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PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, July 19, 1988 -- 7 Viewpoint by John B. McClelland You may have noticed the news item in last week's PP Star about the problems Scugog Town- Sve council is having in hiring a by-law enforcement officer. And the problem is money. The Township is prepared to pay somewhere in the neighbourhood of $22,000 per year for this position. But let's face it. You won't attract any qualified and experienced enforcement officers at that salary. Senior staff, already burdened with work and the additional preparation for the up-coming munici- pal elections this fall, don't have the time to provide "on the job training" to someone with no experi- ence in this field. : Some people who have expressed an interest in the job are seeking at least $30,000 per annum, a figure the council does not want to pay for a varie- ty of reasons. The council is clearly between a rock and a hard place on this one. Frankly, the job of by-law enforcement is an im- portant one with any municipality, and Scugog is no exception. By-law infractions are serious business. The bla- tant ones, and there are a few in Scugog, can cause groat anguish to nearby residents and can erode the value of property. It has always struck me as ironic that if someone tossed a brick through your living room causing a few hundred dollars damage, you'd call the police and that person would end up in front of a judge facing a serious charge. Yet somebody can break a by-law, cause you a great deal more damage to quality of life and the val- ue of your property, and getting the offender into court is a long and time consuming process. 'In any event, Scugog needs an enforcement officer. There are hundreds of by-laws on the books to protect the municipality and the citizens who live here. What's the point if these laws can't be enforced. | think the council may have to loosen off the purse strings on this one, pay the necessary salary to find an individual who has the qualifications and the experience to handle a tough job. And in my opinion, $22,000 is not going to land that particular individual, not in Port Perry in 1988. 122122222222 22222] We've all heard about the great free trade de- bate. In fact, free trade has been the number one item on the national agenda for the last couple of yoars, and will be the main issue in the next federal election. Personally, | am not opposed to free trade with the Americans. | certainly don't think it will lead to Canada being the 51st state. What it will do is open up a market of some 225 million consumers south of the border, and if we don't think we can compete in that marketplace, then something is wrong with us. In my opinion, there is a far greater threat to our national identity than free trade. And that is the rate at which foreign capital is buying up real estate in southern Ontario. Overseas buyers are snapping up everythin they can get their hands on: farms, apartment build- ings, offices, shopping plazas, factories, even raw, vacant land. The money is literally arriving in suit-cases, and price is no object. A lot of the money is coming from ong Kong, spent by wealthy land owners and business people who are looking for any kind of long term hedge against the day when Hong Kong become part of the People's Republic of China. The numbers are staggering, measured in the billions of dollars, and some of the transactions in- volved the choicest real estate in Ontario. | have heard that many buyers don't even want to see what they are buying. They simply call a brok- er and say "I have a million to spend this week, buy whatever you can." The thought that large chunks of Canada are being bought up from overseas frightens me a lot more than any free deal with our good friends south of the border. | wonder if anybody is keeping an ac- curate record of just how much of this country has fallen into foreign ownership already. The free trade nay-sayers may be barking up the wrong tree in their efforts to keep Canada Cana- dian. Foreign ownership of the very land, buildings, factories etc., is a far more serious threat than any trade agreement. A few people are getting very rich in the process, but our grandchildren may eventual- ly pay the price for this land grab. Yesterday's Memories 70 YEARS AGO Thursday, July 18, 1918 Chief Constable Nesbitt is attending the convention of the Chief Constables' Association in Hamilton. Miss E. Bull is holidaying at her home in Bloomfield and will resume her music class on September 1, in the Port Perry area. We are pleased to note the promotion of Mr. Clinton Short to the rank of Sergeant. Miss Vera Somerville, Prospect, and friends motored to Whitby and attended the Missionary Summer School at the Ladies College recently. Latest purchasers of Motor cars in Seagrave area are Mr. Walter Mark and Edgar Butt. 45 YEARS AGO Thursday, July 15, 1943 Try "SALZO" the only known active saline laxative richin iron. It is a Page-Griffiths product. Sold at A.M. Lawrence's Drug Store, Port Perry. Mr. and Mrs. Fluke and family of Beaverton have moved into the Cockburn home behind the school in Port Perry. Dr. D.C. MacMaster, V.S., attended the Veterinary Conven- tion held last week in Guelph. Mrs. D.C. MacMaster joined him on Wednesday. . Congratulations to Donna Crosier, Utica on passing her En- trance Examinations. 