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ailboxX” Continued from page 2 I was a part of the Lake Scugog Studio tour for 15 years. I also volunteered with the Scugog Council for the Arts. Later I served as their vice-president. A labour of love was the curating of the SCA’s monthly gallery shows. My husband Robb and I, both became ‘died in the wool’ volunteers with the Mayor’s Annual fundrais- ing Gala for the Arts. He as treasurer and I as Mrs. dogs bod: y. Robb, an avid bridge player, joined a wonderful group of like- minded people. We were also Scottish Country Dancers for 10 years. I created their logo. Robb and I wish to thank the people of Port Perry for opening their hearts and minds to us. Port Perry is a marvelous town where we thoroughly enjoyed our time with the best of neighbours and a gathering of friends. To thank everyone would take too many pages, you know who you are and how much we treasure you all. We shall be back from time to time. My email remains the same, the kettle is always on and visitors are wel- come. Thank you once again Port Perry, definitely a ‘Thumbs Up’ place to live. Pamela Meacher Barrie, Ontario Disappointed in fee for skating Dear Editor I would like to give a Thumbs Down to Scugog Recreation Centre for charging $3.50 for an adult and one child to use the ice for Parents and Tots skating on Wednesdays from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. Children using this particular time frame are mostly under four years of age, as anyone older is in school. The skating usually lasts anywhere from 5-15 minutes for most pre-schoolers. We took two grandkids to the arena at a cost of $7 for less than 10 minutes of skating, and we were the only ones there. I would think parents and tots should be free, or a minimal charge for the tot. Get some adults out with preschoolers to see if the kids like it. Then, maybe more parents will sign kids up for the expensive programs provided by Scugog Recreation Centre. It is a major effort for any parent, grandparent or caregiver to take a child out to parents and tots skat- ing, plus the cost of skates and helmets. The ice just sits there vacant, probably because of the cost. Try making it free or $1 per kid and see if it improves the attendance. The parents / grandparents / caregivers sure don’t use the time to skate for themselves, their time is spent helping kids. Disappointed in Scugog Recreation Centre. Harvey Williams Port Perry 10 FOCUS - MARCH 2015 Service was way above and beyond Dear Editor In celebration of my mother’s recent 85th birthday, our family agreed to get together on Family oe fora Chinese food feast at mom’s place in Port Per: We always purchase our Chinese food at ihe “Lucky Lam’, in the Food Basics Plaza, so I called the day before to make sure they were going to be open, since it was Family Day. They had not decided if they would open yet, so I explained that we needed to know as soon as possible as we would be placing an order for 12 people, in celebration of my mother’s 85th birthday. We received a call back a couple of hours later. The owner told us she would open and asked what time we needed the food order. When we told her 2 p.m., she said they don’t usually open on the weekend until that time, but commented on how important an 85th birthday was, and that they would have it ready. When my husband Darrell and son Kyle went to pick up the food, they found out that the restaurant was actually closed, but they had driven in from out of town to make this meal for us. After we picked up our order, they were going home again. The food was absolutely delicious and fresh and we had a “feast”. We were absolutely amazed they would go out of their way to prepare one meal. We would like to give them a big Thumbs Up. Sandi Yokom Seagrave Appreciate great support for ‘soups’ Dear Editor My sincerest thanks to each and every person who braved the weather on February 7th to attend the 3rd Annual Durham Children’s Aid Foundation Soup for Thought benefit. It was a fantastic event that was generously attend- ed and enthusiastically supported by people of all ages in the community. A big shout out goes to our primary sponsor, Terry and Christine Vos, of Vos’ Independent. Ahearty “thumbs up” must go to all 11 of the soup preparers from the restaurants and service clubs in our incredible community who participated: when you dish it out, we show up! Congratulations go out to our Judge’s Choice winner, Marwan’s Global Bistro (with help from The Old Flame Brewery) and our People’s Choice win- ner, Maple Leaf Foods. As, the volunteers who ran the event and the students who lent their creativity to each and every bowl. You are all a wonder. The Durham Children’s Aid Foundation continues to benefit from the support we find in this great town and it’s because of all of you that we were able to raise more than $6000 for Youth-in-Care heading towards post-secondary education and Children-in-Care head- ing to summer camp. Laura Francis and Jocelyne Boissonneault Soup for Thought Co-Chairs