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"A Family Tradition for 131 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, December 16, 1997 - 7 I _ETTERS 'Golden rule' can help prevent crime To the Editor: Normally I would not write a letter to the editor and not want my name printed under Le. However, in this instance, where there Ls some concern the thieves may return for the items they didn't take the first time around, I would suggest it would be better if I remained anonymous. We read about it every week in the newspapers and hear about it on the street. But as usual, until it effects us, it is simply something that hap- pened to someone else. We may feel bad, but after all, what can we do about it? I could be writing this about a host of different things, but in this case my focus in the high incidence of break, enter, thefts that are occurring in the Scugog area of late. I always felt it to be a mean, petty thing to do, to invade someone's home with the selfish purpose of taking anything they desire. Sometimes the items are kept for the thief's own use, but I think the stolen items are usually sold for a fraction of their real value to obtain quick cash. Unfortunately, even when there are 'suspects' the police can do little, in fact will not even question them, unless some hard evidence is pro- duced first. As these slimy creatures slide in and out of a home quickly and quietly when few people are around to see them, and only take things, never leave anything behind, it is difficult to get any evidence. And so they know- ingly are free to go on and tar- get another home, to steal things of real monetary value and simple sentimental value, as they are not bright enough to know the difference, with little worry of being caught. However, there is some- thing we can do. As parents we can teach our children the 'golden rule,' to always think before they do something to someone else. To ask them- selves how they would feel if someone broke into their home, trashed their room and stole all their special stuff. We must teach them and remem- ber aurselves that if someone is selling something out of the trunk of their car or hidden inside their coat, there is a very good chance it has been stolen. And as parents we can be aware of what our children have and remember that if our child has something new that we didn't buy them, we do have a right to know where it came from. If there was no market for this stolen proper- ty, anything from TVs and VCRs to game systems and jewelry, there would be consid- erably less theft. As homeowners, we can keep in mind that 'while our insurance covers most things, it doesn't cover everything and it certainly can't bring back those special gifts or memen- tos handed down from a loved one. So keep your doors and win- dows locked, but mostly be aware of what is going on in your neighborhood. If we all try, we can make it more diffi- cult for you to be the next vic- tim. Name Withheld by request Site an indication something's wrong From page 6 -struction or bulldoze the ugly beast. Until the day an exploring teenager was killed in a fall. Then the hulk came down in a hurry. Demolition funds were suddenly found by Toronto City Hall. Within days, yellow cranes picked the killer to pieces. And the guilty memory of the commu- nity's inaction was obliterat- ed. Fortunately, the Scugog White Elephant hasn't harmed anyone yet, but it's starting to behave a lot like that old Toronto pachyderm. Every time a prospective new resident or business investor drives through or boats by Port Perry, that con- crete beast whispers, "there's something wrong with this town." Every time a visitor sees our town from the water or from Simcoe Street, they say, "You know, Port Perry's not as pretty as they say.' What ever possessed our council to approve this pro- ject without insisting on timely completion? Why are these developers allowed to keep building on the property while that concrete shambles uglifies our town, insults its neighbors and threatens our children? Surely, Mayor Moffatt, you're not going to wait until one of our kids fall through the rickety boards on the top floors and into the swamp below. If you can't tear the thing down, then go in there and make good use of our tax dol- lars by building security fences high enough to keep children out. Remember, white ele- phants don't just kill kids, they occasionally kill mayors, too. Peter Langmuir, Port Perry We want to hear what's on your mind. You .can fax letters to The Star at 985- 37 08 Editor's Notepad by Jeff Mitchell STEP RIGHT UP, FOLKS! YULETIDE BLUES: It's beginning to look a lot like -- aaaaagh! -- Good Lord! Has anyone glanced at a calendar lately? It's December 16th already! The reality of the relentless approach of You-Know- What hit me one recent afternoon. It was lunchtime, and | strolled through the downtown amidst the bustle that arrives suddenly on Friday afternoons in small towns (it's the only time you ever find any kind of significant line-up at the bank machines... ever notice that?), just feeling good. There was a pleasant nip in the air. Fat snow flakes floated silently to the sidewalk. | enjoyed the lights, and the pretty decorations the merchants have put up. Then it struck me: Good God, I'm going to have to start going from store to store, buying You-Know-What gifts. The weather, always a perfect analogy, worsened. By mid-afternoon there was a full-fledged blizzard blowing. Anxiety mounts. The time is now. Or soon, anyway. NOW THAT'S DEMOCRACY: From a Reuters report Friday: "The next mayor of a small town in eastern Honduras will be decided by a lottery or game of chance after two candidates tied during Sunday's elections, officials say. The options include a coin toss, a game of dice or a soccer penalty shoot-out between two mayoralty hopefuls who each won 1,182 votes in the town of San Juan de Opoa". Hmph...They should've called Scugog, where everybody knows you settle such issues by drawing a name from a hat. BUT WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?: Says in the paper that Reform MP Darrel Stinson had to be restrained by colleagues recently after he lost it, and was fixing to lay into Tory leader Jean Charest. Among the epithets flung in Charet's direction were gems like "fat little, chubby little sucker", according to the report. It's great to live in a country where our finest minds, selected after thoughtful consideration by an informed electorate, gather in the nation's capitol to plot our future through reasoned, articulate debate, huh? THAT'S USING YOUR HEAD: A letter writer in that other Star paper came up with a great suggestion last week, when he proposed a solution for the fate of all those research monkeys the government's looking to get rid of: Put 'em in the Senate, he suggested. Good thinking. Solves two problems at once. THE NEED'S STILL THERE: Please remember that the folks at Operation Scugog are looking to the community for help this season. What better time to give? by or Peter r Hvidsten 4 : hospital. atthe end of each year. It's an interesting process, going through every edition of the paper to pick out the highlights, because we Quickly forgethow much has happened over theyear. ~*~ Scanning the pages, something that became very obvious was the number of people who have retired from their jobs over the past twelve months, | Fc is a sampling: "rs BEEN QUITE A YEAR FOR RETIREMENTS! The past couple of weeks, I've been = # During the last week of December 96, 34 Week deci ing veteran Reg Philip was honored at R.H. Cone = Bil School and made his exit as a local educator. = Javic Brown retired as the CEO at t Community = Ani year A 6c Memorial Hospital after more than 25 years service oat the 0 rt Perry Star to relax a e Barrett, animal control officer for Scugog and : Uxbridge thepast30 years calleditquits. =~ the = Catherine Corden and Shirley Dorig, teachers. at will sti Epsom Public School with 30 and 27 years respectively, panic to find th: retired from the classroom. SA iti I P t of the = Gord Lewis, who had pumped gas, fixed tires and sod Not otmel 8 v autos for more than 35 years, closed his business and sold 4 his Water St. building. WMC obi ) son, Who had spent the best part of34 i Hai XD "Nancy McMillan put down her chalk and brush ota dl id forget anyone career Which spanned more. than 30 Years in the : classroom, 0 As Norma Robinson retired from her familiar post at the adm local post office where she had served the public for the | _ past21 years. at Th = Clive Roane, a teacher whose career spanned 80 allbe scanning through thousands of pages years at R. H. Comish Public School decided to call ita day. of The Port Perry Star from the past year, preparing for "The Year In Review" which we publish A ght da aven so, 1 suspect lastmin ily Eve. sh ES ANI -----------------------