DAILY NEWS SHOULD NOT GLORIFY DRUG CULTURE

To the Editor:

Shame on you, Bob Hall. Shame on the Nelson Daily News. This past
weekend you could have chosen between an article on the citizen of
the year or on one about a drug trafficker.

Dr. John Mackay has spent his lifetime working for his community and
for Rotary. Even now he is working for the re-establishment of a
comprehensive hospital in Nelson, he has been involved in the
eradication of Polio in the world and has worked on improving the
lives of the very poor, particularly women and children of Honduras.

This other...person..was a was on the other side of society. I don't
care how talented he may have been or how charming, he chose to ally
himself with the scum of the world, those who traffic in drugs, and
like it or not, marijuana is still, legally, a drug. He chose to
smuggle it across the border, chose to become a part of those who
prey on the weakest of society - including children like yours, chose
to become a part of the systemic breakdown of society. And that you
chose to devote a whole page plus two extra columns in adulation of
this lowest member of our society, making him, in effect, a folk
hero, and gave not one word to the recognition of one of the best,
puts in serious question your ethical judgment, your moral judgment
and your sense of good taste. As I say, shame on you, Bob Hall.
Deep, deep shame on the Nelson Daily News.

(Ms) Frances Nicolson
Nelson, B.C.

Editor's Note: The story about Dr. Mackay was not written at press
time on the day noted. This is the reason the story did not appear
in the March 20 edition. The story on the citizen of the year ran in
the Monday, March 23 edition.