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

8 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, April 12, 1988 Random Jottings (From page 6) pers. Our trusty driver, Annabell, called us from the home of the Grieves at Blackstock and once again J.B. and | headed out. This time in two mini vans, because it was a large load. On that particular day the wind was blowing out of the northwest at a good clip, and the temperature had plunged to about minus 20, so it was not a particular pleasant job un- loading 125 bundles (each weighing about 40 Ibs.) out of the truck into the small vans. ~ Then just last week J.B. called me from Port Perry Plaza where our large van had just "died" again. So once again we found ourselves hauling newspaper bundles out of one van and piling them into another. It occurred to me at this point that it was just about time to make a trade, but later found out the fan belt and broken and killed the battery. That old adage that used to be said about mail- men....."through wind, rain or snow, the mail always goes through" (or something like that) could hold true for the de- livery of the Star. Of course we would have to add in to that phrase "and broken-down van". Speaking about the Star, last week we were very thank- ful for the aquisition of our new "Mac" computers as one of our typesetter was sick and we were swamped with material to be set when we arrived Monday morning after the Easter weekend. Cathy, J.B. , and myself all set to work on our "Macs" typ- ing up the community correspondence, sports, news re- ports and press releases (so there were a few more "typos"), while Trudy tackled the job of setting classified ads, real estate and her "very favourite", the auction sales. But thanks to a group effort by everyone here at the Star, we were still able to finish up by about 9:00 p.m. Mon- day night. Considering the ramifications with only one type- setter, had we not installed our "Macs" a few weeks earlier, we may still have been working on last weeks paper! My thanks to everyone for pitching-in. Chatterbox (From page four) to send it back again. So instead of mailing a resume to Aus- tralia and waiting more than a month to hear back, you can communicate actual written information in the same time it takes to pick up a telephone. Simply incredible. Things sure have changed in the eight years I've been in the newspaper business. From trying to elicit good pictures from a beaten up old Pentax to using a sleek, state-of-the- art SLR; from pounding away on an old Underwood manual typewriter, to peck-pecking on this Mac; from slogging through tray after tray of chemicals in the darkroom, to just pressing a button on a processor--things have really taken off, technologically speaking. Of course, some things haven't changed. | don't think, for example, they'll ever come up with a ma- chine that can go to the curling club on a Saturday night and take pictures of bonspiel winners. And | don't think a ma- chine could sift through the amazing bulk of material pre- sented at a courtroom hearing. And | don't think that a computer could write a column. Why? Because a column is all opinion, and while a com- puter is good at the facts, it just isn't smart enough--yet--to come up with any opinions of its own. When that happens, I'll either look for a new job or I'll smash this computer to smithereens. -- PORT PERRY -- BOX 1773 -- LOB 1NO Dozer - Track Loader - Dump Truck Rental Backfilling - Grading Sand - Gravel GARRY TRIPP -°29 trey CATCHELL 985-0481 986-4911 PARAGON EXCAVATING Merchants work-together to promote 'downtown' At least 30 merchants have banded together to commence an aggressive promotional package, aimed at attracting shoppers to "downtowm Port Perry". At a special meeting of the Downtown Merchants Association last Wednesday night, the associa- tions advertising committee un- veiled a plan which would see par- ticipating downtown merchants spend about $20,000 over the next year promoting shopping in Port Perry's central core. Advertising and promotions will take place thoughout the entire year and will be promoted on ra- dio, newspapers and in magazines around southern and central Onta- rio. Spokesman for the special ad- vertising committee at Wednes- day's meeting was Tom Mitchell, owner of Settlement House, Daphne's and From My Heart on Queen Street. - Mr. Mitchell told the merchants that Port Perry was riding on a crest of success and both the resi- dents and business people are ex- cited about what is happening in town. "We are an attractive, healthy town and are in a good po- sition to do well if we work to- gether", he told the gathering. Efforts by the Dowtown Mer- chants to promote their area as the primary shopping area in town are not in competition with what the Scugog Chamber of Commerce do for the community. In fact, Mr. Mitchell suggests that their efforts will be complimentary to that of the C of C. "We realize the C of C has to work for the entire community so ~ they can not aim their promotions