The record, 19 décembre 2002, jeudi 19 décembre 2002

COMING UP AT THE GOLDEN LION PUS FRIDAY DECEMBER 10 i ANNUAL FOOD AND DRIVE WITH I ! MOUNTAIN PEW THURSDAY DECEMEER 06 GALT OLD BOYS 1 NEW YEAR'S EYE DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY W LIVE BAND: NO STRESS The voice of the Eastern Townships since 1897 - ¦ I HIM— > —MW——"' - THE s \ n SCARS OPEN CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR’S 10 a.m.-5p.m.ll 45 Main St.Norttt Hatley S ! Tel.: (819) 842-2735 65 CENTS WWW.SHERBROOKERECORD.COM Thursday, December 19, 2002 Mysterious poisoning kills 22 cows in two years Joe Mason can’t find source of contamination By Tom Peacock Richmond farmer Joe Mason’s calves are all dying, and he doesn’t know why.The animals begin frothing at the mouth and stamping their feet, their eyes roll back in their heads.After a while they are frantic, pulling on their chains and trying to jump over the sides of the pen.Within a short time, they can no longer stand, and soon, sometimes as soon as half an hour after the onset of symptoms, the calves are dead.Within the last two years, Mason has lost 22 of his animals, including two full-grown cows.His once-full barn is now nearly empty.Eight cows, one bull and one calf remain.Tuesday night, the last calf was in a sorry state.It lay twisted in a sorry pile on the barn floor, its legs drawn up, its head crammed into the corner of the pen at an odd angle and its eyes rolled back in its head.Mason wasn’t sure if it would survive the night.“If this one goes tonight, I probably won’t sleep for a month," Mason said during an interview at his farmhouse on Route 116, just outside of Richmond.Mason has sent three of his calves for autopsies, and the results all confirmed lead poisoning.But he is at a loss to find the source of it.Please see cows Page 5 Giving at Galt PERSY BEATON/SPEOAL Volunteers at Alexander Galt High School packed Christmas baskets Jbr 60 families in the school district, thanks to generous donations from the community which brought in huge quantities of non-perishable foods and gifts for more than 100 children, as well as over $5^00 which will be used to purchase turkeys, fresh vegetables and dairy products.Christmas basket organizer Jim Reynolds said it is the largest campaign ever.¦&w- iàÉgM Î, s* TOM PEACOCK Richmond farmer Joe Mason is at a loss to find out what is killing his cattle.And he isn’t getting much help from local farm and environment officials.WHICH Will MAKE YOU MORE SECURE, THE CAR OR THE FINRKCIH6?VOLVO for life Estrie Auto Centre VOLVO nsi XC70 - $49,495u 1.8%' FINANCING - FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY.4367 Bourque Blud., Bock Forest (819Î 564-1688 • 1-888-567-4259 OHewftJihro^OelobarSI.WZ fVeigM sUteup 1»60mont»* tMata mqrstf/lMMtor lens ^ 20Ct3S£Q»ntiV70XCVtt«*r rmt** pur page 2 Thursday, December 19, 2002 I I g 1 1 1 1 i I 1 1 1 1 WLY the complete discocraphy of Maritime’s favourite daughter, Anne Murray The set of more than two dozen albums ineludes elassies like What About Me, Country Croonin' and les I Do.For a chance at RECORD ’s Anne Murray giveaway, till out the form below and send your response to: Anne Murray Contest, The Record, 1195 Galt E., Sherbrooke, JIG 1Y7 or 88 Lakeside, Knowlton, JOE 1V0 No photocopies, faxes or e-mails will be accepted.The deadline is Friday, Dec.20, at 4 p.m.The winner will be chosen at random from the correct responses.Name Address Tel.: Question: What Maritime province is Anne Murray from?wisfiesyou gootfifated andgoodfastening! s Worrying about our kids If you’re a parent, spending money on your children is a given.You do it automatically.Parents are great targets for fast talkers who sell you stuff for your kids—especially if the item or service hits that hottest of parental hot buttons-child safety.So it was with Andrea Parkhill of Sudbury, Ontario.Friendly, concerned sales folks came to her house about a year ago to sell her some security for her child.If her child got lost, she could call a special 1-800 number and vital information and a description of her child would be forwarded to police departments.The nice sales people from Child Link Services, Inc.also gave her some ID stickers Andrea could put on her child’s clothes.That was just about it.Not much.But then, it didn’t cost much.Every three months, Child Link would automatically debit her bank account for $15.89.Cheap and neat.Andrea didn't have to worry about remembering to send in the money.Convenient.But then Child Link started doing their own version of bobbing for apples.They kept debiting her account for more and more money.Every month they would nick her account for $32.05.After dozens of calls, Andrea finally got through to the company only to be told the monthly fee had gone up to $32.05.Andrea was incensed.Child Link said they would refund her money.It never happened.We confirmed the company moved from Montreal to Vancouver and then went missing.The Vancouver Better Business Bureau reports they have 19 unresolved complaints about Child Link in Vancouver alone.We’re still looking but the trail is growing cold.If you want any information about missing children or are looking for dependable organizations who try to guard against children going missing, contact the RCMP.Call the detachment in your community or go to www.goldhawk.com, to Helplines, click on Missing Children, then click on RCMP.And another thing, try to avoid signing those forms that give a company the right to automatically debit your account.They may be convenient.But take it from me—it’s tough to put in a stop payment on an automatic debit if something goes wrong with the service or the product.- Happier Holidays Now Ernie and Margaret Dawe will have a happier Christmas than they had been expecting.Ernie and Margaret had paid a vacation club a whopping $9,400 to reserve advance vacation spots for the next 49 years.Ernie is 83 and Margaret is 81.They bought into a high pressure sales pitch and signed an ironclad contract.Cancellations not allowed.They charged the $9,400 to their credit card, Visa and American Express.When Ernie and Margaret came to us for help, we immediately called Visa, American Express and the vacation club.The result: Ernie and Margaret got out of their contract and all their money back.I don't get the attraction with these vacation clubs.You pay a big chunk of money up front to reserve vacation spaces for longer than you can possibly live and then when you take the vacation, you still pay a steep service charge for your room and a yearly maintenance fees well.Ernie and Margaret had bought a biennial package, a vacation every other year—if the vacation spot of their choice was available, that is.What a bargain; Fictional Companies WARNING The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada has issue a new warning about fictional companies that might be part of an advance fee scam of some type.The companies sound legitimate.That’s the idea.But they are not.Watch our for Guaranty Pacific Trust, Africa Development Bank, and The North American Life Assurance Company, all of Toronto.Call the Phonebusters police line at 1-888-495-8501 if you run into these companies.Christmas Gift Idea I didn’t make this up.So don’t blame me.But it sure is the gift for the guy who has everything.It’s sold by a company from Greenville, NC called GasBGon.It’s a pillow, for use maybe in your car or in your favourite chair.It’s filled with activated charcoal and other ingredients and is being marketed as a flatulence fighter.The pillow apparently acts as both a silencer and an air filter.It was invented by a Canadian husband and wife team.You can go to Google on the Net and enter the company name, if you dare.I thought maybe I would buy one.But then I changed my mind.I don’t know how I would train my old dog to sit on it.Goldhawk Fights back Weather Todaydncreasing cloudiness.High near 3.Friday: Showers.Low near zero.High near 4.Saturday: Snow.Low near minus 6.High near minus 1.Probability of precipitation 80 percent.Sunday: Snow showers.Low near minus 8.High near minus 5.Probability of precipitation 70 percent.Normals for the period.Low minus 15.High minus 4.Ben by Daniel Shelton I CANT BELIEVE THE PRICE Of KIPS' TOYS NOWADAYS.' JUST HOW \ iT MUCH PIP || YOU / LJ V$PENP?