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Editorials Information-honestly, openly and freely shared- is the hallmark of democracy Milestone transition THE DEATH Monday of Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko has ended the rule of that nation by a generation of leaders old enough to have seen action in World War II, or to have reached adulthood before the war in which 20 million Soviet citizens perished. For years, much has been said of how different the direction of the Soviet Union will be on the inevitable day when the generation of Soviet leaders that saw war first-hand is replaced. That day has arrived, and with it comes the apprehension that attends the end of an era and the beginning of a new unfamiliar one. Observers have said Kremlin powerbrokers have clung to the older generation as a source of leadership for as long as possible because they feared the day power would be passed to one more removed from what the Russians call "'the great patriotic war"' against Nazi Germany. When the late Yuri Andropov was replaced by the "'aging"' Chernenko just one year ago, one Soviet observer was quoted to the effect that there was still a chance of averting nuclear annihilation under a Soviet leadership that lived through the horrors of war. An old man wrote a letter to the editor of a daily Canadian newspaper a couple of years ago, though, saying it is highly unlikely the world will be blown up in a nuclear exchange between the two superpowers because such a confrontation would result in the leaders of the superpowers themselves losing their bases of power. Their position of privilege and power is something they will never be willing to throw away along with the rest of the world, the old man reasoned. We can hope the old man is right, and hope that in Mikhail: Gorbachev the Soviet Union has a leader who wants to lead his country until he, too, is an old man. We can hope, as well, that the old man in the White House will find a way to keep the peace, hand-in-hand with his new partner in decisions concerning the fate of the world. Volunteers say thanks to provide the required quantity and wide selec- tion without their support. Many thanks for their assistance and interest in Dear Editor: On behalf of the Volunteer Association of the Mental Health Centre, I would like to thank the following businesses for their generous donations to our program on Feb. 20: Burnie's Bakery, Mr. Grocer, Dominion Stores, Tim Horton Donuts and Holder's Bakery. It would have been impossible for the Volunteers our programmes! Sincerely. -Linda R. Woods Coordinator Volunteer Services Letter-writing contest open to young Canuck young people will be writing letters to handicapped children: similar contests will be held in many of the 167 countries that make 'up the Universal Postal LARRY anni > Gur eyes and ears are assailed every day with commercial messages reminding us: that a loved one is only a call Flipside: Ne PENFIELD III According to its cover, Jan Lindblad: Born Free (Attic) is "'a natural listening ex- perience."' (Suddenly nothing seems less likely.) Farther down it also promises versions of Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin', Mull Of Kin- tyre, Ave Maria and eight other tunes you too may have thought needed no more recordings. (I have no idea what actually made me pierce the shrinkwrap.) On the back are breathless details of Swedish Jan's life as a wildlife filmmaker, author of nine best- selling nature books, producer to top-rated TV documentaries on South America and India, master of bird language, and per- former of a versjon of Shenandoah that remained on the Swedish hit parade for one full year. (The details are illustrated with full-color photos of nature-loving Jan hugging a tiger, and whistling, which hardly seems promising.) But whistling is what he does inside the album, mostly. On Shenandoah, his whistling is doubled with wind instruments, floated on a _ bed of strings, and bracketed by his own. skilfully executed birdcalls. Lions are heard on the title song. A torrent of raindrops introduces Raindrops, and sailing sounds are the setting for, you guessed it, Sailing. The rest is pastoral candlelight and wine-- pretty, pleasant, and pretty standard--but it will satisfy listeners who find Roger Whit- taker too ethnic. The straits seem far from dire as guitarist Mark Knopfler gives himself over to the wistful moods of Cal. The big difference between the charms of this soundtrack and those of his score for Local Hero is the change of setting from Scotland to Ireland, and his addition of whistle and mandolin (played by Bothy Band-member Paul Brady) and uillean pipes to the scoring. The celebrated Knopfler guitar work is un- derstated but generally tuneful; the gentle atmospheres settle on the soul like luminous banks of mist. Won- derful musie for a morning that doesn't demand getting up and going. If you are looking to pul a glow on the end of an evening--or to soften the hard shine of the morning after the glow before--you probably need the most delicate of distractions. Once again there