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8 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday; February 13, 1990 Letters to the editor Crime Stoppers very successful To the Editor: Over three years have passed since Crime Stoppers was in- troduced into the Region of Durham. This program has pro- ved very successful, and has been instrumental in the clearing of many serious crimes which in- clude; Homicide, Robbery, Assaults, Burglary, Drugs, etc. To make the program even more effective, a local Crime Stoppers hot line was put into operation a little over a year ago. Since then not only have the calls more than doubled, arrests and cases cleared have also increased. Since the inception of Crime Stoppers in this Region: 310 arrests have been made 790 charges laid, and over % million dollars in stolen property & illegal drugs seized A lot of this success, no doubt, is the result of the tremendous co- operation Crime Stoppers receives from the media which includes: 3 television stations 3 cable television stations 17 newspapers 8 radio stations _ As can be seen, Crime Stoppers is becoming more successful as time goes on. Its success lies in the fact that the media profile the program, which results in the public awareness. On behalf of the Board of Durham Regional Crime Stop- pers Inc., I thank you for your continued support. Sincerely, Vern Walker, Chairman. Blind to human race? To the Editor: We hear about major in- dustrial/commercial developments being sto or in- terfered with a great financial loss because the "delicate balance of nature" will be af- fected if some insect or other form of life is "threatened by such human enterprise. How come we never hear about the delicate balance of nature being affected by millions of human abortions? How can the environmental zealots and other liberal profits of doom be so blind to the human race? It would seem that they react with horror at insecticide but do not see anything wrong with genocide. Could it be that such ex- treme discrimination is symp- tomatic of some as yet clinically unrecognized psychosis among those who are the more vociferous environmentalists (no pun intend- ed!) and "pro-choice" activists? Yours truly, James H. Cotter, Barrie, Ontario. Life's Like That by Julia Ashton I'm gettin' nuttin' for Valentine's Day February 14. Valentine's Day. Yippee! It's the one day in each year when people in love -- or in lust -- gather up their courage to give the person they admire a token of their affections. It's the one day a year that even the strong- est of men turn into puddy between a wom- an's fingers. it's the one day a year when a woman can look into a man's eyes, flutter her eyelashes and get anything she wants. Retail merchants make a profitable killing in February, including greeting card outlets. Val- entine's Day is only second to Christmas in card sales. But the postman won't be breaking his back delivering Valentine's Day cards to the editori- al offices at The Port Perry Star. Local forists won't be run off their feet bring- ing dozen after dozen long stem red roses (valued at $60 plus) to 235 Queen Street. The staff here won't have to visit the dentist because our teeth are decaying faster than normal, due to all the luscious chocolates we receive in the heart-shaped boxes. And local jewelers won't be able to afford their next vacation on the commission they get from admirers purchasing lots of gold trin- kets for us local journalists. Why? Because we are reporters. Informers of the good and the bad in this community. Life would surely be rosey if all we report- ers had to do was tell the good side of every- thing. But no. There are two sides to every story, SO we reporters are pegged as the bearers of bad news. We rank in popularity along side debt col- lectors and insurance agents. But listen. | don't need some sappy card that reads "Valentine....will you be mine?" And roses smell nice and look pretty in a vase (probably even prettier on my desk) but in a few days they shrivel up, turn brown and die. (Sometimes an appropriate reminder of the love they were sent with.) My dentist bills are already too high. Who needs another cavity, especially when my wisdom teeth are beginning to poke their nas- ty little crowns through my gums. Jewelry is nice, but what happens if the loved one gets ripped off and buys a cheap necklace. Pretty soon my neck will start turn- ing green, the doctor will think it's gangrene and lop my head off. In all actuality, | love Valentine's Day. But unfortunately, due to a few off the cuff re- marks | made about my beloved in this space a couple of weeks ago, | have been told that I'm getting nuttin' for Valentine's Day. Zilch. Zero. "February 14th is just another day," he's been quoted as saying. And he'll probably stick to his word. Come Wednesday, Feb. 14, there will be nothing waiting at my doorstep that resembles any- thing red, frilly, fattening, or otherwise. There will be no red envelope containing a mushy Valentine message; no long stemmed roses, heck not even a carnation or a potted plant; no heart-shaped box containing sticky, gooey chocolates; not even a bubble gum machine ring. | guess what they say about digging your own graves is true. But | never knew it would come to this. So when | wake up on Wednesday, it will be just another day in the life of a reporter who tells both sides of the story and lives to regret that she didn't gloss over the facts and make her man look like a man and not like an accident waiting to happen. I MY CLOTHES, | HATE MY HAIR, | HATE Den IN THIS SIOOPID; WITH My MOTHER - Grom) WERE ON TIME. HATS JUST GREAT. SoA BE IN HE GYM TRIS EARLY! Viewpoint by J. B. McClelland (From page 7) years ago at the suggestion that house leagues were help- ing to carry the rep teams, and now if the shoe is on the 0 ther foot, as it may be, | am not comfortable with the fact that rep teams are carrying the house leagues. Especially, when | consider that one evening last week, Minor Hockey booked an hour of ice time at the Little Britain Arena for my Atom House League team and another to practise. You know how many kids from those two teams showed up? Six. ' I happen to be a believer in the "pay as you go" princi- pal. Minor Hockey has made great strides in the last few years to assure that all house league teams have one game and one practise per week, plus the house league tournament, plus power skating, plus playoff games. I understand the issue of charging admission to house league playoff games has been discussed by the Minor Hockey executive, and I'm sure it will be discussed again for next season. Show me the 'numbers. If the house leagues aren't car- rying themselves financially, then I'll pay to watch my son in a house league playoff. Frankly, | don't want anybody "subsidizing" my kids to play house league hockey, and certainly not the parents of rep team players who pay to see their kids in playoffs. As the parent of house league players, | have no quib- ble with the amount of ice time, the equipment etc., and | have no quibble with paying my fair share of the costs. Editorial Comment (from page 6) The next couple of months, as the consultants put the data and numbers together are very important for the fu- ture of transportation in southern Ontario. This is an important study, the conclusions are impor- tant if one accepts the basic premise that passenger rail service is important. Building more roads is not the answer to the transpor- tation problems facing southern Ontario. Putting more peo- ple in their cars is not the answer. Our roads can't take any more cars nor can the environment. As for building more foes, we can hardly afford to fix and maintain the ones we ave. Logic, and a quick glance at the southern Ontario map dictate that the CCR would work. It makes good sense for many reasons, and it likely will make good business as well. EMMERSON INSURANCE BROKERS LIMITED 193 QUEEN ST., PORT PERRY, ONT. LIL 1B9 (416) 985-7306 ALL LINES OF : GENERAL INSURANCE * * * HOMEOWNERS - FARM - AUTO COMMERCIAL