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6 - The Canadian Champion, Frldaï, August 13. 1999 <OPINION Box 248, 191 Main St. E.. The Canadien Champion, publisited every Tuesday and lridaY Milton, Ont. L9T 4N9 at 191 Main St. E., Milton, Ont., L9T 4N9 (Box 248), is one of Te Metroland Prtnting, Publlstiing & Distrlbutlng Ltd. group of sub- Q~Q~1A1 anan companies which Includes: Ajax / Pickering Nnws (905) 878-234b 1 Advertiser; Atliston HeraidlCourier; Barrin Advance; Brampton Guardian; Burllngton Post; City Parent; Collingwood 1 Wasaga Editorial Fax: 878-4943 Connection: East York Mirror; Etobicoke Guardian; Georgntown Independent! Acton Fren Press; Kingston Titis Weelt; Llndsuy Tihis Advertising Fax: 876-2364 Wees; Markham Economist & Sun; Midiand / Penetangeisitene Classified: 875-3300 Mirror; Mississauga News; Nnwmarkef / Aurora tra Banner; Nrthumbertand News; Nortth York Mirror; Oaitvif le Beaver; Orlitia Ian Oliver Publisher Today; Oshtawal/ Whitby / Clarlngto / Port Perry Titis Wenk: Petenrborought Titis Week; Richmond Hili / Thorniit I Vaughtan Neil Oliver Ass>c jate PubIriher Liberai; Scarborougit Mirror; Uxbridgn I Stoufivili e Tribune; Bill Begin General Manager Today's Seniors. Adventising is accepted on tite condition titat, in tht avent of a Rob Kelly Editor typograpitical error, titat portion oi te advertlsing space occu- Steve Crozier Circulation Manager pied by the erroneous itnm, togetiter with a rnasonabie allowance TeriCass PficeManger for signature, will sot be citargnd for, but te balance of thte Teri aaaa Qffie Maager advnrtisement will be paid for ai te applicable rate. Tht pubilsiter Tlm Coita Production Managrer reserves tite rigit t0 categonize advertîsemenfs or declne If you're going to gamble please do so responsibly Mohawk Raceway's new casino offers an aura of excitement. With the bright lights, ringing of siot machines and hustie and bustie of crowds anxiously pursuing a jackpot, it can be a lot of fun. The prospect of winning instant cash is certainly appealing, as extra money is often bard to corne by. But patrons must remember that in reality their chances of leaving with a windfall are simu. It's safe to say only a small percentage of people will win and be smart enough to quit while they're ahead. Others will be up at some point and then give it back. Some will spend more money trying to regain losses and end up furtiser in the hole. The bottom line is, the majority simply won't corne out ahead. That's why casinos are prof- itable. If you're headed to the new Mohawk Raceway casino, think of it as an evening of entertainiment -- equivalent to a night at the movies or going out to eat -- not as a potentially quick answer to bill collectors. Limit yourself in how much you're prepared to spend. Exercise disci- pline. A good rule of thumb is, if you can't afford to lose, you can't afford to gamble -- so stay home. The idea is to have a good time while trying your luck. If you've been responsible, you shouldn't leave feeling down and out, no matter what the outcome. OUR READERS WRITE Are immigration officers guardians or greeters? Dear Editor: Are Canadian border officers gusardians or greeters? Tie script ta ail saying "refugee" reads, "welcome." A lawyer will cali directiy and while a decision may take years, have no concem. Medical and basic needa will be provided. You may well have time ta have a child, greatly enhancing your stability. Asking "have you a criminal record?" invades personal pnivacy. With individual rights paramount over society's protection, officers are being forbidden to ask it. Criminsis quite regularly are deported, manage ta te-enter, com- mit new crimes and be deported again. No questions, no answers, no protection. One step remains before our customs and immigra- Iy to being greeters saying aniy "Welcome. Have a nice stay." Having them forced ta prove ..reasonable cause" smuggling exista belore searching a persan or a vehicle. Or is finis further protec- tion o.f privacy already in the works? Jo. Hueglin Niagara Falla Mmd taking care ofyour own mess, please? Halton Region used ta have wisst is called an 'igloo' dawntown, rigint next ta a lîttle flower garden by s stsirway leading ta Main Street from tise parking lots between Main and Milîside Drive. Tis igloo was a well-meaning ides Unat