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Thanks to the nicest guy in the Galaxy would like to share a feelâ€"good Islory with the rest of the region. On Monday evening I went to the Galaxy theatre in Waterloo to pick up some tickets for a show. As I tried to process my purchase on the machine, my debit card decided not to wark. I had already had a typical frustrating day at work, so this cerâ€" tainly did not help. A young man came in to also purchase tickets, so West Nile tip â€" goldfish eat larvae Many of us have rain barrels now, which are a wonderful way to capture warm, free rain water for use on our lawns and garâ€" dens. But even with the screen or solid tops, mosquitoes can occaâ€" sionally fly in and you‘ll see hunâ€" dreds of squiggly, tiny larvae in your barrel. My dad also coached my two older sisters, so it only seemed natâ€" ural for me to follow in their footâ€" steps. For the past seven years, my dad has been the head coach for DDM (which stands for Dale, Doug and Mike). Most seasons, sponsors were found to sponsor the team, but when a sponsor was not found, Dale, Doug and my dad, Mike, would sponsor their team from their own money. This showed me how important the team was to my dad. Sometimes it is difficult to be a player on your own dad‘s team, but I can honestly say that I was proud to be on my dad‘s team. I am an average player, but DDM, as a great team of coaches, always brought the best out of each player. Girls softball volunteer not appreciated am 16 years old and the Iyoungest in the family. My dad would have been coaching for his 18th year this year for Waterloo Minor Girls Softball Association. This all came to a surprising halt two weeks ago, when my dad found out that he, Dale and Doug were You said it QUESTION ARE YOU AFRAID OF CATCHING WEST NILE VIRUS? I told him to go ahead of me and then I would try again. To make a long story short, this very sweet guy said that he wanted to purchase my tickets for me. I tried to argue with him, but he kept saying that it was no big deal and it would make him feel good. He eventually won, and he proceedâ€" ed to buy two tickets for me for that night. * A valuable and interesting tip a friend gave me about 10 years ago, was to put one or two regular inexâ€" pensive goldfish in each barrel, and being carp, they will eat the This works very well, and we also give them some goldfish flakes daily. In winter, we bring them in to an unheated fish tank with an not to be coaches this year. 1 have seldom seen my dad this hurt. Even being the convener, and therefore on the executive committee, he had no idea that he was not to coach this year; no one told him or disâ€" cussed this with him. He found out that he was not to coach when the coaches list was publicized. Many players in the past have asked to be on the DDM team. We have won three gold, two silver, and were twice finalists in the past seven years. My dad states that there has never been a parent comâ€" plaint against DDM. The president of the association explained that there was a disagreement over the colour of Tâ€"shirts worn last year. Good job, maintenance staff As a regular visitor to the Waterâ€" loo Memorial Recreation Centre, I‘ve had a chance to notice what a great job the maintenance staff is doing. The place is so beautifully "No, because it seems to affect only the very old or the very young." "No, it‘s just not affecting people my age." i ATallT Alfonso Dietrich COMMENT ONICL] In this very cynical world that we live in, this man managed, within five minutes, to renew my faith in humanity. Whoever you are, I want you to know that you are by far one of the nicest people in the "Galaxy". I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I will never forget you. Grateful forever, Traci Snider air pump. Some of these fish have been with us for several years now. This is a fun, environmentallyâ€" friendly way to help control the number of mosquitoes in your Can you believe that? The colour of the Tâ€"shirt is now a deciding facgr if you can coach or not. Where is the focus of this executive? Should it not be on the game and the players? I am very saddened that my dad is so hurt and disappointed. 1 will still play ball this year and my dad will still coach me at home, but to have this taken away from him for such a weak excuse seems unfair and unacceptable. cleaned and polished. To the young men who are doing such a good job I hope there will be some resoluâ€" tion, but I think the least that should happen is to publicly apologize to all three coaches of DDM. They all want to coach and have fun. Lori Strothard, chair of the Waterloo Citizens Environmental Advisory Committee "I haven‘t caught it yet, and I don‘t think I‘ll catch it." "No, there haven‘t been a lot of cases going around here." CHRON Matt Vandergriendt a discouraged player Peter Etril Snyder, Isabella Browiec Revolution. They proved time and time again that they knew how to take an idea â€" however controversial that idea