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i "A Family Tradition for 132 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Wednesday, October 14, 1998 - 7 LETTERS Editorial on proposed anti-loitering bylaw missed the point To the Editor: I am 'writing to express disappoint- ment in your editorial position, expressed Tuesday, Oct. 6, with respect to a proposed anti- 'loitering bylaw for Scugog Township. You are quite correct in pointing out that such a bylaw is a serious infringe- ment upon the freedom to assemble, and a reflection of the state taking over responsibility of parents in the case of their minor children. However,you fail to acknowledge that there is a reason for such a proposal. It reflects the months of frustration of some of the residents of Blackstock, a frustration with a situation that has been well-documented in your newspa- per. As a person who lives near the four corners in Blackstock, I have seen first- hand the noise, foul language, public consumption of alcohol and displays of intoxication and other activities which are more appropriate to private places. My neighbours have been victimized by repeated vandalism of their property and threats to their person. The proposal for an anti-loitering bylaw is an appro- priate response by our elected officials to this experience. You also seem to have missed the point that such a law would have to be used as a response to irresponsible behavior, not as a prescription against such behavior. There is a difference. Such laws are used in cases where the normal rules of conduct in a civilized society are ignored by a few or when parental responsibility, in the case of youth, has been abdicated. Only when those conditions have been met would such a bylaw come into play. The point of such a law is to give the police the tools they may use (and I emphasize the discretionary nature of that word "may") in a given situation, not to give them the freedom to chal- lenge the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We live in a society where individual freedoms are balanced against those of the larger whole. The freedom to assem- ble must be tempered by the display of responsible behavior. Within that ten- sion, an anti-loitering bylaw is a helpful and useful piece of legislation to set the parameters within which such freedoms are exercised. Finally, I would like to publicly thank the Durham Regional Police, the judicial system, and the community of Blackstock for their forbearance and support in this difficult summer. I firmly believe that there has been move- ment toward resolution of the issues in this community which surrounded behavior of a small group of youth in public. The situation is not resolved yet, but I have personally seen and heard of changes in attitudes and the exercise of responsibility by those involved which bode well for the future of all concerned. (Rev.) David Shearman Blackstock Ortona vets abandoned by federal government Fair organizers To the Editor: I would like to take this opportunity to apprise you and your readers of the current status of the grassroots cam- paign to assist a delegation of our World War II veterans in their return to Ortona, Italy, this Christmas. Tens of thousands of Canadian volun- teers served in both Sicily and Italy, from 1943 to 1945; almost 6,000 of these brave young men died there. The Battle of Ortona, which lasted almost the whole of December 1943, is widely accepted as one of the most vicious struggles our men ever had to face, in consistently atrocious weather condi- tions. This month-long battle began with the crossing of numerous strongly- defended natural obstacles (such as the Moro River), and ended in our taking of the town of Ortona proper. The latter combat was of indescribable ferocity, the fighting continuing right through Christmas Day; Ortona was later called the 'Stalingrad of the West' by Canadian media. We had met the best the Germans had to offer, and beaten them. That single victory cost 1,375 Canadian lives. The surviving veterans of Ortona, now all in their late 70s or early 80s, have undertaken to return to Ortona this Christmas, the 55th anniversary of their costly and heart-breaking struggle. They intend on holding an unprecedent- ed 'Dinner of Reconciliation' with their former enemies, veterans of the German 1st Parachute Division, in addition to holding a service for their fallen friends at the Canadian Cemetery just north of the Moro River. They wish to do this before too many of their ranks are unable to attend such a function due to age and/or infirmity. The government, in the person of Veterans Affairs Minister Fred Mifflin, has denied any support for the trip, claiming there is no money for such a venture, and that it conflicts with official' plans for 'future pilgrimages'. In actual fact, Ted Griffiths, the expe- dition organizer, himself a veteran of Ortona with the Three Rivers [Tank] Regiment, points out that in the Veterans Affairs Departmental Commemorative Business Plan, Italy is not even men- tioned. Mr. Mifflin has indicated that he will be in Italy in May, 2000 for a celebration of the 55th anniversary of the liberation of that country, but it had best be known that in May of 1945, there were no Canadians present in Italy; all Canadians had long been moved to Holland to reinforce the badly depleted 1st Canadian Army for the final drive into the heart of Germany. In effect, Mr. Mifflin will be attending a