G PENINSULA NEWS REVIEW gf sirenesertumnenton wear even tenn nt wrrrucmreeteene stra imate raie wmamsnenninan sy wre cntnwcnmetedannes sites aveninsntntnantaryais ten anauy Maraeere racing tna sane fore tne PENINSULA ' ' THE PENINSULA’S COMMUNITY NEW ‘NEWSPAPER PENINSULA’S CC : | | Hy Publisher: Jean \Butterfield ___ Editor: : Judy R Reimche Phone: 656-1151 / Fax: 656. 5526 i A division of Island Publishers Ltd. | 9726 First St., Sidney, B.C. i V8L 3C9 i Vol. 88 / No. 48 / Circulation: 13,796 i i EDITORIAL End of a nasty campaign t’s over. The speeches have been made, fin- gers have been pointed (it’s hoped) for the last time. "It has been a nasty contest, the kind of election - we have asked, ad nausium, that candidates not engage in. It has degraded and made mediocre our system by personal muck-raking and name- . calling. It was extremely short on issues. - It would be one thing, perhaps, if we engaged in - _. this self-flagellating exercise for a full two years as _. the American system does. We get just five weeks. _ We want our candidates to cut to the chase — tell us what they stand for and how they expect to make daily life better for their constituents. In- stead, we had rhetoric about health care — two-~ tier, no tier, ‘multitier .. . but no resolutions that: will actually make a difference. There-was next to : nothing said about the environment, aboutem- ployment (yes, we. ‘still need jobs) or education oe “chow. about pre-apprenticeships and apprentice- “ships —that would lead to those jobs). There was _ “no mention of the fact that. Canada has not trained __ skilled labor in trades for many years, that the _. bulk of that skilled trades sector is nearing retire- ment, with few younger, trained people to follow. '~ When the lights go out, and I’m in my twilight years, I'd like to think there might be an electri- cian around who isn’t ensconsed in the next room from me at the retirement home. " The fact that just 63 per cent of Canadians na- © tionwide went to the polls (our lowest showing — since about the Second World War) is less a state- _ ment of apathy — although that is also a trend — - than it is about the quality of the parties available to vote for... Nor is the Liberal landslide in the East a signal that all is well out there. Easterners elected the devil they knew; Westerners threw out the party they believed is treating this region unfairly. The line down the centre of Canada is widening, and Western alienation is strengthening. The Bloc showed they are no longer a strong force; the West are now met truer Beparalists: L a i i # Ho. | i i There were some e inter esting moments during: the final vote-counting on Monday night. As the ; Liberal members sat eating the mandatory pizza and watching the restills on television, there was ¢ - general cheer when Progressive Conservative -f- leader Joe Clark was elected in his riding. Then, in the growing tension ar ound their own campaign, | there was also concern for Clark’s party generally, Would he get. the 12 seats he, needed to maintain: | Party status? Again, a muted cheer as the last seat. began to be seen as solid, Even among traditional a advisaries, there i is a sort of loyalty. The last task will he to take all those signs down. | They, have been proliferating prodigiously and are. a sear onthe Jandseape. . Serres . W devey tae Sian pan ghee sum ht lame @aab i ieyalungranatapte ania ieshesa AI a ANpCONaA NM gd planeta garish Asay at BA ACMA ah Se 3 L i t ae me ides eet Pees es samy aiinlad a tne Stee ae “that there are no. sideroads for ~ cops to hide behind, the road is empty fore and aft. “C lear sailing,” Cite aon ante Tete nae e Ht That i is not the problem. _ Best? hour. It-is ridiculous, uncalled for and J ignore it, I always break the speed limit whenever I drive this stretch. - And She Who Knows Best and who . usually sits in the co pilot's seat, al- ways makes the same comment. “You're going to get a ticket, "she says. And J always scoff, [ point out radar ambushes, no billboards for I say. Be La» "You're going to gel aticket,” she. replies. Yesterday, | ot a ticket. Doing 80 in a 50. It's not the $200 Tmind Qwell, it is, but that’s a whole other whinge) — it's the fact that [have to make room for a three-course clini of crow in front of She Who -Knows Best, Breaking bad news — it’s an art form, was telling this tale to a pal of mine in the coffee shop, looking for a litte sympathy. Instead he Taughed, reached into his pocket and handed mea letter, “You wanna know how lo deliver bad ne wa? Road this,” he said. » It was a letter from his daughter, who was stuidy- ing at auniversity in California. This is what it said: Dear Monv and Dad: ~Tthas now been three months since I left for unis versity Thave been remiss in writing this and: Tam very sorry for my thoughtlessness j in not having writ: ten before. T will bring: you up to date now, but hefore you read on, please sit down. DO.NOT READ, ANY FURTHER UNLES ARE SITTING DOWN OKAY? \ ‘rst off - — i'm guilty z as s charged, okay? I admit. “were. witnessed by an attendant at the gas station ‘the hospital and, since I had nowhere to live, he was ~ kind enough to invite me to share his basement nanic in pharmaceutic als... dr ugedealer) in my life. 58 YOU. __Wednesday, November 29, 2000 Well then; Cane getting alone pretty sell now. 7 he ° a: geal fracture and the concussion |. got: when I ae . Hee jumped ‘out of the window of my. ‘dormitory. whenit =: “The pr oblem i is: how do. L tell She Who Knows 2 caught fire ‘shortly, after my arrival are pretty’ ‘well: healed. T only get those headaches once a day. Here’s the background. There i is this stretch of - road not far from where | live that is straight as arun- way, smooth as a billiard table and unobstructed on ~ either side. There is seldom any traffic on this road and yet the authorities, for perverse reasons known - only to them, have decreed that the speed limit on ‘this stretch shall be 50 kilometers per -Fortunately, the fire in the dormitory and my: jump © near the dorm, and he was the one who called the fire department and the ambulance. He also visited me at apartment. It's. really a ‘basement room, but it’s kind of cute, once you. get used to the rats. He is avery fine _ boy and we have fallen deeply in love CE ah alee STRAIN SO SREE PION 0 eam sternite ae gent ies et oa Fe PEER LT BREAST At ISTE SE he ERE ET and are planning to get married. We . haven't set the exact date, but it will be before my.. pregnancy begins to show. Yes, Mom and Dad, Lain pregnant. -I know how much you are looking forward to being grandparents and 1 know you will welcome the baby and give it the love, devotion and — tender care you gave me when ] was a child, The reason for the delay j in our marriage is my boyfriend has some minor infection which prevents us from passing our pre-marital blood tests, and I carelessly caught it from him, This will soon clear up with the penicillin injections J am taking daily. 1 know you will welcome him into our family with open arms. He is kind and, although not well-edu- cated, he is ambitious, Although he does not speak ‘nglish fluently, he is working evenings and week- ends pr omoting the family business. He comes from- a large family i in Colombia where his father | isa big ERR R + ee ad are cn sna AEE ge ET ic ce ame AE Now that | have brought you up to date, L want to tell you that (here was no dormitory fire, Tl did not : haye.a concussion ora skull fr acture, “Twas not Inthe hospital, Lam not pregnant or en: gaged, Ido not have syphilis and there is no man (or However Tam getting a yin History and al in Science and] wanted you to sce those marks in ihe proper per’ spective, “Your Loving Daughter, Amanda. | I forgot to ask my pal what his daughter 8 major - as. Cr eative Writing, Thope. ‘: ne gen heer apnenae espa onpo cases tats uepenmauh anit