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every Wednesday by the Fairway l Group, owned by CityMedia Group Inc., a subsidary of forstar Corp. The content of this paper is protected by i copyright and may be used only for personal nonâ€"commercial purposes _ All other rights are reserved and commercial use is prohubited To make use of thus material you must \â€" first obtain the permission of the | owner of the copyright editontal@waterloochromicle.ca sports@waterloochronicle.ca sales@waterloochromcle.ca composing@waterloochronicle.ca WATERLOO CHRONICLE The Waterloo Uhromcle is published 279 Weber St., North, Suite 20 Waterloo, Ontario N2J 3H8 Phone: 886â€"2830 Fax: 886â€"9383 The views of our columnusts are their own and do not necessarily represent those of the newspaper Bah Leaschner Dwayne Wentendort Group Publisher . Group Sales Director Associate Publisher Canadian Pubbcatinrs Mail Sales Prod uc Agpreiment Numtrer B ’ @ k _A P x M Copyright in letters and other matenals submitted to the Publisher and accepted for publication remains with the author. but the publisher and its licensees may freety reproduce them in print electronic ot other forms Oir mailing address is 279 Weber St. N Unit 20. Waterion, N2T IP2 Intermatiitis. Seancard Serval Nutmber Manager, Ext. 230 _ Sales, Ext 223 signed with name. address and phone nimber and will be verified for accuracy No unsigned letters will be Andrea Bailey Bob rbarar Ediror, Ext 215. Sports Editor, Ext. 22% <<> SKi www waterloochromicle.ca The Waterion Chronicle weleomes letters tn the Editor They should be published. Submissions may be edited for length., so please be brief Gerry Maince lynl! Earlr)l Bub Zarrvch Manager 623â€"3050, Ext. 208 3050, Ext. 210 Letters Policy ISSN NH32â€"34 10 40090478 Audited circulation: 27,538 NotmaCyra Matt Miller Bill Phura But 1 didn‘t realize how deep the cut is on both sides of the fence, and how much farther beyond the issue of a simple light this matter goes. Neighbours are Taeke blind to problems | wm§Sa at Sandowne Park _ rior to covering the April 11 Waterloo city Pcoum:il meeting, I knew the issue of having a security light installed at Sandowne Park was contentious. There are two very distinct camps in this case â€" students and families in the area who‘ve expressed they‘d feel safer at the park in the late evening with a light on, and neighbours who‘ve said a light would be intrusive and encourage unwelcome activity at the playground. A class at Sandowne public school, with the supâ€" port of their teacher, families and others in the comâ€" munity, have lobbied the City of Waterloo to approve the installation of a light that‘s to shine directly on râ€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"-y the playground and be T / i io o Iilllt’(l;l()‘g%) off at 11 p.m. TigpG u@56 ‘\ They believe a light will help alleviate their fears that have bubbled up since the find of a man‘s body in the brush beyond the playâ€" ground last fall. Feeding those fears has been the discovery of unwanted materials, such as weapons, broken glass and drug paraphernalia, some adults claim to have seen in the greenspace. Not so, say the neighâ€" bours whose properties back onto the park. They claim their park is completely safe, with no suspicious behaviour and only a few pieces of garbage lying around â€" the same kind of debris that‘s found in every other park in the city. Well, after strolling around the playground and the wooded area myself, with my partner in grime, sports editor Bob Vrbanac, last Thursday afternoon, I have to agree with the neighbours. Walking through the playground, also known as the tot lot â€" though there are at least a couple pieces of equipment I could comfortably use as an adult â€" the first sight we were drawn to was a large hole that was burned out of a plastic playhouse. The park definitely had its fair share of garbage â€" in fact, it likely has the fair share of five parks. I remembered a mother mentioning the arson at the council meeting, but seeing it myself confirmed the disgusting act. Shaking my head, we continued across the grass toward the wooded area and the creek. 