celebration organized by, and geared to, those British and American units present at that time. Ortona remains largely forgotten, except by the few who endured it. Ironically, the CBC and CTV networks have both promised that they will field crews to cover this historic visit and dinner - a truly unique perspective to add to the universal Christmas spirit this year. In light of this seemingly brazen rejection of veterans' concerns, a sponta- neous grassroots campaign of support has developed on the part of Canadians from coast to coast. Close to $50,000 in cash and pledges has so far been received, half as much as is necessary to send a delegation of thirty veterans over there this Christmas. Canadian men and women, from teens to pensioners and everywhere in between, have clearly shown that they appreciate the sacrifices made on their behalf. Donations have even been made by some Americans with no connection to Canada except an abiding respect for the quality of our fighting men. Indeed, someone received an email this morning from a representative of an Australian association of Combat Engineers, won- dering what they could do to help. The people of Durham region can help too. Please direct your questions and support to: Peter Goldring, M.P. House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6 In addition, further information and history on the Battle of Ortona and the current campaign to return our veterans there this Christmas, is available on the World Wide Web: http://www.netwave.ca/~whiskey/ortona/ Thank you for your help, and thank you for supporting our heritage. Geoff Winnington-Ball Zephyr extend thanks To the Editor: The Scugog Shores Historical Museum wishes to thank the many ~ people who helped to make our 1998 Pioneer Fall Fair a successful event: The demonstrators; the entertain- ers; the vendors and the volunteers. In particular, thanks to Barry Van Camp and his goats, and the brave real estate agents competing in the goat milking contest. Also, thanks to the eight people who contributed a decorated hat to the fundraising for the Rodman cabin. Special thanks to Willowtree Farm for their most generous donation of fall produce used throughout the museum village for decoration. The Pioneer Fall Fair is one of the museum's most popular events and can only happen with everyone's involvement. Thank you. 1998 Pioneer Fall Fair Committee, Scugog Shores Historical Museum We love letters Let us know what's on your mind. Fax us at 985-3708 Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten OLD BOYS REMINISCE A couple of weeks ago, | spent an enjoyable afternoon with local historian Paul Arculus and a few r Port Perry's former businessmen, reminiscing - about the 'good old days' The idea to get a few 'old cronies' together for an afternoon to reminisce and tape the conversations for future reference came together quickly one day after chatting with George Emmerson. George said he and Phil Orde had talked about sitting down for a session like this many times over the past 20 years, but it just never came about. | called Larry Emmerson and asked if we could use his cabin for an afternoon, and before | knew it ~ he had J arrange for his dad, Phil Orde, John Orde and Bill Carnegie to take part in the session. Unfortunately John was unable to attend. When Paul and | arrived at the comfortable wood . heated cabin everyone was ready, so we sat around a large pine table and began. In all we spent more than five hours around the table, listening to the tales of these elderly statesmen as they reminisced about skating on the lake, speed boat races, pushing over outhouses, shooting the ball on the top of the post office, how the Yacht Club got started, swimming at the government dock, and recalling old friends and characters from town. With a couple of ounces of spirits to help rekindle their memories, as the afternoon wore on they related many unusual and interesting stories about their youthful days in Port Perry. | came to the conclusion after a few hours of sto- rytelling that kids 65 years ago were no different than they are today... and likely they'll be no different 100 years from now. : In addition to listening to their enjoyable escapades, Paul and | were able to acquire some valuable information about the location of buildings, and businesses owners through much of this century. ~My thanks to Phil George and Bill for a great afternoon and to Larry for his hospitality, which included a great steak lunch and salad. It was a day none of us will forget soon. THAT DREADED TAX BILL Well; by now everyone will have summoned up enough nerve to have opened their tax bills, which began arriving early last week. We've already heard some horror stories about taxes increasing by four and five times previous amounts, but we've also been told of those who received significant decreases. While those receiving increases, myself included, aren't happy having to pay more taxes, we must all realize the new system is designed to be fairer overall for all taxpayers. Many new homeowners have been paying far more than their share of the tax burden for years, while the assessment of those in some homes was so far out of whack that increases were inevitable under the new system. The new tax system attempts to level the playing field, which is a move in the right direction. Its acceptance probably will have more to do with a positive or negative effect for the homeowner... than what's fair for all.