proved a disaster when implemented. As a matter ai iact any unattended recycling site I have seen has been s total isilure. This is because some so-called 'usera' nain it for every- one. These people aren't environmentally con- scious ai ail. ley don't take responsibility for Uneir awn messes. Better ta juat iob Une headache off on samebody else, Uney reasîn. Then often Uney rationalize Une course ai action in s self-at- isfied manner by Uinking, "Hey, at lest 1 took Une staff toa srecycling site." When I lived in Campiselîville, tise unattended recycling drap-off b~y tise fire hall on Guelphs Line, juat nortis ai tise village praper, wss a mess. People ieft ail kinds ai thinga tisere. Five gal- lon containers ai unidentified industrisl-booking liquida were scattered around. Papers were isap- hazardly dumped and blew about in Une wind. It was as unsightly as sTiird World laundfill. Tis igloo in downtown Milton was worse. Initially, it was thought people would put. glass, papers and wisstnot inside tise Uing, wisicis was shaped like a big plastic bell, about six feet Inigis wiUn a diameter slightly leas. Isat didn't isappen. Wlnat took place was aiun- ply littering on a grand scale. Once Une igloo was near full, or even if it wasn't. people began throwing ail kinds ai refuse over tise adjacent area. A lot ai this atufi wasn't recyclable by sny stretcis ai Une imagination. It was just garbage, and not even properly packed garbage. fi blew ail over tise parking lots, forming a real eyesore. I wrote about it in a calumin last year. Others, I amn toid by Darlene Wasilkowsky ai tise Downtown Business Improvement Ares, outright complaied. After a iew yeara, Halton Region pulled the plug on Une tlning, respanding ta tise ire ai neigis- bours at glacial speed. Tise legacy ai Unis negligence on tise Region's part livea on. It's a nice witcis's brew wisen cou- pied witis tise lowest counuon denominator Uinking exisibited by Une Cro-Magnon litterbugs infesting Une area. We bave aur awn private recycling bina beisind ise Champion office. 'There are eigist ai them. Ibis week almoat ail ai Uneun were conta- minated by garbage. Someone, or varions people, Urew refuse Unat throwing wax-coated produce boxes back tisere earlier in thse summer. 1 don't think they can be recycled. Besides that, it's rude. 1 told Sandy Martin of the Chamber of Commerce and she 4 ,, figured out who it was, then asked them ta stop. Ke y Sa now I'm asking everybady else ta stop as K ly Please take responsibility for your own waste ____________________________ nstead ai making it aur probiem. a few ina. 1 bought eight lengths of chain ta secure the wasn't by any stretch recyclable in afwbn. bina the otiser day. It cost more tisan $100. 1 had In the remsining empty ones they put pop ood egtlcswhsila y otecon cana, boules, Unis and that. To saune extent tht' taher igh.t ocs wiothslr key ta t i donre understandable. Tise garbage isn't. t ise h haets anthe $6 sIg thine or morte. Otisers have been throwing personai refuse Imihhaetgtasgn adupsig e back tisere. Somebody wrapped their cardboard bina are private property. and wanning that peo- up and tassed it by the bina, adding waad with pie caugist leaving stufi tisere wili be prosecuted. nails polcing out ai it and a piece ai metai trim. Not that tisere's much chance af actually Tise latter items don't belong in any recycîing catching Unem in Une act, I suppose. But if we did bin I've seen, and 1 don't doubt Uney knew it. 1 would prosecute tisem. It's probably tise, saune ise fact is, almoat ail those bina are for news- sunaîl group ai people ail tise time. papers. We recycle a great many newspapers. Back when Une Regian isad it's dumb igloo ait- Wlnen tinere is anything else in tisebina the pri- ting there collecting junk and turmoil, 1 saw pet> vate irun we do business witis won't take the pie pull up in pick-up trucks and dump tise con- papers. Sa if there are cana in tisere, or bottles, or tenta inside tise thing. just plain garbage, tise recycling efforts ai every- If yau've got that much stuff, why nat talce it body attse newspaper have gone ta waste. It's ta tise landfill? Yau know why? Because tisey ail garbage. were too cheap ta psy Une nominal fee for dump- A vendor from tise Farmer' s Market was ing Unere, or ton lazy ta drive a few miles.