might be â€" and sell it to the electorate (or at least that portion of the electorate that they care about). Of course, their tactics were often despicable, parâ€" ticularly when they targeted marginalized groups for further attacks, but they got results. Despite the fact that virtually the same group of people is in charge of the Tory campaign now as in 1995 (with Tom Long being the only major exception), that grudging respect has completely evaporated over the past six months. First, the hydro file was bunâ€" gled so thoroughly that no amount of spinning could erase the damage. Then, the Harrisites had the brilliant idea of staging an infomercial masquerading as a provincial budget. Governments are often wounded, fatally or otherwise, by a wide range problems over which they have no control. The decision to show contempt for the legislature (and the people of Ontario) was a selfâ€"inflicted wound. Despite our stark ideological differences, I‘ve always had a kind of grudging respect for the spin doctors behind the Common Sense The most recent blunder (if you‘re keeping track, that‘s strike three), was the launch of the Tory platform document at an indoor goâ€"kart track. A goâ€"kart track? Is this some kind of bizarre segue from the idea of holding a budget presentation in an auto parts plant (though I have to assume that Magna International isn‘t makâ€" ing parts for goâ€"karts)? Peter Woolstencroft of the University of Waterloo (whose roots in the Tory DATTY . w are wellâ€"established) charitably calls the |f m M stunt "a peculiar attempt at populism... ANOTHER | I think the simple message is that they I utaLly are (trying to be) where ordinary people . | g | hang out. It doesn‘t ring true to me... If ¢ you asked me for a 100 places where they were going to do this, this would be ' | 101." s # To explain the unusual venue, Cabiâ€" e e _ ( 7A net Minister David Tsubouchi intoned | | £eom | "And now, something I‘ve always wanted | | CA to say... Gentleman, start your engines," | | 3 P | as fellow Minister Tim Hudak and a Tory | | S F candidate drove goâ€"karts through a large | SCOTT | paper sign emblazoned with preâ€"elecâ€" | tion promises (they may have a future PIATKOWSKI doing Shell commercials after they are _ defeated). Eves then invoked the name of champion raceâ€"car driâ€" ver Paul Tracy to reinforce the point. "It took hard work; it took a great team and years of experience behind the wheel. These are the same qualities you need to build a stronger Ontario. And just like Paul Tracy... our party is going to make history by winning backâ€"toâ€" backâ€"toâ€"back PC majority governments." Has somebody in the premier‘s office been reading How to Stretch a Metaphor? So, what about the platform itself? Dubbed "The Road Ahead", the platform aims to prove that the Tories are just as fiercely right wing as they were going into the last two elections. Among other things, the Tories are promising to: * Pass legislation to prohibit education strikes, lockouts and workâ€"toâ€"rule job action during the school year. This is an idea that they borrowed from a private member‘s bill introduced by Daiton McGuinty back when no one knew who he was (unlike now). The Tories have created a situation where school boards are starved for resources and where teachers are under attack. No wonder there‘s labour strife in our schools. Interestingly, when leadership rival Jim Flaherty proposed this idea, Eves said "There‘s no democracy when people can‘t strike." * Allow homeowners to deduct mortgage interest costs from their income. Besides costing $700 million a year when fully impleâ€" mented in five years, it is absolutely offensive that this government thinks that the biggest problem faced in today‘s housing market is not homelessness, not a shortage of affordable rental housing, but giving people who can afford to buy a home a tax break. Of course, the homeless haven‘t been forgotten. There are references in the platform to a law that would allow homeless people to be "swept" off the street (out of sight, out of mind). * Prohibit the use of legal aid for immigration and refugee cases. This is a huge financial blow to immigrant communities and will likely lead to more people having their cases heard without legal representation. Given other references in the document to immiâ€" grants as "criminals and terrorists", chances are very good that that‘s exactly what the Tories are hoping for. Noting that goâ€"karts drive around in circles, NDP Deputy Leader Marilyn Churley pointed out that the Tory platform offers more of the same meanâ€"spirited cynicism. "The Road Ahead, leads back to Walkerton," Churley said. "The Conservative platform means private power, hospitals, private schools, private roads, skyâ€" high rents and tuition, vanishing pensions, dirty air and dirty water. We‘re going to see more service cuts, more program cuts." All that‘s really changed is the Tories, ability to sell that approach The road kill ahead soott. piatkowski@rogers.com