1 lost count of all the garbage that lined my path. _ s Oh, but I forgot, there‘s no suspicious behaviour in the park. â€" â€" 1 paused for a moment, realizing I was likely standing near the area where the body was found. That sent a shiver up my spine, so I can only imagâ€" ine what kinds of thoughts and nightmares the killing sparked in young children. But l digress, Sandowne Park is "safe" Some of the neighbours I spake with last week tald me others were wrong in saying dangerous and offensive material can be found in the greenspace. On our walk, without even digging through the brush, we {ound a number of liquor bottles â€" both whole and broken, a plastic pop bottle with a hole cut out of its side, which suggests it may have been used for drug toking, and graffitiâ€"cavered random planks of wood, with such abscenities as "Stupid Fag" sprayâ€"painted on them. ‘Oh, I‘m sarry, that shouldn‘t be considered unwelcome behaviour. Now, I‘m not a mother, but I know I wouldn‘t feel safe sending children anywhere near that scene Sure, the n(‘ighhmirs may say the children shouldn‘t be near the brush; but let‘s face it. kids roam. They love exploring. That‘s what being a kid‘s Continued on page 1 1 VIEWPOLINT Exercise may lead to retirement Save your ankles from wet because sumâ€" mer is just a warmth away. Any time now the boulevards will be runâ€" ning little rivers and making like tiny tornaâ€" does. No, the weather has been nifty lately, but that proves nothing. It could be snowing heavily 24 hours from now. 8 â€" Voting for Why? The MPs in Ottawa seemingly have little to do at this time of year and let‘s hope that‘s why they‘re talking election. The Tories have emerged a point or two ahead of the Liberals and that‘s why Stephen Harper has been talking up the election. It is better to be last in the traffic jam than first in the funeral procession. It‘s not that Harper sounds optimistic. He sounds something less than that. He sounds like a fisherman who hasn‘t met with any success yet. The E)nly thing the Liberal rivals have going against them is the flapdoodle plots that smell to high heaven and r;“,,; preâ€"date the Martin governâ€" | tg* ment. | ()\ ( A That makes them even tougher to battle. The opposiâ€" tion MPs are now busy fighting the whole operation all over again. And they may keep it up forever. But an election coming soon? Perish the thought? Still, it‘s nice to have four years between elections. It takes people that long to regain their faith. Watch the next campaign. All H ‘i’;‘rj the parties will be prattling for better education. When we take a close look at some of the folks elected, we have to admit it‘s needed. Spring Fever: Boy, it‘s been a neat spring for local sports fans. First of all, the Kitchener Rangers are playing like they may never lose again. Let‘s hope they keep it up nonâ€"stop. It would make this a super season for the cowâ€" boys and fans. The Blue fays are something else. They‘ve been playing like they haven‘t in years. With a noâ€"stars batting lineup, they have heen notching the runs. So n;iuyhc it won‘t last. but it‘s been a treat so far. It‘s sure better than seeing the Jays holding down last place CROOKED MAM WHO * THERE WAS A , if exercise is so good for us, why do SANDY so many athletes retire at 357 And football isn‘t as violent as it appears. It‘s nothing like trying to get to the restrooms at halfâ€"time. Worthy Successor: Wow! They‘re talkâ€" ing about a Canadian as the next pope. That would be a real wowser and something to which the Quebec premier would have to pay his due. I‘d still bet on Germany‘s Cardinal Ratzinger, who‘s at 7â€"2 in the British polls. On the other hand, I think I‘ll wait until Canada unveils its own poll. __ All kidding aside, it‘s still noteworthy that a Canadian would get a mention. e I‘ll bet you could get good odds on a Mennonite parson, eh? _ â€" Light Work: It doesn‘t seem like much, but the Sandowne Park light is still awaiting a decision. It doesn‘t seem as if it would take that long, except 1 suppose the councillors are giving it special attention. The fact is it shouldn‘t take all the attention they‘ve given mmmomomy it. undying loyalty. Granted, it‘s been mostly the little counâ€" tries that have deserted, but it counts when countries like France and Russia still aren‘t interested. It makes you wonder about the thrust of your position. Th('(tmops are kept there longer than first expected and the rotations are stretching out. And the fighting goes on and on. What‘s more, the fighting is still fierce with Americans being slaughtered everyday. The country surely can‘t look forward to that loss day after day. George Dubyah wouldn‘t like it, but they could hold a big disarmament conference. It might be a big success if the delegates were representative taxpayers OH, NOT ANOTHER 1 think they were right in delaying a decision, although it would have made sense to have given them a flat, plain no. _ Nine out of 10 people who change their minds are wrong the second time, too. Still at it: President George Dubyah has been visiting here and there and everywhere in an attempt to enlist allies in his war against anarchists. He‘s been going great with the blah, blah, blah, but the results have been slight or less. More of his allies are apparently withdrawing than pledging