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Eiht ba a EL 4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tues. Janvary 17, 1984' editorial comments chatterbox by John B. McClelland WHAT A WEEK | | Lotto fever hit the Port Perry Star office last week as we all dug deep into our pockets, came up with $70, formed a limited Sombany (just in case) and filled out 70 tickets in the hopes of hitting that $10 million pay-off. Publisher Peter Hvidsten chipped in a few dollars, but made us all promise that if we won the big one, we would all be back on the job Monday morning. Ha, ha,ha. We made the)promise to Peter, with our fingers crossed of course. Bit unknown to him, we also made a blood pact that if the gang from the Star won that $10 million, the next issue of the paper you read would be datelined'* Somewhere in the Sunny Carib- bean" because there would have been a mad scramble to catch the first flight south. Alas. You're reading this column in this issue of the Star. So, obviously, we didn't quite pick the winning number. But what the heck, dreaming about $10 million is almost as much fun as winning it. Notice I said "almost. Along with chipping in to the office pool, yours tru- ly snuck away last week to buy a Lotto 649 ticket just for me. It was the second week in a row buying the 649 tickets as I took a chance when the top prize was a skin- ny $7 million. This is something out of character for me as I usual- ly limit my lottery playing to one Wintario booklet each week. But the temptation to hold a cheque for $10 million in my hot little paws was just too great. [ gleefully filled out the numbers convinced in my own mind that I couldn't help but win. The thought of odds at 14 million to one never entered by head. Actually 5 5 are better I'd be bitten my a rattlesnake in the Post Office, or attacked by a great white Lake Scugog. But no matter. it comes to $10 million, who cares about the night last week, I fell into a pleasant sleep with Sifting Seongih my mind about what ; bi i g 5 wi (he lottery office. The thieves looking for. They didn't take my $9.95 wrist watch. They weren't interested in the i; ¢ 3 1 i If : way. , nightmare ended, but similar versions of it my sleep for the rest of the night. I woke up in 3 the morning, feeling tired and irritable, wondering whether this Lotto craziness was worth losing my sleep. I'm probably not the only person in this country who had trouble sleeping last week. The thought of $10 or $12 million does strange things to people. Heck, there have been murders committed, revolutions started, governments overthrown and kings toppled from the throne for a lot less. That's the part that scares me about this whole Lot- to business. How would $10 million change me. How would it change the people around me, my family, my friends? I read an article last week that some lottery officials and politicians are very nervous that the prize climbed to more than $10 million, and if the same thing happens in the future, they may limit the top prize to $5 million and add more smaller prizes. That's not right. The whole idea behind Lotto 649 is that the pot goes up if nobody wins. Now, they want to change the game in the mid-stream just because the pay-out has reached ridiculous extremes. You can say what you like about lotteries, but one thing for sure, the Lotto 649 and the $10 million has sure been a hot topic of conversation for Canadians. The papers are full of stories about lotteries. Walk into the coffee shop and you won't hear people talking about the Visather or the hockey scores. Nope, they're talking ottery. Since this column was written BEFORE Saturday's draw, I don't know if anyone struck it rich. Sadly, I have to assume that the 14 million to one odds were a little too steep for me, and I didn't win the big one. I feel kind of badly about that because the first thing I was going to buy with my windfall was a new car. No, not for me. I have a wonderful relationship with my '77 Buick. I promised to be faithful and not turn her in for a silver Porsche. -- But 1 eally wanted to buy a new car for Star reporter Cathy . I know she loves her orange Lada, but it doesn't love the winter weather. I had plans to buy her a green Lada, brand spanking new. Her car troubles would be over forever. Thanks? Don't mention it, kid. And happy motoring. But enough, enough, enough. This lottery nonsense is starting to warp my usually solid sense of perspec- tive. Here I've wasted this valuable column space rambling on about nothing when I could have written about the weather (cold out there, ain't it?) or my ex- periences trying to build a back-yard rink for the kids (that's been a lot of fun) or some other topic of earth- shattering importance. Next week, we'll get off this lottery kick. So tune in for a column on the shortage of hockey pucks. Happy 649. Keep smiling and one of these years, Lady Luck may smile back. But don't hold your breath. Who Won? And the big winner is ......... Well, as of late Monday afternoon, nobody knows who the big winner in the Lotto 649 is. With an unprecedented windfall of $13.8 million, it is hardly surprising that he, she or them had not yet step- ped forward to claim the prize. In fact, there are trouble stories that the winning ticket may have been shredded at the U.S. border last week as American customs officers dragged out an an- cient law which says it is illegal to bring a lottery ticket into the good old U.S. of A. As if the lottery corporation doesn't have enough headaches, all that money may end up in limbo for a year because that's how long a winner can wait to claim the prize. If the prize is not claimed by next January, can one assume that $13.8 million went through the shred- der? Good grief, we hope not. Canada went bananas over the Lotto 649 draw these past couple of weeks, and while we have always maintained that lotteries for most people aré nothing more than innocent fun, we have to agree that things got a little out of proportion with this one. In the past two weeks, more than 100 million tickets were purchased for the Lotto 649, including 67.5 million for a shot at the $13.8 million top prize. The sociologists, the psychologists and anyone interested in studying human behavior are going to have a lot of fun writing learned articles about this curious mania which caused more excitement in Canada than the Soviet hockey series in 1972. We're not sure what, exactly, but we learned a little bit about ourselves over the past week or two. Good, bad, or otherwise. Snow Woes We are pleased with the decision taken last Mon- day evening by Scugog Township council to remove the build-up of snow from the sidewalk along the south side of Highway 7A. The situation there was reaching a very dangerous point as the snow-clogged sidewalk was virtually un- passable, forcing young children to take to the shoulder of a very busy thoroughfare as they walked to and from school. Snow and what to do with it is a normal fact of life each winter, although last year, Mother Nature solved the problem in this part of Canada. However, winter is back with a vengeance this year and Township council is now looking into the possibility of passing a by-law whereby citizens would be required to keep the sidewalks clear in front of their properties. We are not sure that such a by-law is the answer to dealing with the snow problems on clogged sidewalks. Firstly, it would put a great deal of hardship on senior citizens who have enough problems keeping their own walkways clear (or finding someone to do it for them). Can wae realistically expect the elderly (or someone with a heart condition) to tackle 60 or 70 feet of snow on the sidewalk in front of their houses? And what about all the vacant lots in the communi- ty where the owners live outside the Township, in some cases outside the country? Who is going to enforce this by-law? Is the Township going to start hauling people into court if they fail to clear the sidewalks? It would be a nightmare from a public rela- tions point of view, yet if such a by-law is passed, it will be worthless unless there are some teeth to it. And what about those major thoroughfares in the community which are heavily plowed with the snow thrown up onto the sidewalks? It's one thing for a citizen on a sides.reet to keep the walks clear, but what of those who live on Highway 7A, for example, which is kept clear to the bare pavement? There are certain sidewalks in the community where the average citizen, armed with a shovel or even a snowblower, is going to be hard pressed to keep the way clear, even if he (or she) makes the effort. Township council should recognize that there are certain "heavy-traffic" sidewalks (around the schools, senior citizens homes, possibly the hospital) which must be kept clear for the safety of those who must use them. A policy of Township snow removal in certain selected and designated areas (where safety is the prime factor) is a better solution than a by-law forcing people to clear snow. There are just so many pit-falls in such a by-law that it simply would not be workable. Removing snow from certain sidewalks in the com- munity costs money, to be sure. We don't believe the Township is so poor that it can't find a few dollars in the budget to make some sidewalks passable and safe for those (especially young children) who have no choice but to use them.