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in PORT PERRY STAR - Wednesday, Oct. 12, 1994 - 7 (| | wn (a= Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association Ontario Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Ltd. Port Perry, Ontario * GST included in price "A Family Tradition for 128 Years" The Port Perry Star &wh 188 MARY STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO LOL 1B7 pE=THU[= PHONE (905) 985-7383 FAX 985-3708 RIGBON The Port Perry Star is authorized as second dass mail by the INN :=1p) Post Office Department, Ottawa, for cash payment of postage. Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Subscription Rate: 6Months-$17.72 includes $1.22GST EDITORIAL Publisher - J. Peter Hvidsten General Mgr. - Don Macleod Managing Editor - Jeft Mitchell Sports Editor - Kelly Lown ADVERTISING Advertising Manager - Anna Jackman Advertising Sales - Bill Eastwood Advertising Sales - Rhonda Stevens Production - Pamela Hickey BUSINESS OFFICE Office Manager - Gayle Stapley Accounting - Judy Ashby, Louise Hope Retail Sales - Kathy Dudley, ¥CNA CCNA 4 PRODUCTION Annabell Harrison, Trudy Empringham, Susan Milne, Robert Taylor, Richard Drew 1994 1Year-$32.10 includes $2.10GST Forelgn-$90.95 includes $5.95GST I _ETTERS Mills challenges MP's view on poverty To the Editor: The discussion paper on cuts to social programs as suggested by Human Resources Minister Lloyd Axworthy has been re- leased. So I guess it was inevita- ble that the local Durham MP Alex Shepherd would proceed to soften people up by writing in his most recent column that perhaps the plight of children living in poverty has been some- how exaggerated. After all as he said, "Let's not mix apples with oranges, child poverty is what I've seen on the streets of Peru and Spain." Child poverty in the United States is more prevalent than anywhere in the western indus- trialized world; 20 per cent of all American children are growing up in poverty, and it goes up to 54 per cent for children living in single-parent families. Here in Canada we have nothing to boast about as it re- lates to child poverty. Our rates are twice as high as those in France, the Netherlands, Swe- den and Germany. In 1991, 1.2 million Canadian children were living in poverty and the num- bers have since gone up. This means that over 18 per cent of our children are living in pover- ty today. The Financial Post and some time/one time Toronto Sun writ- Students should show pride in their local high school Port Perry High School has held a great number of pro- grams over the years. Our school has wonderful spirit, more than other schools I've seen or heard of. When I speak of our school, I say it's one of the best. We wel- come our newcomers and man- age to have a number of differ- ently styled people. We seem to get along with each other, and I always feel excitement in the air. A New Watch for details next week! In sports, we play fair and keep good sportsmanship. We have a clean atmosphere and manage to go together as one on important matters. So if our school is all that and more, why put down the quality of it? True, the inside is what counts, but in the real world, most often, people don't stick around long enough to see the trueinside. So we should proudly keep the outside as good as the in- side. Let other schools vandal- ize, destroy and ruin their school and make the outside look bad. Please, Port Perry, let's keep it together! Let's beat other - schools. Let's look better on the outside, because we know we're the best on the inside. Let's keep our spirit, our pride and our school. Let's be a team, our team, and look the best we can. Let our visiting schools see we are proud, and then maybe they'll wish they were part of our team. (Name withheld by request) er Diane Francis has been a ma- jor critic of our government's in- come support system by saying that the payments are so good nobody will get off welfare. She has gone as far to say that the system is creating a class of peo- ple who are nothing more than parasites. If welfare payments made to single mothers who have chil- dren, are as great as Ms. Fran- cis and Mr. Shepherd have sug- gested, why then is child poverty still with us? If anyone thinks social spend- ing cutbacks somehow are good to liberate the needy from their cycle of dependence, all they need to do is to look south at the United States. There, at least 81 million people have not one cent of medical coverage. Is the federal government hoping to move us all towards that? What is really in their se- cret plans to cut $7.5 billion from social programs over the next five years? ~ Lay it out on the table now, and please, Mr. Shepherd, don't play a smoke and mirrors game on the backs of the more than 1.2 million children living in poverty in Canada today. Sincerely, Gordon L. Mills, C.D.,,M.P.P. Durham East' aE 45 YEARS AGO Thursday, October 6, 1949 Greenbank United Church held its anniversary service with guest speaker Rev. Morgan Rowland. Remember when you could buy sweet potatoes three pounds for 29 cents and a 12 oz. cranberry sauce for only 27 cents. James Lee, Greenbank, was the winner of the horse plowing match in the annual Ontario County Plowing Match. 