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_Opinion Another successful year for the fair The 41st Winterama in Penetang was a big success, if the crowds and large number of events were any indication. A bigger variety of displays and ac- tivities, ranging from craft shows and pea soup stalls to sky divers and smash up der- bies was not seen in any of the other local winter festivals. Being the longest running winter fair in the province puts the onus of being the best on the organizers of Winterama. Thanks to their efforts, this year did surpass last year's fair. The weather couldn't have been better for all concerned. It wasn't too cold to walk around and see the sights and it wasn't too warm to hamper the ice sculptures and outdoor winter activities. The spirit of cooperation and pleasure at just getting involved was more and more evident as the weekend moved along, an atmosphere that rubbed off on the thousands of visitors to our town. Perhaps that alone is one of the main reasons so many come to Penetang at this time of year; they know they can come for the weekend and leave with a smile on their face and a fond memory or two. Reader questions the worth of pr (The following letter was sent to Ken Black, MPP) Dear Mr. Black: This letter is in response to the recent tragic events at the Kinark house in Midland. I am writing to you as a consti- tuent and on behalf of OPSEU Local 329. All of.us were deeply saddened by the death of Krista Sepp, a young woman whose aim in life was to help others. We were struck by the pain her family and co- workers are feeling. We are outraged that this event has happened. It is easy to fix the blame for this on those who committed the act. It is harder to fix the problem. We believe that the responsibility for fix- ing the problem lies with you and the government. Facilities need to be told clearly and promptly about dangers involv- ivatization ed with clients they get. They need to be funded adequately so that they may have enough well-trained staff to deal with whatever situations may come up. Safeguards must be in place to prciect those staff. This is not being done even in provin- cially run facilities such as the mental health centres. In thdse facilities which the government has privatized or contracted out, the situation is worse. Privatization is a scheme that does not work. I would like to know what you are plan- ning to do to stop privatization, assure pro- per staffing levels, and in other ways see to it that we care-givers can do our jobs properly in a safe environment. Richard R. Wackerlin vice president Local 329 Midland Proud of fire dept. Dear Sir: Last Friday the Penetanguishene Fire Department was called out to a chimney fire. After arriving on the scene, they realiz- ed it was much more. I would like to say that Penetang should be proud of this group of men who are volunteers to give of their time to protect us. They fought this fire for over five hours in which they were able to save this fine old home with only damage to the back. It was a very cold and windy day and these men should be commended for their efforts. June Marion Penetanguishene One trait that has always been with Winterama (and always popular) is the number of outdoor activities and how ac- cessible they've been to public participation. Broom ball tournaments, ice sculpting, bed racing, sky divers, etc., etc., etc. It's a winter carnival, hence the need for us- ing the outdoors to have some fun. ~ It's unfortunate that some things didn't run as smoothly as hoped, but every event has its problems. The Winterama program had a few er- rors in it, but considering time limits and last minute additions, that isn't surprising. The bed races might have had more en- trants if the public had been told earlier. The same sentiments were echoed at the Winterama Queen contest, which involv- ed a two-song aerobics number. The aerobics had to be choreographed and the eight contestants needed to prac- tice steadily for a month to get the routine done properly. Having only a month put a lot of "pressure on the girls and the contest organizers, but the show was very suc- cessful and well attended. A word of thanks to those people for a job well done under a tough deadline. Learning from the mistakes is a fact many organizers often have to deal with, as in this year's Winterama. A great deal of credit will be due to those who again take up the reins next year, determined to do even better than the time before. It's those people who keep coming back, their spirit and enthusiasm which con- vinces others that Winterama is both a challenge and a pleasure to be a part of. Again, a big thank-you to all who made Winterama so much fun and to those who came to see what all the noise was about. Come back again next year! I DON'T GET IT, HOME _Risku_business a It was while taking pictures of school children making snow sculptures for Winterama that I thought about all the times I had made snowmen and snow forts when I was younger. The stereotyped image of two groups of kids blasting away at each other from behind their snow walls was exactly what occurred throughout the winter months on my street. Tackling snowmen on the front lawns of some of our non-favorite neighbors was another activity the gang enjoyed. It was even better when the owners of the house came out to chase us away, since it added to the excitement. However, back in the present, I didn't think a snowball fight or tackling the sculptures was on the kid's minds. They were all hard at work making slush and patting handfulls of it onto the figures that were slowly taking shape. Others were standing around, either just watching or waiting for a turn to work on the project. The weather seems to have cooperated as well. On Thursday the sun was out, but it was cold enough to keep the snow from melting and not too frigid to keep the workers inside. I'm writing this column on Thursday, before much of Winterama has begun, so I hope the good weather has continued through the weekend. I've never been here during the winter, so I've looked forward to seeing what hap- pens during the festivities. Some events I plan on seeing and hope you found the time to do the same are the skydiving and the smash up derby that happened Sunday. The Winterama queen contest is another I've looked forward to. I was asked to be one of the judges, so I accepted. I wish I had time to write about the outcome for this issue, but schedules aren't always cooperative. I also wish some more sculptures had been started earlier so I could relate some' of the more interesting creations here in the newspaper. = I'm sure one of the things I'll complain -- Penetanguishene Citizen Published each Wednesday by Telemedia Communications Ontario Inc., 509 King Street, Midland, Ontario Subscription rates: 40'/single copy; by (where applicable) $36.40/year, 35'/copy; by mail in Canada $39.00/year; by mail outside Canada $100.00/year. Other rates available on request. Second Class Mail Registration Number 2327 526-2283 carrier home delivery General Manager: Judy French Managing Editor: Tim Kraan Asst. Managing Editor: David Krayden Senior Writer: Murray Moore Staff Writers: Chris Harries, Michael Suedfeld, Robert Risk. Barb Skelton Sports: Arnold Burgher Sales Manager: Grace Kidd Sales Representatives: Karen Caldwell, Nancy Downer, Peter Hamelin, Denise McCluskey, Don Mcintyre, Joy Turner Circulation Manager: Jim Baker *CNA Photographer: Jennifer Craw (=) Member Page P4, Wednesday, February 22, 1989. my! A chance to view the festivities about later is how sore my feet are from dancing most of Saturday night away. There were more than enough dance locations to choose from, which number about seven or eight. The selection was nice to have since there are different age groups that could find what's more suitable for them. Actually, there is one event that I'm look- ing forward to more than any other (and it's not the shooter bar). It's the draw for $1,000, of which I was the very first buyer. That's right, I got ticket 0001. Maybe I shouldn't have gotten the very first one. After all, when have you ever heard of ticket number one winning anything. At the very least, my $2 went to an excellent cause. --Eetters The Penetanguishene Citizen welcomes 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 allow- ed and anonymous letters will not be published, but names will be withheld if circumstances warrant. Letters published by this newspaper do not necessarily reflect the opi- nion of this newspaper, its publisher or editor. SE ORS Te