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6 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, April 19,1994 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" E.Dr1 PORT PERRY STAR € TORIAL Editorial Comment Thanking Our Volunteers Take time to consider what life would be like without volunteers in the commu- nity. There would be no scout or guide lead- ers to lead our young ones, there would be no minor league sports coaches to teach the basics to our children, there would be nobody to raise funds for the countless number of causes on which our lives depend and there would be nobody to staff the crisis centres and hotlines night and day. In essence, our lives would not be the same without these men and women, girls and boys who give up their time and money to make life a little more enjoyable and easier for all of us. It is estimated that if all volunteers were to withdraw their services, every volunteer organization and publically run programs would suffer substantially. Many would close. Communities across Canada would lose approximately one billion hours of volunteer time per year. Numbers compiled by Statistics Cana- da and Canadian Heritage show just how important volunteers are to the social fab- ric of Canada: - 13 million Canadians do volunteer work on their own, not through an organi- zation. - 5.6 million Canadians volunteer time through voluntary organizations and com- munity agencies. - Canadians contribute more than one billion hours to voluntary agencies each year -- the equivalent of 617,000 people working full-time. - The collective value of this volunteer time is $13.2 billion each year. Further statistics show that one in four Canadians give time to a volunteer or- ganization or community group, and six out of 10 people help others on their own initiative, not through a formal organiza- tion. People who volunteer their time and money to the various causes do not do so for the recognition or the fame -- most would prefer that their efforts go unno- ticed. These people will tell you that the rewards for volunteering thier time is not realized in the commendations they re- ceive, but in the satisfaction of knowing they have helped make life a little more enjoyable for somebody else. April 17 to 23 is National Volunteer | Week across Canada, we owe our thanks | to everybody who serve as volunteers. Take time to recognize the efforts of I ETTERS these people. A = el Az e & "Te MUST WAVE / MCCpeNTLY LOCKED I ... FOR HO yrs NOS0vY pyEN NOTING He Justice Minister has lost his grip on reality To the Editor: It has become obvious that another one of our politicians has lost his grip on reality. Our Justice Minister, The Hon- orable Member Mr. Rock has the naive idea that a total ban on handguns will somehow solve the problem on violence in society. Let's keep in mind that Mr. Rock is a lawyer, who must have an idea of what goes on in our justice system, or at least did have before he lost his grip on reality. Or maybe he is one of those people who never had a grip on reality in the first place. One of those people, who have the idea that the Young Offender's Act is working, who have the idea that a per- son is not responsible for their actions, who have the idea that if honest law abiding citizens don't have guns, then criminals won't want their guns either, who would rather infringe upon my rights, and yours, than be a responsible "elected" member of your government. One who is not afraid to be politically in- correct and do something that might ac- tually deter crime in society, like intro- duce a bill to bring back the death penalty, like making a crime committed with a gun a mandatory 10 year sen- tence on top of the sentence for the crime Turn to Page 7 Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE UNDERWAY Starting early next week the Bort Perry Star will commence a township wide sub- - scription drive. It was just over two years ago the Star com- missioned this same team of subscription specialists to go door-to-door in our com- munity with a special offer, and to try and get feed-back from our readers and non- readers as to their likes and dislikes. Once again they will be asking, not only if you want to subscribe, but also for candid comments about the paper. This input from the community helps us in producing a top- quality newspaper with the news an features our readers want to see. Even if you decide not to subscribe, your comments are valued, and we'd appreciate you taking a moment to tell our sales repre- sentatives why you enjoy the Star or why you do not. Your co-operation will be appreciated. WE'RE CHANGING In the past month, the Star has made a number of changes to the appearance of your community newspaper. We've brightened the product with the addition of full-color photos on the front page, introduced a second section to the paper, added color in both sections to make the Star more colorful, revamped the edito- rial page, added a community page and given a new look to our specialty pages. And the efforts have paid off with many readers taking the time to comment on our "fresh, new look." I'd just like to take a few lines in this column to say thanks to those who have taken the time to call, write or speak with our staff about the changes. The comments are much appreciated LISHMAN, THE MAN Elsewhere in this paper ou'll find an account of the return of Bill Lishman's feath- ered family. But this space is being used to provide an insight into this man who is gen- tle enough to fly with birds and tough enough to create objects of art from cold, hard steel. First of all, let me point out I do not prof- ess to know Bill well. My main contact with him has been through a number of inter- views or photo assignments over a period which spans close to 15 years. I would have to describe Bill as a "free spirit." A person who does things his wa and most often they are methods the aver- age person would find unusual. But his non-conforming mind has built an enviable reputation and unexpected fame around the world. I've heard people refer to him as being weird or eccentric, but theyre dead wrong. Envy is usually the root of criticism, and Bill has had his share over the years. But those who criticize this man probably wouldn't recognize raw talent and creative enius if it stared them in the face. For all his harsh outer appearance, Bill Lishman is a soft spoken man with a love for his family and the land around him. As we sat in the atrium at the rear of their domed underground home, which he built a few years ago, two geese returned to one of | the ponds and settled down. | Bill was elated, and we jumped into his 4x4 with binoculars to check and see if they were part of his flock. Thankfully, one was! But you can be sure, Bill will spend many hours at the window this summer watching for the rest of his family to come home. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Port Perry Star encourages its readers to make use of the letters to the editor column to express their opinions and viewpoints on just about any subject, as we feel a lively letters column will help make this a better community newspaper. We insist, however, that all letter writers sign their name and include a phone number for verification. Sorry, anonymous letters will not be published unless The Star believes it to be in the best interest of the public. We also reserves the right to edit letters with respect to their length, content or libelous comments.