. oe. ---- ------ ] | i --- -- ---- i -- Editorial Comments GOOD LUCK! S.A.D.D. People all over this country have had enough. There's a ground-swell of anger that began in the last couple of years and has reached the point where even the politicians sat up and took notice. The politicians recognized that there 1s a public out-cry against drinking and driving. Some tough new laws came into effect last week for those convicted of impaired driving and related offenses And most people in this country say "it's about time." But there are other forces working to combat this social evil as well. A major distillery has launched a Designated Driver program. Radio stations have car window stickers with the message. Families of the victims of drunk drivers have banded together into organiza- tions like M.A.D.D. (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) and P.R.1.D.E. (Parents to Reduce Drunk Driving Everywhere). And then there is S.A.D.D. This one may be the most important of all, for its targets are the young people. It's the Students Against Drunk Driving, and it's so important. If members of this group are successful in convincing their peers not to get behind the wheel if they've been drinking that attitude may remain with them for the rest of their lives. That's why we would like to take this opportunity to salute the young people at Port Perry High School who recently formed a S.A.D.D. organization in this community. They aren't out to preach about the evils of drinking, or try to convince people not to take a drink. Their message is against that deadly combination of the bottle and automobile. This coming Thursday evening (December 12) at the Port Perry High School, the organization is staging an information meeting for students and their parents. Part of the program includes a short drama, some speakers, but mostly there will be communication, an exchange of ideas. We would strongly urge the young people of this community to take the time to attend this meeting at High School. And talk your parents into coming along, too. The experience may be a positive thing for everyone. Tougher laws, national organizations, campaigns by breweries and liquor companies are all going to help society come to grips with the drinking-driving menace. But the most important change has to be in the attitudes of in- dividuals, young and old alike. Talking about the problem is a first step. We commend the young people at PPHS for forming S.A.D.D., for deciding it was time to get involved, time to do something. We hope the gym this Thursday night is filled with people, and not just students. The meeting starts at 7:00 PM and will run until 9:00 PM. That's two hours. Of course, you could spend that time in front of the television set. J TC A ---- la) DIAL AM : [1 mann! T1111) TX: "v i A | |] A Cc AnC PUATTEN . PPS F529 ) / "CES, NOW THAT VOU MENTION IT THERE (6 A PENALTY FOR BARLY WITHDRAWAL." (ecCna mn CN - ol Tes a | J PETER HVIDSTEN Pubhsher diiile N N Advertising Manager on . iid aerial hed every Tuesday hy the Meher the nurity Newspaper Asso atx JB McCLELLAND Editor CATHY ROBB Coon News & Features Loy COPYRIGHT Ai avi' vd ormixis far 3 nvr? semis or dc me Dy he » v v » rs) . . Hsing department he Dart Dp Sty Ody eae | ~ 'oe Subscription Rate In Canada 315 00 per year f lsewhere $45 00 per year Single Copy 35 and May nO be reproduced wt! vite we Me Chatterbox by John B. McClelland ON THE PLATES Have you noticed the ever-increasing number of personalized licence plates on cars and trucks around Port Perry lately? It seems that the idea of having one's very own licence plate has raally caught on here, like it has in the rest of Ontario. I'm not sure that I'm ready to hand over the $100 for my personalized plate just yet, but who knows? I find myself looking at licences when I'm driving (maybe I should be watching the road more carefully). Anyway, from my observations around Port Perry, here are just a few of the plate I've notic- ed recently. Some of them are self-explanatory, of course. On others, the message is more cryptic. Let's start right in the parking lot behind the Port Perry Star building on Queen St. One of the Star vans is plated PP STAR. That's fairly straight forward. | wonder how many readers will get the meaning of HFG OLS on a certain businessman's car in Port? Then there's the plate owned by a young man who was a pretty fair goalie for the MoJacks in recent years. It says ROGIE, which is his nick- name. Or how about WALT JR. Of course, during the summer months, one often sees a little white (expensive) sports car zip- ping around the streets with the initials KFJ on the plate Three guesses on that one First names are used by some on their plates Have you noticed LYNDA on a car around town" Or the surname MORROW on another vehicle" And I must not forget to mention NAN CEE Still another local one caught my eye recent- ly Itsays IRV 50 Now what could that mean? Is it a reference to the owner's age" I'll ask him next time | see him And the owner of a local car dealership has a couple of vehicles at least with MOOSE on them That one 1s self-explanatory I'm not sure if it's local or not. but I've seen a small truck around town with SIDING on the plates Probably ALUMINUM was just too big to fit on as well Personalized plates seem to be quite popular with those in the medical profession There's a DR JACK and a DR TOM There s also one that says MD3 I'm not quite sure what the reference to three' means ['m also totally baffled by the plates with the message MR ('D3 and another which says DC ND There are a couple of vans around the com munity One has MY JEAN on the plates. and the other has KRISSY Obviously. they are references to the owners. And speaking of names on plates, I'd best mention GROVIE, or there will be a blank spot where a certain sports page write-up goes each week in the Star. I'm not quite ready to go out and order my own personalized plates just yet. But I've been thinking about it. For my '77 Buick Century, the one with 101,000 miles on it, I have the perfect name. LIZZIE. That's short for IRON LIZZIE, which I affectionately call the old Buick. As for my other car, I'm not so sure what might be appropriate. Maybe JOHN B, which is the name I get quite often from a certain staff member at the Port Perry Star. But JOHN B on the licence plate might look a little stuffy or pretentious, something a bank president would put on his caddy. I'm going to leave the decision up to my readers. What do you think I should put on my licence plates. I'm open for suggestions. If somebody can give me a unique idea, I'll spring for the $100 and order the plates. But it will have to be unique, something real- ly unusual. The people at the licence plate office here in Port Perry tell me that run-of-the-mill in- itials and common names are no longer available. And they tell me that once I order my own special plate, I can expect to wait six weeks or longer for delivery That's how popular the darn things have become in Ontario In the meantime, Happy Motoring THE 24TH As has been the custom with me for more years than I care to remember. it looks like the good old 24th again in 1985 What's that you say" My Christmas shopping day [always do my shopping on December 24 It's not because I'm a procrastinator when it comes to shopping The real reason is this I hate shopping at any time of the year. for any reason By leaving the Christmas stuff until the 24th cor maybe the 23. d one has no choice but to get it done 1n a big hurry There's no time to run from store to store. comparing prices and so on You can end up buving just about the first thing you see You'd be surprised just how quick Iv vou can get your shopping done by leaving it tl the 24th (Turn to page 6) as A