The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

4 es No.9 Vol. 114 pats 3 BETS bs ER A 5 SA BER TER SOAR A Wi SEA 4 ) " * vA 2 kK Fo J i - SRBC ER $30 500 LAY v ' «8s wv fenaion alot ot sada dl gud Fewer 'Wednesday, January 23, 1980 36 Pages Gk, Learning to skate can be fun, especially if you have a place to rest when you get tired. This is what four-year-old Lee Whitter found out last Sunday while he was practicing on Lake Scugog. That's i wr Bi 2 ny With a little help from my friend pretty Vanessa Mumford, 3, giving Lee a ride on the chair. Once again hundreds of people were using the lake for a variety of events last weekend, as our snowless winter continues. More photos on page 8. Public seems happy with market value assessments Property owners in Scugog Township began getting their 1979 assessment notices last week, and initially, there has not been a major protest against the equalized assessment system. Under equalized assess- ment, which was approved by Scugog council last, fall, 1980 property taxes will be calculated using an assess- ment based on the 1975 market value of each property in the Township. Scugog Deputy-treasurer Dorothy Robertson said Friday that the phones in the municipal offices were "ringing off the hook" for a couple of days last week, but most of the calls were for clarification of how the new system works and how property owners can calculate what their approx- imate 1980 municipal taxes will be. Many property owners are finding that they will actual- ly be paying less property taxes this year because of the equalized assessment. "A lot of people were phoning the office last week because they couldn't believe that their taxes might be going down this year," said Mrs. Robertson. Mrs. Robertson cautioned ~ Ratepa however, that while it is possible to calculate the taxes under the new system, the figures used are the 1979 mill rates, and a totally accurate reading will not be possible until council sets its 1980 budget and mill rate, and the school boards and Durham Region do the same thing. Scugog Mayor Jerry Taylor told the Star that he has had "only a couple of phone calls" since the new assessment notices went out in the mail. "It may be too early to tell at this time, but I am a little surprised that I didn't get more calls," he said. "I thought I would be getting calls from owners of vacant, non-agricultural land and building lots, as these are the ones that will notice an increase in their taxes. Owners of these kinds of lots, and 25 and 50 acre parcels of vacant land have indeed noticed a substantial increase under the new system with 1980 taxes rising in some cases by anywhere from 200 to 600 percent. Vacant residential lots in Port Perry and other municipalities, for example, (Turn to page 3) yers to 'take a stand' The executive of the Scugog Ratepayers Association has decided that the organization should drop its "'non-partisan" stance and start taking active positions on important municipal matters. This decision was made at a directors meeting in Port Perry last week, and Rate- payer president Liz Perry told the Star the reasons are two-fold. "We feel this might be a way to make the organi- zation stronger and more effective, and we have had indications from the public that this organization should be taking a stand on municipal issues,' said Mrs. Perry. Although the directors made the decision last week, the new policy will not come into effect until it is ratified by the general membership at the annual meeting March Demand For Fire Fuel Skyrockets There's a new breed of rustler on the loose these days, and the target is not steers or horses. Brought on by the recent sky-rocketing demand for firewood, tree rustling is now becoming a major source for concern for the provincial ministry of natural resour- ces, municipalities, and private landowners. Whether by accident or design, the scramble for fuel to stoke the fireplaces and wood stoves is causing trees to be cut down on private and public land without permis- sion. There have been a couple iH of cases in Scugog Township since last fall, and in one instance, municipal officials notified police over the alleged cutting of trees on Township road allowances. Along the side of one unimproved road in Ward 4, about 50 mature birch, maple and oak trees have been felled without permis- sion, in the last couple of months, and there is a possi- bility that this case will come before the courts. A spokesman for Durham Region police said last week that there have been several complaints registered in the past few months in both Scugog and Uxbridge Townships, and the police are treating the matter seriously. "If somebody is caught cutting trees without per- mission, they could be facing charges of theft under the criminal code," said the spokesman. He cited another case south of the town of Uxbridge where seven mature birch trees were cut along a Town- ship road allowance. Police are recommending that property owners report any case of trees being cut without permission, and that they keep a close eye on their wood-lots, especially during the weekends. The spokesman said that some complaints appear to involve individuals who will fell a tree and load some of the wood into the trunk of the car for personal use. But he added that there are also professionals at work who are taking larger quantities of wood without permission for commercial sale. The police feel that if property owners report any cases and agree to lay charges and testify in court, this could act as a deterrent. Scugog Township adminis- WOOD THEFTS ON THE INCR trator Earl Cuddie told the Star that the Township will ask police to lay charges if persons are caught taking trees on Township property. The Scugog Township works department removes dead trees from time to time and sells the wood to the public. The money is used to purchase new trees for plan- ting on public property. However, at present there is a waiting list of about 80 names of people wishing to buy wood from the munici- pality. The provincial natural resources office in Lindsay is concerned over the upsurge EASE in tree rustling for two reasons: the waste of high quality wood, and amateurs wielding chain saws and another equipment that could lead to serious injury. Natural resources officials have noticed an increase in wood thefts from public and private lands in the Lindsay district, which includes Scugog Township, and most other areas in southern Ontario. Regional forester Bob Staley - who has had stacked firewood stolen from his own Stouffville bush property - said unorganized amateurs Turn to page 2 J La R wey I Lin TD gn NT Pt ERAS a A ay bh Jmgt Ty LA a [rs Far OA ve oY I AUN > 5 ca "3 pas, LIE SEE FAT A TLS © oF id 4 I nl » Lay ox La Te oY B 5.5 CE AVR IML" 4 rs