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Digital Archiving Completed by the Ethnography Lab, A University of Toronto Anthropology Initiative<br />

and Produced in Collaboration with David Perlman/Wholenote Media Inc between July-December 2015.<br />

Kensington Market DRUM EDITORIAL/LETTERS <strong>May</strong> 21, <strong>1992</strong> I Page Five<br />

Letters to DRUM<br />

Box 67590<br />

57 6 Dundas Street West<br />

Toronto MST 3B8<br />

published. Unless stated here, letters are published in their entirety.<br />

COUNCILLORS<br />

APOLOGIZE<br />

TOTWH<br />

" Dear DRUM,<br />

RE: INCINERATION AT TORONTO WESTERN HOSPI­<br />

TAL<br />

" In a recent flyer, we stated that "Toronto Western Hospital is<br />

burning all of the garbage it produces as well as wastes from<br />

22 other facilities at its· incinerator at Bathurst and Dundas."<br />

This statement is erroneous and arose due to a misunderstanding<br />

and the reluctance of the hospital to' provide us with exact<br />

figures. As a result of the distribution of this flyer, the<br />

Hospital has provided us with correct data on its waste<br />

11<br />

management policies.<br />

Iri fact, Toronto Western Hospital is burning all of the bi-omedical<br />

waste it produces as well as wastes from 22 other .<br />

,, facilities. Bio-medical waste includes such things as body parts,<br />

syringes, plastic tubing, bed pans, used dressings, and so en.<br />

Much of the other garbage it produces is landfilled and some<br />

is recycled.<br />

In any event, the Toronto Western Hospital incinerator bums<br />

waste at 80-90% of its licensed capacity. Hospital officials<br />

have recently stated that the total cost of incineration in 1991<br />

was $315,000. The fees earned by burning for other facilities<br />

was $285,000.<br />

We apologize for this error and regret any embarrassment it<br />

may have caused. We thank the hospital for providing us with<br />

the correct figures.<br />

Yours very truly,<br />

Elizabeth Amer, City Councillor, Ward 5<br />

and<br />

Martin Silva,<br />

City Councillor, Ward 4.<br />

Dear editor<br />

I'm writing to you concerning<br />

the possible budget cut to the<br />

drug · free arcade that is<br />

located on Augusta Avenue.<br />

Well in this letter I'm going to<br />

·tell you what I feel should be<br />

done or could be done. My<br />

personal point of view is that<br />

the drug·-free arcade is a wonderful<br />

educational place for<br />

kids and teens to go to. There<br />

we learn the true facts about<br />

aids, substance abuse, drug<br />

· abuse, date rape, sexuality<br />

and if I name the rest I think<br />

I'll run out of paper. The staff<br />

give us a good view of. not<br />

only the facts- of all these<br />

things but all the side-effects<br />

that come along with the<br />

package. They teach us a lot<br />

of things that you won~t and<br />

can't learn out of reading a<br />

pamphlet you pick up on the<br />

subway. I have learned a lot<br />

from - the , little time I have<br />

gone there and I hope to learn<br />

more and more as time goes<br />

· on and hopefully if there is no<br />

budget cuts. The staff make a<br />

friendly and lovable environ­<br />

.ent for the kids and the<br />

Dear editor,<br />

I am writing this letter<br />

because we kids at the<br />

Arcade need all the programs<br />

[provided by the Drug-Free<br />

Arcade. I am involved in a<br />

group which is in the process<br />

of developing an AIDS and<br />

Drugs game at the Arcade to<br />

make the kids and teenagers<br />

aware of these problems<br />

affecting our generation. This<br />

program has provided some<br />

interesting information on<br />

AIDS and drugs and has been<br />

a lot of fun as well. As you<br />

can see we need the funding<br />

you have cut from us.<br />

Yours truly<br />

Richard Hamilton<br />

Age 16<br />

Dear Mr. or Ms. Public Health:<br />

My name is Arlynne Poitras I<br />

am 14 years old and going in<br />

to grade nine in the fall I am<br />

an active participant in a<br />

revolutionary program<br />

designed for young women at<br />

the st. stephens drug free<br />

arcade. it's called "girl's<br />

group" . .<br />

We have been meeting for<br />

about a year now and learned<br />

an immense amount. We've<br />

had speakers seen theatre<br />

gone camping w e panted a<br />

mural promoting equality and<br />

safer sex, we re-decorat ed a<br />

room, we are beginning to<br />

clean out the backyard and<br />

we got to talk about our prob-<br />

SIGN OF THE TIMES<br />

See this sign?<br />

It could be yours.<br />

Put one up·<br />

and help the cause.<br />

Phone 368-0407<br />

lems to someone who is<br />

trained to help us. At my age<br />

something like this holds a<br />

great deal of value, we get to<br />

talk about things that we<br />