/ n TWthi^ l ISN'T TOO BAP-IEXPECTEP V MUCH WORSE IM SORRV-MY MISTAKE (’.THAT'S THE BILL FOR THE BATTERIES/) famSlSFOR Ÿ \ VTHETOY^y \ ¦CuiF /yduco t realize WE ONLY HAVE TWO GRANP- KIP57' À* | THE i Thursday, December 19, 2002 page 3 Impotence unlikely with Côté’s meds: pharmacist ‘They are not monsters’ - insists Christian youth who was ‘saved’ by Côtés By Rita Legault Sherbrooke Y * ¦?hile accused rapist Renald \/\f Côté claims his medication V V prevented him from having an erection at the time he allegedly raped his daughter, a pharmacist testified Wednesday that that particular side effect affects a minimal number of patients on the anti-depressants he was prescribed.Renald Côté, 51, the Magog man accused of incest, sexual assault and sodomy against his only daughter Isabelle, testified on Tuesday that a cocktail of medications he is taking for diabetes, a mild depression and shoulder pain from a 1998 car accident and subsequent operation caused him to go nuts and made him impotent.But on Wednesday Sherbrooke pharmacist Pierre Jean said erectile dysfunction is extremely rare for men taking the mild anti-depressant and sleep aid Desyrel.In very rare cases it can cause prolonged erections that may require surgery to correct, he added.Jean said a second anti-depressant, Célexa, causes three per cent of men to have erection problems and six per cent can’t ejaculate.“So 97 per cent of men have no problems at all,” remarked Crown attorney Hélène Fabi.Jean, who has been a pharmacist since 1984, said even a combination of Désyrel, Célexa and three other pills Côté was prescribed could not account for the sexual dysfunction problems he described.Jean also said diabetics who don’t take their medication to control their blood sugar can suffer from impotence, but those who take their medication as prescribed and watch their diet and lifestyle can avoid that complication.But under cross-examination by defence lawyer Pierre Gagnon, Jean admitted that a diabetic who is a heavy smoker can suffer from the blood circulation troubles that lead to the inability to achieve a full erection.Earlier in the day the jury of eight men and four women heard from Côté’s brother Yvon, who is named in one of the charges against Côté and his sons Donald, 27, and Serge, 24, who are being tried separately.Isabelle Côté charged that Yvon filmed a particularly sadistic group assault in the family garage where she was restrained and gang raped by the father and two brothers.The youngest of the family, Yvon PERRY BEATON/SPECIAL The trial of Renald Côté will resume in January.Côté did not grow up with his siblings who were spread into a variety of foster homes.He said he and his nine brothers and sisters were not close and they saw each other infrequently over the years - especially since their mother died in 1985.He said he had spoken to Renald once, when he was visiting another brother and the accused called from jail.He said Renald Côté told him to stay close, but refused to discuss the details of the case and even neglected to tell him that his name was in one of the plaintiffs allegations.While his brother Renald was charged in June 2001, Yvon Côté said he did not find out he was included in the charges until last November.Since then, he has been following the case closely, getting regular news from one of his sister’s in law and awaiting a chance to clear his name.He said he contacted Côté’s defence attorney who called upon him to testify.He said he needed to testify to clear his own name and not to help his brother.Yvon Côté said he did not own a camera in 1986, when the alleged assault occurred, and he insisted he did not participate in the alleged assault.“I never did that.I never did that.I saw Renald only two or three times a year.There are a lot of things that happened in my family I didn’t know about.” The 42-year-old janitor, who lives in St-Césaire, said that despite Isabelle Côté’s testimony, she never visited his home.Under questioning during the preliminary inquiry she could not recall where he lived or what his house looked like.Under cross-examination by Crown attorney Hélène Fabi, the youngest Côté admitted that during a bitter divorce, his wife had alleged he committed incest with his daughter, but he said the allegation disappeared and he now had full custody of his two children.The jury also heard from a 29-year-old man who said the Côté’s helped him get through a “dark period” during his teens.Eric Routhier said he had just turned 17, he finished school and could not find a job, and that his love life was not going well.He said Côté’s wife invited him to participate in Christian youth meetings at the Côté home.“The goal was to put Jesus into my life,” he said, adding they talked about the tribulations of Jesus’s life and tried to make links with their own.“We sang to put joy in our hearts,” he said, adding that Mr.and Mrs.Côté were like mother and father figures.“I don’t know why they did it.To help.It helped me get rid of my dark thoughts.I will thank them for the rest of my life.” Routhier said they seemed like a “normal” family and remarked it was deplorable that the couple had already been judged due to extensive media coverage of the trial.“They are not monsters.They did some good things in their life.They should be innocent till proven guilty.” Routhier said he avoided the trial until two weeks ago when he decided to call defence attorney Gagnon.“I said to myself: ‘You should do something for these people who helped you.You should pay them back’.” But under cross-examination, Routhier was forced to admit he knew little about the Côtés and had not spoken to them in years.He said he was surprised to learn that Joanne Royer-Côté had pled guilty to assaulting a young child and was sentenced to community service.He was also surprised to learn the two Côté sons admitted assaulting their sister when they took the stand.The jury will get a holiday break as the trial resumes the second week of January.During their time off they will continue to receive jury pay of $90 a day.Before excusing them, the judge warned them not tc discuss the case and to avoid media coverage of the trial.On Jan.6, they will return to hear from a last minute witnessed called by Crown prosecutor Fabi to refute part of Côté’s testimony.After that the Crown and defence will present their closing arguments, the judge will file his final instructions to the jury and the 14 jurors will be sequestered until they reach a verdict on each of the 18 accusations Côté is charged with.Çjn-cAnn Tôoimj Advertising Consultant Tel.: 819-569-9525 Fax: 819-821-3179 email: sherbrookerecord@videotron.ca NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS Holiday Schedule: December 18th to January 6th If you plan to make changes to^ your subscription (i.e.start, stop, address change), please be advised we need one (1) week notice (prior to date of change).Thank you (8i9) 569-9528 record 'PÂGè'4Thürsdàÿ; Décëmbër'19; 2CT02 RECORD Bngham budget lowers debt, tax levels By Maurice Crossfield r ! ^he Town of Brigham has tabled a 2003 budget that will see it lower *1.its debt, lower taxes and increase infrastructure investments.“We are committed to lowering our debt and to continue to pay cash for our projects,” said Brigham Mayor Steven Neil.The budget, passed without incident this week, sees the basic property tax rate drop from 99 cents per $100 of evaluation to 95 cents per $100.Over the last two years the municipality has developed an accumulated surplus of nearly $220,000.Meanwhile Brigham’s debt load has been reduced by 41 per cent over the last three years.When Neil took office in 1999, Brigham owed $715,978.By the end of 2002 the total debt load (general and sectorial debts combined) will be $419,480.