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The hamlet of Epsom, west of Port Perry has been stunned by the tragic deaths early Sunday morning of two young brothers, Michael and Jeffrey Begin, who died when fire swept through the family Vol. 118 No. 9 home located just north of Epsom School. An investigation by the Ontario Fire Marshall is continuing and it may be a couple of weeks before officials can determine exactly what caused the fire. (See story) Tuesday, January 31, 1984 32 pages Snowarama falls $10,000 short of target in 1984 Despite near perfect weather and trail con- ditions on Sunday, the number of riders and pledges in the Port Perry Snowarama fell short of the targets organizers had been hoping for. There were 161 snow- mobilers taking part in this year's 100 km ride for Timmy and the Easter Seal Society, and they raised a total of just over $24,000. That's about $10,000 short of the target which had been set for the Port Perry Snowarama, but certainly a marked improvement over 1983 when the event had to be cancelled due to lack of snow and there was just, $1800 collected. John Davies, a member of the Ux- bridge Kinsmen Club (one of six Easter Seal Society Service Clubs in the Region which share in the proceeds from the Snowarama) told the Star Sunday that plans and organization for next year's ride should get underway a little earlier with more emphasis on publicity. Thieves strike chairman's car Durham Region Chair- man Gary Herrema has had clothing and other personal items valued at about $1,500 stolen from his car parked at the Midtown Mall. A spokesman for Durham Regional Police said Herrema stopped at the downtown mall on Monday and discovered the missing clothing when he returned to his car about 30 minutes later. The car had been lock- ed but marks were found around a door indicating the car had been forced open while Herrema was away, the spokesman said. Among the stolen items were a flight bag, three suits, a portable radio, plus shirts and other personal items, police said. Most riders were taking between three and four hours to make their way around the 100 km course and they said trail and general con- ditions were very good. Gerald Fisher of Greenwood had the most individual pledges with a total of $751. Ten year old Paul Cox of Oshawa, this year's Timmy in the Durham Region, spent more than an hour at the Latcham Centre Sunday after- noon, talking to the snowmobilers, and he was just delighted for the chance to get his first ever ride on the back of a machine. Greg McCrume of Newcastle took Paul for a short spin on Lake Scugog, and the young- ster said it was "great, just great." Mrs. Marion Lee of Port Perry turned over $650 in pledges which she raised in a heart- warming way. Mrs. Lee collected $315 in memory of her son Bill who was a regular Snowarama ridef. He died in a car accident this past summer. Mrs. Lee then matched the $315 with a similar pledge from her own pocket. Po 8 just something I wanted to do for Bill. I (Turn to page 7) \ ¥ \ Fire claims 2 ~ young children The Ontario Fire Marshall's Office is con- tinuing an investigation into the cause of a fire early Sunday morning which claimed the lives of two young Epsom brothers. Three-year old Michael and six year old Jeffrey, died when the blaze gutted the inside of the two storey brick home of their parents John and Darlene An investigator with the Fire Marshall's office was at the scene most of Sunday and Monday, but no details as to the cause of the fire were released. It may be several weeks before the thorough investigation by the 'Fire Marshall has been completed. An investi- gation is also being carried out by the Dur- ham Region Police. According to officers with the Scugog Fire department, the blaze broke out about 2:30 Sunday morning. The two children were sleep- ing in an upstairs bed- room. Mrs. Begin was visit- ing at a neighbour's home at the time and the boy's father tried without success to get the two children to safety. Mr. Begin was taken to hospital for treatment of cuts, burns and shock. The older two storey brick house located just to the north of Epsom Public School, was bad- ly gutted from the fire. This was the first fatal fire in Scugog Township in almost a year. The last fire involving loss of life was early last winter on Highway 47 where three persons were killed in a fire which destroyed a garage and small apart- - ment. Region to shoot for 3% tax hike Durham Region coun- cil will be asked this week to approve guidelines to hold the Regional tax increase for 1984 to "three per cent or less." The request for a three per cent ew will go in front of the full Regional council when it meets in Whitby this Wednesday (February 1). The recommendations came out of a joint meeting last week of the council's management and finance committees. If the guidelines are approved by council this week and the Regional departments can suc- cessfully meet the three per cent impact when they set their 1984 budgets, it will mean a net tax increase for Regional purposes of under $10 this year for /f Ten year old Paul Cox of Oshawa, this year's Timmy for this area, was all smiles at Snowarama in Port Perry Sunday, and for good reason. The youngster enjoyed his first ever snowmobile ride and chatted with many of the drivers in the event. With Paul is the average homeowner in Durham. (Durham Region ac- counts for about 25 per cent of the total proper- ty taxes. School boards take up a little more than half the taxes, and the local municipality uses the remainder). In a detailed report to the council on the three per cent levy impact re- quest, Durham's chief administrative officer, (Turn to page 3) Scugog booms at a rapid clip Was Scugog Township the fastest growing municipality in Durham Region last year? Yes and no, according to figures compiled by the Region's planning department. Expressed in percen- tage terms, Scugog Township enjoyed a 97.5 per cent increase last year in the total value of all building permits issued, by far the largest per cent increase of all eight municipalities in Durham. In dollar figures, the Scugog total reached just over $10 million in 1983, compared with $5.1 million the previous year. Other municipalities (Turn to page 8) el joud a Pr x Marion Lee of Port Perry who made a nice gesture for Snowarama by coming up with $630 in pledges in memory of her son, Bill. Mrs. Lee contributed half of that amount herself. (See stor, for details)