A growing number of people are becoming concerned about Port Dover's treatment in the media of late. With the recent flap over the Lions' Fish Fry & Stag, toplessness, and security concerns related to the Friday the 13th biker rallies, the town has been under the microscope, attracting the attention of print and electronic media across southern Ontario.

Despite all the recent publicity, residents of Port Dover know their town remains a laid-back, family-oriented community that just happens to be popular with tourists. Indeed, the town's bustling tourism economy depends on Port Dover maintaining this reputation as a safe, friendly community.

But some, with good reason, feel this reputation is being unfairly maligned. Katie Buck, owner of Buck's Park, is one of the many business people in Port Dover who relies on this reputation for her livelihood. She shared her concerns with Nanticoke's finance and administration committee Wednesday.

We agree with Buck that shoddy, irresponsible reporting of late has misrepresented Port Dover to the rest of the province. We were hoping it would pass, but The Hamilton Spectator was back at it yesterday with a column written by a Denise Davy.

Headed "Port Dover residents up to their necks in breasts," the column is so riddled with errors that it's hard to know where to begin. With regard to the Lions Fish Fry, Davy identifies Stan Morris as the club's president and Dr. John Hall as vice president. In fact, Morris is vice president while Dr. Hall is president. Davy says the two strippers at the fish fry were paid $5,000. In fact, the total cost of the night's entertainment was about $3,500. This included two comedians, a dance troupe, and two exotic dancers. She says the event raised $5,000 when the final numbers have yet to be tabulated.

Davy says 22 community groups protested the fish fry, when in fact it was only the Haldimand-Norfolk Co-ordinating Committee to End Violence Against Women. This committee has representatives from local social service agencies, but the executives of these agencies were not asked to take a formal stand on the Lions' event. And Mayor Rita Kalmbach has never "whole-heartedly" approved the Lions stag.

Davy makes reference to the Simcoe Lions' ill-fated minstrel show, which was shelved four years ago in favor of a generic variety program. She says the Lions came up with the minstrel concept "a few years ago" when in fact it dated back to the early 1950s. There's a big qualitative difference between a minstrel show started when burlesque, vaudeville, and Al Jolson were still fond memories and a minstrel show started from scratch "a few years ago."

Other points: Nanticoke council has not passed a resolution with regard to the topless issue. It was not a Supreme Court decision that made toplessness legal, it was an Ontario Court of Appeal decision. Council has not discussed or considered a private member's bill with regard to this. Municipalities don't pass private member's bills. This is done at Queen's Park and in Ottawa, and then only rarely so. Council is not "fighting its heart out to keep naked breasts off the street." One councillor wants a bylaw, but he can't find a seconder for it. And toplessness has not "split the town in two." It takes an illegal museum addition to do that, and then only for the two weeks or so that people feel like talking about it.

One thing Davy got right is that there's only one person is town who's making a nuisance of herself, and she happens to be from Hamilton. We don't mean Davy, but a certain exhibitionist with mental problems who's been relocated to Port Dover by her family. A lot of people wish they'd take her back to Steel Town for some proper supervision.

So come on guys ­ get your facts straight. Davy isn't the first, nor will she be the last, to misrepresent this area to a wider audience. If you need help with your copy, call us at The Reformer. We'll be glad to help, because when you screw up, the rest of us suffer for it.

-- Monte Sonnenberg