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\ This column, at least part of it, anyway, is for the birds. The Purple Martin controversy (if you can call it that) has been swirling around in the old berg for a few weeks: "Township_council has designated Port Perrythe "Purple Martin" capital of Ontario a fancy signs have beén put up at the entrances to Port Perry to proclaim this for one and all. * Personally, I have nothing against Purple Martins (in fact I have inst any of bird, though | I wish we could finda'way to convince the-gulls and geese to leave the waterfront parks) but to my way of thinkifig if there is any bird symbolic of Scugog Township, it has to be the heron. Anybody who spends any time near the lake of wetlands in this Township will have seen a heron near the shoreline, hunting for breakfast or dinner. Of course, there is a huge heron nesting ground on Scugog Island which has long attracted bird watchers from all over this country. The Purple Martin is a noble feathered creature, to be sure, but compared to the majestic heron, almost invisible in this Township. And speaking of birds, a lot of people were intrigued last Friday morning to see a large Snowy Owl perched on top of a télevision antenna - beside the Bank of Commerce. I tried to catch a photo of this fellow, but he was just too high in the sky for my lens. I am told that the Snowy and other owl species have been moving into "this part of Ontario for the winter for e last few years in search of food. for the one who paid a visit to downtown Port Perry last Friday 'moriiing, if it found the hunting satisfactory, it very well could winter Jin that area. And finally for all you bi.d fanciers out there, a reminder that the Scugog Naturalist Club will be organizing an official Bird Count on December 13. You are more than welcome to take part. Give Ken Sky d some mighty Carmichael a call at 986-0809 and he'll fill you in on all the details. A quick comment or two on the Santa Claus Parade that made its way through the streets of Port Perry last Saturday afternoon. I heard nothing but good comments about the Parade which drew huge crowds to the community. And certainly, from my own observati all along the parade route, I lot of smiles on the face df a lot of people, and not just, je ily Hats off to the ofganizers with the Chamber of £ommerce for a job well done. A lot of work, a lot of effort and it paid 'off nicely. Here are the float "winners: Ye Olde Christmas--St. Johns Presbyterian Churth; Three Little Pigs--Scugog Museum; Grinch Who Stole Christmas--O. Pehleman; and best all around to the Hiryu Bushido Kai Karate Club (who's gonna argue) Just kidding. All those who took the time and effort to put a float in the parade: deserve a pat on the back. Let's hope that a successful parade is the kick-off to a good festive season in this community, from a retail/commercial point of view. All we need now is a good snowfall to get people in the holiday season mood, and maybe they will loosen up the wallets and do some spending. The retail sector everywhere has been buffeted by this stubborn recession. A lot of merchants (latge and small) are counting on strong sales this Christmas. AND FINALLY........ Some 8,000 tickets to Saturday's Grey Cup game went un-sold this year. Seems the un- sold tickets were in the lower price range (the cheap seats, if you will) I guess it tells you something about the economy these days. There is money out there for high price seats. Buta lot of people don't have the dollars for even the bleachers. So, they stayed home to watch the game on the tube. It's tough to be optimistic these days about the future of Canadian football, what with the talk of expansion to the States. The League and the Grey Cup Game have been so much a part of the fabric of the country for so many years, yet the writing is on the "wall, especially when they can'tisell out the fall Classic in the temperature controlled /Dome. Driver of A gets away To The Editor: On Sunday, November 22 at approximately 3:30 p.m. my son and a friend both aged 16 were driving west on 7A Hwy towards Port Perry on their way to work. Just west of the Causeway Esso Station a Maroon coloured Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 travelling east, pulled out to pass a white car into the path of a Blue 8-10 pick-up truck driven by my son. The person driving the Z24 obviously did not check oncoming traffic before he pulled out becguse there was not enough room for him to successfully pass the white car. To avoid a head-on collision which would have involved all 8 vehicles my son swerved off the Hwy to the shoulder of the road. The truck turned around backwards and rolled over twice. Luckily my son and his friend had their seat belts on and they escaped with only minor4njuries. I am very thankful that the driver of the white car which was being passed stopped to assist them and be a witness. Unfortunately the driver of. the Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 got away. I hope the person that was driving the 724 reads this letter. I jist can't understand how someone could cause an accident and leave the scene knowing that they could have taken another human's life or permanently injured them. There is absolutely no excuse for this or the mental abuse that the 4 parents have had to go through in the last week thinking what could have happened and it will take me a long time to get it out of my mind. I am nqt a 'forgiving person but I am thankful I still have my son. I just hope the person driving the Z24 never has to experience what he/she has put two families through, or ever picks up: telephone and hears their child on the other end asking for help. A concerned Parent. Name withheld by request. Four Horsemen are sounding death knell To the Editor: It is a grim fact that the Four Horsemen of Biblical times are rearing their ugly Heads once again. They are sounding the death knell of small business in Ontario. The mighty head of Hydro strides mightily over the distressed body of small business with ever escalating rates and payoffs to executives making sure of small business' demise. The ugly head of the phone company makes sure that rates cannot go down when the pin-striped suits of the phone company sit down with the pin-striped insisting that the price be tied to price of oil, even though there are a couple of billion cubic feet of gas in surplus. Last but not least, the draconi#in hand of the Fourth Horseman--taxes-- deals a final death knell to those who manage to survive the first three. Taxes---PST, GST, and municipal taxes mean the average storekeeper is merely a collection agency. We cut the prices from our suppliers, we cut the prices to the consumer, but the Big Four are above this turmoil, insulated totally out of touch with reality. Woe to us. Instead of a nation of clones at the CRTC, and talk about shopkeepers and small b we their old college days together. " have be a nation of ployed. The ugly head of the gas pany HJ. Fitzpatrick, leers over the small business scene RR 2, Port Perry. ' SNAPSHOT OF THE WEEK ~ | right is Stanley Malcolm, died at age 93, father, | of Lawrence, Neil and Jean, Wilbert ~ Malcolm, died at age 88, father, of Howard, Murray and Dorothy Bristow, and | Ida Malcolm, "(Mrs Herbert | | Taylor) died at | | age 84, had no | children. All