The Times Herald from Port Huron, Michigan • Page 11

TIMES HERALD, PORT HURON. MICHIGAN 1 1 A i Members of the Times Herald editorial board: EDITORIAL BOARD Opinion Mike Scobey president and publisher Gary Miles managing editor Thomas 0. Walker opinion page editor Jill A. Carlson copy editor Oenise Richter executive editor Judith A. McLean assistant managing editor Garth J.

Kriewall page one editor Bruce Filbeck, Elaine Flowers community memoers To contact any members of the editorial board, call Cheryl Baitinger, administrative assistant to the publisher, at 989-6249. euEi uiiif EE HAL SCENE Opinion by Jim Borgman SATURDAY, JULY 1, 2000 WITHER Wlf McMorran, Afr must work out Hillary's enemies have great hate, differ as to why Hillary Hate has gone from being a pathology to being a profession, giving us a cottage industry of full-time Hillary vilifiers. There are already more than 40 books about her (almost all against her), with many more to come. The American Enterprise magazine prints a whole issue on her, drawing excerpts from a hate-in held in Washington this year, with added interviews and an editorial introduction that argues Hillary should be "deposited on the national compost pile." departure KEY TOPIC: Our Community 'Authority, Border Cats should on short-term playing dates rhen business agreements begin to unravel, it's seldom very pretty. When a pact between repre Peggy Noonan hates her because she is a traitor who has deliberately disarmed America.

She shares her husband's "refusal to defend their country." Her indignation is not enough for David Horowitz, who says that Ms. Noonan is too soft on Hillary: "Noonan is finally too decent to fully comprehend the pathology she is dealing with." Mr. Horowitz places Hillary "in the Vencere-mos Brigade in socialist Cuba." Joyce Milton, the author of one of those attack books, says fr-: y- ri GARRY WILIS sentatives of the public and private sector comes apart, it can become downright Officials of McMorran Place, Port 'Huron's taxpayer-supported civic center, and the owner of the Port Huron Border Cats hockey team are on the outs. Like marriages that break up, the parties can't seem to part amicably. It's a shame that both sides are unable to reach a final agreement that appears to be in their short-term interests.

An accommodation still appears possible. But it's uncertain if both sides can stop bickering long enough to put it into effect. Dr. Mostafa Afr is building a arena for the Border Cats in Kimball Township. He hopes it will be ready by Nov.

1, when the 2000-2001 United Hockey Tlie Over the Hill Gang is a group of retired area law enforcement officers with one thought in mind camaraderie. POINT OF VIEW Over the Hill Gang's never at a loss for discussion, good food It's all about camaraderie when members of The Over the Hill Gang meet for lunch on the third Wednesday of the month at the Old Country Buffet restaurant in Fort Gratiot. About a year ago, I shared a few thoughts with you about the Gang when LL Michael G. Morenko, commander of the Michigan State Police Richmond Wham, Bam, Pow, there they are sitting down next to each other for lunch. Sometimes, only a dozen may show up.

The next time there may be more than 50. About 40 were there at the new Marysville Police Department. "The only activity we have with our lunch is a little good-natured kidding and B.S.,"A1 said with a grin. that Hillary espouses "a kind of corporate fascism." John Fund says that if Hillary enters the Senate, "she'd find things to bomb all around the world." Some people in the magazine attack her for being a feminist, while others attack her for not being one. Phyllis Schlafly says she is one of those "bra-burning feminists of the 1970s," and hopes that she will, like her cinema prototypes Thelma and Louise, crash to her death off a cliff.

But Christopher Hitchins says she is not a feminist, just a selfish person. The true sign of a community of hate is the fact that people despise her with equal intensity for opposite reasons. Joyce Milton says Hillary does not really care for children, since "she has never focused on the rate of children being born out of wedlock." But Mr. Hitchins castigates her for her "call in 'It Takes a Village' for sexual abstinence among teen-agers." How can she be indifferent to ille- gitimacy while at the same time criticizing its cause? Mr. Hitchins takes it as an affront to his importance that Hillary continues living after he has destroyed her in print.

Lynne Cheney, the immoderate moderator of one panel, takes it personally that Hillary dares to look undefeated: "What really drives me crazy is when she acts like a happy wife." People so easily unhinged are becoming a public embarrassment. Write Garry Wills at Universal Press Syndicate, 4520 Main Kansas City, Mo. 64111. JOHN F. BROWN MY TURN League season begins.

In case it isn't done on time, he wants the team to play its exhibition season and several early regular season games at McMorran. The problem is the Border Cats don't have an agreement with McMorran. Dr. Afr says he signed it. The McMorran Authority, the civic center's governing body, says he didn't.

On Tuesday, the Authority terminated the Border Cats' lease, which had two years left on it. Unless the new arena is constructed on a remarkably fast track, the team may be without an immediate place to play. The obvious solution is that both sides simply approve the agreement. McMorran needs an estimated $13 million in renovations. McMorran officials are trying to figure out how to cover that cost and reduce the facility's annual losses about $300,000 a year that Port Huron taxpayers must cover.

