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TET -------------- EY ro II AE BRR Ss ET) nh. > TART 6 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, December 20, 1988 Letters Deficit could stifle other Big Brothers/Sisters need your support! To the Editor: As 1988 draws to a close we would like to thank those of you who have supported our pro- gramme this past year. We have been serving boys and' girls in this area for several years now. However, our board membership has declined and while our financial situation is not critical, fundraising did not match our expenses this year. How can you help? By giving your time or resources as follows: -- become a representative from your service club at our monthly Board meetings -- get involved on our Board yourself -- adopt our agency and pledge " your financial support -- become a Big Brother -- sponsor promotional material or a social event -- provide us with office/filing space -- donate a personal computer so we can develop mailing lists and procedures -- Christmas is the season for giv- ing! January is a great time for renewal and rejuvenation! Please call 985-3733 if you can help in any way. Happy New Year! Remember the children. Patricia A. Duchemin, President, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, North Durham local recreation projects (From page 1) to save heating costs with better insulation. However, Mr. Goss said he personally and the committee re- gretted the fact the costs of the project got so out of hand. "Down the road a ways, I think (the project) will prove to be a good investment, but as chairman I must take full respon- sibility for the (cost) over-runs." The meeting between commit- tee members and councillors late Monday afternoon was tense and at times testy. At one point, there was a brief and agnry exchange between Mayor Hall and committee mem- ber Merrill Van Camp when the Mayor suggested a report prepared by the committee on the costs might be "mis-leading." "I take exception to that state- ment," Mr. Van Camp shot back. While councillors were upset over the fact the project is nearly $135,000 over budget, they all ex- pressed anger that the Township treasury and administrator did not learn of the large over-runs until early this month. Mr. Goss answered that he turned all the bills over to the Township for payment immediate- ly after he received them. And council wasn't entirely satisified with the explanations. At one point, Regional councillor Yvonne Christie stated "I feel be- trayed. And I feel as if (this) has made it very difficult for other committees in Scugog to under- take projects." Newly elected Ward 4 council- lor Glenn Malcolm said that be- cause of the cost over-runs "Ward 4 will not be getting much the deficit for the project means "there may not be much money (in 1989) for other recreation pro- jects in all of Scugog." The renovations and repairs to the Arena and Rec Centre in Blackstock got the green light from the previous council late last winter at a total cost of $223,000. Of that total, the Township's direct share was to be $149,000 with the remaining $75,000 com- ing from provincial grants. The Township has until the end of the month to apply for those grants. There were problems with the project in the summer, and at one point, the Township building in- spector slapped a stop work order on the project because the design and plans had not been approved by an architect. After a lengthy and at times THE RETURN TRIP It's been a couple of weeks since | last filled this spot on page eight, and | must say they have been very busy and eventful. A week ago last Wednesday, my good friend Jack Cottrell and | flew to Houston, Tex- as to pick-up his parents motorhome. It was only eight weeks ago, you might remember, Jack, Elgin and | made a similar trip, driving to Texas and flying home. When we took off from Terminal One at Pearson International Airport (Toronto), there was a light snow falling. We settled into our seats, thinking of warmer weather, and took full advantage of the great bar service being provided by the stewardesses on our Ameri- can Airline flight. Arriving in Houston about midnight, we took a cab to the trailer park and flopped down to get a few hours sleep after the long, tiring trip. The next morning we were up at the crack of dawn and by eight o'clock were on our way into the city to do a little shopping for our- selves and about half a dozen other people who had given us orders. On our list of things to get were Texas string ties, cosmetics, and gifts for the kids. Also a patient of Jack's had