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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-12-11, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, December 11, 1991 Pubilsher: Jim Beckett News Editor: Adrian Harte Business Manager: Don Smith Composition Manager: Deb Lord t. Publications Maii Registration Number 0386 sURSCRIPTION RATES; CANADA Within 40 miles (65 km.) addressed to non letter carrier addresses 530.00 plus 52.10 G.S.T. Outside 40 nd os (66 km.) or any letter carrier address 530.00 plus 530.00 postage (total $60.00) plus $4.20 G.S.T. Outslde Canada 568.00 "Men are never so likely to settle a question rightly as when they discuss it freely." ... Thomas Macauley Published Each Wednesday Morning at 424 Main St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM 3.S6 by 1.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Telephone 1-5192361331• G.S.T. MI1O5210835 1.:1)1 1 OR \1_ Young Offenders Act amendment useless When the Young Offenders Act was first introduced, police of- ficials in many jurisdictions warned that it would do nothing to re- habilitate juvenile offenders and might in fact create a new class of criminal. Their predictions are all too true. Gangs of youths marauding through shopping malls swarming and robbing, shoplifting and committing assaults, are a common plague. And murder, of course. The Act applies to individuals aged 12 to 17. And it treats a 17 -year-old exactly like a 12 -year-old. The government recently amended the bill to raise the maximum sentence for murder by one of these "kids" to five years from three. The amendment was introduced in 1989 following a wave of murders committed by this age group in Toron- to, Montreal, Edmonton, Vancouver and other Canadian cities. It was finally passed last week, though senate ap- proval and royal assent are needed be- fore it becomes law. Hereds a true story: A young offender who had brutally murdered a member of his family was released after serving his sentence and moved at state expense to a city in On- tario.. - .._.- He may not be identified to anyone - Here is another true story: A 15 -year-old boy viciously raped at knife point, at least three and possibly four little boys under 10 years old. He was sentenced to two years in jail; when he is released no one will be allowed to identify him. There are cases of 17 -year-old murder- ers sporting full beards and in the com- pany of their wives, being treated as young offenders. The Young Offenders Act - amended or otherwise - is a travesty that has shamed the criminal justice system that spawned and supports it. Some allowance must be made for age in criminal matters. Certainly a 12 -year-old boy driven to some horrific or desperate act cannot be treated as an adult. But the Young Offenders Act appears to have provided a constitutional escape clause for adolescents who murder. The real problem with the Young Of- fenders Act is not the sentences handed out, but the age group it covers. One act cannot account for all the years form 12 to 17. The solution to juvenile crime of the type that has become so pressing a con- cern in major cities and is inevitably working this way, is to stop treating is as such. Penalties and consequences must in- crease with age and the upper age limit of the act should be reduced. This will not:,,pprevent juvenilcArimei f �tiu��tit will Surelji condemn it nap ro riatel . P P Y SI. Marys Journal Argus A Christmas Storyfor Children Once upon a time in a cold land called Canada, in a tiny vil- lage surrounded by a deep forest, in a big cold house there lived a family of five. The names of the people in the family were Mom, Dad, Alexan- der, Stephanie and Duncan. Al- exander was almost 13. The younger kids were 10 year-old twins. It doesn't matter how old the parents were. About a month before Christ- mas, Dad called a meeting of the family council. Everybody gath- ered in the living room, where a fire was burning in the fireplace. "Let's talk about Christmas," Dad said. "I already know what 1 want", shouted Alexander, "I need new skis and ski boots." "I want more video games," said Duncan. "I don't know what I want," Stephanie sad. "I need time to think about it." Dad told the children: "I'm a little disappointed. This meeting was called to talk about Christ- mas, not about presents." "But that's what Christmas is all about," argued Alexander. "Even the Bible says so. It all started with the Three Kings who gave presents to Baby Je- sus. And that's why we have Christmas presents today." "You're partly right," said Mom, who knows the Bible very well. "But Christmas isn't only about presents. It's also about other things." "I agree with Mom," Dad said, "and I think that Christmas is partly about presents, but that part is about the GIVING, not the GETTING of presents." "If somebody gives presents, somebody has to be getting them" Alexander said. "You can't just give them with nobody getting them, that doesn't make any sense." "When I called the nieeting," Dad said, "I had wanted to talk about the things our family might do this Christmas But now that we're discussing the mean - Peter's Point • Peter Hessel ing of Christmas, that suits me fine. Let's go on with it." "It's O.K." said Duncan, "we can talk about the things we'll do. I don't mind if we stop talk- ing about the meaning and all that stuff. It's boring." Now Stephanie spoke up: "It may be boring to you, Duncan, but it isn't boring to me. I like to talk about the meaning of Christ- mas." So the family talked about Christmas: how it all started so simply and how it changed over the years until it now has be- come so big and complicated and confusing and expensive that many people don't know what it means any more. "How about having an old- fashioned Christmas this year?" Dad finally suggested. Alexander worried: "You mean without presents? I'll vote against it." "Mc, too," said Duncan, "Christmas without presents is just stupid." "I didn't say without presents", Dad said, "But maybe the presents could be home-made in- stead of brought in a store. They could be small things that don't cost very much but are very meaningful. And maybe we could all spend more time to- gether during the Christmas holi- days. Go for long walks through the woods, play board games, read, listen to Christmas mu- sic..." So the family voted on how t9 spend Christmas. The next few weeks were very busy in the big old house, -e -spe- cially in the big old cellar and the big old attic. People were se- cretly measuring and sawing and hammering and gluing. They were painting and drawing and cutting and pasting. They were mixing and stirring and cooking