“It wasn’t until this year that we had the debt problem under control,” said Neil.He said some older debts have been refinanced at a better interest rate.Meanwhile the accumulated surplus and any surplus generated in the coming years will be put towards the town’s infrastructures.Neil said the aim is to put that cash towards a one-third share for projects under the Canada-Quebec infrastructure program.Under the terms of that program each level of government contributes one-third to the cost of a project.“The money is now there for us to pay our one-third,” Neil said.“It’s the other two-thirds we have to make sure we can get.” First on the list is the repaving of Des Erables, one of the main access roads to the village of Brigham.Originally slated for repaving last year, that project has been put off until 2003.If accepted under the infrastructure program it will cost Brigham $160,000, with anoth- er $320,000 coming from Ottawa and the province.In 2004 attention will turn towards repaving Lacroix Street.The following year it will be Fordyce Road’s turn for a fresh coat of asphalt.“We will be financing all of our projects with cash, we won’t be getting any more loans,” Neil said.That no-borrow policy was demonstrated over the last year.Brigham put up $78,000 towards its share of the purchase of a new fire truck for the Adamsville fire station, a cooperative purchase between Bromont, Brigham and St-Alphonse-de-Granby.$76,000 was invested in a recycling program and another $9,800 was invested in computer equipment, all without borrowing.The 2003 budget is the last for Neil during his first term in office.Elections will be held in November for a two-year term.In 2005 all municipal elections in Quebec will be held at the same time.RLE PHOTO Brigham Mayor Stephen Neil is committed to reducing debt.New Sutton budget on Dec.30 Staff Residents of the newly merged Town of Sutton will see the municipality’s first budget on Dec.30.“We’re trying to respect our promises to freeze taxes in the Township and lower taxes in the Town,” said Sutton Mayor Winston Bresee Wednesday.Bresee said he and the new council are faced with having to blend to- gether the financial structures of the two former municipalities.Meanwhile any debts or surpluses from either of the former municipalities must be handled by those former municipalities.Former intermunicipal agreements must also be respected until they expire.“We keep finding a few surprises here and there," Bresee said.“It’s very time consuming to go through everything.” One of the most obvious tasks will be the harmonization of the tax rates of the former municipality.Sutton Township had a mill rate of 86 cents per $100 of evaluation, while the former Town had a rate of $1.55.Bresee campaigned for a tax freeze in the former Township, and a reduction for town residents.“It’s fairly complicated, we’ve been working on this a lot, and we’ve still got work to do,” he said.¦ «ill sNei Blood Drive in Magog The mayor's blood donor clinic in Magog surpassed all objectives with some 374 donors responding to the call to donate.On Dec 12 and 13 residents of Magog demonstrated their generosity by giving the gift of life.Pictured are Danielle Rocheleau, organizer of the blood drive for Héma-Québec, Martin Pomerleau, donor and father of Jonathan, with Mayor Marc Poulin et Jonathan Pomerleau.Brief Coaticook man charged with sexual assault of young boys Staff A 22-year-old man was arrested early yesterday morning at a Coaticook residence for presumed sexual assault.He was charged at the Sherbrooke courthouse with sexually assaulting two boys between the ages of 7 and 13 in the village of Ste-Edwidge-de-Clifton.The alleged fondling sessions occurred between 1996 and 1999.The accused is also charged with threatening one of the victims at knifepoint last month, according to Sûreté du Québec spokesperson Const.Jimmy Potvin.Fate of Brigham United Church still uncertain By Maurice Crossfield One issue that will continue to face the Brigham council in 2003 is the fate of the United Church.“That is a dossier that is going to come back in the new year for sure,” said Mayor Steven Neil Wednesday.“We can’t afford to let it sit there and continue to do nothing with it.” In 1999 the municipality purchased the historic Brigham United Church from its trustees for $20,000, on the verbal condition that it be turned into an arts and cultural centre.Going against the advice of engineers, workers excavated near the foundation that summer and it cracked, and the building was condemned.The church, built in 1872 by town founder Erastus Brigham, had already been falling into disrepair, as the number of church members dwindled.With the cracked foundation some $145,000 in renovations would be needed to make it usable as a public building once again.In the fall of 1999 Neil was elected mayor, and inherited the United Church issue.After numerous meetings and some heated debates, the council decided this year to put the church up for sale.In Sept, the council accepted a conditional offer for its purchase.However the buyer was unable to sell his existing home, and the deal fell through.Neil said the council will have to take a closer look at the situation.He said the council may have to revise the price, or find a new use for the building. r Thursday, December 19, 2002 page 5 finding source of poison ¦HR TOM PEACOCK Joe Mason’s herd of healthy cattle went from 31 to 8 in two years.Farmer gets Cow:- CONT’D FROM PAGE 1 “I don’t know if it’s in the hay or what.1 don’t know where it’s from,” Mason said.All the calves that have died, including two Mason was boarding for another farmer, were kept in the barn.They were fed milk from stainless steel pipes and plastic buckets, and occasionally hay.Mason pointed out that he and his wife Bonnie drink the same milk as the calves, leading him to believe it must be something in the barn, or in the hay.“I think I’m going to move the calves into the house, and I’m going into the barn,” he said.Mason confirmed, however, that the barn was inspected by the ministry of agriculture in 2000, when he was selling milk.“They didn’t see any problem with it,” he said.“All they said is that I had to move my freezer three feet from the wall.” Mason is caught in a classic Catch-22.The farmer hasn’t sold milk in a while, and he raises calves to sell for beef.But litde help in with all the calves dying, he hasn’t sold anything.And without that income, he can’t afford to get his land inspected to locate the source of the problem.Nor can he afford to have a veterinarian around every time his animals fall sick.In fact, he can barely afford the $37 dollars the slaughterhouse charges to pick up a carcass.Mason’s veterinarian , Dr.Daniel Lavoie said both he and Mason had contacted the Sûreté de Quebec about the lead contamination on the farm.But the vet said that before the police can pursue a formal investigation, they need proof that the farmer’s own equipment and materials are not the source of the problem.We need to make sure there’s no lead source on the farm,” Lavoie said.“We have to prove that it comes from outside, from a neighbour.If we prove that, then we just take out the lead source, and that’s it.But if there’s no source, where does it come from?” But Lavoie said he has not visited Mason’s farm in over three years, probably because Mr.Mason is unable to pay for the vet’s visit.He said he would be willing to give Mason a discounted rate if he was invited to inspect the farm.“Maybe I can bring down the price a bit to go on the farm, and check carefully if there’s any lead source,” he said.Mason mentioned two possible outside sources of the poisoning.The Brown shoe factory, and an old CN rail bed, both of which are adjacent to the land where he gets his hay.Mason said toxic run-off from the factory and the railway line may have seeped onto the fields.“When I was small, I know there was stuff coming over from the Brown shoe company,” he said.