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

4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, November 24, 1987 Editorial Comments Good For Them! Is society finally starting to win a few battles in the war against drug use and abuse? : ~The Addiction Research Foundation of Ontario says in a recent- ly released report that there is reason to be cautiously optimistic, especially when it comes to young people in grades seven to 13. The Foundation has been surveying students in these grades for a decade in an effort to determine the extent of drug use such as cannabis, non-medical barbituates and stimulents, as well as alcohol and tobacco. , In 1987, the survey found 'significant decrease' in the use of the above mentioned drugs, a decline that began to show up in 1979. The survey was conducted by Dr. Reginald Smart, director of the Foundation's Prevention Studies Department. He says "The major decline in cannabis (hash and marijuana) use is a very important trend.' He believes that since cannabis is the most widely used of any illegal drug, any significant increase or decrease will greatly af- fect students' general involvement with illicit drugs. Essentially, what the survey found is that the number of students using cannabis has dropped from 21 per cent in 1985 to just under 16 per cent in 1987. The Addiction Research Foundation believes there may be several reasons why students appear to be using these drugs less. A lot of individuals and organizations have worked very hard to alert young people to the dangers of substance abuse. Media ex- posure may have played a role, also the continued vigilance by law enforcement agencies. And the researchers feel there may be another reason. Along with decline of the use of cannabis they have noted a decrease since 1983 in the use of alcohol and tobacco. If indeed kids and teens are making decisions to turn away from drug use, including booze and tobacco, because they want a healthier life, they deserve a pat on the back. Not only will they reap enormous personal benefits later in life, society will face less of a burden treating and helping the physical wrecks who started at an early age to push harmful junk into their systems. oo. Although the Foundation is encouraged by the findings in the latast survey, there is a strong caveat attached. Society must not relax its concerns over drug use and abuse. The declines that are showing up may involve infrequent users cr cautious experimenters who try a drug once or twice. Dr. Smart says that those who continue to use drugs may have severe drug- 'related problems. Nevertheless, young people who may try a drug once or twice for whatever reason and decide "no way, not for me, thank you very much," will not develop those serious problems. Their own lives will be far better for their decision and they won't become an albatross around the neck of society in later years. Young people these days get more than their fair share of flack about a lot of things. Unfortunately, as with most things, there will always be a few jerks in any crowd whose behaviour and actions paint everyone in the same unfavourable light. The Research Foundation tells us that 15.9 per cent of the students surveyed this year are using cannabis. We should keep in mind that over 80 per cent are NOT using the stuff. We hear a lot about cocaine and the deadly crack derivative. The survey found 4 per cent of young people using cocaine in some form. Again, it is heartening that 96 per cent are staying away. While we agree totally with the Research Foundation that this is no time to relax the vigil in the war against substance use and abuse, we think it's high time that the overwhelming majority of young people who decline to use the stuff deserve a word of thanks and congratulations for taking control of their lives. Good for them. 1 y "3 7, ' 4 AALS Fx Do HB Emmes 7 7, J N JRA | W ad cS hs | & 0 ix 1 Ie (by Ju | | i d N J a % : i LN hd | * 3 { > 1g 2 ---7 pa J == ) = As ' An UNFORTUNATE MISCALCULATION, (SEORGE, BUT IT PROVES ONE THING - - - THE DANGED sys7em WORKS I Port Perry (a STAR gag (== | 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO 5 Phone 985-7383 PO Box90 LOB INO J PETER HVIDSTEN Member of the Publisher Canadian Community Newspaper Association vod Ontario Community Newspaper Association Advertising Manager Published every Tuesday Dy the : Port Perry Star Co Ltd Port Perry Ontar JB McCLELLAND Editor CATHY OLLIFFE RE News & Features Subscription Rate In Canada $20 00 per year Elsewhere $60 00 per year Single Copy 50° » Arye, anya COPYRIGHT -- All layout and composition of advertisements produced by the adver tising department of the Port Perry Star Company Limited are protected under copyright and may not be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher Chatterbox by Cathy Olliffe RENOVATION NIGHTMARES 0 Renovating is so insane. It is good, yes, when it is done. It raises the value of your house. It makes your home more