Times Advocate, 1998-02-18, Page 4M,xc 4 Times -Advocate, February 18, 1998.
Publisher & Editor: Jim Beckett
Business Manager: Don Smith
Production Manager: Deb Lord
Advertising; Barb Consitt, Chad Eedy
News; Heather Mir, Kate Monk, Craig Bradford,
• Chantal) Van Raay, Ross Haugh •
Production Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson
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Transno►tetign: Al Hodgert
front office & Accounting; Sue Roltings, Carol Windsor '
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Ruth Slaght, Sheila Corbett
cessiis
The Exeter Times Advocate Is a member of a family of community newspapers
providing news, advertising and Information leadership
There is an alternative to crisis --
hen. Canada's dreams for
Olympic gold went up in -smoke (mari-
juana smoke, to he precise),, a quiet lit -
tie government tip bate on whether or
not to [egaliie die drug for medical use
hit the headlines.
The long standing ambivalence -we
-have telt about this illegal but some-
what acceptable drug came out from
hiding..
We wanted -that gold. niedal so had
many -of us were willing to overlook
the tact that -the athlete who won it ad-
mitted to using drugs. We justified .the
decision to allow -the athlete to keep-.
the medal, on the grounds that he had
only a trace of the drug in his system,
and that.it was not a performance en-
hancing substance anyway.
At the same time, we found it hard to . -
explain to our children why we were so
pleased Ross Rebagliati kept the. medal,
atter he admitted to doing something
we have been telling them is bad.
In al way, it forced morc.than a few
fine, upstanding community leaders to
confront their own attitudes toward
marijuana. While it is no longer fash–
ionable
ionable to hold sit-ins, .wear love beads
and flowers, and toke up on the main
street of town,. it was when many of -
them were growing up: Even major
government leaders have been heard to
.-admit to smoking marijuana - without
inhaling, -of course, which is about as
easy to believe as that line of Rehaglia-
ti's, that he was at a party and was ex-
posed to second- hand smoke.
Rebagliati was "interviewed" for Sev-
eral hours by Japanese police,. but it
was probably nothing compared to
.questions being asked in a lot of Cana-
dian homes. "Gee, daddy, you told us
drugs were;bad. Why are you so happy .
that athlete got his medal hack?"
"Well; sonny,>he earned that medal,
and he didn't do a lot of drugs, just a lit-
tle marijuana." -
"Daddy-; you told us that stuff was •
had." - -
"Well, it isrt't really bad... A lot of
people have. tried marijuana."
"Like gangsters?" •
"No; sonny, regular people, like me •
and mommy:"
"Daddy, did you and mommy smoke
marijuana? Wow!"
"Now hold; it, I didn't say that... don't
say anything about this•to grandpa,
OK?".
The Rebagliati .story could be entitled,
"The Emperor's'New Clothes '98".
. While most of us are not about to start
. campaigning for legalization of marijua-
na, we.are also not going to use the
"drugs are evil" argument on our chil-
dren any more. And we are much -less
likely to.go itito fits of righteous indig-
nation at the suggestion a drug like mari-
juana might help people with certain
medical conditions. .
If it did nothing else, this Olympic -
- 'marijuana scandal opened up some hon-
est discussion in parliament, provincial
legislature, radio and television shows
and around the family dinner table,
about the difference between illegal and
banned, about what constitutes sub
stance abuse, and about what the drug Q
choice is among today's teenagers - al--
If
l-1f those grown-up flower children • '
aren't takinga good look at the whisky
and gin in the liquor cabinet, and asking
themselves how they can question Re
hagliati's suitability as a role model for
their dear children, they should he.
And enough with those jokes:about
gold... Acapulco gold. - • -
repTinterl from Surrgeen City News
What's on yourmind?
The Times -Advocate continues to welcome letters to the editor as a
e• forum for open discussion of local issues, concerns, complaints
and kudos: The Times Advocate reserves the right to edit letters for brevity.
Please send your letters to P.O. Box 850 Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S6. Sign your
letter with _both name and address. Anonymous letters will not be published.
•
A View from Queen's Park
By Eric Dowd •
TORONTO -- Some of Premier Mike Harris's
opponents want to join forces to defeat him in
an election, but there. is not much chance this
will happen.
The latest to suggest it is Sid Ryan, president
of the Ontario division of the Canadian Union •
of Public Employees, whose members have lost
many jobs since the Progressive -Conservative
premier started cutting spending and .will still
lose more.
Ryan proposed that the Liberals and New
Democrats agree not to run candidates in rid-
ings where the other is strong to avoid splitting
the vote against Harris and allowing his candi-
dates to sneak in with few votes.
Ryan says that when he made this suggestion
privately to Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty he
did not react negatively. Ryan- is the most
hotheaded of Ontario union leaders, so concili-
ating and burying differences do not come to
him easily.
But the prospect of those opposed to Harris
-combining in some way to get rid of him is
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Missiles and musings
By Craig Bradford
Our crystal ball is broken
• Every Week. it seems, we get
calls from our readers that -wonder -
•
why the T -A didn't cover their
event.
