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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.