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We Tn | IY eH TT h--_rm------I nea ie, wey ey 4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, Jan.7, 1985 | SA Rarer AVES V ~ editorial COMMBnis Fear and Anger Shock. Dismay. Anger. - These are just some of the feelings people nine year old girl was found in a snowdrift on a lonely concession road near Sonya, north of Port Pe: ry. Christine Jessop had been murdered. She had liv- MBM ed with her parents in Queensville, a small community EY ~~ chatterbo "HALF A RESOLUTION I haven't made a New Years Resolution for years, and 1985 was no exception. Having carefully avoided any over- indulgence of spirits New Years Eve, 1 greeted the morning of ~ January 1 with a clear head and both eyes open. In fact, my vision was so sharp that morning, it resulted directly i in a belated resolution. The image star- ing back at me from the bathroom mirror made me cringe. The on-going battle I wage week in and week out to shed a pound or two had obvjously been put on hold over the Festive Season. _ Like most people, I munched and nibbled my way through December, raised a glass or two of Christmas cheer, and the proof was in the pudding in.the cold, harsh morning light on the first day of a brand new year. Reflecting back on the past few weeks, it was not difficult to figure out Mt why my spare tire had gone - from a steel-belted radfal to the type found on the back of a'dump truck. ; The kindness .and generosity of a great many friends and neighbours was the cause of my shape, which, to say the least, was more rotound than usual. Oh, come off it, you say. How can youblame anyone but yourself for those extra Christmas pounds"? Here's how it happened. My wife has been home for the past few weeks recovering from a stay in hospital, "and people have been Just fantastic with their get well 'wishes. In fact, since about the first week in December, there has been a steady stream of lovely people arriv- ing on our dpaor-step, each one armed with a plate of Christmas baking. As an example. Several girls who work Yor the Port Perry Star got together for a cookie exchange. You know the kind, where they all bake an assortment of delicious sweets an then split them up so everyone gets something different. Well, the girls also decided that each would bale an extra dozen as a get-well wish. The result"? Seven dozen different types of cookies and squares just in time for Christmas. A magnificent gesture, to be aire, and one for which I am very grateful. But this, along with other trays of baking from friends and neighbours left the McClelland family with enough Christmas sweets in the pantry to - feed half the Russian Army. Now, under normal circumstances. 1 can honestly say I do not have a sweet tooth. I an not addicted to donuts, chocolate cake, cookies or candy. - But with all those delectable items just sitting on . the kitchen counter waiting for somebody to tuck them away, I fell hard and fast What the heck, I said to myself, nibbling on short- bread and chocolate squares, it's Christmas. Everyone stage. "by John B. 'McClelland takes in a few additional calories and you can always face the music in January. * Well, I'm facing the music. Please don't get me wrong. In no way am I casting any blame on all those wonderful people who have been so generous. In fact, I have been deeply touched by the kindness. And let's face it, I was the one with the will-power of a four year old child who couldn't come within ten feet of the cookie - tin without stopping to sample the contents. All of which brings me around to my belated resolu- tion of New Years morning. This has reached the serious My silent resolve that something would have to be "done about theextra poundage was bolstered somewhat a couple of nights later, when I learned quite by acci- dent that a certain acquaintance (who shall remain nameless here) has pledgéd to ditch 25 pounds by April 1. Should he fall short of that target, he must donate $10 for every pound he's short to the coffers of his service club. But if he loses 30 pounds, for example, there are several of his fellow club members Wie must donate $10 per pound. I thought to myself that if this guy can shed 25 pounds or more in 12 weeks, I can lose a few by mid: June. His tastes are every bit as epicurean as mine, after all. Enough said on this weighty matter. Efforts in the J past by myself to knock off some pqunds have met with just mediocre success. This one may be no different. [4 MADNESS Seems to me it was just a year ago this January that the Lotto 649 jack-pot climbed to over $13 million before it was won by an elderly couple from Brantford. Well, it's January 85 and here we go again. The draw this weekend will be worth something in excess of $10.5 million; a long way from $13 million, but enough to keep the wolf from the door. So what if the odds are more than 15 million to one. I'm hooked on the flimsy argument that SOMEBODY has to win it, so it might as well be me. Like a lot of other foolish souls, I'll fill out a card this week, put down my six bucks, cross my fingers and hope for the best. The chance of winning $10.5 million on a lottery is part of the insanity of the 80's. Crazy, when you think about it. Just what the heck would one do with all that moolah? Oh, well. If nothing else, the mere thought of it goes a short way in helping to brighten up an otherwise dreary January. Ne \" near the south shore of Lake Simcoe. Early in October, she left her parents home ro go to the neighbourhood store. She never returned. In the /- days following her disappearance, family, friends and "7 residents of Queensville joined police in a massive a search for Christine. To no avail. While her parents must have clung to even the thin- : thread of hope that Christine would somehow be oe unharmed, the glimmer grew fainter as the days turned into weeks and months. When her body was found just before the New Year, people asked themselves the question, why. An inno- cent young child, leading a happy life like any normal nine year old, is murdered, her body dumped beside a = lonely country road. It is a grim story, one that is becoming all too tarniliar, and if there is one grim lesson to be learned, it is that the inner city has no monopoly on crimes like this. The young girl disappeared from a small town in rural Ontario, a town where people know their neighbours, a town where the citizens (until now) thought these kinds of things just could never happen. sesh Indeed, Christine's parents moved to the small town because they thought it would be a safer environment to bring up their children. We are sure there are many Amis in Port Perry and the hamlets of Scugog Township who have made similar decisions, who believe that crimes like this just don't happen in small towns. In the wake of recent events, it is obvious that this just isn't so. As the New Year ushered in the grim news that Christine Jessop's body had been discovered, there was a story of a different kind of crime dominating the fr pages of the daily papers. This one took place a long way from Queensville and Sonya, Ontario, but it too had startling implicati ons for society. Just before Christmas, a Joung man riding the New York City subWay was confronted by four young thugs armed with knives who demanded money so-they could play video games. This kind of thing is not unusual on the NYC sub- way, but rather than hand over the money, the man pull- ed a gun and shot the four thugs, seriously wounding a couple of them. The man fled New York and later surrendered to police in New Hampshire where he was held for $500,000 bail. It's a routine story, the kind that happens many times each year in the United States and on occasion in this country. 3 But the man who did the shooting is being hailed by some as a hero, and even the police were compar- ing him to the vigilante in the movie "Death Wish." 3 Apparently, the gunman bought the pistol for pro- \_tgction after he was badly beaten during a mugging a a Couple of ydars ago. r3 Bernhard Goetz is now facing four charges of at- tempted murder, but there are a lot of people who believe he should not have to face those charges. There are others who are sorry he just wounded the four thugs who were after his wallet. There is something strangely unsettling when a per- son who takes the law into his own hands is hailed as a hero. Yet who can.blame him? As violent crimes and sheer disregard for the safe- ty and lives of others seem to be on the increase everywhere, we can't help but wonder if other normal law-abiding citizens are going to start arming themselves. It's as if people are saying to themselves: the criminal element in our society has pushed us around long enough. It is time to start pushing back. If you touch me, my family or my possessions, | will shoot first and argue the consequences later. itis not a happy reflection of what's going on around us in society these days, but in light of recent events, reasonable people are seeing their worst fears and nightmares become reality. In Queensville, a murdered nine year old girl will be buried this week. "+ gverywhere experienced last week when the body of a _ i ¢ 5 i 3 rn A Sls fis 7 ci pation nual ie ST A AAR ER in 1 dye ah di Hea gh A TR SN, Cova . rit MRA Gi . IL Pb Gi en