specifically at the downtown", he said. There has been some concem by downtown merchants since plans were unveiled about a year ago by Hans Mochring to develop the Conway site. The 'proposal calls for about 70,000 square feet of new commercial space in an in- door mall. Malls in other small communi- ties around Ontario have caused the collapse of the downtown, and it is the hope of the PPDMA that they can head this off with an ag- gressive promotional package. "We must start to work together now", Mr. Mitchell said, and he encouraged the merchants to pro- mote their own businesses indi- vidually, as well as through the co-operative program being pro- posed. "We know we have the product for the shopper and we know we have an appealing community. Now we just have to make more people aware of our special ap- peal". ) He went on to say that if the downtown merchants want their share of the "pie", they can't ex- pect it to fall into their laps. Cit- ing the example, that the larger shopping centre advertise together to promote their area, he suggest- & C - Lncetely Fowtd UNIQUE GIFT + BASKETS Created with care for all occasions. All gifts may be accompanied by a bouquet of helium balloons. Canada Wide & USA delivery 985-8954 ed that Port Perry merchants must take the same approach if they are to survive. "As other towns and shopping areas around us become more ag- gressive with their promotions, we must do the same", Mitchell said. At the conclusion of the meet- ing Mr. Mitchell made an appeal to those present to sign their name on a sheet if they were in support of the project. Thirty downtown merchants pledged their support by signing-up immediate- 1 The PPDMA advertising steer- ing committee was made up of five merchants: Chairman, Tom Mitchell; Val Menzies (Images); Brian Calloway (Home Hardware); Tracy Strong (Port Gifts); and ° Bob Alexander (Linen Corner). The committee will now begin to detail the specific programs proposed to the merchants, start- ing with a special Mother's Day promotion. Yesterday's Memories (F rom Page 5) Over 200 firemen fought one of the biggest fires in the mem- ory of Cartwright Township which raged for 15 hours on Mon- day, April 8, and destroyed 1500 acres of Christmas trees. While on vacation in Florida, Ken Wilson, a student at Port Perry High School caught a 40 pound ground shark. Marie Taylor recently played a Pipe Organ recital in the Eglington Untied Church, Toronto. 10 YEARS AGO Wednesday, April 12, 1978 A Nestleton man was among 10 persons charged following a $1.2 million siezure of the drug methamphetamine (speed), at To- ronto International airport on April 3rd. Community Memorial Hospital administrator Dave Brown told council that Port Perry hospital has been included in the new emergency patient helicopter transfer system which is operated by the Minstry of Health. Laurie Smith, Lisa Brown and Kelly Gouin of R.H. Cornish Public School were the winners of the Kinsmen heritage Day es- say and poster contest. The awards were presented by past presi- dent Jim Lawrence. Durham Board of Education scarcely batted an eyelid as they set their budget of $78.6 million for 1978. That adds about $15 to the average property tax across Durham Region. Editorial Comments (From page 4) Many small communities throughout Ontario have been dealt a devastating blow when modern, large indoor malls have located in or near their communities. But be- fore this happens to Port Perry, over thirty merchants have unanimously decided to promote their most important as- set --- a unique, attractive Victorian village on the shores of Lake Scugog with an endless variety of shops. In essence, what the 'downtown' business people are starting to do now, is what merchants in malls have been doing for year. They are working together! This is not to say that everything the 'downtown' mer- chants want to do, now has to be approved by the PPDMA. No way! Each businessperson remains an inde- pendent, and is encouraged to promote their individual businesses as aggresively as they wish. What the downtown merchants will be doing as a group is promoting Port Perry as a vibrant and exciting place to shop, with an emphasis on the uniqueness of shopping 'downtown'. Collectively the P.P.D.M.A. has been pledged over $20,000 by the merchants to commence a number of pro- motions this year, commencing with Mother's Day in May. Other promotions will include Canada Day, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Sunshine Sale and Christmas promotions. We are sure the residents of this community and visi- tors to our town will enjoy what the PPDMA have lined-up over the next year, and applaud them on their very progress ideas, and for-sight. As one merchants said last week, "Port Perry is an at- tractive, healthy town that people love to come and visit. We have the products they want, and are within short communiting distance of the major centres. Now all we have to do is 'work together to make more people want to enjoy this unique shopping area". tei