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p4 the tribune thursday december 11 1997 st the tribune thursday december 11 1997 vol 109 no 82 comment send your letters to the editor to the address below editorial bill is worth hassles a private members bill targeting pedophiles and those who abuse children moved one step closer to reality last week tory mpp jim brown sponsored the bill which will require anyone working with children to get a criminal background check it received second reading in the legis lature last week and could become law by spring anyone who cares about children and their welfare should support and hail the new legislation which really targets repeat pedophiles people who prey on innocent children who trust them the bill would require employers such as school boards and sporting groups plus community groups like scouts and guides to obtain background checks on anyone who works with children those given authority to work with youngsters like teachers and volunteer coaches would have to sign a waiv er giving police the right to do a criminal background check on them the down side of the bill is that it will invade peoples pri vacy and represent more red tape for someone simply wish ing to volunteer their time to their community as a brownie leader or soccer coach but the bill is worth some extra paperwork and potential embarrassment with its lofty aim of protecting children lets hope for the sake of our kids it doesnt die when the legislature takes its christmas recess and becomes law postal elf made boys wish come true dear editor in this time of ill feelings and com plaints about our national mail ser vice 1 would like to make a public acknowledgment of the special efforts of one of our local postal employees im not sure that many people letters know that at our post office there is an elf whose happy job it is to collect and sort all the mail addressed to santa claus and see that it gets to the teachers should decertify unions dear editor i am in agreement with tracy kib bles column are we really afraid of teachers i think it is true that the government and the public are being weak and cowardly in not directly attacking the cause of our over priced education system bill 160 makes a fluffy attempt to decrease the cost of education when we should be directly addressing the issue of the abusive power of the teachers unions we all agree that unions served an almost noble pur pose in the early 1900 improving working conditions and redistribut ing wealth and creating a solid mid dle class which is important for a healthy society however there is nothing noble in their current self serving behaviour their demands are now crushing that middle class my respect for teachers who i believe to be a truly wellmeaning and hardworking group will be completely restored when they move to decertify their unions and join the rest of the society whose wages arc determined based on the demand for their services combined with their ability and ongoing performance heather hodgson attention of that jolly old man this elf also helps in the answering of those letters so that every child who writes to santa gets a letter in response this christmas season there was a little boy who was very concerned that if the postal workers were out on strike his letter wouldnt reach santa he was assured by his older broth er and sister that santa would know what to bring but the little boy still worried then his mother read in the news paper that all letters to santa claus could be hand delivered the parade this made the little boy very happy he wrote a very nice letter and this wasnt easy because he is only six and doesnt know how to spell many words he put his name at the bottom of the letter and to show santa just how santa event cherished tradition dear editor this week i asked our seven year old daughter tara what tradi tion meant to her taras answer was very simply put the things we do together every year like santas breakfast there were many others but this was at the top of her list for this reason i feel compelled to write this letter of thanks to the service organizations responsible year after year the optimist club continues to outdo itself by hosting a very special breakfast for the children in our community optimist club volunteers have donated their time and efforts to create an extraordinary morning a morning which in our home has become the traditional christ mas kickoff and i am sure in many other stouffville homes whether it be the volunteers who annually greet visitors like guests in their own homes an entertaining magician the antici pation of the pending arrival of the jolly ole fellow himself or who will win the gingerbread town masterfully created and baked by a local gentleman for give us for not knowing his name the santa claus breakfast is always an anticipated event thank you to all those involved in helping to create family tradi tions and special memories we applaud you paul and janet strudwick family stouffviile much he had grown this year he put in his school picture he found a bright red envelope and wrote santa claus in his best print ing at the parade he was so excited about the floats and the horses and especially the bands that he almost forget to give his letter to the nice people who were collecting them but just as santas sleigh came by he dropped kis red envelope in the bag now what the little boy didnt know was that when you send a letter even to santa claus you need to put your family name and return address on it when the letter arrived at the post office the elf opened it i think she liked the red envelope she read the letter and wanted to help address the envelope for santas answer but she didnt know where to send it she could have just put it away and forgot about it but she didnt she looked closer at the picture and thought i know that face this little boy has grown up a lot since last year but he still looks familiar then just to be sure she called the little boys mother and asked if he had sent the letter so the story has a happy ending the little boys letter will get to santa he will get a letter back someones belief in christmas magic has been renewed all because the elf maryann made an extra effort at a most busy time of year to see that it all turned out right merry merry christmas to all this year and especially to maryann kathi phillips stouffville stouffville tribune patricia pappas publisher andrew mair editorinchief tracy kibble editor debra weller director of advertising mike rogerson retail advertising manager stacey allen classified manager barry goodyear director of distribution vivian oneil business manager pamela nichols operations manager about us news- 905 6403100 i retail sales 905 6402100 905 6402100 a r tbo skuffrijk tribune pub- hhed every tuctday thursday and saiurdiy is one of tin- melnlind printing publishing and distribution group of commu nity newnpakr which include advance uramplon juardun c burlington oollinswoouvwomk deach con- iicellon eut york 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