"A Family Tradition for 128 Years" LE TTERS from our readers To the Editor: In response to Mr. Shepherd's recent letter to the editor, several misconceptions need to be cor- rected. In the week before I wrote my letter to the editor, I visited Mr. Shepherd's constituency office in North Oshawa. I asked for all available information on Bills C68 and C41. Despite several copies of Han- sard which were displayed on the counter in his office, the apologet- ic office staff was only able to pro- vide for me a Liberal strategy paper on Bill C68. Apparently no details on Bill C41 were accessible, but I was as- sured by his constituency office that information about Bill C41 would be forwarded to me by mail. I am still waiting for that in- formation. Since cable television is not available in the area in which I live, the Parliamentary Channel has not been an option for the ac- quisition of knowledge. In es- sence, Mr. Shepherd's office was my primary source of information on these bills and his position on them. If my communication skills are -- - Constituency office lacked info on bill weak, then Mr. Shepherd and the public should know that my infor- mation has not come from Mr. Shepherd's office. However, Mr. Shepherd de- serves praise for his new clear, courageous stance o behalf of the constituents of this riding. Per- haps Mr. Chretien will recognize that Members of Parliament should have the right to disagree with party policy and represent the wishes of their constituents. Mr. Llewellyn Jones, Nestleton Alarmed over propsed changes at Y To the Editor: Today I was alarmed to hear that the local YMCA branch here in Port Perry is moving in a few months. It apparently has been pro- posed that once the lease on the current location on Queen Street has expired, that it be located in the new municipal banquet facili- ty which is currently under con- struction. Ifind it quite odd that I had just found out about this, although apparently this proposal has been "in the works" for quite some time. I also find it quite odd that the news is just coming to surface as the YMCA is winding down it's spring session. What I find really unsettling is the fact that the YMCA is an inte- gral part of this community and we, the community have not been involved in this decision. Many adverse changes effect- ing the quality of the programs may be in store from this move. If you feel that you are going to be effected by this decision, I strong- ly urge you to talk to your local council member or the mayor for more information. If you agree or disagree with the decision that is about to be made, please make yourself heard. Drop letters voicing your con- cerns at the YMCA or the munici- pal building. We've elected this council to serve us. Also, let them know how we fe:]1 about issues such as these that we were not made aware of. Tracy Pastic, Port Perry MPs voted To the Editor: The prime minister has prom- ised to punish the Liberal MPs who have voted against the party line with regards to the Gun Con- trol Legislation Bill C-68. Our MP has voted against the bill. He voted against this bill to support the majority of his Dur- ham constituents. Alex Shepherd is our voice in Ottawa and I will not tolerate any negative action taken against him by the prime minister. For any action taken against Mr. Shepherd is action taken against us, the voters. I fear our voice in Ottawa may be muzzled if we do not take ac- conscience tion now. We are supposed to be living in a democracy where we have the right to speak and be heard. I feel we are losing this right. This is not a gun control issue but an issue of our democratic rights and our voice in Ottawa being si- lenced. I am printing 50,000 letters of support to start off this cam- paign. These letters will be circu- lated and sent to the prime minis- ters office to voice our concerns. For more information contact me at 985-2422. Tyler S. Briley Port Perry Chretien From Page 6 have been a trainer at Marineland; he expects MPs to be like trained seals in the Liberal party. I see a very vola- tile electorate no longer will- ing to stand for this kind of behavior. We just saw what can happen, as during the Mike Harris election romp in Ontario. I can see people wanting candidates not belonging to any party, if these undemo- cratic approaches continue by racy slios into oblivion. Herman van der Veen, Oshawa party dictators and our democ- OUR MAN ALEX IN OTTAWA UNDER THE GUN: Quite a week for Alex Shepherd, Durham's rookie MP. Twice in the course of three days he ran afoul of the ruling Liberal government, opting out of high-profile legislation and, in the process, earning himself a sideways glance from the PM, Jean Chretien. First, he was among nine Grits to say No to Bill C-68, the gun legislation that has the country tied in knots. He's concerned about the cost and effectiveness of a registry for all the millions of arms in the nation, a central point of the new law put forth by Justice Minister Alan Rock. And Thursday night he remained conspicuously seated and silent when it was time to vote on the hate crimes bill C-41, another bit of law the PM has warned his MPs to line up and support. Both moves took courage, and allowed Alex to show his salt. He has difficulty with both laws, and has been under the gun -- pardon the pun -- from both sides (those being The Government and The People) to take a stand. On the gun issue, | have to salute him. He researched the issue thoroughly and took his stand, knowing full well he's going to have to face the music from a PO'd PM sometime soon. On the hate crimes bill, though, there's a problem. Alex says he can't support the bill because it's too specific in listing the groups it intends to protect -- homosexuals and members of identifiable minority groups among them -- but then says it's vague enough that some pretty wild interpretations can be made of it. He buys into the argument that if homosexuals can call for stiffer sentencing in cases involving violence or harrassment, what's to stop others whose preferences fall outside the conventions we Canadians have declared... uh... normal? | rather doubt the National Association of Necrophiliacs or the Pedophiles for Justice will be erecting tent cities on the lawn at Parliament Hill over this one. It's the Gay Bugaboo, pure and simple. And it frightened a number of MPs, while causing others to show their true and decidedly unpleasant colors. Whatever the case, the MP's courageous stand can't help but increase his profile here, where people are screaming for effective and responsive representation from their emissaries in Ottawa. You asked for it, and, it seems, you got it. hl ei ihe een lI rl th ld tt ia, ea ._ee ks Ll i About a month ago | wrote in | the space that this summer I'm determined to break the 100 ~~ youaswel. =. Ra Do | plan to sell the business? ~ Waelll still haven't got out there for that bucket of SNOE-- Ted Le balls, lesson or game of golf, but | intend to in the very near future. should be known that | have every intention of being 'Thanks very much Bill and Karen. Itis avery gen- around here for many yearstocome. ~~ =» OFFERS HELP TO erous offer, although | doubt there's much you can The latest rumor centres around a recentde ision BREAK 100 do to improve my handicap. by Nancy and | to sell our house which has been At any rate, | appreciate the offer and concern for my game, and look forward to meeting you at the first tee off in the very near future. SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT For those who persist in spreading this rumor, it our home for the past 10 years. Teng We, like many other people, decided we'd like a change. Something a little smaller and easier to take care of. | stroke barrier in golf. | had a number of comments about the column, but by far the best was from Bill and Karen Huestis. Within a week of that column, Bill and Karen, who operate Crestwood Golf Course at R.R.1 Manilla, wrote me a letter, which goes as follows: To assist you in your "Break 100" Quest, we are happy to provide you with this certificate entitling you and a partner to a large pail of practice balls and two complimentary 18 hole Green Fees. C.P.G.A. Professional Bill Heustis will be pleased Rumors and gossip are a curse to society and most often cause considerable heartache and dam- age to those being targeted. Over the past six months I've been the object of a number of rumors, so this column is an attempt to set the record straight... again! The first rumor, (that | sold the Port Perry Star) started last summer after making a decision to hire a general manager to run the day to day operation of the business. Did | sell the business? Despite warnings from friends, who feared what people might think, we opted to have a real estate sign put on the lawn. | Within two days of listing, rumors began to cir- culate that we were in financial trouble and had to sell our home. Not true! This rumor is without fact and is a frus- tration to our family. Hopefully, these explanations will satisfy those with an urge to gossip, and end the rumors which are completely without fact.