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mies hen OMliFs NC) STRTLG SEND NE OWNED TEETER Sn 6 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, February 13, 1990 The ori Vevey Shay 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO PHONE 985-7383 FAX 985-3708 The Port Perry Star is authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, for cash payment of poslage Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Subscription Rate: In Canada $20.00 per year Elsewhere $60.00 per year. Single Copy 50¢ EDITORIAL Publisher - J. Peter Hvidsten Editor - John B. McClelland News/Features - Julia Ashton News/Features - Kelly Storry PRODUCTION Annabell Harnson Trudy Empringham Darlene Hlozan BUSINESS OFFICE Office Manager - Gayle Stapley Accounting - Judy Ashby Billing Department - Louise Hope ADVERTISING Advertising Co-ordinator - Valerie Ellis Retail Sales - Kathy Dudley, Linda Ruhl, Tracy O'Neil Advertising Sales Representative - Anna Gouldburn Xd oy WhO My - Gon " S 7 TPR 0 Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association Ontario Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Lid. Port Perry, Ontario Editorial Comment SO LOGICIAL If you have a map of southern Ontario handy, open it up. Or just close your eyes and imagine the Golden Horse- shoe with Metro Toronto in the centre and the rings of that Horseshoe stretching south to Niagara Falls, west to Lon- don, north to Orillia, and east to Belleville. Get the picture. How many people live within the ark of this Horseshoe? Three million? Four million? Doesn't mat- ter exactly how many. Suffice to say a lot of Ontario's population lives within a 175 km ring of Metro Toronto. And a fair number of them work in Toronto or have reason to go to Toronto for any number of other reasons: entertainment, shopping, medical appointments, education. This is precisely the area that is now under study by a Toronto consulting firm, IBI Group to determine if passen- ger rail service could be viable, if indeed passenger rail service could be operated by private enterprise, with a view to making a profit. This study, at a cost of about $30,000 should be com- pleted by the end of April, and it will fill in all the details on whether a new company "Canadian Commuter Rail" or CCR, could serve the people of this Horseshoe. Just glancing at a map would suggest that if passen- ger rail service can't work in this densely populated region with Canada's largest city as its hub, it won't work any- where. The study will be looking at several routes: Belleville to Toronto; Peterborough to Toronto; Orillia to Toronto; Kitch- ener to Toronto; London to Toronto; Niagara Falls- Hamilton to Toronto; and Beaverton to Toronto. In this day and age, when our system of roads is in- creasingly clogged with traffic, when the cost of gasoline is inching up, not to mention car insurance, repairs and the cost of buying a car, is it not amazingly logical to have a rail network to efficiently move large numbers of people into and out of the largest city in the country? Just look at that map again. It is in fact so logical that one is tempted to wonder why a quick and efficient rail net- work wasn't in place years ago. The study has been commissioned by the Peterbo- rough/ Havelock Line Passenger Association, a group of people who used to travel the old VIA train each day. You know, the VIA train that was yanked from the rails January 15 as part of the nation-wide dismemberment of passenger service by our federal government. This Association went to work and convinced the Bom- bardier company (which makes rail cars, by the way) to at least take a look at the possibility for a privately operated commuter/passenger rail service in the Golden Horseshoe. Hopefully, the study will just be the first step in the for- mation of a new rail network. The people are there, the tracks are there, the station stops are there, the need is there, and in every other in- dustrialized country in the world, passenger rail service works, and works well. Is there any reason under the sun why it can't work in the heavily populated heartland of the richest province in this country? Governments (federal and provincial) are not being asked to throw large hunks of money at this proposed new network. That's good for a couple of reasons. Private en- terprise should be operating this to make a profit, and the track record of government efficiency these days is less than admirable. (Turn to page 8) 7A BORDER -Tow NS] [ENERCHANTS "J A \ \N) 2 "On, quit Your BetLYAcHIN aN GET OFF YOUR BUTT! * Random Jottings AND IT'S ONLY FEBRUARY I'm not sure what it is about Spring, but as soon as we get a few mild days in a row, all the loonies jump into their cars and start to tear up the streets. Maybe I'm starting to get a little cynical (it may have something to do with reaching middle age), but why is it during the first week of Feb- ruary that we start to hear cars coming before we can even see them? Have you noticed how many cars are cruising the main drag with all their windows open and stereo's cranked up until the speak- ers are distorting the sound? But the mild days also make many drivers feel a little more like Mario Andretti. It doesn't seem to matter if you're driving the speed limit (or possible a little faster) there is always some- - one who zips past like you're standing still. My daughter Sherri Lee just got her begin- ners license about a month ago, and three times a week she drives my car to Pickering (with me in the passenger seat) for her gymnas- tic lessons. She just drives one way since | have to get back, but it is giving her lots of driv- ing practice, and she's learning quickly that there are a lot of bad drivers on the road. On my way back from Pickering one day last week, with about a dozen cars in front and behind me, we were travelling abou* 100 kph. It was a good clip (already 20 above the speed limit), and when | looked into my rearview mirror | noticed a car closing in, leap-frogging like a maniac bétween the cars behind me. A few minutes later, the vehicle was just two cars behind me, and there were very few chances to pass. But suddenly he pulled out into the other lane, and sped by not one, not two but three cars, barely pulling back in before hitting an oncoming vehicle. | was amazed that the car travelling south didn't even slow down, or pull over. It almost looked like the two drivers were playing a game known as "chicken". The cars were so close to crashing, that | had started to brake my car, and get ready to pull over onto the shoulder, but "Mario" made it by without causing an accident. Shortly after that episode, the same car was seen racing by four cars on the shoulder side of the road after stopping at the Durham Road 21/23 intersec- tion. It makes one wonder what was so impor- tant that he had to endanger others lives to make it to his destination a few minutes faster. | have no doubt in my mind, if this guy con- tinues to drive the way he did on this particular day, he will be responsible for the serious injury or death of someone travelling along Durham Road 23. | actually hope | see him again during one of my weekly excursions to Pickering, because next time I'l report his license plate number to the proper officials. GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN Last Wednesday morning editor John and | travelled to Peterborough to visit a friend and former employee here at the Star. Most everyone will remember Cathy Olliffe, who was a writer and photographer with the Star for six years, before accepting an offer to help get a brand new paper off the press in Peterbo- rough. | can remember her telling us she was leaving like it was yesterday, and how nervous she was about making the move. Cathy has done well for herself, being pro- moted from a reporter at city hall, to the City Edi- tor of the paper. And according to her boss, edi- tor Paul Rellinger, he doesn't know what he would do without her. After a tour of Peterborough This Week, meeting some of the staff, learning about new systems of typesetting, and even spending five minutes in the outside smoking area (they have a smoke free environment) John and | were treated to lunch with Cathy and Paul. We enjoyed reminiscing about "the old days" back here at the Star, but at the same time felt, that after six months Cathy has finally settled in and found herself a new home. Cathy says she misses some things about working here at the Star, but it certainly isn't the night-time and weekend assignments. We certainly can't blame her for that! l ! | l }