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tis ll tats el tn at st. "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, April 18, 2000 - 7 Question of the Week... Mothers Against Drunk Driving suggests the courts are too lenient Robin Howell Dick Nicholson Barbara Swain Bill Stevenson Marion Sherman To , the Editor: With increasing frequency we read of apparent problems in education. If one was to take at face value what is printed, a very bleak picture would "emerge. Such is not the case as evidenced by the over- whelming support for the Cartwright High School Senior Concert Band at its fundraiser MusicFeast, held on March 25 at the Blackstock Rec. Centre. On that evening, over 160 members of the commu- nity came out to enjoy an evening of food, fun and music, to support the band as it prepares for a trip to the Atlantic Festival in late April. It was an evening celebrating excellence and com- munity spirit, exemplifying the best of public educa- tion. To those who attended, thank you. We would also like to thank all our sponsors without whose generous contributions the evening would not have been as great a success. With this support behind us, we look forward to representing not only our school, but the wider com- munity while in Halifax. John Beirness, Cartwright High School Music Something on your mind? E-mail the editor: port.perry.star@sympatico.ca toward drunk drivers Definitely, mandatory | agree 100 %. They Yes, for sure. Yes. There should Yes, | agree. who kill or injure others jail time. are far too lenient be stiffer fines. Should such instances with criminals of all There is no excuse result in mandatory jail kinds. for no designated sentences? drivers these days. hi Pa se Seven _ Community support appreciated _ by Jeff Mitchell , Solurcay moming ! Lawlor to a hellish, Sorsaming, : =f |, whic | my begins, you 'know you' re nearing the Fy "You may at as yolgosra point a gun at theo ocean, and demand | piri night a more snow, and a ae od ups ia | assured myself, shivering in my - ; nf windbreaker as | walked to the ca. "There will be NS no accumulation." uninterrupted slate of work, | took a few days off Monday and Tuesday after getting all revved up while watching The Masters. As everyone knows, of course, we were greeted with the most significant winter storm of the entire season over the weekend. It's an eerie feeling, emerging from work on a Friday night to what you hoped would be the warm embrace of a much-anticipated long weekend, only ~ April played its own band of hoax - April is the _ cruelest month - on me early last week. After a long on my part. Pro shop staffers merely laughed when ; contacted Monday moming: and fumed down large bribes. : with the weekend, planning to hit the: golf course on - tings and hismbh to hit balls. One after another, "with a three iron, in a ludicrous attempt to relieve the frustration that had been mounting for days and peaked in the morning. | must have hit 300 balls. - When | was finished | was sweating heavily, and could barely straighten my arms. flutter down. to see the first few sinister snowflakes beginning to Wednestny gawnad warm: nang bright. Back to work. Y Random Jottings by ). Peter Hvidsten BROADFOOT WILL KEEP YOU IN STITCHES Dave Broadfoot, funny man of CBC's "Canadian AirFarce," will "provide the entertainment at the annual fundraising dinner of the Friends of Kawartha Conservation next week. Broadfoot has had a long and distinguished career as a comedian, and anyone who has ever seen him perform live on stage knows they will be kept laugh- ing for the entire show. While not a regular viewer of "Canadian AirFarce," | am familiar with Broadfoot's humour, having attend- ed a function years ago at which he was the guest performer. Anyone who hasn't purchased tickets for the Kawartha dinner, and would like to be entertained by a Canadian legend in the comedy field, should pick up a ticket today. You can get them by giving Scugog's Regional Councillor, Ken Gadsden, a call. | understand there are still a few tickets left. This fundraising event has been held in Lindsay the past two years, so this is the first time Port Perry has been host to the dinner. Proceeds from the evening will be used to aid numerous community events and conservation projects in the Kawartha Conservation district. ENJOY FROM A DISTANCE A few weeks ago, | mentioned in this column that we had experienced a wonderful visit from a Trumpeter Swan along the lakefront near our home. The kids were so excited at seeing this magnificent bird they coaxed it in close to our dock by offering it crumbs of bread. It worked, and the swan came with- in arm's reach of the kids and their handouts. At the time, | realized feeding a wild bird was the wrong thing to do, but the kids were enjoying the experience so much | failed to stop the act. | can remember thinking, at the time, that someone would probably reprimand me for allowing the kids to feed the swan, and | wasn't wrong. Last week, a letter arrived at The Star from Joe Duff, of Operation Migration, who has vast knowledge and experience of wild geese and swans. Mr. Duff wrote a very informative and passionate let- ter about the dangers of feeding nature's fragile wild animals and birds. And while he acknowledged the feeding of any wild animal by humans is done with good intentions, he says the results of our good inten- tions often cause irreparable damage. Mr. Duff says that feeding an adult swan, or in fact any wild bird, makes scavengers of these magnificent creatures, but does not provide the nutrition needed to sustain them through the long, cold winter. "Birds that die from lack of food in the winter do not starve to death... they freeze," he says. | certainly took no offense with Mr. Duff's remarks, and in fact agree whole-heartedly with the important points he made. Sometimes we just have to be remind- ed how fragile all of Mother Nature's creatures and our environment are, to realize how much damage we can do, no matter how well intentioned we are. Since reading Mr. Duff's letter last week our children have been instructed that they can sit and watch the swan as it swims and feeds in the lake, but they are no longer allowed to offer it food. A lesson well learned!