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/ THE CANADIAN STATESMAN, MARCH 14,2001 PAGE 9 4? Sports CANADIAN STATESMAN MARCH 14. 2001 Former boxing champ now fights against drugs y George Chuvalo shares his insight with Bowmanville students BY BRAD KELLY, Sports Editor 1 * { It has been well over 20 years !)ince George Chuvalo laced up a jpair of gloves and stepped into I tie boxing ring to engage in a Professional fight, j Novy, looking much younger {than his 63 years, the former {Canadian heavyweight champion champion and the man who went die distance with legendary Muhammad Muhammad Ali, is engaged in another (ight. But now it's with his heart, lot his fists, that he goes into balle. balle. ; Chuvalo, one of the most rec- ignizable and famous Canadian ithletes, was at St. Stephen's _ligh School last week, trying to insure that students there didn't follow' the same,, tragic path as nembers of his family. The passionate and graphic count of his life outlined the triméntal effects and. tragic mseqiiences that drug abuse hâve. With a heavy heart, he ounted the deaths of his three ms and wife as the result of ugs. "What happened to my fami- ' should not happen to anyone's mily," he told a packed gymna- m. fi During his 21-year career irom 1958 to 1979, Chuvalo was pever knocked down or out by i^ome of the best boxers in the J History of the sport, including " Àli, George Foreman, Floyd Paterson, Paterson, Ernie Terrell, Joe Frazier )nd Jerry Quarry. But outside of s the ring, drugs and its ill effects viave knocked him down, but not oilt, repeatedly. ' "Every time I tell the story I -- Former heavyweight boxing champion George Stephen's Chuvalo brought his anti-drug message to St. this group get sick to my stomach. It hurts me to talk about my deceased sons," he said of the impacts drugs have had on his family. His son Jesse was the first to succumb to the evil grasp of drug addiction, overdosing at the age of 20, followed by his brother Géorgie Lee, who died as a result his addiction at the age of 30. Unable to cope with the loss of her two sons, his wife Lynne, 50, took her own life. / "I don't condone what she did, but I understand it was the love a mother has for her children," children," he said, slowly rocking back and forth in his chair while rubbing his hand across his chest. : "My wife just couldn't stand the pain." It didn't end there. Another son, Steven, 35, addicted to heroin, heroin, also overdosed and died. "I still want to believe that my son could have beat heroin, but the reality is he couldn't," said Chuvalo. He tried to impress on the students students the importance of making the right choices in high school, pointing out that if they were to take a look into the future it may help in following the right path. "If my sons were here just five minutes, they could tell you what it's like to be an addict," he said to the life of crime his boys turned to in order to support their drug habit. "If my boys could have seen themselves in the future, future, they never would have done drugs. ' "You have a responsibility to A.J. GROEN/ Statesman photo High School recently. After his talk, was after his autograph. future generations and to your unborn children. They want you to make the right decisions. You have to make intelligent intelligent decisions. "I only spoke to you for 45 min utes, but I could go on for you lead a desperate life. It's days," he said in closing, lire worst life you could ever "When you're a drug addict want to imagine." ATTENTION BOYS AGES 7.-17 Clarington Boys Slo-Pitch Associations REGISTRATION Summer 2001 Bowmanville Mall Fri., March 23, Sat., March 24, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. 10 a.m.to 2 p.m. Registration Fee $80.00 (Includes Photos, T-Shirts, Awards & Family Picnic) In Slo-Pitch every boy is in the batting rotation and everyone takes his turn in the field. For more information call 697-3020 or visit our Web Site @ http://www.homestead.com/clarinatonbovssloDitch/sloDitch1.html Lakeridge Health s Patients First Bowmanville Oshawa Port Perry Uxbridge Whitby Lakeridge Health Corporation Board Of Trustees - Vacancy Lakeridge Health Corporation invites applications from individuals who may be interested in becoming a Member of the Board of Trustees.- Board candidates should have knowledge, skills and experience with some of the following: government relations, business management, healthcare, community and social services. The successful applicants will be expected to assume leadership roles, participate as team players and contribute to the ongoing development of a regional hospital system. The Board attempts to be representative of the population served by Lakeridge Health Corporation. Please obtain an information package and application requirements from: Secretary, Lakeridge Health Corporation Attention: Marie North, Unit 1, 850 Champlain Avenue, Oshawa, Ontario LU 8R2 Telephone: (905) 576-8711 Ext. 4721 Fax:(905)721-4776 Completed applications must be received by May 01,2001. Your privacy is our concern. Canada has a new law to protect our privacy. No federally regulated business (such as a bank or a telephone, telecommunications or transportation company) can now collect, use or disclose your personal information without your consent. Your right to check information about you and have it corrected is protected under the law. An independent ombudsman, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is at your service to investigate complaints relative to Canada's privacy laws. Your privacy is your business. Ours is making sure that it stays that way. Privacy Commissioner of Canada s$e! Commissaire à la protection de la vie privée du Canada For more information, call 1 800 282-1376 or visit www.privcom.gc.ca