Perry and we will. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will apything else wor- thwhile. The wheels of progress move slowly, but they do move. Please give these special people - an opportunity to have at least part of what they deserve and consider luxury when you already have so much. Sincerely, Karel Nottingham, R.R. 1, Nestleton ¥ to the editor. Letters to the Editor ~... our policy It has always been the policy of this newspaper to encourage our readers to make use of the letters to the editor column. Our readers have a right to freely express their opinions and view- points on just about any subject, and we feel that a lively letters column helps make a better community newspaper. We insist, however, that a letter writer sign his or her name. On rare occasions, we will agree to with-hold publication of a letter writer's name, if we feel there are very good reasons to do so. Under no circumstances will this paper print an anonymous letter While we enjoy receiving letters from our readers, we must continue to insist on knowing the identity of the writer. : v4 1 ~~) fr i ¥ NE i