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6 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, May 5, 1992 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" "The Port Perry Star 188 MARY STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - L9L 1B7 PHONE 985-7383 FAX 985-3708 The Port Perry Star is authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, for cash payment of postage. Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Subscription Rate: 1Year-$32.10 6Months-$18.72 Forelgn-$90.95 indudes $2.10GST includes $1.22GST includes $5.95GST EDITORIAL Publisher - J. Peter Hvidsten News Editor - Scott Anderson Features Editor - Julia Dempsey Sports Co-ordinator - Kelly Lown ADVERTISING Advertising Manager - Anna Jackman Advertising Sales - Jackie Metz Production - Pamela Hickey, Barbara Bell BUSINESS OFFICE Office Manager - Gayle Stapley Accounting - Judy Ashby Billing Department - Louise Hope PRODUCTION Annabell Harrison, Trudy Empringham Robert Taylor, Marlene Moore * CNA @ Member of the Retail Sales - Kathy Dudley, Lynda Ruhl Canadian Community Newspaper Association Ontario Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Pe: < Ltd. Port Perry, Ontario Editorial Comment Justice For All? If every picture tells a story, then it is very obvious that the California justice system has interpreted the pic- ture it saw in a totally different way from the rest of socie- ty. Last week it found four police officers not guilty in the arrest and beating of Rodney King, a black motorist they stopped in the streets of Los Angeles in March, 1991. In dramatic footage, filmed by a resident on a video camera, the court and the rest of the world, witnessed the four officers repeatedly kick and beat Mr. King with their night sticks. During the 81-second footage of the brutal beating, the officers struck the defenseless victim more than 50 times. But after hearing the case in court, the 12-member jury found the officers not guilty of using excessive force in arresting Mr. King. Superiors on the Los Angeles Police force argued that the four officers in question were acting according to procedure. But since when is beating a man 56 times in a span of 90 seconds procedure? While we should not condone the abusive force that the police officers used on this man, we should also re- mind society that two wrongs don't make a right. Almost 30 people, all innocent victims of a crowd's outrage, were killed when chaos broke lose on the streets after the decision was handed down. Many others were injured and millions of dollars in damage was sustained. For the past five days the images of the riot, equally as volatile as the Watts riots in the 1960s, have been broad- cast around the world. Although the proper authorities have vowed to look into the decision, and they may possibly reverse the deci- sion, we will all be losers in the case. Mr. King's pain and memories of the ordeal will not be any lessened by disci- plining the officers involved, the lives of the innocent peo- ple killed in the riots will not be restored nor can the dam- age to both the property and the reputation of Los Angeles be easily replaced. But more importantly the legal system has a difficult decision to make. If it sticks by its decision it sends a pow- erful message out to the police and public that this type of aggressive behavior is to be tolerated. More importantly if the decision is overturned and the four officers are disci- plined for their actions, it sends a stronger message to the streets of the United States that the mob rules and is pow- erful enough to make decisions by force. Let us hope that Canada never resorts to this type of legal system. | Unselfish Givers Imagine the library, the museum or Information Scu- gog without its volunteers. Consider the hospital or Meals on Wheels without their help. Imagine life without Guides and Scout leaders. Imagine playing sports without coaches or being a member of any other organization without a leader. Unimaginable? You bet. Volunteers are the back bone of the communities. The wheels that make the towns and cities run. While the politi- cians and celebrities get the attention, these unselfish peo- ple give tirelessly to others. Last week was National Volunteer Week. A time when €;anada took a moment to honor all those who give up their tine for the benefit of others. Let us take a moment to thank all those who serve as volunteers in our community. They'll appreciate the thought as much as we appreciate the time they give to our com- munity. SHOVE THIS Down YouK 7HRoAT {0 You T#1oK I Kpisep TAXES A Lor MoRE 8y THE WAY Z HAVE 76 Jottings TREMENDOUS SHOW Scugog Township is indeed fortunate to have so many organizations, clubs and groups working to better the community. Last weekend it was the Rotary Club of Port Perry's turn to shine as it held Artfest '92, its annual art show which highlights the work of more than 50 Canadian artisits. Visitors to Artfest '92 were exposed to hun- dreds of paintings in a mixture of mediums and subject matter which ranged from realistic wil- dlife paintings to colorful still-lifes. And a sold out crowd attended the Rotary Club Artfest '92 dinner and auction on Saturday evening bidding on 30 pieces of art donated by many of the artists. Once again the show, dinner and auction proved to be a tremendous success, but not without a lot of planning and hard work by many Rotarians, their wives and other volunteers. Special thanks was given by the Rotary Club to Kent Farndale and Fran Herder for their efforts, "without whose help Arftest would not have been possible." But congratulations must be given to every person who in some way contributed to make this year's show the best yet. Countless hours of planning, building props, setting up booths, and then taking the sets down and returning backdrops to storage are some of the things the public doesn't see, but are the ingredients which ultimately spell the success or failure of any event. Without a doubt, the Rotarian's hard work paid off in dividends last weekend. Congratulations! WRONG MESSAGE There has already been a lot of debate and analysis surrounding the "not guilty" verdict handed down by a jury last week, setting four Los Angeles policeman free. The controversial verdict triggered imme- diate violent protests which included killing, destruction, burning and looting not only in L.A., but in a large number of other citiés throughout the United States. And while the destruction and killing can not be condoned by anyone, it is not hard to understand the anger and frustration felt in the black community. I, like millions of others, saw the famous video taped beating of Rodney King when the incident occurred last year, and was shocked and sickened by the excessive force being used by the police officers in charge. Since the first airing of the beating over a year ago, I've seen it replayed more than a dozen times and every time I see Rodney King lying on the ground trying to protect himself as the officers beat him across the arms, legs, but- tocks with batons, I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. If assaulting a man with heavy sticks while he's lying on the ground 56 times is not exces- sive force, then pray tell me, what is? It appears that almost everyone, except the jury, agrees that justice was not served. And it begs to be asked, what could they (the jury) possibly have seen or heard that would make them dismiss the hard, cold facts played out for them in this graphic video? This verdict appears to send out a chilling message to the public at large, and in effect an endorsement to the L.A. Police that this style of excessive force is acceptable. That's the wrong message. Rodney King may be no saint, but he didn't deserve to be beaten in this manner. Surely a dozen policemen could have subdued King without resorting to battering his body with batons. Reports indicate the police officers in ques- tion aren't off the hook yet as they still have a number of investigations and lawsuits pending by the FBI, Supreme Court, a Federal Civi Rights lawsuit and Police department hearings. If during theses investigations the officers are once again found 'not guilty' the violence and riots and violence witnessed last week in L.A. may well be erupt again. And nobody wants that! a BT a a PE Ee Le rt TE ------, Ph A ROL i Nt iia > HS, --- PR ler, a», p= pe MESA Ce 8 on J RSs SE ne RE BA RAR gl 0 ss lt Sa o > v 3 - DO rr Cleat lia is TT dont -