“I know they filled in the big ditch behind.CN had somebody remove the line, and they pushed everything into the ditch.All that water’s going across the field now.” Mason said he was afraid to sell too much of his hay this year for fear it might be contaminated.Environment Quebec spokesperson Hélène Beauch-esne said the ministry would likely look into the possibility of contamination on the land beside the rail bed, although she said Mason has not yet made a for- mal complaint with the government about the death of his animals.“If he takes his hay from there, that might be the source of the problem,” Beauchesne said.“What we can do is call Mr.Mason, and find out what exactly is the problem.Then, try to find out what might have caused the death of these animals.” Although young cattle often get lead poisoning from licking away excess grease on farm machinery or from old vehicle batteries, Beauchesne said such lead poisoning among cattle from industrial sources outside of the farm is rare.“That’s not a common thing, but it would be a possibility,” she said.Mason runs the farm with help from his wife, Bonnie, and their daughter, Tina.He only recently returned to raising beef and dairy cattle full time when a back injury forced him to give up the long hours of truck driving.He said he is determined not to give up.“I’m going to continue,” he promised.“If I fall down on the ice, I’m going to get right back up again.” ZT* » —« .vS.TOM PEACOCK am T.V'— rt ¦*."A f mà Joe Mason runs the farm with help from his wife, Bonnie, and their daughter, Tina.Brief Dairy, grain farmers fell short in 2001 Staff A study compiled by agronomes at the extreme western end of the Townships paints a grim picture for that region’s larger farms.The survey showed 38 per cent of large cash crop farms lost an average of $25,000 in 2001.This despite the fact that the owners of those farms generated an average of $35,000 in off-farm income.If they didn’t have work elsewhere, the losses would have been around $60,000 last year.Dairy farms also fared poorly in 2001, with 16 per cent of those milk producers surveyed falling five per cent short of balancing their books in 2001.A further 21 per cent saw shortfalls of between zero and five per cent.Of the 45 farms surveyed, the grain operations covered an average of 320 hectares, with an average total value of $3.7 million.Dairy operations had on average 50 head of milk cows and 100 hectares of land.The survey of large cash crop and dairy operations was compiled by Martin Paquette and Lionel Ma-chemin, agronomes and management advisors for the Syndicat de gestion agricole Iberville-Missisquoi.They presented their results at a re- cent conference of the Club Agri-Rencontre Montérégie.The two attributed the tough times for grain farmers to a poor crop and equally poor market prices in 2001.They said 2002, with a healthy crop and increased prices, should post a better result.Still, the two advise farmers to be tough money managers if they want their operations to remain viable. page 6 Thursday, December 19, 2002 Record Community Forum Shame on TBL council for attempted tax grab I was at the Town of Brome Lake budget consultation on Monday.What a train wreck! The presentation was poor and the content was unreliable.Many of the budget categories were not detailed enough to offer an understanding of what was involved in their calculation.There was woefully inadequate time to have an informed discussion based on a good understanding of what the various numbers signified.It felt as though the town was being deliberately obscure in their presentation.It was a classic example of how to create confusion and distrust.The most significant structural change was a proposal that Brome Lake should have a variable tax rate.This is fundamentally a good idea.A variable tax rate means that different categories of properties can be taxed at different rates, the main differentiation being between residential, commercial and industrial.In theory this flexibility allows costs to be allocated more fairly among the stakeholders in the community.Unfortunately Brome Lake’s current administration has used this as a pretext for gouging the small business community, cynically gambling that the majority of residential property owners won’t care because it doesn’t effect them.Ten per cent of Brome Lake’s property owners were about to be asked to absorb a completely unjustified virtual doubling of their municipal taxes.The mayor and council admitted that they had no justification for the non residential mill rate they were proposing other than to say it was within the norms of what was allowed by the city and towns act and it was comparable to what was done in other municipalities.Despite the fact that they were about to ask the business community to contribute an additional $500,000 per year they couldn’t justify this demand beyond comments like, “You have street lights on every pole in Knowlton” (not true by the way) or “We have to sweep the streets more often in Knowlton" or “You have special events that require more security”.I believe in user pay as much as anybody, but as anybody that can count can see, this was not about sharing costs more fairly.This was a revenue grab plain and simple.This is not the way things should be done in a small community.It’s almost as if the mayor and council are trying to play the business community off against the residents.Shame on the mayor and council for not doing the right thing and consulting with the business community before proposing such a radical change.The brinkmanship is astounding when you realize that the budget has to be passed before Dec.31 and we learned about this for the first time on Dec.16.Shame on the mayor and council for making such a circus out of their most fundamental responsibility.Finally shame on the Chamber of Commerce and the SDC for not having better lines on communication with the council and being on top of this.We haven’t heard the last on this issue but I would like to remind people that regardless of who pays what, there are several issues on the expense side of this budget as well.The budget in Brome Lake has grown substantially in the last three years and performance has swung widely from a $350,000 deficit two years ago to a $100,000 surplus last year.In light of our new variable tax rate it would be a particularly good idea to have a completely transparent process that has input from all stakeholders.What happened at Monday’s meeting shouldn’t have happened.Lets hope it doesn’t happen again.Viewpoint Chris $EVERS THE P.0.Box 1200 Sherbrooke J1H 5L6 or 1195 Galt E, Sherbrooke JIG 1Y7 Fax:819-569-3945 e-mail: newsroom@sherbrookerecord.com Website: www.sherbrookerecord.com Randy Kinnear Publisher .(819) 569-9511 Sharon McCully Editor .(819) 569-6345 Jamie Zachary Corresp.Editor .(819) 569-6345 Richard Lessard Prod.Mgr.(819) 569-9931 Serge Gagnon Chief Pressman .(819) 569-9931 Francine Thibault Prod.Superv.(819) 569-4856 DEPARTMENTS Accounting .(819)569-9511 Advertising .(819) 569-9525 Circulation.819) 569-9528 Newsroom .