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6 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, December 13, 1968 Letters Perils of mailing Christmas cards To the Editor: Please warn all your ex-patriot British readership against the per- ils to be encountered in mailing Christmas cards to their relatives and friends, and the fact that there is a new twist in the warped minds of the Federal Bureau- idocy" Last Friday I went to the Post Office to buy stamps to send my (as usual, late) cards to England and asked what stamps I would need for air mail delivery....came the reply: "If you printed "Printed Matter" on the front of the (unsealed) en- velope, and if you write no more than five (5) words of greeting on the card inside, the cost is .57¢"! Not unnaturally, I thought the friendly post-person was joking, but, No! That's the rule, to the letter, so to speak. I have questions, and would be zternally grateful if someone ould supply rational and logical 1SWErS: 1. Who's idea was this? 2. What is the annual salary of tl at person? 3. How is this system con- trolled? Does someone open the cards and count the written con- tents? (There is a dangerous as- sumption here that the inspector can, in fact, count!) 4. Why five words? Or is that all the inspector can manage, hav- ing the pre-requisite number of fingers on the hand which is not holding the card during inspec- tion! S. Does ink weigh more than we have been led to believe? 6. If I should get the ink-ling to write ten words, would the RCMP arrive at my door demand- ing retribution? would the penalty be paying extras postage, or would I be locked up? Need control and direction (From page 5) and utilitarin strip plazas on the other? It's an architectural dis- grace! Surely this commercial area could have been presented with a little class - class that co-ordinated with the mood we've achieved on Queen Street. How may of us know that of the beatiful old stately homes within Port Perry most of them were built, over 100 years ago, on Multiple Lots? That this means that should the owners choose to subdivide these estates they can not be prevented from doing so under the existing by-laws? How many know that there are no by-laws in effect to enforce homes on these new lots to con- form with the architectural integ- rity of the surrounding area? uch is presently the case with the property at 258 Cochrane Street. Such is the case with oth- ers. We have no by-law nor com- mittee in place to stop it. I believe it's time for us to care about the future ntation and preservation of the town we call home. That it's time to control the direction and quality of our growth. Are we parpared to just leave it up to good luck? Do you care enough to demand oy-laws ensuring management of our town's heritage instead? What will it be - good luck or good management? Your truly Barb Weatherall Port Perry 7. Is this system one of many of which we are unaware, and if so, what other evils are lurking to entrap the unwary? For instance, is it still legal to put one's return address on the back of the letter, or must it be on the top-left cor- ner of the front? Perhaps we ought to know these things before we offend the powers that be. 8. If this ridiculous system is monitored in any way, shape or form, would this be a hint as to why the mails are so slow? Frankly, I think this is one "rule" which should definitely NOT be followed to the letter! It should be stamped out immediate- ly, and whatever federal Einstein had the brainstorm initially should be folded, stapled and, pre- ferably, spindled forthwith. I think we should register a strong objection to this latest example of imbicilic, insensitive and indiscri- mate idocy....post-haste!!! Sincerely, Vonne Haigh Scugog Township. P.S. To Mr. Ross Stevenson: "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, sir" I truly do not mean to offend, and trust you will overlook the fact that my seasonal salutation contains Seven words! Appalled with decision to open Squirrel Road To the Editor: The following is an open letter to Ontario Premier David Peterson. Dear Mr. Premier, I am both shocked and appalled to hear that you are continuing to press the issue of the Red Squirrel Lake Road extension, without the full environmental impact study that is required. I have visited the area personally on many occasions, and it in- cludes areas of Virgin Forest. This "Old Forest" has never been lum- bered before. Many of the trees are over 400 years old, that is a very rare sight in this part of the coun- try nowadays. The feeling that you get from these old stands of Virgin Pine is breathtaking and very beautiful. It is something that should be left for our children to see in person, not to be indiscriminately wasted to keep a debt-ridden lumber mill open anothe few years. I have also seen the utter de- struction left in the wake of log- gers. If these forests are, in fact re- newable, why is it proving to be so difficult to reforest the clearcut areas? For six or seven years now, I've been visiting this area, and still the clearcut sections have NOT REGENERATED. I understand that trees have been planted a number of times, without success. What will be your explanation to the native people if they actually do win their land claim, only to win a desolate wasteland. And, how will I explain to my little girls that they cannot go to see the huge trees in Dad's pictures? With a world-wide outcry over the loss of our