The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

TEENS. a * po i } PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, November 25, 1986 -- § { : i f Pro Be Lae SABRE Se i Vi © W P Oo i nN by John B. McClelland FROM JOHN WAYNE TO MAKE MY DAY A few years ago, a white guy riding the New York subway became incensed when several young black guys hassled him for a few dollars. He pulled a gun and began shooting. He killed one and jadly olsen another. rnard Goetz, the guy who ed the trigger, became instant front page news Aor United States. and for many in that country, he also became something of a folk hero. Two weeks ago in Calgary (that's in Canada, by the way) a couple of men walked into a drug store looking to steal money or drugs. The store owner killed one with a shotgun blast in the back and wounded the other in a shoot-out in the aisle of the store. The store owner has been charged with second degree murder. In Montreal's tough east end a few days later, a variety store owner shot and killed a would-be thief. He has yet to be charged, but is now facing a Coroner's In- quest. In the province of Quebec, such an inquest has We authority to recommend that criminal charges be aid. i The instinctive reaction in these cases and others . similar is to say: "Good for them." The drug store owner in Calgary or the variety shop owner in east end Montreal were simply protecting their property. They just got fed up with scum from the streets slithering in and taking what they wanted. The store owners got tired of waiting for the police and .he courts to give them the protection they require. would do: armed themselves with. fire-power and a resolve to use it to protect themselves and their property. What makes most of us react instinctively this way is the perception that law and order has broken down in this country. Many people now believe that the criminals are run- ning the system. Fuelled by a never-ending stream of stories in the papers and on TV, a growing number of everyday Canadians have come to believe the following: 1. the courts, the system of bail, parole and probation, and the fact that cases take months, years to come to trial, simply have given criminals the green light to rob, steal, beat up innocent people and commit murder. 2. when a criminal finally does get sentenced to jail for a serious crime, that sentence is too lenient, almost never served to full term, and being in jail is kind of soft what with colour TV, three squares a day, even booze and drugs. 3. the police are handcuffed in their effort to bring criminals to justice by under-staffing, budget restraints, and legislation loop-holes relating to bail, juvenile of- fenders, etc. In short, the average person in Canada has come to believe the deck is over-whelmingly stacked in favour of the criminal. Whether indeed this is true in fact doesn't matter. What does matter is that people believe it to be true. It is the perception that is all important. People have come to believe that crime is rampant in the streets, that drug-crazed punks are slicing throafs of little old ladies for a few bucks to buy more drugs. Because of this, they believe the average citizen is free to take whatever steps are necessary to protect themselves, their property, their family and the helpless little old ladies. The on sts and becomes extended. In the minds of many in society today, the helpless little old lady is a metaphor for all people who are vulnerable to crime, including the nation's shop-keepers. What has happened in the United States, and is now happening in Canada, is this. The average guy believes he is caught in the middle of a war zone with the police and the courts on one side, the criminals on the other. » The average guy says to himself, "there is no wa I can run from this war, so if I'm going to be in the mid- dle, I'd better make sure I'm fighting on equal terms. If the criminals are using their fists and boots, I'm go- ing to fight with a knife. If they. use knives, I'll use a gun. If hey use a pistol, I'll come back with a bazooka." How did these perceptions come to take hold in a society like Canada, which has no historical or mythological links to an age of lawlessness? There is nothing in our Constitution giving us the right to bear arms. We have no "Wild West" in our past. In fact, for decades, Canada took great pride in the heritage of law and civic order. - But that has changed. The media are giving pro- minent play to crime stories. How many times have you read a story about a criminal trial in which "the accused was out on bail for a previous crime, or out on parole, or had just been released after serving time?" How many times have you read a story about a trial which states "the accused has a long criminal record?" Our perceptions may also have been formed by Hollywood. There has been a string of very popular (Turn to page 6) So they did what any decent law-abiding citizen Yesterday's Memories 60 YEARS AGO Thursday, Nov. 25, 1926 The Town Hall was well filled on Tuesday night at Mr. Stacey's Conservative meeting. Dr. James Moore of Brooklin, occupied the chair. Mr. Jas. Swinson, Epsom has returned home after spending the summer in the West. Mr. Fred Hogarth, Utica, has purchased a car. At the closing session of Ontario County Council for 1926, Warden Geo. Sweetman, Reeve of Scugog was presented with an engraved gold watch as a token of appreciation of services rendered during the year. 