The Border Cats, McMorran's leading tenant, brought an estimated $220,000 through rent, food and alcohol concessions and parking to the civic center. But sooner or later, the team will leave. i That shouldn't mean that McMorran and the Border Cats can't make the best of their remaining days together. McMorran needs the money the team can generate. The Border Cats, in the short term, need a place to play.

Work it out. It won't be long before both sides go their separate ways. Why not make the best of the time they have left? Can you spare blood? The St. Clair County Chapter of the American Red Cross wants blood some of yours if you can spare it. Blood supplies are low, according to Smith, the chapter's blood services administrator.

She is asking people to donate blood before the Fourth of July hoi-Way. Blood supplies are often in greater demand and smaller supply at this time of year. Call the American Red Cross and find out how you can donate: 985-7117. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: challenge in life. Ernie rode a motorcycle as a Marysville cop back in 1940.

After World War II, he worked for the sheriff department, then joined the US. Customs. He worked in law enforcement for 36 years before retiring in 1976. "I've got more years in retirement than most guys have on the job in law enforcement today," Ernie said with a smile. "Hey, I'm a lucky guy." I remember Charlie Nurnberg from my old neighborhood when I was a boy.

It was Fireman Nurnberg at that time. He was assigned to the No. 2 hose and ladder fire station in the 600 block of Broad Street, next to the old St. Clair County Jail and the old Port Huron High School gymnasium, all long gone now. Charlie was always great to any kid who visited or played around the fire station.

Charlie left the fire department in 1948, joined the U.S. Customs and worked there for more than 32 years before he retired. It was great to see him again. As for Sgt. Milton G.

Dell, 78, one of the best police officers I've ever known, well, he made the lunch, too. He was handing out passes allowing us to stay in Marysville for up to "two hours before sunset." Milt always did have a little humor hidden underneath that crusty, hard-bark, in-your-face, hard-charger attitude as a street cop. Sgt Dell was a loyal and dedicated Marysville police officer for 24 years before he retired in 1977. Like I said, he was one of the best, hard, but always fair. So what were the conversations about at lunch? There was' talk of the fireworks in Port Huron and Sarnia tonight, the new digs at the Marysville Police Department, weather, vacations, grandchildren and old friends now gone.

Gosh, it was good being back with the Gang. John F. Brown is a retired Times Herald writer, reporter and columnist. Write him at P. O.

Box 5009, Port Huron, 48061-5009. There is no escape man drags man down, or man lifts man Booker T. Washington, American educator and author (1856-1915). "The whole idea in the beginning was just to keep in touch with each other after we retired. You just hate to say goodbye to good friends when sometimes you don't have to.

We've got a great group of people in our retired gang." They sure do. The old-timers Jack Tiege asked about are William J. Pet-tengill, Milton G. Dell and Ernest "Ernie" Spratto. Walter Field, a retired firefighter, wanted to know if I knew anything about a former firefighter called "Big Red" Nurnberg.

I guess I've been friends with former Sheriff William J. "Big Bill" Pettengill of St. Clair County since he took office back in 1957. He served the county as sheriff for 12 years, and later served as the 72nd District Court administrator from 1969 to 1980 when he retired. Although he is long gone from his elected post, "Big Bill," now 82, still is affectionately called "The Sheriff' by his friends.

Like they said in Robin Hood's Sherwood Forest, "Once a sheriff, always a Sheriff." Heart surgery has slowed Big Bill down a little. But he's still active in work for the Lions Club and with anything that has to do with veterans. "It's nice to keep in touch with each other," Bill said. "I don't miss the daily work routine. But I do miss the people." Ernie Spratto, 84, was leaving the luncheon with Big Red Nurnberg when I caught up Post, hosted a luncheon for the group.

After the column appeared, I received several letters one from Jack Jay Tiege of Columbus, Ohio, and another from Walter G. Field of New Baltimore who asked me about several "old-timers" whom they thought might be members of the group. I promised them that if I had another opportunity to join the group for lunch, I'd find out about those old-timers for them. As luck would have it, Chief Mark J. Thorner of the Marysville Police Department telephoned me in May to let me know that his department was hosting the Gang for lunch.

-Chief Thorner asked me if I'd like to break a little bread with some old friends. I cherished the invitatioa By the way, The Over the Hill Gang is a group of retired area law enforcement officers with one thought in mind camaraderie. The group was started in 1988 by the late Richard Daniels, a chaplain for the St. Clair County Sheriff Department, and Al Bailey of Marysville. Al served 28 years with the Michigan State Police before retiring in 1983.

Today, the group has more than 100 members. I don't believe there is another retirees' group quite like the Gang in all of Michigan, or the nation, for that matter. There are no politics involved, no dues, no by-laws, and really, there isn't even a single planned JOIN THE DISCUSSION BY MAIL: Send us a letter, worded as briefly as possible. Please include your name, address, and daytime telephone number. BY PHONE: Call our TalkBack line any time at 989-6297 with your comments.

