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WATERLOO CHRONICLE The Waterloo Chronicle welcomes letters to the Editor They should be signed with name, address and phone num ber and will be verified for accu racy No unsigned letters will be published Submissions may be edited for length. so please be brief Copyright in letters and other materials submitted to the Publisher and accepted for publication remains with the author, but tae publisher and its licensees may freely reproduce them in print. electronic or other forms Our mailing address is 75 King St S . Suite 201. Waterioo N2T 1P2, our eâ€"mail address is wehronicle@sentex net. and our fax number is 86 4383 Letters Policy Publisher: Cal Bosveld B86â€"2830 Fax: 886â€"9383 Eâ€"mail: wchronicle@sentex net (h_rplyq Anstey Jim Alexander 75 King St. South, Suite 201 Waterloo, Ontario N2J 1P2 136379 International Standard Serial Number ISSN 0832â€"3410 The views of our columists are their own and do not necessarily represent those of the newspaper. The Waterloo Chronucle is published every Wednesday by The Fairway Group, a division of Southern Ontanio Community Newspapers Inc., a division of Southam Publications, a CanWest Company. Andrea Bailey Reporter Norma Cyca Adv_zr_lldng Lynn Bartat Cal Bosveld Deborah Crandall > sm @ Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement Number Audited circulation: 26,056 Sylvia O‘Donnel} Advertising Laurie Ridgway Bob Vrbanac Sports Editor I don‘t think anyone cares to join us for another episode of the Mike and Lynne soap opera, as there are definitely more important things to talk about. So please, enough is enough. Keep the fighting on the playground, and not in our pages. In her letter, the mayor said Connolly expressed irritaâ€" tion with the discussion topic at the meeting, which hapâ€" pened to be healthy eating as part of cancer prevention, and pointed out that after he was invited to stay, he instead chose to leave...painting Connolly in a negative light. Somehow our newspaper has become the ‘mommy, mommy‘ a brother and sister run to when tattling on each other. And the reference to children is intentional on my part. But, as any politician should realize, criticism is part of the job. That‘s why I was equally as disappointed to see a Letter to the Editor written by Woolstencroft, in the May 23 edition of the Chronicle. Now is it really necessary to mock the effort? In the mayor‘s defence, with these meetings she is reaching out to the public to find out what matters seem to be most important. It doesn‘t matter how many residents attend the gab sessions, it‘s the fact that Woolstencroft opens city hall and lends her ear that should be acknowledged. Take, for example, Connolly‘s column which appeared in the May 16 edition. After informing the pubâ€" lic of the process which was used to determine who would have any right to name what‘s now known as RIM Park, out of the blue he went on talk about one of Woolstencroft‘s monthly brownbag breakfast meetings. Connolly felt the need to point out that "only two citi zens showed up," and that he was one of them. However, it is also my opinion that sometimes the space allotted for these columns has been used to, how should I say, belittle and degrade others, specifically the current mayor who won the heated race fair and square. I‘m not saying this has been done imentionallS/. But morally, it‘s not right. Every couple of weeks his mug is adomning our Viewpoint page, surrounded by a column he‘s written in regards to a matter at hand in the city of Waterloo. From the feedback we‘ve received, Connolly‘s pieces are extremely informative, and I have to admit, in my opinion, he has hit the nail on the head on more than one occasion. Now before I explain, let oz me just say that we as an ediâ€" torial team welcome opinion E columns from all members of the community. We ANDREA believe everyone deserves BAILEY the right to express themâ€" selves on legitimate issues, and to have those thoughts respected. Lately, however, it‘s been questioned whether or not Mike Connolly is now a paid part of our staff. And once again, unless the fumes from the chemicals I used recently to clean the e . interior of my car have fried ol en my brain, the election did in folll R\](l][l fact produce a winner â€" Oy Woolstencroft â€" and by a sound margin 1 might add. | Yet, six months and give or take 24 days later, the campaigning continues, or so it seems every time I open Page 8 of the Chronicle. According to my extensive math skills, it has been six months and give or take 24 days since the municipal elecâ€" Both also sit on Waterloo city and regional council; and together they make up the race for the coveted posiâ€" tion of mayor in this November‘s municipal election. Wait a minute, let me check my watch. Now unless I‘ve somehow been swallowed up by the Twilight Zone, this is in fact the first week of June. In this comer we have. .. Mike Connolly, former chair of the