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

Occasionally a happy situation arises whereby the association has too many volunteers for a given role. When this occurs, the execuâ€" ‘tive has the responsibility of making decisions based on WMGSA policies and guidelines. Waterloo Girls Softâ€" ball‘s numberâ€"one priority is and always will be the more than 500 girls who play softball under its ausâ€" pices. As such, the association operâ€" ates under policy and code of conâ€" duct documents designed to proâ€" tect the best interests of all particiâ€" Minor Girls Softball volunteers treated fairly n issue has recently been A::ised concerning the treatâ€" ent of a volunteer byâ€"the Waterloo Minor Girls Softball Assoâ€" ciation. This association has been aided by thousands of volunteers throughout its years of operation, and these volunteers are literally its life blood. Waterloo Girls Softball not only appreciates each and every one of our volunteers... we could not exist without them. Fam responding to Scott IPiatkowslu"s brilliant article, July 8, "Is marriage really under attack?" Over the past two months, since the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled ‘that sameâ€" sex marriage is legal, we have been subjected to a media frenzy. Scott asks, is recogniâ€" tion of sameâ€"sex marriages really an attack on traditional marriage? My answer is no. I believe that moast couples who make a commitment to each other prefer to have their union blessed by their religion and recognized by their society. Scott comments, "the strength or survival of my marriage or your marriage isn‘t really that dependent on the existence or nonâ€"existence of other marriages." If only people could appreciate that statement. The legislation does not weaken marriage. As a marriage and family therapist. 1 am interested in long â€" term marriage. Last year I pubâ€" lished a book. Love That Lasts: Perâ€" sonal Stories of Lasting Marriage. Piatkowski‘s column is a tribute to marriage You said it ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT RISING INSURANCE RATES ? QUESTION _ _ COMMENT Rol | || pants. It is expected that all volunâ€" teers will adhere to these guidelines. When the association has a surplus of volunteers for any given position, a selection process is undergone. One criterion to be considered is compliance with WMGSA guideâ€" lines and policies. Every now and then, a volunteer contravenes one of the association policies; sometimes due to a lack of knowledge, sometimes deliberately. Volunteers are always given the benefit of the doubt and asked to change the behaviour in question. On rare occasions, the behaviour continues, and must be dealt with in some way. The purpose of the book was to look at stressors that occur in marâ€" riages and to determine coping mechanisms of real couples. Scott uses the term "recipe" for maintainâ€" ing a viable marriage. Should a volunteer or other member of the association be unhappy with a decision, there are processes in place whereby an appeal can be made. The rules and discipline committee is empowered to look into matters concerning the implementation of the association _1 delight in this term, as a focus in my book is the "ingredients" for Continued from page 8 Surely anybody who thinks this is the answer to a problem is deluâ€" sional. Waterloo council recently voted to not increase the mayoral salary, although a consultant recommendâ€" ed an increase to bring the salary in line with that of mayors of similarâ€" sized municipalities. Good news, right? My last point about money involves the city of Waterloo. _ Well, the consultant failed to consider that the mayor automatiâ€" It‘s only money, isn‘t it? "My husband and I feel like paying for insurance is just like throwing money out the window. My bill went up $100 a month, and I‘m not getting anything for it." Anneâ€"Marie Snyder "Yesterday on the radio l heard they were actually going to lower it. The governâ€" ment is instituting a price cap or someâ€" thing, so I‘m not as worried as 1 was." THE CHRON Reid Coolsaet NICL] bylaws and/or the code of conduct of all its volunteers and particiâ€" pants. Waterloo Girls Softball recently underwent $such a meeting. also attended by a representative from the City of Waterloo, whose role was to ensure that proper proâ€" cedures were followed. This meetâ€" ing was held ‘in camera‘ with the provision that all details remain confidential. Suffice it to say that previous decisions made were upheld; continued refusal to adhere to association policies does not go unnoticed and is not rewarded. The Waterloo Minor Girls Softâ€" ball Association cherishes the topâ€" quality volunteers that Have particiâ€" pated in our programs over the years and looks forward to their ongoing support so that it may conâ€" tinue to provide the topâ€"notch experience that all the girls have come to expect. s the recipe of lasting marriage Scott‘s article is a tribute to marâ€" riage. Marriage is a commitment by two people who want to build a life together. Lifelong marriage is not a gift, it is an achievement! being mayor. If you add this regionâ€" al paycheque to the mayoral salary, she (or he) is then making more than the