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, Nov. 22, 1951 J.J. Gibson can be proud of his work as a Poultry Processor. A box of fowl (1 dozen) killed, dressed and packed by J.J. won first prize in the fowl class at the Royal Winter Fair and was also Reserve Grand Champion of all poultry in the show. Christie Bros. of Manchester won two 3rd's and two 4th's with their ponies at the Royal. of Carroll, Manitoba, spent the weekend with Mr. and Mrs. James Moffatt and Mrs. R.M. Holtby in Port Perry. 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, Nov. 23, 1961 'Reach Township council was returned by acclamation Saturday during nominations at the Township Hall in Manchester. Back for another term of office are Reeve Edward Oyler; Deputy-Reeve W. Earl Martyn; and Councillors Alan Crosier, Morley Bruce and Lawrence Doble. On November 4, 1961, in St. Paul's Anglican Church, Uxbridge, where the grandparents of the bride had the first wedding, and where her parents were also married, Catherine Isabel Jean Sheehy was united in marriage to Thomas Arthur David Midgley. 20 YEARS AGO Thursday, Nov. 24, 1966 Mrs. W. Watson, on behalf of the Hospital Board, received a pledge card from Legion President Ed Mulholland in the amount of $5,000.00. It was passed by the membership at a recent meeting and will be paid over a period of 5 years. On Saturday, November 26, 1966, a coin laundry and car wash will open on Hwy. 7A near the causeway, under the management of Wm. Tripp. Congratulations to Jean Taylor, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Len Taylor, Greenbank, in passing her Registered Nurses Examination. Ralph Sadler, Nestleton, won Grand Champion on Standard Bred Stallion "Royal Skytop," at the Canadian National Exhibition. 10 YEARS AGO | Wednesday, November 24, 1976 The Scugog Ratepayers Association put a list of 14 questions before the over 20 candidates who will be running for positions on Scugog Township Council this December as part of the association's plan to stage three all-candidates' meetings in Blackstock, Port Perry and Greenbank. Saturday's talent show, held at Town Hall 1873, was a huge suc- cess. Many local people took part and performed before an almost capacity audience. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Gray of Welland, and Mr. Earl Carlisle Letters Taxpayers deserve a say To The Editor: As taxpayers, versus tax shelters, we as the taxpayers are paying for the education of our next genera- tion, while others are using our Fairgrounds for tax sheltering. Why should we be sacrificing the conve- nient location of our new school which will serve the community on a year-round basis to the Fair, us- ed only a minimal number of hours per year, which has been offered an alternative site? It's time that we, as taxpayers, responsible for the education of our youth, should have some say as to the location of our new school. We are residents -- more so than can be said of some voting members of the Fairboard who may not necessari- Snow on sidewalk a hazard to children To The Editor: I could understand my road not being plowed this morning (Nov. 21), as it is a residential street and there would have naturally been other road clearing priorities. My life is in little danger, if any, by the snow on the road, but for too many children struggling up the south side of Highway 7A this morning, their lives were endangered by the failure to clear the sidewalk. Numerous children opted to walk up the road- side as it was at least packed down by the oncoming traffic. The sidewalk was all but impassable. Some residents were valiantly at- tempting to clear the snow from the walk in front of their homes, but the overall situation remained a very dangerous one for the young children. Why was that sidewalk not cleared in the early morning before the children started to school? The township purchased the equipment last year to do the job and on our tax bills, the fee for snow clearing was dully noted. Was the equipment ready to move? How are the walkways prioritized for snow removal, if at all? When is the deci- sion made to clear the snow from the sidewalks? This is only the beginning of the season. Our children will have to walk along that highway for many winter months to come. Are we go- ing to allow their lives to be jeopar- dized by our failure to provide a safe path for their journey? I would hate to think that this matter will be acted on only when a child is in- jured, or worse, Sincerely, John Beirness, Port Perry. 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 to the editor. While we enjoy receiving letters from our readers, we must continue to insist on knowing the identity of the writer. ly be so. As well, those using race horses for tax sheltering may not be residents either. It's time that Scugog Council and the Durham Board of Education told these peo- ple who are using our community for their own selfish purposes to face reality. It's time they listened to us! We hope that in the next election our Councillors and Trustees will listen to the voting public. } As to the members of the Fair- board, we wish them well in their future endeavours, but not to the ex- pense of the education of our children. It seems unreasonable that our municipality - elected of- ficials can't come to grips with a small elected executive of the Fair- board which does not represent the true feelings of most of the tax- payers in this municipality. Why should we, as taxpayers, sup- port those using our community facilities for tax shelters and other selfish reasons? Yours truly, Cyndy Jamieson, Port Perry. Editor's Note: The Fairboard will be voting this Wednesday night on whether or not to surrender the lease on the existing Fairgrounds. |