(819)5696345 Knowlton office 88 Lakeside, Knowlton, quF.BEC.J0E 1V0 Tel: (450) 242-1188 Fax: (450) 243-5155 MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS GST PST TOTAL Canada: 1 year 114.40 8.01 9.18 $131.59 6 months 59.00 4.13 4.73 $67.86 3 MONTHS 30.00 2.10 2.41 $34.51 Out of Quebec residents do not include PST.Rates for other services available on request.The Record is published daily Monday to Friday.Back copies of The Record are available.The Record was founded on February 7,1897, and acquired the Sherbrooke Examiner (est.1879) in 1905 and the Sherbrooke Gazette (est.1837) in 1908.The Record is published by Hollinger Canadian Newspapers L.P.Canadian Publications Mail Service Product Agreement No.0479675.Member ABC, CARD, CNA, QCNA XT'S A Mouse Letter to the editor Proposed budget a bomb Dear Editor: Well the mayor of Brome Lake has done his very best to shut down business in this town.The budget meeting held Monday night was a shock to all.If 2002 and 2003 were put together we could see a 47 per cent tax increase.There must be a municipal law passed to prevent this from ever happening again.A landlord can only increase rent by 5 per cent a year so as not to put his tenants in the street.Our mayor has no such constraint.Everyone has basically agreed over the last few years that the businesses should pay a larger share of the municipal expenses.I had already planned to make it part of my election platform this next year.What the mayor has proposed is, rather than increase it moderately to let owners compensate, hit business with a 92 per cent increase.A 92 per cent increase for businesses is unacceptable and must be revised.The excuse the mayor used is that downtown Knowlton receives much more specialized service than the rest of the territory.The things mentioned were the sweeping of the streets, more street lights, Christmas lights, sidewalks, and the personalized visits from the mayor himself.What about all the other businesses in the rest of TBL?The mayor can not use Knowlton to raise taxes in all of TBL.Here in Foster we have none of the above.We only get our streets swept once a year, not once a day.We have no sidewalks.Our streetlights were taken out years ago.We never get Christmas lights and we definitely don’t want the personalized visits from the mayor.Will we be forced to pay the same rate?Absolutely, according to the mayor.There have been several complaints about West Brome at all the master plan meetings.Knowlton is in a better position than the rest of us but this is outrageous.Knowlton would have a very hard time absorbing such a gouging.Many small boutiques would close.If you take the heart out of Knowlton you would harm all business throughout TBL.Knowlton’s businesses are the attraction that brings the tourists here.Foster and West Brome benefit the most from the through traffic that is generated by Knowlton.Empty lots would go from a mill rate of $1.20 to a whopping $2.34.This would encourage developers to purchase land here in Brome Lake.Our mayor wanted to decrease the residential rate by .02, yes 2 cents.He figured that this would get him reelected.The amount of votes he receives at the next election wouldn’t cover a cigarette pack.It is time to think about having the town’s budget audited by an outsider, a firm other than the one used for the past ten years.A full audit to see how many ways we can cut spending.There are four figures that need attention immediately.Public works takes 22 per cent of the budget.Town administration 11 per cent.Town clerk for 2003, $136,728.Town management $222,885.Other administrative expenses $201,216.General administration tips the scales at a whopping $833,939.We must get this broken down to see exactly where it goes.Any business run the way this town is wouldn’t last a year.Our town spending is out of control.Lloyd Sturtevant Foster Record Thursday, December 19.2002 page 7 Perspectives O Christmas Tree SOUTHAM PHOTO mm.Kf • i.- 1.' SI*!*''- ’'I ¦v ¦ The Christmas tree was popularized in England only in the 19th-century, by Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's German consort.By James H.Marsh Southam News On Dec.25,1943, the acrid smell of cordite hung over the rubble barricades of Ortona, Italy, where Canadians and Germans were engaged in grim hand-to-hand combat.Even amid the thunder of collapsing walls and the blinding dust and smoke darkening alleys, the men of The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada and The Loyal Edmonton Regiment were determined to celebrate Christmas.They chose the abandoned church of Santa Maria di Constantinopoli as their banquet hall.The dinner was set out on long rows of tables with white tablecloths, and a bottle of beer, candies, cigarettes, nuts, oranges, apples and chocolate bars at each setting.The companies ate in relays.As each company finished eating, they went forward to relieve the next.The menu was soup, pork with applesauce, cauliflower, mixed vegetables, mashed potatoes, gravy, Christmas pudding and mince pie.In the corner of the room was a small, decorated tree.Even amidst the dread of war, that most universal of Christmas symbols provided comfort and hope.Though intimately associated with Christianity, the Christmas tree has a pagan origin.Many pagan cultures cut down evergreen trees in December and moved them into the home or temple to recognize the winter solstice, which occurs sometime between Dec.20 and 23.The evergreen trees seemed to have magical powers that enabled them to withstand the life-threatening powers of darkness and cold.Legends about the first Christian use of the tree include that of a woodcutter who helps a small hungry child.The next morning, the child appears to the woodcutter and his wife as the Christchild.The child breaks a branch from a fir tree and tells the couple it will bear fruit at Christmas time.As foretold, the tree is laden with apples of gold and nuts of silver.By the 1700s the Christbaum, or “Christ-tree,” was a firmly-established tradition in Germany.It is widely believed that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree.Walking home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst ever- greens.To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles.From Germany the custom of the decorated tree spread to other parts of Western Europe and eventually to North America.The Christmas tree made its first appearance in North America on Christmas Eve 1781, in Sorel, Que.The baroness Riedesel hosted a party of British and German officers.She served an English pudding, but the sensation of the evening was a fir tree in the corner of the dining room, its branches decorated with fruits and lit with candles.After what the family had suffered over the past two years, the baroness was determined to mark their return to Canada with a traditional German celebration.Baron Frederick-Adolphus Riedesel was commander of a group of German soldiers sent by the Duke of Brunswick to help defend Canada.Riedesel and his family were taken prisoner during the disastrous British offensive in northern New York in 1777.They were not released until 1780, when they returned to Sorel.The Christmas tree was popularized in England only in the 19th-century, by Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s German consort.Son of the duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha - a duchy in central Germany - Albert had grown up decorating Christmas trees, and when he married Victoria, in 1840, he requested that she adopt the German tradition.The first time a Christmas tree was lit by electricity was in 1882 in New York.Edward Johnson, a colleague of Thomas Edison, lit a Christmas tree with a string of 80 small electric light bulbs, which he made himself.These strings of light began to be produced around 1890.One of the first electrically-lit Christmas trees was erected in Westmuunt, Que., in 1896.In 1900, some large stores erected illuminated trees to attract customers.Today the Christmas tree is a firmly-established tradition throughout Canada, where the fresh scent of the evergreen and the multicoloured decorations contrast with the dark nights and bleak landscape.Beyond its pagan and Christian origins, the Christmas tree is a universal symbol of rebirth, of light in the darkest time, of hovering angels, and of the star that points to the place of peace.