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"A Family Tradition for 132 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, December 15, 1998 - 7 Tr se I, i -- @he Poul Peery Sta Question of the Week... Do you have a suggestion that you think would make a good question of the week? Call us at 905-985-7383. Once you know what's what with the new rules | guess it's okay. It does cost to dump more than one load, but once you know that, you can work with it. What do you think of the new ORRCEE HN : scales at the Blackstock waste sll i SE a aS disposal site? Bruno Gauweiler Richard Frew Mike They should have the scale only for vehicles that obviously need it. The single way in and out slows things down a lot. But other than that I think it's okay. It didn't slow me up this time. If it stops outside contractors from dump- ing, then good. LM Art nr Kim Toomey This is the first time I've been to the dump in ages, so it was a surprise. [ just hope this isn't an excuse to start charging us for using the dump. Stewart Verner It's not too bad right now, but that single entrance and exit is going to be a problem, I think. Other than that, it may work out for the better. Haskett A i BE SEEN AR A ------_ LETTERS Desperately seeking... somebody To the Editor: Are you a somebody? A few years ago the Borelians Community Theatre donated to our local library approx- imately 200 new play scripts, thinking they may be of interest to readers not necessarily involved in community theatre. This past summer, as Borelians Secretary, I wanted to make an up-to-date list of the plays for our members. Upon enquiring about them from Mr. Bonanno, I was told - and I quote - "They were gathering dust on a shelf, so somebody called somebody and somebody picked them up." Unfortunately, nobody seems to know who any one somebody was. Do you? Can you help us locate these scripts? If so, please call me at 985-8154. Bunty Webb, Port Perry To the Editor: I read with some disdain a recent news- paper advertisement from the two biggest banks, trying to drum up support for their merger: "To be bigger is not enough. To be better is everything." This reminds me of something that hap- pened in our village when I was a kid on the Bruce Peninsula. A local disciple of Bacchus was in court Too much just right for the big banks? on his 11th charge of public drunkenness. The judge said, "Thomas, it's the same old story -- too much to drink." Thomas replied, "Your honour, enough is no good; too much is just right." Could the same response be used by the big banks? . Patrick K. Melligan, Port Perry Boare by Jeff Mitchell GOD HAVE MERCY... NO ONE ELSE DOES It has been a grim vigil over the past month, watching the unfolding of Stan Faulder's ninth life. He's the man from Alberta who's currently sitting on Death Row in Texas, convicted of murder in 1975. Nine times his number has come up, and nine times the executioner has been told to pause. This is Texas, where executions are literally an everyday occurrence. This time the man got as far as the Death House, and was being readied for his meeting with destiny. Then the interveners intervened, and Death took a holiday. For now. It is a fascinating and macabre exercise, this Death Watch. And one can only imagine what it was like for the condemned man, watching time slip away and steeling himself for the event, only to have mercy -- however temporary -- granted once more. Is Stan Faulder out of lives? Probably. He's imprisoned in Texas, which executes more people than any democracy on the planet. Texans do not cotton to killers; they are short on clemency. It is the law of their land. And, no matter where you stand on the issue of capital pun- ishment, it is the law of the land that will ultimately be adhered to. Texas Governor George Bush, when pressed for his pro- nouncement on the Faulder affair, was succinct: "Don't commit murder in Texas." Damn straight. Or California. Or Missouri. Or lllinois. You'd think that with death the ultimate wages of murder, there'd be less off it, wouldn't you? The electric chair has always been an effective deterrent in my mind... simple incar- ceration, in fact, ought to do it. Crime means time. Behind bars. With a bunch of angry, violent people who don't give a damn whether you survive until the end of your sentence or not. 'But people keep killing people, often in stupid, savage ways, with the full knowledge that the consequence of their actions will be state-imposed death. Curious, huh? The democratic nation that executes the highest oon of people has the highest number of candidates stepping Up and, in effect, putting their heads in the noose. It makes you realize that there is\a segment of every population -- sometimes they call themselves the 1 percenters -- who have chosen to live outside the law until the law captures and Kills them. And even when their punishment is deserved, they see themselves as the persecuted parties. Not their victims or the society to which they belonged. Them, the perpetrators. So | have to conclude that the purpose of the death penalty is not to prevent, but to punish. Vengeance is ours, as long as we can throw that switch, build that gallows or inject that lethal mixture. As to whether or not the death of a killer helps to soothe the wounds he has inflicted, you'd have to ask those left behind. My first guess would be probably not. Yet this is the trap that Stan Faulder, that sad-looking old man from Alberta, put his foot in when he got mixed up in murder. His choice, his fate. Don't commit murder in Texas. to. God better have mercy on him, because no one else is likely