3C YEARS AGO Thursday, October 8, 1964 Joe Baker, Dale Beare and Barry Prentice were all presented trophies at the end of the 1964 softball season. The new cheerleaders Susan Roach, Susanne MacMaster, Barb Holtby, Betty Badour, Mary Bright, Peggy Foster, Gale Forder and Sharon Eade did very well at the opening game of the Port Perry Football team. Wolf Cub, Larry Reesor, of Port Perry's B pack received his 14th badge in cubbing, which completed the proficiency badges required 20 YEARS AGO Wednesday, October 9, 1974 On Sunday, October 6, Mr. and Mrs. Harold McLaughlin held an open house and entertained more than 200 friends, relatives and neighbors on the occasion of their 25th anniversary. Belated birthday greetings to Isaiah Irwin who celebrated his for a full-fledged Cub. 95th birthday October 9. Mrs. Sam Arnold celebrated her 80th birthday. Ashburn news: visitors at the Herons were CPL Robert Towe, of Lahr, Germany and Mr. and Mrs. W. McAndless and family. Mrs. Gerri Langille, a blood donor co-coordinator, reported 154 pints of blood were collected at the clinic held at the Port Perry 10 YEARSAGO Wednesday, October 10, 1984 : "Yarns to Spin", a lighthearted celebration of Cartwright's Sesquicentennial hit an impromptu stage at the nursing home. Students at Cartwright Central Public School were taking part in a year-long pilot project aimed to teach them not to begin United Church. sripking. e Kinette Club donated new weight scales to Community Memorial Hospital. David Moore, of Nestleton, spent nine weeks traveling with the Canadian Cadet Corps. John and Jessie Barlow celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with family and friends at the Seagrave United Church. Health reform cuts hurt those who suffer To the Editor: The last 20 years or so have seen Ontario struggling to re- form the manner in which psy- chiatric services are provided in our communities. Mental Health Reform has placed people together from dif- ferent interests and back- grounds with one common cause: To create a system of quality mental health services for the people of Ontario. A ser- vice that, in the words of the last government report, "Puts People First". The announced $52 million reduction to the operating bud- gets of Ontario's 10 Psychiatric Hospitals is an attack on servic- es currently provided for the mentally ill. The dollars removed from the budgets represent permanent service cuts to our communi- ties. Money saved by this ser- vice reduction will be returned to the provincial treasury. It will not be transferred to com- munity - focused mental health services. That means serious trouble for those who find them- selves in need of psychiatric support. Once again, government be- trays those who suffer from mental illness. They should be ashamed. Joan Gates, R.N., President O.P.S.E.U., Local 331 Whitby Mental Health Centre Editor's 'Notepad by Jeff Mitchell IMMIGRATION:SPECIAL REPORT WE'VE ALL HEARD countless tales of horror and ineptitude emanating from Canada's immi- gration department, right? You know -- lost files, killers, rapists and drug dealers eluding deportation orders by stating, simply, that they'd rather stay right where they are, thank you very much... it's enough to make one wonder if, well -- there couldn't be just a few tiny adjustments made. | The latest -- at this point, anyway -- is the story of the convicted sex offender from South America who eluded immigration officials by failing to keep an appointment for a detention hearing in British Columbia. Just didn't show up. The nerve. We here at The Star are quite concerned about the issue, and the workings of the immigration department. That's why, at great expense and risk, we sent one of our people undercover, with a tiny tape recorder and a brown-bag lunch, to get the inside dope. Here's an actual transcript of what occurred when the man from El Salvador failed to show up for his meeting with immigration officials: SUPERVISOR: So, Johnston, where is the dan- gerous sex offender whose case we're supposed to be reviewing today? JOHNSTON: Sorry, ma'am? SUPERVISOR: The dangerous sex offender whose file we're to review today -- where is he? JOHNSTON: Uh -- I don't know... SUPERVISOR: You what? JOHNSTON: I don't know, ma'am. Jeez, he was supposed to be here half an hour ago... maybe he's caught in traffic. SUPERVISOR: Caught in traffic, Johnston? JOHNSTON: Well, it's a possibility. I made arrangements for this meeting over a week ago, and he said he'd be here... Maybe I should call him ... (sounds of Johnston leaving the table and cross- ing the room) Uh -- ma'am? SUPERVISOR: Yes, Johnston? JOHNSTON: Do you have a quarter? SUPERVISOR: No -- I gave the last of my change to the serial killer from Australia who needed to call his lawyer... Say, that reminds me: Where's he got to? JOHNSTON: Well, I can't call him. Lost his file, ma'am. It had his phone number in it. SUPERVISOR: Oh. JOHNSTON: Maybe if we just wait for a while this guy from El Salvador will show up and we can get on with deporting him. SUPERVISOR: All right. In the meantime, I suppose you have some files you can work on. JOHNSTON: Nope. SUPERVISOR: Pardon? JOHNSTON: Lost them. SUPERVISOR: All of them? JOHNSTON: Yes... SUPERVISOR: Oh. There's more, but it's too tedious to go into. Qur Agent, cleverly disguised as a junior immigration official, eventually left the hearing room when he was noticed biting his fingernails and an attempt was made to deport him. He's appealing the deci- s10Nn.