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6 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, April 7, 1987 Letters Questions liquor law changes We, the members of the Involved Parents Group of 'Gananoque, Lansdowne and District wish to oppose some of the recommen: dations of the Ontario Advisory Committee on Liquor Regulation released 3 March 1987 at Queens Park We too, would aim for "in dividual moueration in the consumption of beverage alcohol'. However, we believe that liberalization of liquor laws, specifically, extension of hours of licensed premises, patrons being allowed to bring their own beverage alcohol to restaurants, 24 hour room service and de-regulation of some Special Occasion Permits IS NOT RESPONSIBLE. Our area in Eastern Ontario spends its share of the estimated half billion dollars cost of alcohol abuse in the Health Care, Social Welfare, Law Enfor- cement and reduced productivity problems. The legislation to reduce the drinking age from 21 to'18°to 19, a few ycars ago effectively put legal consumption of alcohol into the high school age group. In that age group, Peer Pressure dictates that if friends do it, it's o.k. for me (age 19 is not the measure). This same student Peer Pressure is resulting . 'in alcohol consumption at the public school age level. Our Gommunity is only one of many which is suffering from the responsibility andg that the drinking age be raised to. 21 and that there be stricter con- 'trols on the sale of alcohol. The leeds & Grenville: Board of Education (25 November, 1985) passed three resolutions, 1) legal drinking age be raised to age 21; 2) the sale of beer and wine should not be permitted in grocery stores; 3) Government review lifestyle ad-; vertising of beer and wine. In this Province now, millions of dollars are spent in prevention programmes for students and adults alike (VIP, SADD, Alcohol and Drug education, etc.). Many groups such as ours, have formed to find the ways to protect our children-and ourselves from fur- ther pain and cost brought about by alcohol. We believe that liberalized liquor * laws do NOT "reflect the attitudes and expectations of the pubic' as Mr. Offer believes they do. We feel so committed to op- posing liberalization of liquor laws that we are also sending this letter to 240 weekly newspapers across Ontario. We will also address the Gananoque Town Council with the hopes of seeing a resolution sent to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. Yours trul y, Terry Tucker President Box 342 Gananoque, Ont. April Fool's spoof on me. 0K." » Viewpoint And to the guy who phoned the Star office and said he was the editor of a major Toronto paper wanting to carry the story coast to coast, congratulations on a nice You had me convinced, for about ten seconds. A bit of warning, however, for anyone who is reading these words. Don't be surprised to see an off- beat, far-out story about something in the Port Perry Star about one year from now, around the first of April, epidemic of underage drinking. In October, 1985, we lost three studen- ts in an'alcohol related car crash. At the Inquest of these deaths, the Coroner's Jury recommended a © Aie you sure yo'sre getting the biggest tax refund you're entitled to this year? At H&R Block our tax return preparers have been specially trained to fing every deduction, exemption and credit' that can save you money In fact, in a recent survey, 2 out of 3 H&R Biock customers wha got refunds believed they got bigger refunds than if they did their own' taxes Come to H&R Block this year We can help you save as much of your hard earned money as possible SET Prices from You could get more than sou bargained for at H&R BLOCK (above the Post Office) - PORT PERRY 985-9803 Weekdays 9AM to6 PM Saturdays 3AM tol PM Editorial Comments (From page 4) And how about the Port Perry Atom hockey team. Those guys capped a wonderful season last Friday (only ten losses all year) by 'winning the all-Ontario B championship in three straight games over Penetang. This is the first year, the Atom championship was truly all- Ontario. In previous years, it was Eastern Ontario only for Port Poly teams. The Atoms, by the way, were the only team from Port Perry to bring an all-Ontario crown home this year. Nice work. Congratula- tions are due all the players, head coach Don Steele and the guys who work with him behind the bench. And finally, a word of praise for the Port Perry Petites Ringette squad which advanced to the Provincial championships over the weekend. This was the first time ever a local Ringette team reached this level. Even though the girls did not bring back a medal, they can hold their heads high as they gave a fine performance against the best Ringette teams in Ontario. Their success this season augers well for the sport of Ringette in Port Perry for coming years. A spring bouquet for the players, coaching staff and faithful fans who followed this team through an extraordinary