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"A Family Tradition for 130 Years" L TTERS Rowdy fans a disgrace to Port To the Editor: Parents - do you know what your kids mye doing when you send them to the arena to hang out night after night? Maybe you should come and find out. Do you realize the reputation our town and your child is get- ting from the rambunctious be- havior your sons and daughters are displaying in the stands and outside in the parking lot? Do you know that they get their kicks out of taunting, teasing and picking fights with the op- posing team players? A little good-natured banter is acceptable, but when an op- « posing playeris ejected from the game for unsportsmanlike con- duct your children clear the stands to chase them to the dressing room. Or if our own player's become involved in an altercation on the ice your chil- dren pound the glass, jeer, use offensive language and encour- age the fight and its partici- pants. What ever happened to going to a hockey game just to enjoy it? Why do parents of our own players, as well as those of the guest team, fear walking to their cars through a throng of teenagers? Some have even found their cars damaged by these supposed young adults. I for one am tired of going out for an enjoyable evening only to come home shocked and embar- rassed by the behavior of these non-hockey playing kids. I hope - you will keep them home before they end up doing some real damage to themselves or others or at least accompany them to the games. . I would like Port Perry to be able to hold its head high and be thankful for and proud of our fans, teams, coaches, refs, and all the other volunteers in our hockey association. We are a hockey town. Let's be a respected one. ; Name withheld by request Backlash aimed at bad government To the Editor: If, as reported in this week- end's Port Perry Star, Mr. John O'Toole is considering not run- ning in the next provincial elec- tion, I say, "Good." I would remind Mr. O'Toole that, although the Tories have a majority in the legislature, they were elected by a mere plurali- ty. Perhaps the negative feed-, back is because most of us don't agree with the "Common Sense Revolution." that is largely a re- sult of the short term pain being inflicted on those who can least affordit. : I would suggest that Mr. O'Toole and his fellow back- benchers start listening to the complaints they are receiving. The majority of voters are being asked to tighten belts that have already been brought in several notches. Apple Day a success To the Editor: On Saturday, Oct. 19 1st Port Perry beavers, cubs, scouts and venturers, along with their leaders and parents, were out in full force for Apple Day, offering apples to the residents of Port Perry to say thank you for their support in the past. We would like to thank everyone who gave donations to us on Apple Day. It is through your generosity that we are able to purs chase equipment, pay for camps, supplies, and parties and train our leaders. Thank you to all our beavers, cubs, scouts, venturers, leaders and parents who transported and polished apples, cooked lunch and stood out in the rain and cold. j Special thanks to Willowtree Farms and Nature's Bounty Or- chard for the great apples. And thanks to the Port Perry Star for "Trouble is that seems to the wonderful color picture last week. Ellen Greenough, 1st Port Ferry Chairperson Showing true colors To the Editor: What a revelation of true hu- man character and behavior the general strike, Oct. 25 indeed any strike, has shown. How close we are to meanness, and absolutely mindless obedience to brainwashing under unrea- sonable leadership. The utterly doltish responses of men and women on picket lines to perfectly logical ques- tions from peaceful citizens show how easily we lose all sem- blance of civility and become vi- ciously physical. How ready men and women are to justify anything they do, no matter how illogical, danger- ous, selfish, immoral, or illegal even. And all the more evident as our numbers grow. It's a question of power, as usual. The more people who be- lieve in you as a leader, the more powerful you become. It's a numbers game. Union leaders depend on numbers of faithful though often misguided work- ers. Take away a dog's bone and he's pretty nasty. The bigger the bone, the nastier he gets! That's what we've got now with the general strikes. Power and chaos always work together. Power in the hands of the in- capable always creates human havoc. In bad financial times like these, it won't get better. Governments beware. Owen Neill, Port Perry Yet the wealthy are still sip- ping their fine cognac; smoking their Cuban cigars, and bitch- ing about the welfare bums, while dining in their private clubs. Mr. Harris is more con- cerned about the Jockey Club than he is about the so called special interest groups who demonstrate outside Tory thou- sand dollar a plate dinners. * x Mr. O'Toole may have a pri- vate agenda, similar to Jim Wil- son, who doesn't think hecan4f- ford to support a family on his - meagre salary as an MPP. It is traditional that Tories rejected by the voters whe seeking re- election are rewarded by the private sector for looking after their interests while in power. only to former Prime Minysters and their cabinet colleaguey' That being the case perhaps Mr. O'Toole should consider representing the wishes of his constituents, or hope that the government doesn't decimate retraining programs originally intended to get people back to work. He might need it in three or fewer years. Brian Bird, Port Perry To the Editor: Canada's federal gag law died recently not with a bang, but with a whimper. The whimpering came from those federal politicians who hoped to use this obnoxious law to stifle debate at election time. Your readers may recall that the gag law threatened imprisonment to any indepen- dent citizen or group who spent more than $1,000 during federal eleciions to express a political belief. Challenged by supporters of The National Citizens' Coali- tion, who saw the law as an in- fringement of free speech, the gag law was dealt a mortal apply - movement that might Then<again, criteria for a (a) not Brian Chretien was | will be. He is that there was impending, well, mind. If he ne Americans on NA | other 78 per either forgot about, So | say we all sf gave the govern chance, would ac doing the marking. ~ SPOOKY BUS celebration that reverence with wh dressing up our ho skeletons and K - made out of styrofo It's fun for the chance to dress up that normally forbidde ban it, as they ha Brunswick, but | ask: W It's all marketing, chi Just as Christmas and has this Pagan celeb blow when an Alberta Cou ruled it unconstitutional es er this summer. Its official death, ho came only after the government, probably realiz- ing that this was one fight they could not win, opted not to | launch a Supreme Court a peal. Unfortunately, it may stay dead. The Liberals say they are cobbling a new gag law to replace the old. The courts realize it's wrong to suppress free speech; why dons aie politisiars?] avid Somerville, President, National Citizens Coalition