Waterloo Region Tax Watch group, as well as former coâ€"chair of Waterloo Region Neighbourhood Watch. And in this comer we have... Lynne Woolstencroft, former chair of the Waterloo Region District school board, and a volunteer with a number of organizations including the Kâ€"W Symphony and the Citizens Advisory Committee on Air Quality. Keep the fighting on the playground VIEWPOINT Some members have quit their posts, and some are talking of not running the next time around. And the word is the leader is not held in universal regard. Splinter Groups: The NDP has fallen on hard times. In British Columbia it won only two seats. In Ontario (and please don‘t say you read it here) its little legislative caucus is split like next winter‘s load of kindling. Rarely is there anything good about a stabâ€" bing. Just occasionally. Take the chap who was stabbed 42 times in Chinatown. The thief didn‘t get much money and the victim‘s bad back went away. But you can take this to the bank: An arrest will be made and it will come sooner rather than later. And, again, police have insisted that up to now racism hasn‘t raised its ugly head. So there! The trouble is that in cases which merited an outcry his declamations were discounted. He‘s been first cousin to the boy who shouted wolf. They acted wisely by not takâ€" ing Laws too seriously. In his native Toronto they don‘t. He‘s been screaming racism since the mind of man remembereth not. It‘s too early to jump the gun, Rivera said, adding that justice grinds slowly. And, for their part, police have said there isn‘t a jot or tittle to substantiate a charge of racism. community is hoping police bag the guilty parties in the Victoria Park knife slaying, but no thinking person is blaming racism. no thinking person is blaming racism. _ At the rate things are progressing, it‘ll be That‘s why it was heartening to see how decades before it‘s all settled. And in the swiftly Dudley Laws, Toronto activist cum agiâ€" _ meantime, we can do without unwieldy manâ€" tator, was told to butt out by Myrta Rivera, _ agement boards or devices of that like. executive of the Kâ€"W Multicultural Centre. By the time we resolve the region, the Still, no one should doubt the mathematics of Record reporters. If you had ever puzzled over their expense accounts, you wouldn‘t doubt their grasp of the intricacies of money. Including the Record reporter who lives on in legend by wangling a new fedora by putting it down as "general overhead." K, folks, you can relax now. Waterloo Ocouncillors are standing fourâ€"square behind the RIM Park financing. And just when the more timid among us were starting to fret about seeing them on visiting days. Not only that, but Waterloo council is thinking of suing. And that surely is a mark of confidence. However, Waterloo council should worry about the talents of its bureaucrats. After all, it was left to a couple of Record reporters to find figures that didn‘t jibe. We won‘t be seeing council on visiting days ‘own as "fit;:leral overhead." Color Blind: Every thinking person in the Except that the Mob were nickel and dimers compared to the petroleum pirates. Strikes me they would steal a hot stove and come back for the smoke Ah, but it could. After all it‘s happened to their cousins â€" the famous meeting of the Mob‘s five families and associates in Apalachin, New York. Perchance the petroleum priceâ€"fixers can be nabbed under one roof while holding a meeting to further fix gasoline prices. What‘s that, you say? It couldn‘t happen? !‘ orists are avidly watching the few cents that gasoline prices go DYy down, then up. Surely they aren‘t expecting that prices will go D down and stay down. The horrendous thing is that gasâ€"andâ€"oil man George Dubya insists there‘s nothing he can do except authorize drilling in nature reserves and practise a meaningless conservation. The petroleum barons will never have a bigger ally. To show why you should have doubts about the plan, Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig has called it "a brilliant alternative" to regionâ€" al government. It‘s probably going nowhere in any case because Municipal Affairs Minister Chris Hodgson has said Cambridge can‘t leave the region and the province won‘t get involved in the process of change. Smoke Dream: Surprise! A Cambridge task force has recommended the region be scrapped and replaced by a management board. In its simplest terms, each communiâ€" ty would buy services from the management board. Yup, show me a politician who‘s far behind and I‘ll show you a politician trying to figure out who to fire. Say, Ontario legislature polls are still showâ€" ing the PCs way behind the grits with the NDP trailing badly. Show me a politician who doesn‘t believe in polls. That‘s like a jockey saying he doesn‘t believe in horses. Quebec situation will have been long settled. The Toronto Maple Leafs will have won a Stanley Cup by then and the Kitchener Rangers will have made the playâ€" offs. 6