(James H.Marsh is editor-in-chief of The Canadian Encyclopedia.) Local vet recalls wartime Christmas dinner Grant Taylor of Lennoxville recalls Christ-masdinner 58 years ago at RCAF Station Skipton-On-Swale in Yorkshire England in 1944.Taylor was a transport driverwith the 424 Bomber Squadron from 1942-45 but it was Christmas dinner in 1944 that he recalls at this time of year.Rt: Grant Taylor next to transport truck and his Christmas dinner menu in 1944 ®vecthtg0 fcom tije (Comutrtubtng Officer.At this festive season I wish to extend to ery Airman, Airwoman, N.C.O.and Officer this station my heartiest greetings and armest wishes for great happiness In the ew Year.May the coming year see us reunited th our loved ones.To one and all good luck and good cheer.J.G.KERR.Group Captain.tTKCenu.CELERY.MIXED PICKLES.ROAST DRESSED TURKEY.APPLE SAUCE.GIBLET GRAVY.CREAMED CORN.ROAST POTATOES.HOT MINCE PIE.STEAMED PLUM PUDDING.RUM SAUCE.FRESH FRUIT.CANDY.BEER.SOFT DRINKS.CIGARETTES. page 8 Thursday, December 19, 2002 iTHEi * • * » ******** # > + * t * * ****** 55 Main Street, North Hatley • (819) 842-2971 i n to (a pilsen.ca • www.pilsen.ca : record Fragmentation hurts media companies: CanWest prez By James Baxter Southam News The health and quality of mass media in Canada is being jeopardized by government interference, especially broadcast regulations that are hopelessly out of step with how most Canadians consume media, says the president and chief Proud parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, show off your pride and joy in our annual New Year’s edition of The Record featuring babies of the Townships born in 2002.Although all babies are welcome and will be featured in our special issue, only those born in 2002 will be considered for a cover photo and story (randomly selected for this honour).Mail a photograph of baby with: baby’s name, birthday, parents’ name, hometown and 10 words describing the little tyke, along with $15 and a stamped, self-addressed envelope to The Record in Sherbrooke or Knowlton.Deadline: December 20.Published on January 3.Prizes to be won: I 1st place: J| $100 gift certificate from SEARS 2nd place: $50.00 baby gift retail value from .» Boutique Homestead 3rd, 4th, 5th place: __ 3 month subscrition to RECORD executive officer of CanWest Global Communications Corp.Speaking to a Canadian Club luncheon in Ottawa on Tuesday, Leonard Asper defended his company’s record as media owners, saying CanWest has invested heavily in its newspapers and television enterprises in order to combat the ravages of fragmentation and diversification.He said where a decade ago there was only a handful of news and entertainment choices, now there are literally hundreds of outlets competing for a pool of revenues that has not grown at the same pace.“Market share of media companies is being eroded by fragmentation,” he said.“We are trying to get it back.” While saying his speech was not going to ask the federal government for anything, he took the opportunity to mention a few of the most frustrating issues for private broadcasters.Among them, he said, is that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which oversees and licenses broadcasters, is overbilling the companies it monitors by $71 million per year, something he called “a pure tax on broadcasters” that costs CanWest alone $7 million.All the while, he adds, the CRTC issues more broadcast licences, creating more channels that are less profitable.He said government’s paternalistic approach to the advertising of prescription drugs denies his company a share of nearly $300 million that drug companies spend on promotion.And that has serious consequences.“Strong companies reinvest in content, people, capital and their communities,” he said.“Weakened companies slash costs and stop investing.” He added: “Breaking media up into uneconomic fragments will result in business failures and less, not more, diversity of outlets.” Asper said CanWest remains committed to investing in its businesses, admitting that the four-year-old National Post newspaper continues to receive support from CanWest as it builds its market.“Large media companies have the staying power, the courage and the vision to nurture new media outlets to viability,” said Asper, referring to the company’s commitment to the National Post.The 38-year-old Asper also admitted that the concept of media convergence has been tarnished by the high-profile failures of media companies in the United States and Europe, but added that it is still a vital component of business plans of all media companies, including CanWest.In a scrum with reporters following the speech, Asper said the government should consider easing its foreign ownership restrictions for media - a point raised by company officials in recent testimony before the Commons heritage committee - as long as other countries reciprocate.Asper took the opportunity to push back at “a very vocal minority” from the media and political elites whose concern over media concentration “does not resonate with the average Canadian.” He said not only do they misrepresent the extent of CanWest’s market dominance, but even these inflated figures do not rival the extent of dominance enjoyed by media barons decades ago.“All media are responding to the fact that they have been fragmented into so many pieces that they now must consolidate and reconstitute their audiences,” he said.“Those who claim there is too much concentration do not realize that today’s media companies will never come close to the market share and market power that their predecessors of the last 50 years enjoyed.” Asper also took aim at “the lemmings who reprint or restate falsehoods or distortions,” saying they “forgot to mention" that the potential reach of a broadcaster has nothing to do with its actual market share.He added that by actual market share, Global Television is less dominant than CTV, the broadcast arm of Bell Globe media, owners of the Globe and Mail.He said the 17 daily newspapers gives Can-West access to 12 per cent of Canadian households and its television viewership is roughly 15 per cent of households.“Large, maybe.Dominant, hardly.” Asper said the broadcast media will again be revolutionized by the development of digital personal video recorders, which will allow viewers to watch virtually any program at any time they choose.While this will lead to people watching more television, said Asper citing studies, it will also result in more people skipping over the advertisements.He said that in order to compete, advertisers will have to make their spots more entertaining, leading to more of what RECORD Thursday, December 19, 2002 page 9 One in ten Canadians is too skinny By Kate Jaimet Southam News Just when Canadians were worried about epidemic obesity, a new report by Statistics Canada says one in ten people in this country is actually too skinny.The report, released Tuesday, found that teenage girls lead the country in thinness, with one in three between the ages of 15 and 19 being underweight.“If you look at the general female young population, it’s culturally very Still searching for the perfect gift for someone on your Christmas list?Why not give a Record subscription?Call us today at 569-9528 accustomed to dieting and to losing weight,” said Dr.Hany Bissada, head of the Regional Centre for the Treatment of Eating Disorders at the Ottawa Hospital.The survey, which is based on data from the 1998-99 National Population Health Survey, defined “underweight" as a body mass index (BMI) of less than 20.The BMI is a measure based on the ratio of weight to height.Next to teenage girls, young women between 20 and 24 are the skinniest group, with one in four classified as underweight.By contrast, only three per cent of men in that age category have trouble filling out their britches, the survey found.Thinness isn’t always something to worry about, Bissada said.Some people are genetically thinner than €> normal, but that doesn’t make them prone to health problems.The problem comes when people diet to bring their weight to a point below their normal, genetic setting.Dieting and skipping meals can make people physically weak and psychologically irritable, Bissada said.At the extreme, dieting can lead to serious eating disorders, like anorexia.