It's a common occurrence, both
on the sports side and on the news
side. A member of an organization
that works hard to better their com-
munity feels snubbed . by their
hometown newspaper when we
look negligent in our coverage.
A hockey morn phones to ask
why weren't we at such and such
tournan►cnt where her little Johnny
scored a natural.hat-trick in the fi-
nal including the winning goal: a
.proud lather calls wondering., why
we weren't at his daughter's -school
for the spring recital where site
sang a beautiful rendition of Moon
River: the number of things we
miss seems endless.
The key to getting coverage in
the '1'-A or any other conmtunity
newspaper is simple — call us well
ahead of time about your important
event. We don't have a magical
crystal hall or ESP powers to tell us
what's happening. What we do
have arc contacts.
What are contacts? They are mu-
nicipal .politicians and stall, police
officers, teachers. athletes (and
their parents) and coaches. commu-
nity club members, businesspeople.
artists. musicians; factory workers
and other People -with a vested in
tcrest in their community.
They give us reporter -types - a
call us
We try to make the newspaper a
mirror of the entire community tof
which almost all the T -A• staff live
in). to fill each issue with as many
voices_ and faces as we can. That's
phone - call; fax or e-mail ' about . why . the sports_ department has a
what -their group is doing. When -policy that teams have just one shot
they sec us out and about they take at a team photo appearing on the
us aside and tell us things we may sports pages per season. The rules
he interested-in.pursuing as a story- can be bent sometimes. like for ex -
or photo or even a column idea. ample ween a team wins a provin-
Without those contacts reporters.- ciat title. That's also why some
couldn't do their jobs.• • - • groups don't get the same amount
But not every tip from contacts .0(covcrage,each week. We like to
"turns into news -or photos., It is up spread things around. 'show some
to the editor or reporter _ variety and thereby try to
who receives the tip to The key to ensure everyone has a
decide whether it is g::hank to he part of. their
news -Worthy. That is etting cover -
community newspaper.
our job. what we have in theT-A agehile tors newspaper
gone to post -secondary - IS simple — is urine and yours. it's
:school) tor, what we call us. also your neighbors.
have spent years doing. . While you might he a big
Rest assured that every •tip is for . fan of local hockey. they may have •
lowed up and considered. - no interest in any sport and prefer
We also can't he everywhere._ to read ;shout municipal politics.
There are only three full -tine re- • • So if you feel the T -A could do
porters at this newspaper all with
different areas called 'heats' io cov-
er. Sometimes the .three of us are al-
ready at an event at the sante time
and can't possibly get away in time
tci clover another one. it's some-
thing we can't help.
hear►. call us. write a letter to the
editor or drop in and tell us. If you. -
want your particular group to get
some -coverage, pick up the phone
and call us. And to coin a phrase
from. my T -A• spurts predecessor,
our crystal hall is broken.
highly appealing to many. The Tory premier's
drastic cuts have aroused more intense passions
against him than premiers normally face, and for
many getting him out is a bigger priority than
putting someone else in.
Harris is low in polis, with an average 37 per
cent support, but a strong campaigner, and few
would rule out his rising to• some degree in
them again. .
Ontario besides has a long history of parries
winning government with a minority of votes
cast. None in fact has won with a majority since
the 1930s, and even when he won a big majority
of ridings in 1995, Harris obtained only 45 per
cent of the votes cast. Combining the vote
against him seems the surest, dream way of
turfing him out.
There is no possibility the Liberals and New
Democrats could join in one party. Their poli-
cies are markedly different. The Liberals sup-
port some cuts in government spending, al-
though not as much as Harris, while the NDP
fights to its last drop against any reduction in
NDP should watch where they step
public jobs.
The Liberals and New Democrats over the
years have disliked each other even more than
they disliked the Tories. They normally have
been rivals in opposition and the NDP also
views Liberals as supporters of the affluent who
pose as caring about the poor, while they can
respect the Tories as being or the better -off, but
making no bones about it.
The NDP in the past week has charged that
the Liberals' only difference with Harris is they
feel he is going too fast, and planted stories that
they have a bitter internal battle over leadership
going on. The Liberals say the NDP is in the
pocket of big unions.
There are all sorts of obstacles to each opposi-
tion party allowing the other to run in ridings
where it was stronger last election. In some rid-
ings their support is almost equal. The NDP
holds seats which the Liberals think with some
luck they can win and vice versa.
The number of ridings also will be reduced
next election from 130 to 100 and MPPs in both
parties whose ridings disappear are. fighting
with others in their own party over where to
run. The demand will be for more ridings to
run in, not fewer. -
Harris would be able to scoff also in an elec-
tion that neither opposition party has much
principle if it so readily directs voters to opt for
the other and voters would not know if they
were being asked to put in McGuinty or NDP
leader Howard Hampton.
The two opposition parties have cooperated
before. In 1985, when the Tories under Frank
Miller were reduced to a minority, they voted
them out and installed a Liberal government
under David Peterson on the understanding it
implemented a long list of NDP policies. '
But that was a vote in the legislature, easier to
organize than Ccooperating in an election, and
it gave the Liberals a foothold in government
that they were able to convert to a stranglehold.
The NDP will be wary of stepping in the parlor
again.
A