You also can use that line to dictate a letter by including your name, address and day phone number. BY FAX: Our fax number is 989-6294. BY ELECTRONIC MAIL Our Internet address is tmshrldic.net OUR ADDRESS: Times Herald, P.O. Box 5009, Port Huron 48061-5009. OUR POLICY: The Tmes Herald reserves the right to edit all submissions letters, guest columns or TalkBack comments for length and content.

We will publish a letter by the same author no sooner than 1 4 days after his or her previous letter. with them. Ernie is still a tiger, activity. The third Wednesday of the month rolls around, and always looking for that next ill ij heard a lot of parents swearing near their children and swearing at their children. The way they treated their children was very sad.

I know it's hard to raise children, but you must remember that it was your choice to do so. What your child hears really sticks with them. What they hear from their parents plays a big part in their life. Garbage in and garbage out." Zeke from the South Side: "In some counties and cities, they have statutes to prevent people from abusing others people with their loud music. In St Clair County, that doesn't seem to be a factor.

I think this should be changed." he got hurt at the Yale Lions Festival and all of the people who have been having him in their prayers. Thanks!" Mike from Port Huron: "I wanted to congratulate the recreation department for putting on the TeenFest at Lakeside Park. I did have a question about your article. It said the event was for ages 12 and older, and you showed a picture of a kid that was 9. Why show a picture of a kid that was not even supposed to be there? I bet his parents knew he wasn't old enough and sent him anyway.

That's typical." John from Cottreville Township: "Michelle Malkin, syndicated columnist, is an excellent writer. I'm glad that we have her. Now, all we have to do is get rid of Deborah Mathis and Mary Coulter, who are both super-liberal." Mary from Port Huron: "Recently, I was at a place where there were a lot of families with childrea I over calling about Mary Grybows-ki's dispute over the Algonquin Hotel bricks. The people in Port Huron, and anyone in St. Clair County, should really stop and think what this woman has done for women.

She has helped women with substance abuse and alcohol abuse. Think of the financial demands it takes to keep this going. To worry about bricks from a building that she held close to her heart, give her a break." Angela from Goodells: "Why is the county wasting my money to put up new road signs when there is nothing wrong with the old ones? The Flint and Port Huron sign on the Wales Center overpass was fine. It is a total waste of money, and it makes me sick. Why are they detouring people through Wadhams? Wad-hams can't handle all the traffic." Lou and Brenda: "I'm just calling to thank all of the people who helped my son when rette.

People who are the first to complain about Big Brother, when we talk about taking away cell phones while they are driving down the road, are probably the ones who should use more common sense when driving. Pull off to the side of the road if you need to talk to someone. That's what I do." Herb from Fort Gratiot: "I was reading in the paper about Grand River Avenue in Port Huron. At one time, it was called Butler Street and there was a hotel that stood on the northeast corner called the Pioneer Hotel" Lee from Port Huron: "In the article concerning Brush Street, it is true that McMorran Boulevard was Broad Street because I grew up there, but in my mind. I thought I heard that Grand River was Butler Avenue." OK, we're narrowing it down: There was a street there and it started with the letter From Marine City: "I'm we need to keep it intact.

Anyone can pray when they want" Doug from Kimball: "I received my Shopper this week and there was an insert of an American Flag and the suggestion we show our patriotism by displaying it Please inform the person who works for the Times Herald that it has been a good many years since there were only 44 states in the union. That's right, there are only 44 stars in the flag that they suggested we display. Not 50, but 44. So much for patriotism in today's world." Nothing unpatriotic about it, Doug: We goofed, plain and simple. I think it falls under the heading of that great, ail-American acronym SNAFU.

Sherry from Marine City: "I was just going down 26 Mile Road, and I saw a lady driving her SUV and coming toward me at about 60 mph. She was talking on her cell phone and smoking a ciga Anyone can pray when they want Anew wave of big-budget movies is out. I saw Mission: Impossible 2. Plenty of flash but nothing else. The Patriot sounds sort of interesting, if you like the idea of an Australian saving America from the British.

The Perfect Storm? I know how it ends. The only movie I really want to see is Chicken Run. I must be getting old. Either that, or I'm regressing toward childhood. Now, to the phones: No Name: "Jim Ketchum's column last week had the right idea.

Anybody can pray any time they want, and no one is stopping them from praying. They just can't be forced. Our Constitution spells out our legal rights and GARTH KRIEWALL TALKBACK 989-6297 TalkBack is the newspaper's version of a radio talk show. The opinions are Garth's and those of his readers. The TalkBack line is open 24 hours.

WHAT DO YDU THINK? CALL TALKBACK The TalkBack line is open 24 hours: (810) 989-6297 Toll free: Call 1-800-462-4057 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays..