The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Orono Weekly Times, Wednesday, January 15,2003 - 5 > As I see it by Peter Jaworski Women in hockey Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Curtis Joseph, Eric Lindros, Mats Sundin, Sergei Federov. What do they all have in common? Well, for one, they all play hockey in the National Hockey League. And for two, they are all of them men. Thus far, for one reason or another, men have played in the NHL. While women watched. Last Saturday, Hayley Wickenheiser, the captain of Canada's women's Olympic gold-medal winning hockey team, stepped on the ice for the Kirkkonummen Lightning to make history. She played hockey in a traditionally men's league, and she did it playing a point position. She is only. the second woman to have done this in a professional league. And it seems like a lot of you believe that that is how far her dream will go. She will not make the NHL. The last time I checked on Sunday, the Globe and Mail poll had 59 per cent of you, out of over 10,000 votes, saying, saying, that women will never play in the National Hockey League. The pond where the big boys skate is just that-a place for boys. Isn't there something wrong with that view? Even putting the battle of the sexes aside, aren't professional sports supposed to be about a little more? The National Hockey League, for instance, claims to field the best hockey players. alive in the world (who choose to play). Period. It doesn't say anything about male athletes. Their claim has little to do with gender-it is about who is the best. People pay to watch the best players on the ice. They pay to allow these grown folk to ignore other types of work and focus on shooting the puck in the direction of the net. I haven't yet heard anyone say that they would also like all of these people to be men. Or express a preference for colour of hair, or precise width from shoulder to shoulder. All these things are irrelevant irrelevant to the point of the League-best people on the ice, regardless of height, Weight, colour of eyes, and, so it should be, gender. Maybe most of you think that girls just won't measure up to the boys. It's genetic, you might say. Boys are more muscular by nature. It isn't that we wouldn't allow a woman to play in the NHL, per se, it's that it would never happen. Even, if this view seems more mild-mannered, it still runs afoul of biological fact, and logical reasoning. Just because something is generally true does not mean that it holds true in every instance. Here's an example-just because Roger Clemens will throw mostly strikes does not mean that he will always only throw strikes. Sometimes, he'll throw a ball. Or a balk. Or it will slip from his hand and land on the mound, say. So it might also happen that one girl out of a hundred thousand is capable of playing with Chris Chelios. And if she is allowed to train as much as boys get to train, well then, it should be a certainty. As I see it, women in the NHL is a statistical certainty. Maybe a net minder, maybe a defense, uhm, woman, or a captain. Whatever the case may be, prepare yourselves for separate dressing rooms. I'm sure it will happen, and I look forward to it. And you know what? It just might be Hayley. v(W.w»>:Sv:ææw;: jtîirf! j. :..! pm# jiiiiin ■■ill! "iifiipi ::::::j::: iiiiiii:::!::::::::::: 407 advisory committee formed . Council has struck a Highway 407 Community Advisory Committee to advise them on the need and justification justification for the proposed highway. The Committee consists of eight citizen members appointed appointed at Monday night's council meeting from a list of 31 applicants. applicants. The citizen appointees are: Linda Gasser who in November of last year, asked council to form this committee, Steve Lipsett, Clayton Morgan, Sarah Nelson, Murray ill® II 1 « ai IF :•!" i Si ill ill ,4llt sSlllllI viiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiii Hi;::::::::: ■iiiiiii::::::!: ;::::i;:i! : :i "lillili 111 iiiiiii':: is Sill'!! ,* F il si The weekend's snow fall and Monday's wind created many unique snow drifts including these on Best Road south of the 7th Concession. Paterson, Jim Slyfield, Dwayne Tapp and Douglas Trotter. The Clarington Board of Trade, the Agricultural Advisory Committee and the Heritage Committee will all be invited to nominate members to sit on the Advisory Committee. The Agricultural Committee have already appointed member Bert Werry to the Committee. Councillor Schell was appointed Monday night to sit on the Committee as a council representative. Council also approved the expenditure of an amount not excéeding $20,000 to hire a consultant to review the Need and Justification Study and the Terms of Reference for the completion of the highway through Clarington to Highway 115. The advisory committee will be disbanded when the Environmental Assessment for the Highway 407 east completion completion is finished or at such other time as Council may determine. determine. -X. The Alpha course an opportunity to explore the meaning of life Looking for answers? The Alpha course is an opportunity for anyone to explore the Christian faith in a-relaxed, non-threatening manner over ten, thought-provoking weekly sessions. It's low key, friendly and fun. And it's supported by all the main Christian denominations. You're not on your own either. More than 2 million people worldwide worldwide have already found it to be a worthwhile experience. So join us on a journey of discovery. There's a course running at a church near you! www.alphacanada.org For more information call: Paul Jones (905) 983-5857 or Alison Parker (905) 987-5371 ■ \ i l.$SF x 5304 Main Street, Orono • 905-983-5159 " : "• < -• ,-"F* ■, », v "- j k?5*Sfi v '. Va. .Fa »|gi§S§! Year Anniversary Fri., January 17 & Sat. January 18 With every pizza, wing or sub order, flj pop a balloon for your chance to win. Every balloon is a winner! ^ in store purchaces only ^ prize to be used on next purchace WE DELIVER :■ > f 31i -••FFV I " '"'■'Ai Vr.-K:-. ; ::Vp ; '••VF:: : / M • IVUu uirs Manu un s ■ • Waxing • Nail INn'iishiiis S • .An Hiushing • I'.wlash lint ing I e I'Jvvlmniv Musvlv Stimulatv ( I AMS) • I'aialTm Wax ESTHETIC STUDIO 'Br.iijith' 'Bum'll C 'lift ( 'ertifii'iites | Avnilnblc m 15% DISCOUNT with coupon ,171 Mill Sum, Orono, ON LOB IM0 * 90.5-983-8169 i '