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"A Family Tradition for 128 Years" Probe of department is needed To the Editor: We are writing this letter in re- sponse to your article Firefight- ers did 'damnedest': FM. We disa- gree. The accounts of the fire as de- scribed by firefighters may have impressed Pat Kirkwood Halver- son, but they didn't impress a few of us. On Wednesday night there was a meeting held, which you are aware of. Thomas White told you he was unswayed as a result of this meeting. The reason he was unswayed is because at this meet- ing was a former firefighter, who would not let any person who had an ill word against the fire de- partment, even have much of a chance to talk. Every time some- one tried to tell their side of the story he butted in and would not let anyone get too many words in. So we hardly even got a chance to speak. It was stated, in the paper, that "we" listened to each person's memory of the night of the fire. We did not listen to each person's memory of the fire, for the simple reason every time someone tried to speak his or her mind they got rudely cut off. As far as we are concerned, we never got a fair chance to state our case. Under the Charter of Rights, we have the right to voice our opinion. It is our opinion the fire- fighters didn't do their damned- est to try to save Mrs. Sigrid Boehm. There were firefighters laughing and carrying on, in- stead of fighting the fire. As far as we are concerned, while at the scene of any fire that is not the To the Editor: As a kidney transplant pa- tient, I am very grateful to all the very generous contributors to the Kidney Foundation of Canada along Highway 12 from the 2nd to the 13th of Scu- Canvasser says thanks gog. My collections were over $800 this year. Thank you all so very much. Vallie Lovering Port Perry Still fighting hatred From Page 6 ering them with flowers and embracing them , as if they were old friends returning from a long and dangerous journey. Canadian veterans will soon return to Holland to remember their fallen comrades and VE. Day of May 8, 1945. May the death and suffering of millions not have been in vain. Today some will try to mislead us, gen- erating hate against mankind. You can not glorify a madman like Hitler, while refusing to accept the reality of History. History can never be changed. "LEST WE FORGET." Herman van der Veen, Oshawa You can fax (905)985-3708 your letters time or the place for that kind of behavior, especially for firefight- ers. Something else about your arti- cle we didn't like was the fact that in places it sounds like Thomas White is speaking for himself, not for the group. We feel the article should have read spokesperson for the group, Tom White said, or something to that effect. We still feel that some sort of investigation into the actions of the fire department should be brought forth. Ernie Dobson ~ Joyce Dobson Joanne Armstrong Ernest White Thomas M. White Caesarea No place for politicking To the Editor: Re: All of the letters and arti- cles in the papers about the clin- ics' closing for Rae days. I like to think that doctors are above politicking with their pa- tients. I don't think a waiting room is where we should see a big ad warning that the government could be detrimental to your health. I have a lot of respect for doc- tors, but some abuse the system. I don't appreciate hearing Rae doesn't pay for this or that; let us look for the positive things, such as the Community Memorial Hospital in Port Perry, the Oshawa General Hospital with the cancer treatment centre close to home. Also, I read in the Bowmanville Statesman of April 5 that High- way 407 gets fast lane. The free- way will be built from Highway 403 to 115, 20 years ahead of schedule; good news. Vernon Asselstine R.R. 2, Blackstock POLITICS, POLITICS EVERYWHERE FOOD FOR THOUGHT: So, you want to be an MPP? ...Any and all who are setting their sights on taking over the job as this area's representative at Queen's Park in the upcoming election may have stars in their eyes now, but would have been in for a sobering experience if they'd read comments by Liberal Jean Poirier (Prescott-Russell) in last week's paper. In an interview with the Globe and Mail published last Monday, the ten-year veteran of provincial politics said he's stepping down when voters go to the polls, and is damned happy to be doing so. He says 10 years in the political game is long enough, and anybody who seeks to stick around longer likely has rocks in his head. He bemoaned the lengthy hours in the House and on the road | away from his family, the low pay, the lack of recognition for backbenchers, and the annoyance of having to bear the constant ire of voters, who really can be "jerks" and "yahoos". "If you accept to be an MPP you get a pair of antlers with Velcro that you strap on top of your head and you become a deer with a never-ending hunting season," Mr. Poirier said of the job. He claimed to be most frustrated about the dreary existence of a backbencher: Ignored by the press, the opposition, and even one's own government. - "Damn it, there's 130 members in the House and unless you really lob a grenade across, or you shoot the Premier right between the eyes, or lower your pants or ridiculous things... you don't count," he told the Globe's Martin Mittelstaedt. "You don't exist." Besides all that, a backbencher makes 42 Grand a year, plus a $14,000 tax-free allowance that's spent on the numerous expenses that accompany the job. And if you survive long enough, there's a pension fund that'll keep you in Grape Nuts and gardening supplies during your golden years. So far incumbent NDP rep Gord Mills, Grit candidate Mary Novak and Tory hopeful John O'Toole have stated their desire to occupy the post. Any other takers? SPEAKING OF WHICH: The race would appear to be heating up in Port Perry's Ward 2, where next month we'll have an election to replace Marilyn Pearce, who's moved on to the Regional Councillor's job. oo As of this moment (Wednesday afternoon) three are officially in the running, and others, as we told you in the Weekend Star, have expressed interest. Among them is Ken Carruthers, who represented Ward 1 until being unseated by challenger Doug Moffatt last November. Insiders will tell you that municipal politics, like provincial and other brands, can be a tiring and thankless lot; it's not for everyone. Political junkies line up to the right, here. Anyone looking to run -- and we've said this before -- is well advised to look before leaping. imposed cuts, but it's unfortunate physicians find it : d o Y Jottings necessary to make a 'political statement' to the their funding caps. Doctors from this community, along with colleagues inmany other centres across the province, doors to their patients for three days e last two weeks, for something that has e commonly known as "Rae Days." the NDP introduced legislation to cut health 0sts a couple of years ago, residents across vince have been shutout of clinics up to four s per year as doctors attempt to meet their tcutting measures are never popular, and "nobody likes being targeted by government inconvenience of their patients. I'm sure there are few who believe the government is being fair to the medical community, but at the same time mass closures of medical facilities is not fair to the public. There has to be a better way! KNOWING THE COST Two suggestions that might help.... justalittle! * The time has come for everyone using the medi- cal health system to know exactly how much each visit costs. Only then will we understand why our health system is getting close to bankruptcy. The issuing of an invoice, showing in black and white, the cost of each visit to a physician or emer- gency room might be all that's needed to awaken the public to the staggering system. Health care i should know w costo lo] : re "tre | by J. Peter Hvidsten There's little doubt closing dozens of medical facil- *Theideaofa'use adel Genin ities simultaneously across the province sendsouta doctor might make many people ti i strong statement to government, butthepublic ~~ before trotting off to ti jitha sor THERE MUST BE pecomes apawn inthe middle of a dispute of which thosewhoreally A BETTER WAY they have no control. - jie oy health care and education, justtonamea few, will . - force governments to look for new ways to increase theircashflowandcutspending. ~~ ~ Asusers of these services, we are going to have to learn to get along with alittle less, and stop ourcon- stant demand for more. falls 2 | There really are only two ways to stop the bleed- ing... cutprograms... or raise taxes. If we keep demanding more of our system, then we'd better be prepared to stop whining about high taxes and pay the price. | ------ ------ re et. i - -- a ------ a ol -- ---- -------- -- a -- ----. ]---------- ---- ---- ---- ----- --- -- -