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PLEASE CALL US Story or picture idea: 549-2012 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. "Information is the hallmark of democracy" Bellisle's goal are reasonable MAYOR RON BELLISLE recently set out, before a meeting of Midland District Shrine Club members, the top priorities he'd like to see town council tackle this term. High on his list are im- provements to Penetanguishene's main street, construction of a hotel or motel on the waterfront and the extension of sanitary sewage service in the town's north end. Coupled with this the mayor would like council to tackle the business of planning for the reconstruction of Fox Street as well as Church Street and building a new sewage treatment plant. The latter he views are long- term priorities for the coming decade. The mayor's goals are reasonable and with the proper planning and funding each and everyone of them can be achieved this decade. Bellisle's intent, and it is a good one, is to make Penetanguishene (an even) a better place to live. He sees these improvements as being necessary to reach this goal. Knowing how the Town of Penetanguishene operates you can bet your tax dollars the town will find the ways and means to have most if not all of these project partially funded through provincial or federal grants which will take a lot of the sting out of footing the bill for these projects locally. Selling out isn't the answer YOU'LL EXCUSE us for smiling but there's a fellow in the province who has proposed the U.S.A. buy Canada, all 3,851,809 square miles of it for $15.6 trillion. The way he sees it, every Canadian over the age of 18 would receive $1 million apiece in the transaction which would result in the States gaining title of all lands, buildings, assets and liabilities in Canada. It is certainly, a novel way to cure our country's recession problems, but... Can you imagine millions of Canadians foot-loose and fancy-free, living the life of Riley in the new nation Ameri- Can? It would be one of the world's biggest countries but it would also contain some of the world's biggest head- aches. Essentially such a merger would cause chaos and con- flict between the haves and the have-nots. The man behind the idea says he has taken a poll and nine out of 10 people he has quizzed say they are willing to sell out. Probably that's the key word...sell out. Canadians have to be masters of their own fate. Selling out to another country isn't the answer. Opting out, never is. The Midland Times Second Class Mail Registration Number 3194 The Penetanquishene Citizen Second Class Mail Registration Number 2327 The Elmvale Lance Second Class Mail Registration Number 0991 -- Published every Wednesday by Douglas Parker Publishing Ltd i -- 309 King Street, Midland, Ontario.526-2283. Publisher - Douglas Parker J. Douglas Reed, managing editor Christine Mackey, Elmvale editor One Year. Subscriptions (carrier delivered) $13.00 One Year Subscriptions (by mail) $14:00 U.S.A. and Foreign $30.00 per year Member, Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association and Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association Member of Audit Bureau of Circulations Page 4, Wednesday, January 14, 1981 Down M emory Lane House building back then : This was a familiar sight. in North Simcoe just publish? All prints will be returned once they after the turn of the century when literally scores appear in this newspaper. For more information of workmen were called upon to construct a home. please contact the editor. 'Do you have a photo flashback you'd like us to a a aypeortm © | 4 2a» 'ii Our readers say... Coach agrees with sports editor Dear Sir: In the Wednesday, Jan. 7 edition of the Citizen, Sports Editor, Don Lawrence wrote an article pertaining to the Silver Stick Bantam Cham- pionship game between the Aurora Bantams and the team that I coach, the Penetanguishene Bantams. I would like to thank the Sports Editor for taking great note of the fact that there was a tremendous lack of sportsmanship on the part of the Aurora coach and also I would like to note on my part as well. I have no quarrels about the fact that my team was beaten and beaten badly by an excellent Aurora Hockey Team. They may have outplayed us, as they should have when comparing the drawing population for selection of players between a place like Aurora and Penetanguishene, yet to my satisfaction, my players out classed them. My main concern is the reaction on the part of the opposing coach when informed that I had requested his team wear their light coloured jerseys. His reaction to that request was most infantile. I withdrew the request, (or they refused, I'm not sure which) and played the game. There was no animosity on my part at this time. During the course of the game, I could put up with the goals they scored on us. They were an excellent hockey team. What was hard to accept were the motives, the glances and mocking smiles after each goal they scored, by the opposing coach. My team, as Don stated, never gave up and dished out as many checks as they took. They made me, as a coach, proud. After the game, my players shook hands with theirs and accepted what had happened. I, on the other hand could not shake hands with their coach. I didn't think he deserved to be congratulated. Because of his actions before and during the game, and mine for not shaking hands with the coach of a good hockey team after the game, I questioned if either one of us really deserved to be coaching in minor hockey. A coach must lead his team and show good sportsmanship. In that aspect, we both miserably failed! Bullet-proof vests a must Dear Sir: Several recent shootings of policemen have accentuated the interest in the use of bullet-proof vests. Increasingly, police officers and their associations are demanding that police authorities provide vests as standard police equipment. We. in this party, fully support the demand and are disturbed that, to date, they have not been provided and even now, many authorities are resisting the request. Helmets and safety-shoes are standard safety equipment for construction workers, miners, and most industrial employees. Frequently their use, as with other personal safety equipment, is mandatory. Such equipment is provided, nor- mally. at the expense of the employer and its cost, one way or another, ends up being paid for by the public. Bullet-proof vests for policemen, surely are items of safety equipment as essential to them as are helmets and safety shoes to vast numbers of other workers. If policemen want them, they should get them and they should be a legitimate charge against the police governing authorities' budgets. As a non-recurring cost of $200 to $600 each, the additional burden to the taxpayers would be negligible and one, we're sure, that they would assume willingly. The Ontario Government has recognized its responsibility for workers' safety in a number of fields. We believe the evidence is more than ample to warrant its intervention in this matter. Therefore, we call on the Solicitor General, Mr. Roy McMurtry, not only to provide bullet-proof vests to OPP officers but, as well, require all police authorities to issue them to police officers in their various jurisdictions. Mac Makarchuk, (NDP) Brantford David Michel Dupuis What's Your Opinion? The Midland Times, The Penetanguishene Citizen and Elmvale Lance welcome-Letters to the Editor. They must be legible, signed, (by hand) and carry the writer's address and telephone number for verification purposes. Pen names are not allowed and anonymous letters will not be published. All letters are subject to editing for length, clarity, good taste and libel. It should be noted letters that are typewritten and brief have the best chance of being published. @ More letters on page 6