might no feel comfortable<br />

telling our parents or friends.<br />

Next year all of us are going<br />

to different high schools. This<br />

is our best way to keep in<br />

touch with each other. And<br />

I'm sure you know that high<br />

school can be a very stressful<br />

place. This summer we are<br />

planning for workshops to<br />

help our time organization.<br />

This group is very important<br />

to me. It represents young<br />

women in community centres<br />

,./<br />

,~<br />

very well considering we're so<br />

active. If ·it wasn't for the<br />

arcade, I know that I would<br />

never have set foot in a community<br />

centre. The arcade is<br />

very important to me and to<br />

many others. This funding is<br />

vital to keep it alive. Please<br />

give generously.<br />

Yours sincerely,<br />

Arlynne Poitras, age 14<br />

Girls Group, St. Stephen's<br />

Drug-Free Arcade<br />

students!<br />

311<br />

Augusta<br />

.,<br />

cozn<br />

laundry<br />

best hours<br />

great price<br />

youth that go there.They are<br />

really· friendly. I don't think<br />

there should be any budget<br />

cuts because 1. feel that the<br />

programs that are offered<br />

there really help the kids and<br />

youth to understand the real<br />

fats and effected drugs, sex<br />

and other very common issues<br />

today have on us and on<br />

those that live around us .. The<br />

program is really interesting<br />

and educational but at the<br />

same time fun. I feel that<br />

tho$e are the programs that<br />

have the most success<br />

because they really get the<br />

participants interested. They<br />

teach us a lot of interesting<br />

things that we have of know<br />

in order to survive out there in<br />

the world today. Well I hope<br />

that this letter helps the drugfree<br />

arcade stay as it 'is, so '<br />

that it can continue helping<br />

the kids of the neighbourhood.<br />

They do a very good<br />

job teaching kids.<br />

Yours sincerely<br />

Maria Perez<br />

Dear editor,<br />

I am a concerned student who<br />

attends the arcade regularly<br />

and this issue is very appalling<br />

to me. I cannot understand<br />

why these people are so<br />

heartless and greedy. This<br />

program is safe and educational.<br />

It keeps young people<br />

off the streets and out of<br />

trouble with the law. I in particular<br />

am fond of the program<br />

they have provided for<br />

me. My evening schedule is.<br />

now filled with exciting activities.<br />

By cutting the funding<br />

for the "DRUG FREE/AIDS<br />

PREVENTION arcade the<br />

Board of Health has ignorantly<br />

"stopped the flow" so to<br />

speak of youth activity- in our<br />

community. It disgusts me to<br />

see such inconsiderate selfishness<br />

towards children and<br />

children's programs. I obviously<br />

feel that this matter<br />

should be reconsidered, there<br />

must be a s simple solution to<br />

the problem.<br />

Howard Morgan<br />

age 17<br />

Dear Editor<br />

I like the Arcade. I learn about<br />

drugs and AIDS.<br />

Steve<br />

Age 7<br />

Dear Editor,<br />

We need to learn. The Board<br />

of Health should keep giving<br />

us funding. ·<br />

Alexandria<br />

Age 7<br />

Dear Editor,<br />

I am writing this story<br />

because I am mad at the<br />

Board of Health. And the<br />

Arcade is the best Arcade<br />

because we know not to<br />

touch the dirty needle.<br />

Paul<br />

Age 9<br />

Dear Editor<br />

I'm mad at the board of health<br />

because they cut a lot of the<br />

funding off the arcade and we<br />

did not like that because the<br />

arcade teaches us about aids<br />

and drugs and a lot of other<br />

things too.<br />

Nattasha<br />

age 10<br />

Dear editors:<br />

We kids at the Arcade learned<br />

about drugs and AIDS and we<br />

have a lot of fun.<br />

Jason Hamilton<br />

Age 14<br />

To the editor:<br />

I am writing in regard to the<br />

cut in funding to the drug-free<br />

arcade by the board of health.<br />

Please do not cut our funding.<br />

The funding that we receive<br />

from the board of health will<br />

enable us to . provide programs,<br />

such as the AIDS<br />

game, the drug free arcade<br />

and the life skills workshops.<br />

These programs help educate<br />

youths on A IDS and drugs.<br />

There have been enough<br />

programs that have been cut,<br />

especially summer jobs and<br />

recreational programs. We<br />

need these programs for our<br />

health and welfare.<br />

_Sincerely<br />

Frank Mensah<br />

Editor's note: sorry w e could<br />

not publish more than a reJ1resentative<br />

sample of the mar y<br />

letters we received on this<br />

top'ic. See article Cutbacks<br />

threaten, page 10.

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