“As a female, as long as you are able to have your menses regularly, you are within an acceptable level.Once you lose your menses, you are crossing the line,” he said.For 10 to 15 per cent of sufferers, anorexia is fatal.By purging their body of fluids, anorexics lose potassium, which can trigger a heart attack.And by dieting to the point where their period stops, young women deprive their body of the hormone estrogen, which is essential to the production and metabolism of calcium.Calcium is necessary for strong, healthy bones, and Bissada said some anorexic teenagers have bones as brittle as 60-year-old women.“It is not a minor illness.It is an illness that can be fatal,” he said.Although extreme thinness is most prevalent among women, the survey also found that 22 per cent of teenage boys between 15 and 19 are also underweight.That is partly due to the pubescent growth spurt, Bissada said.But there’s also a trend for teenage boys to spend too much time working out in the gym, and to skip real meals in favour of protein shakes.At middle age, both men and women tend to put on extra pounds.Only seven per cent of women and three per cent of men between 45 and 64 fell into the underweight category.After the age of 65, however, the numbers grow: six per cent of men and nine per cent of women are too thin.For seniors, the physical wasting away is often a symptom of social isolation, Bissada said.“There is no family to cook for, so you are cooking for yourself.You are cutting corners.It’s not only food, it’s general deterioration,” he said.“Loneliness is a big issue in the older population.” • \ v S' V sy W A NORTHERN-CROWN WEBCOM MUNI CATIONS act connect communicate lorthern -crown com 819 569 9990 LET'S GIVE in LIVING COLOR Greetings: La Maison Aube-Lumière has as its mission to care for patients in the palliative stage of cancer, as well as to provide comfort and support to their families during these difficult times I promptly accepted to preside over the I Ith edition of the annual poinsettia sale, thus offering my support to the marvelous work done by La Maison s personnel and numerous volunteers POINSETTIA SALE FUND.RAISING CAMPAIGN Poinsettias: 6 inches = $17 £ 8 inches = $27 10 inches = $37 * During the Christmas season.4500 poinsettias grown in the greenhouses of Serres & Pépinière St-Élie will be available to the citizens of Sherbrooke and the surrounding area I encourage you to purchase one of these magnificent Christmas flowers, symbols of warmth and life On behalf of the team at La Maison Aube-Lumière.I wish to thank you for your generous support Together, let us make life more colourful RESERVE NOW BY PHONE (819) 82 1-3 120 OR FAX (8 19) 82 1-1127 lean-Pierre Chicoine Honorary President info@lamaisonaube-lumiere.qc.ca V SHERBROOKE Ujenthem, 752.rue Conseil.562-6254 Douce Folle en Fleurs,103, rue King Est.822-9999 Fleurs Immortelles, 1681.rue King Ouest.822-2343 EAST ANGUS Fleuriste Du Charme, centre commercial 150.rue Angus Nord.832-2002 BROMPTONVILLE Bouquet de Campagne.18.rue de l'Église.846-4441 COOKSHIRE Fleuriste Cookshire.45.rue Principale.875-3600 ASBESTOS Fleuriste Côté, 251 ! Avenue, 879-5647 MAGOG Fleuriste Foliole.451.rue Principale Ouest.843-0660 COATICOOK Jardin des trouvailles, 1012.rue Child.849-0299 On sale from November 21 to December 24, at La Baie, in the Carrefour de l'Estrie (La Baie mall) and at Serres et Pépinière St-Élie — Confident - l'union Complices la^£aie delta 9.™'.:,;^“ - Accompagnateurs- W *is=, êk TM Protecteur- Serre* et pépinière St-Élie?Jean Grégoire Cascades lut titous *A- IESD sim i uns WEilrii Compagnons — LaTribune RiCORT) ESruyi .rrvtl "*“*• •• ••«“•• COPKPCOf ofiw» a.o o.o Amis — 08 i?.fta«ïSB PAUSE J» ‘ PP y— 45-3&srs s HEROES MEMORIAL SCHOOL §1*^ jr**- An ecumenical church service was held for all the students at the Emmanuel United Church on Rue Principale.on Thursday.On Dec.14, many of the staff helped serve at the Bucks for Kids Wild Game Super at the Brome Hotel.A good time was had by all and we were pleased to be the recipients of a cheque for $2500 from the organizers of the event.On Wednesday, an ecumenical church service was held for all the students at the Emmanuel United Church on Rue Principale.Rev.Mary MacPher-son delivered a Christmas message to all the students and various students participated in presenting the Christmas Story to the student body.In the afternoon, the Knowlton Harmony Bank performed, as a Christmas treat, for the students, at school.During the last week of school before the holidays, students brought in canned and dry goods every day to help fill community food baskets.The collected food was given to the local Scouts Canada group for distribution.On the last day of the week, Christmas breakfast was served to all the students and then there was a mini assembly where students performed and a visit from Santa was made all classes.It was a busy, jolly, holly, week! The spirit of Christmas resides in all of us and the students and staff at Heroes’ Memorial wish you all a safe and happy holiday season.HEROES MEMORIAL SCHOOL Chelsey Johnston, a Gr.5 student, entered the CIBC Christmas card competition.She won a prize and the school received a gift certificate HEROES MEMORIAL SCHOOL Tessa Herbert, another Gr.5 student, was honoured with a Citizenship Award by the Dunham Optimist Club early in December.page 10 Thursday, December 19, 2002 Record Our School’s Heroes’ Memorial School Spreading the Christmas Spirit at Heroes” Memorial So much has been happening at the school.The last sport covered was volleyball.Heroes’ fielded seven teams for the tournament in early December.All the players had a good time and showed good sportsmanship skills.Recently Ms.Williams’ and Ms.Deguire’s classes went to La Maison de Pomme in Frelighsburg to complete their unit on apples.Christmas is approaching.The students are thinking about the upcoming holidays but they are also connecting with the community to share the holiday spirit.In early December, Mrs.Fava took the two Kindergarten classes to Loblaw’s, where, under the direction of Laurie-Anne Trussler, they toured the bakery where they saw a gigantic oven and were able to watch a baker decorate a cake.They then had a turn to decorate cookies and to eat them with milk.They even had enough time to tour the store to look for signs of Christmas.Loblaw’s will also be helping to sponsor our annual Christmas breakfast for all the students on the last morning before the Christmas holidays.At the end of November, the annual Christmas craft sale at Heroes’, organized by Ms.Sherry Page, welcomed many crafts people to the school on the weekend and helped to raise funds from the table rentals for the school.Ms.Williams’ and Mrs.Fava’s classes made decorations for the Victorian Christmas tree at the BMP Hospital Museum.Visit the hospital and sign the comment book.The staff and students of Heroes’ wrote Christmas cards and some letters to Mr.Réjean Daigle of the Princess Theatre thanking him for free movie tickets in the fall and for helping to arrange a special showing of Harry Potter and Santa Claus 2 for the school.Chelsey Johnston, a Gr.5 student, entered the CIBC Christmas card competition.She won a prize and the school received a gift certificate for books.Tessa Herbert, another Gr.5 student, was honoured with a Citizenship Award by the Dunham Optimist Club early in December.Ms.Smith’s grade 5 class made cards and placemats for the residents at the Robinson Residence and delivered them Thursday, December 19, 2002 page 11 Say you read it in The Record WHERE’D IT GO?I CANT SEE .BAM! Investigating a report that a man had been shot in the back of the head, police in Merced, Calif., discovered that the victim, who was heavily intoxicated, had been trying to determine how high he could throw a brick into the air.On his final toss, he lost sight of the brick in the dark, and it came down and hit him on the back of the head.NO SIR, THAT’S NOT MY DOG, HONEST: A man walking his dog in Dewsbury, England, decided to beak into a neighborhood home, but he had to flee when the owners returned unexpectedly, and, in his haste, left his dog behind.The cops put the animal on a leash, and it led them to the burglar’s home just down the road.BURGER AND A COKE, WINK, WINK: Employees at the Burger King