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PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, October 23, 1990 -- 7 EDITORIAL Publisher - J. Peter Hvidsten Editor - John B. McClelland BUSINESS OFFICE Office Manager - Gayle Stapley Accounting - Judy Ashby The Port Perry Star 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO PHONE 985-7383 FAX 985-3708 The Port Perry Star is authorized as second class mail by the News/Features - Julia Dempsey Billing Department - Louise Hope News/Features - Kelly Stoiry Retail Sales - Kathy Dudley, Lynda Ruhl, Tracy O'Neil iy AE Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association Post Office Department, Ottawa, for cash payment of postage. PRODUCTION ADVERTISING a. Second Glass Mail Registration Number 0365 actor Advertising Co-ordinator - Valerie Elis Ontario Comuriy Newspaper Associaion | Subscription Rate: In Canada $25.00 per year Trudy Empringham Advertising Salas Represaniatve - Anna Gono Port Perry Star Ary Jussen erry, Ontario | Elsewhere $70.00 per year. Single Copy 60¢ Darlene Hlozan ds GPA I 00g Del sot ou bo : DURE RE NEI farsa hc terms ite PINOY A Editorial Comment STAY TOGETHER As regular readers of this paper have noticed over the last three weeks, there have been numerous "letters to editor" in the Port Perry Star over the selection of two candidate are- as in Ward 4 as potential Durham Region landfill sites. The fact that two sites are in Scugog Township's Ward 4 is baffling to the citizens who live in that ward. And the deci- sion is just as baffling to Scugog citizens outside that ward, who are even remotely familiar with the sites, and realize the- social, financial and human disruption that would result if one of the sites is eventually selected as the Region's landfill for the next 20 years. To our knowledge, there has been no explanation as to the rationale behind the selection of the candidate sites by Ma- are engineers (the consulting firm hired by Durham to find a landfi As one person said at a recent public meeting, it looks like some kind of macabre dart game. Somebody hauled out a map of Durham Region, picked five darts and threw them at the map. Reaction to the news that broke late in September has been swift and severe in Ward 4. It can be summed up in a few words: anger, resentment, hostility, confusion. One of the letters printed in last week's Port Perry Star, written by a Ward 4 resident, asks the question "does no one in Port Perry care." Yes, indeed. There are people in Port Perry who care, and there are people Ward 1 and Ward 3, who care, and they care deeply about what may happen to their friends and fel- low citizens in Ward 4. Perhaps they have not reacted as swiftly to this issue as those in Ward 4. But that's human nature. If the public meet- ings have not been packed with citizens from outside Ward 4, it is for the same reason that public meetings in Greenbank would not be packed with Ward 4 residents had the two site selections been near that community. Or Port Perry, if the engineers had chosen a site about a mile from the corner of Queen and Water Streets. The same letter raises the question of a "divided council more anxious to accept host community goodies than fight against dump sites in Scugog." This simply is not true. When the local council failed to give unanimous support for a resolution against the Ward 4 sites, it was not because of any hidden desire to see the dump there in exchange for "goodies." For the record, the opposition to the council resolution was over the wording of a single clause in that resolution, not the intent of the entire resolution. Whether this or any future council opts to ear-mark munic- ipal funds to fight a dump in Ward 4 is a decision to be made by the seven people sitting around the council table. And they. will have to answer for that decision (whatever it is) at the polls. The writer of the letter points out that the dump issue is a Township-wide issue. We could not agree more. And we should add that we strongly believe that as this issue moves its course over the next few months, more and more citizens from all over Scugog are going to see it in these terms and be- come actively involved with their neighbours in Ward 4 to stop this thing. As for the thinly veiled insinuation in the letter that people in Port Perry may want to see a dump in Ward 4 because it will yield "goodies" for Port Perry in the form of new public buildings, give the people of Port Perry more credit than that, please. If the people of Port Perry, or Scugog Island, or Green- bank or Seagrave or anywhere, would wish a dump on their neighbours in exchange for "goodies" than we are all in big se- rious trouble. Would the citizens of Ward 4 wish a dump if the sites were near Seagrave or Saintfield. We think not. It's been fact of life in Scugog Township, since amalga- mation back in 1974, that the "forced marriage" of the four in- dependent communities has not always been a happy one. Turn to Page 12 A PARKING STORY | used to think that downtown Port Perry had a parking problem, but_after tackling the "big city" last week, it seems like a picnic. This was my first trip to the concrete tunnels of the inner city in some time, and if possible will be my last until absolutely necessary. My trip started off pleasantly enough last Wednesday morning, leaving a little later than usual to try and avoid the tremendous build-up of coloured metal and chrome which amasses along the 404 as it tries to spill out onto the Don Valley Parkway. And it worked perfectly. | cruised by the Buttonville Airport, gently weaving between the slower vehicles, never once having to come to a dead stop. Smuggly, | relaxed behind the wheel listening to a tape of "The Phantom of the Op- era", son Malt's favourite, while the guard-rails whistled past the van. Then | was there...in the middle of the con- gestion, exhaust and scurry of people. Arriving at my destination, | found no place to park, so | slowly began circling the nearby side-streets looking for a crevice in which | could carefully slide the van. | spotted one, but was quickly turned away by a little Oriental woman working beside the back door, of a Queen St. restaurant. As | ap- proached the spot she began waving her wood- en spoon in my direction. | quickly took the hint, inching my way back onto the street. Finally | found a parking lot. Ping into a spot the parking attendant told me I'd have to leave my keys with him. | never did like the idea of giving a stranger the keys to my vehicle, and since | was leaving my camera and some per- sonal belongings inside, decided to leave. My search continued, until | found a spot about two blocks from my destination. | parked and put a dime in the meter, which to my sur- prise gave me one hour of parking. Gloating at my unexpected parking bargain, | began walk- ing down the street to the location of my ap- pointment, which | expected would take no more than half an hour. But as usual with appointments, | had to wait. After finishing my business, | looked at my watch to find there was just about one minute left before the parking meter time expired. Having parked at meters on various occa- sions in the past, and never being fined, when a few minutes late, | was not too concerned. But as | rounded the corner, down the street, beside my van, | could see the form of a "green hornet" in battle position. He was poised over the meter scribbling on a yellow piece of r. | began to run and shout, "Wait, I'm ere"! "Hey stop... I'm back!" He finally took notice, looking up as | hur- riedly approached him with my arms flailing. But all | got was a blank uncaring stare before he looked down and continued writing. | tried to explain that | was only three min- utes late, and | had run two blocks trying to get back on time. His reply, as he handed me that despicable piece of yellow paper which indicat- ed a parking infraction was, "the meter's out, | don't know for how long." | was MADI!! "That S.0O.B. | thought. Three minutes late and now it's going to cost me ten bucks." My stomach churned inside as | thought how my thrifty ten cent parking spot was now about to cost me $10 bucks. Total cost of parking (and fines) for a three hour stint in downtown T.O.' on this particular day added up to just under twenty dollars. That's a lot of greenbacks for the privilege of doing some business in the city. So, do we have a parking problem in Port Perry. Compared to the "big smoke", no way!! On most days you can park anywhere in downtown Port Perry less than a block away from where you are going. Only on occasions such as Santa Claus Parade, and Festival Days is there a real shortage of parking spaces. But that doesn't mean that parking in Port Perry is at a premium. And before we have to go to the extent of Joromo..msialing parking meters and having to hase $3.00 for every half hour of parking on public or private lots, there should be an attempt made to make bet- ter use of the space available. Enough about parking! "Now where did | put my cheque book?