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address correspondence to Waterioo office: 92 King St. South. Waterloo. Ont.. telephone 886â€"2830 Waterioo Chronicle office is located on2naf!99" of the 0. W Sports building opposite Waterioo Square. Parking on King Street or in Waterioo SmuP Open Monday to RDg. e lamil â€"loOr ma L Fnday 9:00 a. m to 5 00 p m The recent controversy surrounding the voting on major issues at regional level during the sumâ€" mer vacation months has prompted a new alternaâ€" tive for the politicians. They can either go without a vacation or lose their vote on the issues in quesâ€" tion. In a recent editorial the Kâ€"W Record expressed the hope that Waterioo‘s mayor, Marjorie Carroll ‘"wasn‘t too serious when she said major council decisions should be delayed during vacant sessions unless there is full attendance at meetings." The editorial made the point that "municipal governâ€" ment must proceed 12 months of the year; it canâ€" not stop at holiday times," and concluded "the wheel should continue rotating, even though soâ€" meone else is turning the crank." In the interviews | have had with Mayor Carroll concerning the recent voting on the fluoridation system, the trafficâ€"signal system and the Erb Street resurfacing issues the mayor has clearly stated that these major engineering items should not have The Waterloo Minor Hockey Association deserves a "patâ€"onâ€"theâ€"back" for its move to eliminate body checking from minor houseâ€" league hockey. It‘s a positive move that reâ€" flects a genuine concern for youngsters playâ€" ing hockey, and also shows that the WMHA is primarily concerned with hockey for enâ€" joyment and training purposes. * In the past few years, minor hockey has become increasingly physical and it seems less emphasis has been put on developing the skills necessary to make it an enjoyable sport. Some will argue that body checking is ‘part of the game‘, and that may even be true. But when the physical contact aspects of the game overpower aspects such as speed, agiâ€" lity and organization, it‘s time to take a long hard look at how youngsters are trained to play the game in the first place. The removal of body checking will no doubt create more work for coaches and officials participating in house league hockey, but in the long run it‘ll be worth it. More training time can be spent on the development of basic hockey skills and it won‘t be necessary for small players to be intimidated by those larger and more powerful. Body checking not needed in minor hockey â€" 7The¢only drawback to the WMHA‘s plan is that body checking will â€" in all likelihood â€" be removed only from house league hockey. Although the WMHA plans to ask the Onâ€" tario Minor Hockey Association to ban body checks from allâ€"star games involving kids under 12. it‘s doubtful that the provincial body will go along with that suggestion. in spite of that, we applaud the WMHA for at least making the suggestion. It‘s good to know that in Waterloo at least, minor hockâ€" ey‘s governing body is progressive enough to recognize that aspect of the game which has taken the fun out of it all for so many young and old hockey players and enthusiasts. Unfortunately, there are too many people who will say it‘s ‘part of the game‘ and due to the generally higher level of skill development at the allâ€"star level, the body check will probaâ€" bly stay. â€" Waterlao Chroni¢le, Wednesday, September 12, 1979 +5 h Mic® e ar published every Wednesday by Fairway Press a division of Kitchenerâ€"Waterloo Record Lid.. owne! 225 Fairway Rd. S.. Kitchener. Ont . subscriptions: $14 a year in Canada $16 a year in United States and Foreign Countries t ReeX) s Publisher: Paul Winkier Editor. Howard Elhort established 1854 John ingram Just for the record Dear Sir: In the spring of this year. the small community of Field (pop. 550), 34 kilometres north of Sturgeon Falls, Ontario was savagely devastated by raging flood waters of the Sturâ€" geon River * For several days at the peak of the flood, 40 percent of the town was submerged in more than 15 feet of water About 200 residents were forced to leave their homes, and today, all that is left of this village is a mass of contorted wrecks, laiden with inches of mud and clay, some rocked off their foundation These flood evacuees have been making their homes in temporary housing. as best they can, since late April The Ontario government has been most sympathetic and generous toward the plight of the Field people In early May, the government declared Field and the adjoining townships disaster area. and set up a fund raising commitâ€" tee to which they would match every dollar raised with four of their own We. the members of this committee. have the monumenâ€" tal task of raising $00,.000, to meet the estimated three million dollars in damage been placed on the regional engineering committee agenda when she, the committee chairman, was on vacation. They should have been handled in May or June, or plenty of advance notice given to members of the engineering committee if they had to be placed on the agenda during July and August when elected representatives were most likely to be on vacation. During the twoâ€"week period these three matters of major importance were voted on by the committee and regional council, both the engineering committee chairman and viceâ€"chair â€" man were absent, as well as a second regional councilior from Waterioo. Letters to the editor The point Mayor Carroll has made repeatedly is that the various committees and council should continue with business as usual, handling routine iteéems, but matters of major importance to any of the municipalities in the region should be carefully scheduled at a time when the elected representa tives of the area are going to be present Ontario disaster fund appeals to readers lX q (WELL, THATS THE END OF THAT! Your coâ€"operation in this matter, and your readers, parâ€" ticipation in the restoration of the town. would be greatly appreciated Thank you very much for this space in your newspaper Yours Sincerely Camilie Cazabon Secretaryâ€"Treasurer We are appealing to your readers, Mr Editor, to reach out to the people of Field, victims of an act of nature, by sending a contribution to Fieldâ€"Springer Disaster Relief Fund . The Fieldâ€"Springer Disaster Relief Fund (encompassing the municipalities of Field Twp., Springer Twp., Caldwell Twp., and the unorganized townships of Crerar, Badgero. Gibbons, Pedley and Grant) is the key to the success of the township‘s and the government‘s plan to relocate the village a â€"mile south of its present flood plain Sturgeon Falls, Ontario POH 2GO Donations to the fund have recently slowed down alarmâ€" ingly. To suggest that our vacationing politicians in one area should rely on elected representatives from another part of the region to vote in their best interests is ludicrous. And surely we don‘t expect our elected officials to rush back from vacations at summer cottages in Florida or in Europe to v n issues that could be handled before the he â€" cation months. It would be far simpler to set up a system whereby regional councillors and committee members indicate in writing when they will be away on vacation, to enable agendas to be set well in advance for major items. And to ensure that no municipality suffers during the vacation months a proxy could be designated for each voting members . Whatever the solution our regional admimstraâ€" tors choose, the important issue is that of fair and equal representation for the municipalities at the regional level, and not how fast we can put bu â€" siness through. Geoff Horle