WRITER’S CRAMP has set in among Canada Post elves who have so far responded “to 750,000 letters’ on Santa’s - behalf. - By Elaine Moyle « Contributing Writer And there's no relief in sight for busy postal workers who expect to surpass last year’s mountain of one million letters. The national letter-writing pro- “gram, launched in 1983, is made possible by 9,000 generous employee volunteers. “We get letters from all over the world,” says Canada Post spokeswoman Deborah Harron. a wt ASRS “? “We've received letters from as far away as Hong Kong, Brazil and Italy. Last year, we got more than 13,000 letters from Lithuania. Canada, she explained, is the popular destination for Santa let- ters because the North Pole is in our back yard. ‘“‘We receive letters from children written in up to 14 dif- NEWS photo Noil Lucente IT'S NOT too late to send a letter to the North Pole to tell Santa if you’ve been naughty or nice. Send your Christmas wishes to: Santa Claus, North Pole, HOH OHO. Lo Need a tune-up? Bring'em in. All at no extra charge. One & two year programs available, Starting at $149 for downhill, - $105 for cross country, $239 for snowboard. Adult rates available. For more info, call us. - Park Royal South West Vancouver 722-0757) a wins tb re oh ferent languages,’* explaines Harron, ‘Letters are translated and responded to in whatever lan- guage they were written in.”? The volume of mail prevents most letters from being personally answered, Letters written in French and English, representing the bulk of the mail, are ac- knowledged on pre-printed sta- tionery. Letters, says Harron, are received from people of all ages. One of the most bizarre requests was from a senior asking for a set of dentures, she added. Santa also ‘received a soother from a little girl trying to free herself of the habit. Some of the saddest letters are received from terminally ill children who ask Santa to make them better, says Harron, and un- derprivileged children who say their stockings were empty the previous year. In some instances, social ser- vices intervene in special requests (such as food hampers) and a - oo \ ‘oe Genesis 1000 Series - Steel bottom rack, locking caste wood side and swing-up fable, tf Dual-Purpose Thermometer $667.89 plus tox ROYAL 1 8&9 Super 8 infinity SS burner od 64 Canada is the popular destination for Santa letters because the North Pole is in our back yard.99 social worker helps postal elves to appropriately address serious situ- ations outlined in the letters. Topping this year’s toy requests are Nintendo electronic games, batmobiles, Ninja Turtles, Beauty and the Beast, and Little Mermaid olls. : Letters should be addressed to: Santa Claus, North Pole, HOH- OHO. . (1993 Canada Wide Feature Ser- vices Ltd. Distributed by Miller ’ Features.) NATURAL GAS & PROPANE BBQ'S IN STOCK" A Genesis 2000 Series . Wood side and swing-up table, wood bottom shelf, focking casters, and Dual-Purpose Thermometer ; . $779.89, plus fax 3 cad \ 3 Without cast iron grils - Side Burner” _ ag | 7 CROWN 4 40,000 DTU burzer 440 5q.in. cooking surfoce Cast lron 3-way Grills Stoel Bottom Shelf ~Corcnic Briquets — Heavy duty cart Hooks for toals ~Oven Thermoinefer ~Drop-down front & side shelves Side burner S14" GAS GO-ANYWHERE : R waver TABLE TOP GAS GRILL ;