and baking. They were thinking and composing and writing and printing. A week before Christmas the family decorated a fine spruce tree. And on the day before Christmas there were just as many beautifully wrapped Christmas presents under that tree as there had been last year. Some were big and some were small, but almost all of them were homemade. Guess what Christmas mom- ing will be like this year in the big old house in the tiny village surrounded by a deep forest in the cold land called Canada! Can you guess? Do you think that everybody is going to be said not to have big, expensive presents? Or do you think that there will be lots of joy and hap- piness, love and laughter? Do you think the family will Team that GIVING warms the heart even more than GET- TING? That they understand the real meaning of Christmas a lit- tle better than before? I hope so. And all of us wish all of you a very happy, very MERRY CHRISTMAS. Peter, Elizabeth, Alex, Stepha- nie, and Duncan. View from the top I had almost completely for- gotten that my father was per- forming in this year's Wassail, the tribute to Christmas that goes on stage at Talbot Theatre each December. For those of you who have never been there, the Talbot Theatre is in Talbot College at the University of Western Onta- rio,n, ' Although . the occasional professional performance cross- es its stage, the theatre is mostly a venue for the University's and London's amateur productions. Wassail is certainly an ama- teur show. In fact, the show is nearly the same every year, with mostly the same cast. Put to- gether in a few short weeks, it goes on stage for two perfor- mances only. It is, as they would say, a modem Christmas tradition. By using a variety of English poems, songs, dances, and read- ings from over the centuries, it hearkens back to a a time when Christmas had more to do with huddling around the hearth and passing round the cider, than to- day's version with Mutant Ninja Turtle ooze on rollerblades. I saw Wassail for the first time last year and I felt then that it did more to put me in the Christ- mas spirit than anything else. This year, I had nearly forgot- ten about it all, when I was asked that if I didn't have any- thing better to do that evening, would I mind helping out back- stage? I accepted, and shortly found Hold that thought... By Adrian Llarte myself high above the stage on what they call the "fly floor". My job was to help haul up and down the curtains and back- drops, on cue. I'll admit to being surprised such things are still done by gloved hands on hemp ropes, not electric motors. One of the best opportunities afforded by my brief experience as a theatre "techie" was to be able to listen in on a headset and hear all the fine tuning and cue- ing of events by the stage man- ager. Most of this is usually in- visible and seamless to the audience's eye. But most of all, I spent the evening watching the perfor- mance from directly above the stage. As far as I'm concerned, Letters to the Editor you haven't seen Wassail until you've seen the sword dance from the top. •This is the time of year whgn all the strange stuff starts arriv- ing in the mail. Across the edi- tor's desk comes an assortment of Christmas cards from sena- tors and MPs in far-flung rid- ings, invitations to more Christ- mas concerts than oan ever be seen, jigsaw puzzles from Par- ticipacti;,n (?), and calendars. Each and every special interest group out there has its own cal- endar. I've received a few so far, and have given most of them away. I could not see the one with a plate of food and rec- ipe for each month gracing my office wall; especially since all , this year I've had to make do with a calendar from CARE, which depicts an impoverished child in a third world nation each month. I think the fire safety people sent me one with crayon draw- ings of fire hazards. I let that one pass too. But my hat is off to General Motors' public relations depart- ment who sent me a calendar of cars. Not new cars, mind you, but classics from a 1929 Cadil- lac to a 1962 Corvette. Drop by my office, I'll be glad to show it to you. Abductor does not deserve opinion Dear Sir. Re: Letter from Dieter J. Boeck of Munich, Germany, dated No- vember 23, 1991 How is it that a German citizen, estranged husband and known fel- on can have his ravings published in your newspaper? What possible justification could you possibly have for allowing an alleged crim- inal the opportunity of assassinat- ing the character of his wife. Espe- cially when his accusations are flung from the relative security provided by the distance continents. You must re- alize that omit- ting the wife's christian name from the text of the letter offers her no privacy, even from the most dim witted minds. In my opinion, the way to resolve this matter is for Boeck to return to Canada and present his arguments between of enquiring in court. I further feel that it is an outrage to allow any Tom, Dick or Dieter a forum for their venom; especially when there is no apparent opportu- nity to defend against such spuri- ous arguments. 1 doubt that the Munich newspapers would devote space to this issue. Yours truly, J. B. Hutchinson London Thank you for successful parade Dear Editor: I would like to use this column to say "Thank you" to all the peo- ple who helped to make this year's Santa Claus Parade so successful. First to the Exeter BIA; a large thanks because without their finan- cial support it would be an almost impossible feat. To the South Hu- ron Roc Centre staff, for their time spent preparing for the skating party and Santa's visitation, and to Jane Dearing and her girls for their part in the distribution of the free treats. Also at this time it would be most appropriate to say a Targe Thank you to the people from Pcp- 1 si (Pathfinder Beverages) who so kindly donate the "Pop" every1111 year. To each and everyone of you who took the time to make and enter a float, thank you, without your participation the parade would have been nothing. Prizes have been awarded to the following: Jerry MacLean and Son, Big '0', Canadian Tire, Usbornc Central School, Precious Blood School, and Usbornc and U in '92. There were many more floats de- serving of prizes but a simple 'thank you' will have to suffice. Thanks should also be given to all schools especially EPS and, Mrs. Brown. I am really sorry for' the mix-up with directions and . hope you will enter again next year. And last but not least to all the Spectators who came out. Without you there would be no reason to parade. Also to anyone of you that 1 have missed mentioning, thanks and thanks again. Don Haines Exeter Lions Club