average mayor of a similarâ€" sized municipality. cally makes an additional $20,000 or so annually for being on regional council, as well as the salary for Yet I saw no recommendations put forward to lower the mayoral salary to bring it into line. Apparâ€" ently salary adjustments only have one gear: forward. But then again, it‘s only money, isn‘t it? "No I‘m not. I don‘t drive and I don‘t plan on driving." "No, l don‘t drive." Sarah Nielsenâ€"Jones * Adam}.Smith Walter Willms, president, WMGSA 1| only the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance could resoive their differences, a united right wing party could form a strong opposition to the Liberals or even win the next federâ€" al election. Or, so go the political wet dreams of every Canadian ultraâ€"conserâ€" vative from Alberta Premier Ralph Klein to Ontario Cabinet Minister Tory Clement. e â€" o0 â€" They can cross all of their fingers and toes, jump up and down and scream, and hold their breath until they turn blue. It‘s simply not going to happen. Not now; not after the next election; not ever. Here are five reasons why. * Federal Tories still proudly hold on to the fact that their party brought Canada together (by which they mean that the first governâ€" ment of Canada was headed by a Conservative. They remember wistâ€" fully that the two largest majority governments of the 20th century were won by Diefenbaker and Mulroney. it doesn‘t matter that those victories.occurred 45 and 19 years ago, or that the party was very nearly obliterated in the 1990s. In fact, the PCs actually blame a lot of _â€"* ______________ their recent difficulties on the emergence ] of Reform in 1993, bélieving essentially { ANOTHER | that "things were just fine until YOU came . | nPri | 5z 2) Brian Mulroney‘s coalition has fallen apart and can‘t be put back together. appealling to the Quebeéc nationalists who hated Pierre Trudeau and the western n Imails conservatives who hated Pierre Trudeau. The coalition couldn‘t be a permanent one, however, as these groups also hated * * â€" each other. The Tories know that Quebeâ€" cois remember the racist "no Quebec SCOTT politicians" ads that were run by Reform | PIATKOWSKI in 1997 election and will steer clear of any united party that smells like mean spirit. As well, the Adantic and Quebecois Tory tradition is way more progressive than the Albertaâ€"based Alliance has ever understood. 3) One can‘t make assumptions about voters, second choices. Eliminate the Tories and all their votes will go to the Alliance. Elimâ€" inate the Alliance and all sheir votes will go to the Tories. Add their votes together and the Liberals will go down to defeat in riding after Uniting the right will never happen Mulroney won a majority in every province in 1984 by simultaneously Unfortunately, politics are not quite that simple nor are voters. The majority of voters cannot tell left from right on a political spectrum any more than a threeâ€"yearâ€"old can tell the difference between their wfimr@,:mnim:umtmmmmphmame{yus Many Alliance voters are primarily populists, and many of them used to vote NDP If the Alliance ever merged with the Tories, they‘d be more likely to go back to voting NDP That may seern counterintuâ€" itive, but that‘s what pollsters find in survey after survey. Moreover, the disappearance of one party is just as likely to help the Liberals as any united right party, for the Liberals are the second choice of over a third of all Tory and Alliance voters. + 4) The Liberals have already united the right. Take a look at what two right wing parties have been advocating since 1993; tax cuts, balanced budgets, cuts to social programs, free trade deals. Now, compare that agenda to what the Liberals have actually implemented and it‘s pretty to see why a united right wing aligmative to the Liberals has never caught fire. The only alternative that‘s needed to the Chretien and Martin Liberals is a progressive alternative. NDP leader Jack Layton calls it "uniting the bright." 5) Canadians don‘t want to elect a more right wing government than the one that we already have. To the extent that it does exist, vote splitting is hardly the only reaâ€" son for the Liberals, current strangjehold on power. Quite simply, an Alliance government has never been and never will be elected because Canadians don‘t want an Alliance government. That‘s why they are sitting at 11 per cent in the latest EKDS poll, behind the NDP and the Tories. Ekos polister Frank Graves notes that this is because they are, "totally offside the mainstream on all the key national issues over the past year be it Iraq, be it Kyoto, be it health care, or taxes and that consistency is really damaging them. You name it; they just are in a place where most Canadians aren‘t." Another recent poll, this one by Environics, found that Canadians are very suspicious of any political party that wants to cory up to the Americans. That‘s exactly what Alliance leader Stephen Harper is doing, in fact. if current trends in Alliance support continue, it‘s conâ€" ceivable that there will be one national conservative party running in the next federal election. don‘t care. 1) Real Tories simply hate the Alliance (and its predecessor, The