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Bu 6 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, March 27, 1990 The Port Perry Star 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO PHONE 985-7383 FAX 985-3708 The Port Perry Star is authorized as second class mail by the EDITORIAL Publisher - J. Peter Hvidsten Editor - John B. McClelland News/Features - Julia Ashton News/Features - Kelly Story BUSINESS OFFICE Office Manager - Gayle Stapley Accounting - Judy Ashby Billing Department - Louise Hope =u @ [= Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association Ontario Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Lid. Port Perry, Ontario Retail Sales - Kathy Dudley, Linda Ruhl, Tracy O'Neil Post Office Department, Ottawa, for cash payment of postage. PRODUCTION ADVERTISING Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Annabell Harrison Advertising Co-ordinator - Valerie Ellis Subscription Rate: In Canada $20.00 per year Trudy Empringham Advertising Sales Representative - Anna Gouldburn Elsewhere $60.00 per year. Single Copy 50¢ Darlene Hlozan Editorial Comment HURRY SPRING About this time of year, after the arrival of the official spring (March 21) most Canadians are anxiously waiting the real thing. They have endured winter's cold for several months; the dark days when the sun is gone before the dinner dishes are cleared from the table; cranky cars that refuse to start; the ice under-foot on streets and sidewalks; snow piled in the drive- ways; the snap of Arctic air that chills to the bone no matter how warmly one dresses. Canadians in late March tend to be short-tempered. They know that spring is just around the corner; it's near time to hang up the skates, put away the curling brooms. They have been known to look longingly at the golf clubs in the basement or the bar-b-q that's been sitting since October in a cold corner of the garage. It has been a long winter and spring (the real thing) is tan- talizingly close. Yet, March, as they know only too well, can "go out like a lion." It's been a dismal winter for Canadians in more ways than just the weather. There is a bleak, dark mood across this land, a mood that appears one minute as anger, then despair, then frustration, then anger again. It has been a season of dis- content, and if ever a country needed a breath of fresh spring air (metaphorically speaking) it is now as the winter of 1989-90 winds down. Never before in the history of this land, has there been so much polarization on so many different issues: Meech Lake, of course: taxes, government cut-backs in spending; language; turbans in the RCMP; the list of things that have riled and ran- kled Canadians this winter is almost without end. And sadly, though the real spring will soon be here, there is no end in sight to the winter of dis-content. Perhaps an indication of just how serious this dis-content runs can be illustrated by the language furor. Accusations of racism are hurled back and forth. Ordinary citizens who object and protest language policies for reasons of cost, are branded with the same iron as those who truly harbour a hatred to- wards Quebec, its people and the French language. The issue of Sikhs being permitted to wear turbans and beards in the RCMP has evoked similar sentiments. People who object to this are being labelled racist, when all they really feel is a sense that a tradition has been altered; a tradition that meant something to them. True, the language issue and the RCMP turban issue has pulled genuine racists and bigots out of the wood-work, but these days the accusations are being hurled all too freely, and in some cases by people who should know better. Sadly, through this dismal winter our Prime Minister has displayed a total lack of leadership. He is consumed with Meech Lake; his finance minister is consumed with pushing through the horrendous GST. Neither Mulroney nor Wilson show one shred of an indication that they have listened to or- dinary Canadians or that they care. The PM escaped the Ottawa winter long enough to bask in the Caribbean sun-shine and while there "forgave" $182 mil- lion in loans to West Indian countries. His response to criticism of this giveaway of your tax dollars was a shrug and a laugh. One can't help but wonder how that $182 million loan might have been put to good use here at home, perhaps to keep a struggling industry afloat to save jobs, or to start a new one to create jobs. Mulroney cut the heart out of passenger rail service in Canada, then kisses off $182 million with the flick of a wrist. It is perhaps unfair to put all of the blame for this dismal winter at the feet of one man. But in the six years since he took office, on issues big and small, he has given precious lit- tle indication that he hears the voices out there; the voices that are saying "look at both sides, try a little compromise instead of head-on confrontation." Even Pierre Trudeau, a man who won't exactly go into the history books as being for "the little guy," has broken self- imposed silence to sound the alarm about Meech Lake. And (Turn to page 8) NOW HERE'S AN IDEA Ever noticed how many newspaper and real estate vending boxes there are around the township? If you haven't, you must be either blind or don't get out much. Last week | took a quick spin through the downtown area counting boxes and with little difficulty was able to find twenty five in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours. Now, just think if we could turn those boxes into a good income for the township. That's right, charge each of the vendors a rental fee for every location they place a box. Many communities are doing just that, and depending on the size of the area, the price var- ies. And not only are the vendors charged for the box, but the community can also control their placement, and the appearance of the area on which it sits. For example, the township in its wisdom might decide they don't want any more newspa- per boxes chained to parking signs or trees in the community. They might also pick a few loca- tions to make into "super paper box" locations, similar to the area near the post office where there are four or five boxes side by side. Just a few miles away in Uxbridge, the council passed a bylaw last year implementing many of these ideas, and it has helped clean up the municipality in addition to putting a little cash into the township's coffers. How much cash? Well I'm glad you asked! | understand that each of the newspapers, or real estate companies wishing to place one of its vending boxes on a street in that town has to pay a fee of $500 per box. That's not a one time charge, that's $500 per year folks! I'm not a great mathematician, but multiply- ing $500 x 25 (the number of boxes | counted) quickly ads up to $12,500.00 per year. That's no shabby amount for the limited time and effort it would take to pass a bylaw and negotiate an agreement with the interested vending parties. Not a bad idea, eh! Jottings SE 3 DOUBLE TROUBLE Just in case anyone is wondering why the Star has been printed in three sections for the past few weeks, its due to the large double page spread advertisement from the Durham GM Dealers announcing their "Troubleshooter" ser- vice APV. y We've published many 60 e issues of the Star before, but the the use of three colours on this advertisement, plus the necessity for it to run across two full pages (commonly called a centre spread) made a third section necessary. For the staff here it has been a nightmare. Some of our office staff have been spending up to 10 hours a week in the damp basement gath- ering three sections of newspaper, plus flyers to- gether to get it out to our readers on time. Inserting flyers is not an enjoyable job at the best of times. In fact it gets downright boring, tiresome and monotonous. And although we must contend with inserts every week, printing a third section just makes the job take longer. My thanks to those staffers who have taken on the extra burden with smiles on their face (not large, but smiles just the same). The extra effort is much appreciated. UPDATE It's been a long time since | wrote anything about the twins, but because of the number of in- quiries | get each week asking how they are pro- gressing, here is a little update. By the time this column is printed, Jamie and Katie will be closing in on 11 months of age. | must admit there have been a few times | didn't think | would be around long enough to see their first birthday (survival didn't seem possible), but now I'm looking forward to the day in May when we can celebrate that special milestone. In answer to the most.common questions I'm asked: Yes, they are identical twins, and No - Nancy and | don't always know which one we're holding, feeding or changing. A fact | find most embarrassing at times. You just can't imagine what it is like to not fealy know your child by name when you look them in the eyes. Are they crawling? No, but I'd lay odds that this time next week they'll be walking. Help!