forests and the pos- sible ramifications of global defo- restation, I think we should start to set an example by protecting our own Old Growth Forests. I can understand the position of the loggers, but a short term solu- tion to a long term problem is not the answer in this case. Imagine, if you can, that it would take 20 generations to replace a forest of this age. If you and your government continue to support this road ex- tension, without the environmen- tal assessment, and allowing the settlement of the land claim of the Teme-Augama Anishnabai, you will lose the support of this long- time Liberal supporter. I cannot support a government that would allow short term gain to cloud their view of the future. Yours truly, Ian McCrae, Port Perry High spirited Carol singers To The Editor: Congratulations to those high spirited carol singers who braved the cold to sing to a small but en- thusiastic audience Saturday afternoon in front of the Post Office! BRAVO! Keep up the good work -- you are wonderful! Joan Jarvie, Scugog Island CENTRAL PAINT & WALLPAPER 295 RITSON ROAD SOUTH, OSHAWA 434-3939 Viewpoint by JOHN B. McCLELLAND (From page 5) rope. He knows that the Workers Paradise has failed its people miserably, and all those rubles spent on guns would e far better spent in improving the daily life of the average Soviet citizen. He also knows there are serious internal domestic trou- bles brewing in the so-called sattellite countries like Esto- nia, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia and even East Ger- many. The intense desire of these peoples for more free- doms, more sovereignty and a better way of life is not going to go away, and these desires can no longer be subjugated under the Russian heel. | think that Gorbachev knows that the Soviet Empire is changin , and will continue to change over the next couple of decades. What an opportunity there is for the Soviets and the Americans to push ahead for further reductions in conven- tional and nuclear weapons. The United States today is up the same creeks as the Soviet Union. Neither country can afford the billions of dol- lars it costs each year to maintain such high levels of military readiness in so many corners of the globe. Neither country is a threat militarily to the other. What is the major threat in 1988 is a declining economy and a mili- tary machine that continues to suck enormous sums of money each day. The other threat, to all of us, of course, is the environ- mental one. Whether you live in Port Perry, Ontario, a small town in Kansas or a village in Siberia, continued spoilage of the global environment may be of more danger to your chil- dren today, than than the threat of nuclear war when | was a ten-year old. Frankly, | am heartened somewhat by the events in New York last week. Maybe, finally, after a 40-year Cold War which on so many occasions took us to the brink of the un- thinkable, the leaders of the two most powerful nations on earth have a chance to put down most of their weapons, and stop making new ones. It really is quite astounding for this child of Cold War, anyway. Remember When? (From page 5) The Port Perry Glee Club have been asked to contribute to a program on the Richmond Hill Station, CJRH. Congratulations to Mr. Bruce Miller, Port Perry, who won first place at the Royal Winter Fair with his box of 6 eviscerated capons. 20 YEARS AGO Thursday, December 12, 1968 Bill Van Camp, 13 year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Glen Van Camp, is one of 22 Ontario boys selected to act as page boys dur- ing the 1968 fall session of Ontario Legislature. Among the many qualities required are an average of at least 80 percent in school subjects, possess personality, maturity and sense of responsibility. A spry and alert old gentleman, Mr. Herbert Eagelson, Perry Street, Port Perry, celebrates his 93rd birthday on Fri- day, December 13th, 1968. Mrs. Annie Sandison was pleasantly surprised when forty- five friends and relatives gathered to honour her on the occa- sion of her 85th birthday. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Walker were honoured recently on the occasion of their 25th Wedding Anniversary. "Bon Voyage' to Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Wilson, Epsom, who leave this week to fly to Africa to spend Christmas with their daughter, Miss Ruby Wilson and her friend Miss Edna Pridham. Both girls have been in Africa for over 20 years. 10 YEARS AGO Wednesday, December 13, 1978 A consultants report tabled at the regular meeting of Scugog council says the estimated cost of major reconstruction of Queen St. in downtown Port Perry will amount to close to $350,000. In an unprecedented move, incumbent chairman Walter Beath last week broke a tie vote in regional council to win a new two-year term to the top political position in Durham Region. Council approved in principle the proposed expansion of the Scugog Public Library on Queen St. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Norman Mairs who celebrated their 35th Wedding Anniversary with a dance in Nestleton Hall. Fire department officials in Whitby estimate that damage in a barn late Friday afternoon near Ashburn could run as high as $49,000. The livestock and other contents were owned by Mr. Bill Reid while the barn & property were owned by Mr. John Miller of Ashburn. Paula Lishman, a textile artist, has put Blackstock on the map, internationally, with her unique method of fur tashion.