season. SMITH & SMITH BIG V Highway 7A & Water St. Port P Ph. 985 1 4 rr f + ] { Ji } { | ii [1] [¢ One Woman's View by Chris Carlisle Only unquestionably aw abiding citizens have the right to health Or so those in Ponoka, Alberta seem to think. Ponoka residents rallied behind a 26-year-old paraplegic earlier this year to raise money to send her to the Soviet Union for surgery that might correct her paralysis. However, after she was charged with trafficking in LSD (and her boyfriend with trafficking in LSD and cocaine) financial support was withdrawn. There are several angles to be considered here. The first is that she has yet to be proven guilty. Therefore, she's still innocent. © Some would say, if proven guilty, the woman should be punish- ed. They might even say, if guilty, she has no business soliciting dona- tions to finance the $10,000 trip for experimental surgery. Ponoka residents admit they have trouble with the idea of supporting a drug pusher and that's understandable. Especially in the case of dona- tions from local schools. How do you explain it to the kids? The fact, however, is that this woman claims she's innocent. She hasn't been convicted. But many donations have been recalled, withheld or given instead to Rick Hansen." } What residents are saying is that she must suffer physically the rest of her life because she was charged. Convicts receive medical care. We don't let their legs rot off if they fall and break them. We don't stand by watching as they have a heart attack, claiming that they shouldn't have held up that bank. (Or do we?) If the woman is guilty, the courts 'will decide the punishment. We don't cut off thieves' hands. We shouldn't cut off a suspected drug pusher's legs. It's not up to the residents to perform a tar and feathering no matter what the truth of the matter. Some say it's her boyfriend that's the culprit and she'd be bet- ter off without him and his. bad influence. Nobody's perfect. From what I read, the guy has stuck by her since the 1984 car accident that caused her paralysis. (A tire blew and flipped the truck in which she and her boyfriend were riding.) Dealing with a disability, whether sudden like Lorrie Jess's or ongoing, is a difficult trial for the victim and the family. Marriages and relationships have floundered on much less. But this guy has stuck with her, helping her with therapy and exercises, driving her to and from the bookstore she owns and minding the store while she attends medical appointments. Whether or not the guy is a bad actor is none of my business or anyone else's. Who are we to tell someone who to love? Especially when that someone has stuck by you through tough times. I'm not condoning the alleged drug selling. I'm just saying there's good in him and good in this woman who has so courageously battl- ed her disability that the whole town gathered round to help. It's not easy to separate the issues but the punishment must fit the crime. The woman is scheduled to fly to Moscow April 5 although her preliminary hearing--to determine whether there is enough evidence to go to trial-is April 6. According to the report I read, she and the Crown prosecutor say that trip will not be stopped. Jess plans to be on that flight with the $3,000 remaining in the trust fund set up for her I hope that in the meantime, people are able to separate the issues of personal health and laws of the land. If it turns out that the woman is guilty, people will no doubt . scream that she has no right to health while she's messing about-the minds of her alleged customers with LSD. But Timothy Leary would probably disagree. I'm all for law and order and have a pretty adamant personal stand against drugs but I'd be more than willing to give the woman the benefit of a doubt before pulling funding. Anyway. a brush with the law doesn't mean you give up health or hope. If that was true. Richard Nixon would be a penniless, suicidal quadraplegic. Awsmpavan Momories (From page 5) 10 YEARS AGO Wednesday, April 6, 1977 Grant MacDonald was elected Chairman of the Board of Gover- nors for Community Memorial Hospital at the board's annual meeting. Central Seven Association for the Mentally Retarded took a ma- jor step forward in their attempts to meet the needs of the retarded in Uxbridge. Brock, and ¢ Scugog Townships with the hiring of Suzanne Norris as program manager who will assess the needs of the retarded in the area The third annual Awards Night. fisted by Scugog Township. was held at Town Hall 1873 and dozens of trophies. awards. and other presentations were handed out to honoured citizens. sportsmen and others. Those receiving awards were Sue Gribben. the ladies inter- national Judo champion; Canadian skating dance champion David Porter. Port Perry Midget C Hockey team. winners of the All-Ontario competition. the Scugog Arefia committee. Mrs Dorothy Nelson for her part n a lifé-saving effort. and Graham Fish. retired' townsh: P "by- law officer nm AN RA a