are audio doctors at work on vour behalf, but which practitioner to trust? Let's look al some of the more familiar names' most recent operations. Tangerine Dream: Poland--The Warsaw Concert (Jive Elec- tro. Quality) is the 17th album in 17 vears by the synth-rock pioneers, an hour and a half of the Teutonic trio's grandly confident patterns, recorded live in four side long suites last Dec. 10. Curiously, the single called Warsaw In The Sun does not appear anywhere on the album. These guys do not even try to make pretentious mountains out of their molehills of inspiration. But they can turn one or two pleasing ideas into a whole subdivision of molehills that seem quite attractive when you're visiting. Not yet available in the States. away--in Whitehorse, or Rome, cr London, or anywhere else in the world. Doesn't anyone write {0 anyone anymore? Are the mails only to send bills, or to solicit business? Of course not. People still write. letters..- Letter-writing is more than "Dear Jane: I am fine. How are yeu?" It can be an art in :ts own way, a private drawing of mental pictures tnrough words that will bring pleasure, remembrance, emotion, a wealth of human feeling. If your c:»sest friend,- a relative. a mother, father, brother, sister can experience this in receiving a imagine what a letter wuld mean to a han- dicapped child. To promote the art of letter writing, especially among young people, Canada Post is sponsoring a_ letter- writing competition for youngsters aged 6 to 15 as part of its par- ticipation in Inter- national Youth Year. The theme is "a letter to a handicapped child"' so entrants can be writing to an imaginary person. or to a real, live handicapped person. All around the world, letter, Union. This is International Youth Year and Canada issued a 32-cent stamp on Feb. 8 to mark the event. If you haven't seen it, you should: it shows a green heart pierced by a_ yellow arrow made of neon tubes, over a background of blue denim. To pul added em- phasis to ITYY, Canada decided to. join the on- going UPU _letter- writing promotion. It is the first time Canada has participated in the competition. Jf you're confused, don't be. Many UPU countries have been sponsoring __letter-wr- iting contests for years. This is Canada's first. Entries must be posted no later than April 30. Schools are being asked to send entries to the nearest Canada Post corporate communications office (check at your loca! post office). The letter cannot be shorter than 500 words, but can go on and on if you feel inspired. Each entry must bear the student's name, address, date of birth, as well as the teacher's name and the school's name. One entry per student please. Now, about winning. Canada Post has nine divisions. A winner and two runners-up will be chosen in each division. They will receive a certificate and a 1984 Canada souvenir stamp collection. Those entries will be sent to a national competition. The winner of the national competition will win a home com- puter. That lucky person can then write as many letters as he or she wants without ever picking up a pen or pencil again. The national winner will be honored Oct. 5 in Ottawa on Universal Posial Cnion Day. And that's not the end: the Canadian winner's entry will be seni to the UPU_ in- (ernational competition. UNESCO will select the three best compositions worldwide. They'll receive medals. Five others will receive honorable mentions. Look, I'm telling vou all this becausé I'm an incurable letter writer. With all the columns hand), fs Letters The Penetanguishene Citizen welcomes Letters to the Editor. They must be legible, signed (by and carry the writer's address and telephone number for verification. Pen names are not allowed and anonymous letters will not be published. Letters published by newspaper do not necessarily reflect the opinion of this newspaper, its publisher or editor. and stuff, yvou'd think that would be enough writing. But no, I can't help myself: I'm writing letters to editors of papers and magazines all over the place. And do you know what? It's fun. LETTERS Letters are invited. Please send enquiries to the writer at P.O. Box 40, Beauharnois, Que., J6N 3C1. OPP earned their keep Midland OPP per- sonnel have logged yet another busy week. During the seven-day period ending March 11, OPP here have handled a total of 79 general occurrences including 11 thefts, three break- ins, two assaults and two cases of wilful damage. Nine drivers were charged with being impaired during this period while six others had their licences suspended for 12 hours. this Penetanquishene Citizen Published by Bayweb Limited every Wednesday at 74 Main Street, Penetanguishene, Ontario / 549-2012 Second Class Mail Registration Number 2327 Publisher: Andrew Markle Editor: Peter Spohn Editorial Staff: Douglas Reed Murray Moore Pauli Sanderson Production Foreman: Jim Robb Production Staff Angie Grasic Elizabeth Clark Kelli Baguley Advertising Manager:Bob Finch Advertising Staff: Linda Ladd _ Dawna Crosby Circulation Manager: Arnold Burgher Administration: June Robbins Page 6, Wednesday, March 13, 1985