comfortable to live in. But it is bad news when you're in the middle of it. Maybe it is okay for rich people, who merely hire a contractor to do the work for them, but when you do it yourself, egads, I get nightmares just thinking about it. Doug and I have been renovating for, oh, about a year now, with no end in sight. We've been living in a mess for so long, we forget what it is like to live in a clean house. I mean, doesn't everyone have a pile of pink insula- tion in their living room? Doug says we'll be pretty well finished by Christmas. I wonder if he knows Christmas is ex- actly one month away. One month! What does he plan to do, hire Santa's elves to help? This, I do not know. One thing I do know, however, is a few do's and don'ts about renovating. I'm an expert now, you see, and I thought I'd pass along a few gems of wisdom to those who are about to start on a project of their own: (1.) Do not renovate. (2.) Do not renovate. 4 (3.) If you have to renovate, hire someone to o it. (4.) If you can't afford to hire someone, do not renovate. (5.) If you feel you have to do it anyway, take it one step at a time. Do not attempt to change the whole house at the same time. It is sheer folly, for example, to take out every toilet in the house at the same time. Unless, of course, you have an outhouse. And if you're relying on one of those, it's high time you did some renovating. Better than tackling the whole house at once, is taking it one step at a time. Plan what you're doing first, on pieces of paper you will not lose. Do not leave plans in the house once renovation has begun, as you will surely lose them. (6.) Practise cursing. Cursing in an integral part of any renovation work. I honestly believe nothing can be accomplished without a couple of good solid obscenities. Here's a few to try out ---- make sure you roll your tongue around the words and speak clearly: '@+§=&~+1t* ---- An appropriate term for misplacing your hammer. *X@+&°=+[ ---- What to say when a nail is driven crooked. "1° X1§-" ---- It's the first word that comes to mind when you break a whole sheet of drywall and there's a shortage at the local building store. "(t+ @+° ---- When you spill an entire gallon of paint you need a good one. Speaking of words, here's a few phrases eve wife should memorize and use whe hes husband is in the throes of renovation: (a) "Honey, could you could come here for a minute?' When your husband calls you with this line, it is best to pretend you didn't hear it. Slip away for at least an hour. Or simply say you're too busy. Whatever your excuse, do not go to him because if you do, he will only say, (b) "Could you hold this for me?"' Usually he is asking you to hold up an entire wall, while he drives in a few nails. The wall almost always weighs a ton. He almost always loses his hammer or his nails, so while you're holding up this entire wall, he disappears for 20 minutes looking for his tools. Meanwhile, you're stuck. Your arms are killing you. You want to kill him. This is not a good way to think about your beloved. (c) "Pass me the flat-headed screwdriver." What does this mean? What is a flat-headed screwdriver? Why can't husbands simply ask for '""the green screwdriver,' or "the short screwdriver."' Why must they ask for something you've never heard of? (d) "What's for dinner, I'm starved!" Can you believe this? After helping him with renovating all day, he expects you to go and cook him a man-size meal, while he drops on the couch, exhausted, and watches the last half of the foot- ball game. While he expects you to help him, it doesn't occur to him to help you in the kitchen. Whatever happened to ordering a pizza, and why isn't it good enough for the Renovating Man? And while these phrases are common coming from husbands, wives have a few of their own that can raise the hair on the back of hubbie's neck. (aa) '"'Are you sure you know what you're do- ing?"' I've asked this myself on a few occasions, with astounding results. Nothing irks a renovator ~more than having someone question his or her abilities. I've come close to death after asking this. Above all, NEVER ASK IF HE KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING. ASSUME HE DOES IF YOU'RE AFRAID HE MIGHT BURN THE HOUSE DOWN, CALL THE FIRE DEPART- MENT, BUT NEVER, NEVER QUESTION HIS ABILITIES. Learn this rule. It will save your mar- riage. Not to mention your life. (bb) *'I want a plug over that wall." This is an okay question if you're still in the planning stage. But please, refrain from asking this if your husband has already put the drywall up. He will strangle you. (cc) "Do you want some help?" Are you kid- ding? Only a lunatic would ask this. Well, that's basically it. I can't offer any finishing tips because, hey, we haven't got there yet. But here's a few more important rules of thumb. Never inhale insulation. Always turn off the power before re-wiring. Never throw old nails on the floor. And keep plenty of band-aids on hand. Ear-plugs too.