in Mundelein, 111., were caught selling cocaine from the drive-through window.AN UNDERCOVER OPERATION: A 42-year-old woman, while working as an executive assistant at the maximum-security penitentiary in Florence, Colo., had sexual relations with two prison inmates.She also wrote love letters to one of them.She claimed in court that she was actually gathering intelligence from the convicts.She was convicted.FALLS FROM THE SKY?YOU’RE KIDDING! Judging by the view from his fifth-floor apartment window, a Gambian man, living in Hildesheim, Germany, thought vandals had painted his car white overnight, and called the police.They came and explained to him that it was snow, which the man had never seen as he had lived in Africa his whole life.LET’S FORGET THE PAST AND MOVE ON: A 19-year-old man tried to rob a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Philadelphia, and, even though he worked there, he made no effort to hide his face or disguise himself in any way.He tried to force his boss to open the safe, but it was time-locked, so he fled empty-handed.Then, three days later, he showed up for work as if nothing happened.The district attorney said, “You have to ask yourself, ‘What was he thinking?”’ EXCEPT FOR THE HYENAS, OF COURSE: Some Australian women formed a group to practice laughter therapy which they feel relieves stress and stimulates thé immune system.When they went to a Brisbane park for a session of laughter they were shocked when a ranger threw them out.He said they were scaring the wildlife.THE PERFECT GIFT FOR THE DRUG ADDICT IN YOUR LIFE: The Norwegian national railroad gave an artist $2,000 to create decorations for a Christmas tree at the Oslo Central Station.Deciding to make a statement on the commercialism of the holiday, he made the decorations out of the cash itself, even though that train station is a notorious hangout for heroin addicts.The money was promptly stolen.c IKE PINGREE’S THROUGH THE ^ LOOKING GLASS \) ER AND IMPORTS WELCOME HERE! 1205 Wellington St.S.569-5959 563-0036 Locally installed.WaVC A p**to**J Nationally guaranteed **** * ?******' | engines.Then, of course, there’s the six-speed manual that’s available with the coupe.Underneath, Honda has decided to stick with the previous-generation Accord’s double wishbone suspension.I Overall changes for this year, however, j are aimed at keeping it flat in all driving \ conditions.Torsional rigidity is also up by j 27 per cent.A stronger chassis with j reduced flex means a more solid, rattle-| free driving experience in all conditions.In fact Honda says it’s like no other car it [ its lineup — ever.Exterior styling is more attractive and definitely more distinctive than in previous versions.You only need a passing glance to | make that discovery.In fact, the coupe and sedan are so different from each other dial I their headlights are the only shared body \ components.The sedan is available in a wide variety of trim levels — base DX, LX-G, EX-L, LX V6 and EX V6 — which means there’s a little something for everyone and for every budget.The coupe, which runs a little more upscale overall than the sedan, comes in LX-G, EX-L and EX V6 trim.Inside, the seats have been redesigned to provide improved comfort and support.There’s also more front interior room, increased rear knee room, upgraded audio -system, available dual-zone climate control and even a new multi-functional key that eliminates the need for a separate remote.Built into the head of the key are functions for locking and unlocking the doors as well as rolling down all the windows.Additional standard equipment this year includes four-wheel-disc brakes with antilock as well as tilt and telescopic steering.For the first time on any Honda, upper-end Accord coupes will be available with a side-curtain airbag system.There are also standard dual-stage front air bags that adjust the force depending on the severity of the impact, as well as driver and front-passenger side-impact airbags.The Accord ha1 always been a perennial favorite of those seeking reliable, practical and economical transportation.The 2003 model stands on the shoulders of its predecessors to add new good looks, power, and, as Honda puts it, passion.It not only makes the Accord a more attractive package, but keeps Honda at the head of the pack.diüpipi» 2003 Accord ?Two-door coupe or tour-door midsize sedan.?160-horsepower 2.4-litre four cylinder engine or a 3.0-litre V6 that makes 240 horses.?Available in front-wheel-drive with a five-speed manual transmission, optional five-speed automatic, or six-speed manual.?Honda brings the midsize world another contender, a car with more passion style, room, power and sophistication.?All Accords boast a long list of standard features.This year, interior improvements include increased front room, increased rear knee room, new larger seats with added comfort and support and an upgraded audio system.?New and improved but still competitively priced and capable of fetching a high resale.?L/100 km (city/highway): n/a ?Base price: n/a Improving a good thing is never an easy task, but Honda has added two new qualities to its 2003 Accord: WHEELBASE COMMUNICATIONS STAFF Here’s a stirring thought for an all-new model ready to make a splash in a new model year: the Honda Accord has some passion.Passion?The Accord?We beg your pardon.Actually, Honda is begging you to consider its Accord over a slew of other new family sedans that are up for grabs.Updated?That’s an understatment.It has even been called “the most dramatic change” in its 27-year model history — at least by Honda.Popularity is a different animal altogether.Honda has never had a problem making its meat-and-potatoes, apple-pie (it is built in the United States, after all) family sedan appeal to the masses.Since the first Accord took shape for the 1976 model year, the car has bnilt a reputation for incredible reliability, top resale value and economy.It’s the car that every other sedan out there wants to be.But what about pizzazz, vim, vigor and chutzpa?This year should take care of at least some of that.With boosted power, improved suspension and reworked transmissions, the new Accord arrives with more oomph and eye appeal.Of course, no new transformation would be complete without the addition of a sport model (that’s our take on life, anyway), so Honda has created a new V6 sport coupe with fat tires and a notchy six-speed manual transmission.Just how different is this attitude toward family transportation?Honda even went out of its way to include the words “cheetahlike styling” in its press literature.We’ll simply settle for something a little different than the every-day.It starts with two new advanced power-plants: a 160-horsepower 2.4-litre four-cylinder; and an extensively revised 3.0-litre V6 that now makes an impressive 240 horsepower.Both have more peak power and torque than their predecessors, as well as improved midrange and bottom-end performance.Both feature Honda’s latest variable valve timing system, called i-VTEC and offer lower emissions and improved economy, already a Honda trait.Four-cylinder Accords come with a new five-speed manual transmission.A five-speed automatic (replacing the previous four-speed auto) is also available for both page 12 THE RECORD Thursday, December 19, 2002 HOURS ^TURTLENECKS GLOVES Monday-Friday: 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m CAPS Saturday: 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m ‘Beautiful selection of giftsfor “Slim and tier” Noon-4:00 p.m Boutique on gloves, scarves, with sOCkS coupon Valid til Docamber 22nd, 2002 One coupon per customer.Cannot be combined with any other promotion L s% " T v~< ‘ ' •' - ¦ * ; Yves Robert Antiquités Pim-Ulpée - Furniture restauration _ chair caning Corner ol Main S Deragon in basement 10 Deragon st., Magog Tel: 819-571-5655 819-843-8054 CHINESE BUFFET ^OSONHO^ TAKE OUT - "DIM SUM” 1375 Sherbrooke St.in Magog 843-8388 Your Bombardier dealer r, ^ 555, route 220.St-Élie cTOrford w 821 -3595 -