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, July 16, 1953 Rev. and Mrs. C.H. Elliott held 'open house" at the home of their daughter, Mrs. Elsie Campbell, Toronto on the occasion of their 60th Wedding anuj yersany. Only semi-retired at the age of 90. Mr. Elliott again resume his summer charge at the United Church in Caesarea. "Miss Jessie McArthur arrived home from the Coronation Tour on Thursday, July 9. On the following evening, under the auspices of St. John Church, she gave a talk in the Parish Hall, 'Blackstock telling of her experiences on the tour. Rev. and Mrs. G. Nicholson, Blackstock, left on July 14 for a three month trip to England. It has been 13 years since Rev. Nicholson made his last visit to England. Bishop G.A. Wells, formerly assistant to Bishop of Toronto, will take the St. John Church during Rev. Nicholson's absence. 30 YEARS AGO Thursday, July 17, 1958 Lloyd Wilson, Uxbridge, has n nominated to represent Ontario County 4-H Clubs before a Provincial Selection Commit- (Turn to page 8) Letters Cancer campaign all time high To The Editor: Thanks to the ever present generosity of the people in Scugog Township, the recently completed Annual Campaign for Cancer reached an all time high. Under the very capable direc- tion of Chairperson, Doris Taylor and a loyal group of captains and canvassers, this was made possi- ble, truly a co-operative success. The majority of these volunteers have for many years A great weekend To The Editor: Lately there has been a great deal printed about Great Britain Fesitval Days. For me it has been a pleasure to talk and listen to people visiting from Great Britain and the 'Emerald Isle' of Cape Breton. They claim people must really care showing such an in- terest in our town of Port Perry. As I looked at the excitement and sparkle in the eye of the very young and not so young, it is most gratifying to see so many grand- rents, moms, dads, sisters, rothers and other relatives who had taken the time and effort to make Great Britain Festival Days, the pipes and drums parade and tatoo such a success. From the many thousands of people I spoke to, may I say '"'a tip of the hat' to Debbie Jones and the rest of the Scugog Chamber of Commerce and a BIG THANK YOU for such a grand four days. Roy Walker Smith, Port Perry, Ontario. given freely of their time in the in- terests of this worthy cause and to them we owe a great debt of gratitude. With $33,094 reported for 1988, Scugog Township con- tributed almost one third of the slightly over $100,000 total for North Durham Unit. While all the funds collected are channelled to Ontario Division, monies are available locally for Patient Ser- vices and Education. Helen Campbell, Services to Patients Chairperson currently has on her list about 45 patients who have or are presently receiving treat- ment, drugs, home care, etc. Some 25 have been transported to various treatment ceriters in Toronto by volunteer drivers who receive a travel allowance only. All expenses are borne by the Society and any additional monies paid to drivers is in direct con- tradiction to the Society's policy. Tipping is forbidden in this in- stance. Persons desirous of mak- ing donations for services rendered are advised to contact Treasurer, Mary Lou Carnochan and an official receipt will be issued. This is the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Cancer Society and in recognition of same, the Scugog Branch is planning a special educational program, Oct. 18, focussing on the theme: "Breast Cancer" with Dr. Jim Nelson as the principal speaker. Special Events Chairperson Isabel Wilson and her committee are in charge. Mark this date on your calendar and further details will be available at a future date. The Scugog Branch is concern- ed that we do not always receive information as to names of people in our community who have been diagnosed with cancer, and to whom assistance could be of- fered. We would appreciate the - help of families, hospital staff etc. in keeping the lines of com- munication open, very essential if we as a service and caring organization are to provide effec- tive services within the communi- i. (Turn to-page 8) I -- to the editor. Letters to the Editor ... our policy It has always been the policy of this newpspaper to encourage our readers to make use of the letters to the editor column. Our readers have a right to freely express their opinions and view- points on just about any subject, and we feel that a lively letters column helps make a better community newspaper. We insist, however, that a letter writer sign his or her name. On rare occasions, we will agree to with-hold publication of a letter writer's name, if we feel there are very good reasons to do so. Under no circumstances will this paper print an anonymous letter ) While we enjoy receiving letters from our readers, we must con- tinue to insist on knowing the identity of the writer. - Ht y en Penn I