asked him to try and find a doll known as "Opsie Daisy", which apparently is the hot item this Christmas and can't be found anywhere. Boy, | can attest to that! | can't remember how many toy and de- partment stores we searched through without any luck, but it was too many. We even made a stop in Nashville, Tenessee on the way north to take one last look for good old "Opsie." Following that search, | threatened Jack with driving the rest of the way back by himself if he made one more stop. The trip back was uneventfull, although we did run into some bad weather about two hours south of Detroit, and it stayed with us until we got to London, Ontario. After driving forty-two hours, we arrived back in Toronto, exhausted, but none the worse for wear. SURPRISE! SURPRISE! | don't know exactly what this has to do with my recent trips to Texas, but upon my re- turn on both occassions | have had a surprise Random Jottings by }]. Peter Hvidsten waiting for me. About two months ago when | returned home, | was greeted with the pleasant news that my wife, Nancy, was pregnant. Believe me, this was a real surprise as we had decided not too long ago not to have any more chil- dren. It took a few weeks for the news to fully sink in, and it was just recently that we had ac- cepted the fact that we would indeed have an- other child, and were happy with the thought of another baby in the house. When | arrived back last week from my sec- ond trip to Texas, | accompanied Nancy to Oshawa for a doctors appointment and an ul- tra-sound. | was sitting in the waiting room when a nurse came around the corner and asked me if | would like to see the ultra-sound picture of the baby. That's what | had come for in the first place, so naturally | toddled off behind her. In a dimly lit room, the nurse showed us the baby on a monitor, pointing out the head, limbs, spine and the beating heart. It was all very exciting and if there had been any doubts in my mind about another youngster, they dis- appeared immediately. I had no sooner sat back down in the wait- ing room, when the nurse poked her head around the corner again, with a little smile on her face, and said "the Doctor wants to show you something." Curiously, | walked back to the room, where the doctor and Nancy were waiting. The doctor looked up as | entered the room, and with an ear to ear grin said "how do you feel about twins?" "TWINS", | blurted out, "you've got to be kidding?" "Really?" "No, you're kidding?" Even Nancy didn't believe the news, re- peating my sentiments word for word. "You're kidding", she said raising her head from the pil- low and looking at me for re-assurance. "He's kidding isn't he Peter?" she continued. The doctor called me over to the monitor and pointed out TWO separate heads, TWO bodies and TWO small, beating hearts. It became very apparent at this point this was no joke. "No, he's not kidding Nancy", | re- plied sheepishly, still not really believing what was unfolding in front of us. (Turn to Page 11) (Township) money for other parks or recreation projects for the next few years. That's really going to hurt the people of Ward 4." And a furious Marilyn Pearce, newly elected in Ward 2, said the fact the Township has to pick up angry discussion, council reluc- tantly agreed to pay the $135,000 over-run in the following manner: half will come from the municipal projects fund, 25 per cent from the development fund and 25 per cent from the parks and recreation und. Editorial Comment (From page 4) Still, in spite of the bewilderment , the mortification, and the agonizing paradoxes that jmp in front of our eyes, there is magic and beauty for all of us at Christmas. It is there in the eyes of a child, the sight and sound of carolers on a snowy evening, the story of the birth of Christ, the expression of goodwill in a card sent or re- ceived, bringing home the tree, welcoming friends and family to the hearth. Our wish is that all of you find the joy and the warmth that is Christmas. "Ld Ah he Cz WE = 1 CHAD HAS 2173 " Pi} A il Your only FTD Florist serving A fon A Su Port Perry & Area for over 15 Years. ii SS ASP FINEST QUALITY POINSETTIAS, Ww SS ar SILK ARRANGEMENTS, ARE == INS BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS AIR Ne TABLE CENTRE PIECES, IRS FLOWERING PLANTS, RUAN FRESH CUT FLOWERS, % N GIFTS & MUCH, MUCH MORE ... ZAIN plus CUSTOM DESIGN SERVICE. An . Nw Wire Flowers to that loved one RL anywhere in the world through P\ our wire service network. >, J 985-2525 OX 166 WATER STREET - PORT PERRY 47% -- DELIVERY AVAILABLE -- TK Open December 21, 22 & 23 - 9 AM to 9 PM :