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JE PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, March 17, 1992 - 5 oy oS er TAR OR CORNISH Rob Ferguson, habitat co-ordinator, for R.H. Cornish Public School's Wildlife Habitat, displays a color-coded schematic of the project. The site at the front of the school will feature a na- ture pond, grass walkway and be the home to a number of but- terflies, moths and other insects and birds. Cornish plans for construction of wildlife habitat By Scott Anderson Port Perry Star R. H. Cornish Public School is embarking on a project that will dramatically change the look of the school. The students and staff will transform the northeast corner of the front yard on Queen Street into a wildlife habitat. And when completed it will fea- ture a nature pond, bird bath, grass walkway, a variety of trees and serve as the home to a number of insects and birds. R. H. Cornish's School Yard Wildlife Habitat is the idea of Rob Ferguson, a teacher at the school and an active member of various wildlife groups. As habi- tat co-ordinator, Mr. Ferguson will oversee the development of the long-term project. With the help of a detailed and color-coded schematic, the wildlife habitat will be created in a number of phases. The first phase of the project will begin on March 25 when the students will get together to plant peren- nial seeds. They will then moni- tor the development of their in- dividual plants. In order to introduce the pro- ject to the students, a habitat display will be constructed in the lobby of the school, featur- ing a four-foot rnver. The first visible phase of the project will begin in April when the fieldstone border will be laid. Planting of the larger trees will follow in May. Mr. Ferguson says the pur- pose of the project is twofold. First, it will educate the stu- dents on ways to increase the habitat and encourage them to support the infrastructure of wildlife in their own backyards. Second, it will promote the need to maintain a healthy environ- ment. The entire student body, con- sisting of approximately 640 students, will get involved in the project. With the use of a computer, the students will be divided into groups of eight, one from each grade. Each group will plant a Common Marjoram and an Annise-Hyssop, both perennials, and document the growth. Each group of students, about 80 in total, will be led by a Grade 8 student. The intrinsic valve of the oups, says Mr. Ferguson, Wi bo that all the students will be volved in the project and work with students from different grades and other sections of the school. Mr. Ferguson said the idea was developed along the lines of the Durham Board of Educa- tion's "Looking Good Contest." This project encourages schools to maintain the upkeep of their school property during the sum- mer months. But he took this idea one step further. In a philosophical man- ner he explains hisidea. "You can make something look beautiful, but it can be a bad habitat," he said. "But at the same time you can create a habitat that looks beautiful." Mr. Ferguson says the project "can be done on a shoe-string budget," but acknowledges that it will depend on the help and co-operation of the community. He hopes a number of the sup- plies including the fieldstones and some of the trees can be con- tributed by local residents. Families will also be asked to maintain the project over the summer months. It is perhaps no coincidence that each student will be plant- ing perennials for the project, as it is the hope of Mr. Ferguson that thisis a perennial project. Post Office to close From Page 1 temporary postmaster, who re- placed the postmistress when she retired last October. Ms. Martin said the retire- ment of the postmistress gave Canada Post an opportunity to re-evaluate the method of deliv- ery in an effort to "enhance the service." Ms. Martin says the experi- ence of other communities who have seen the retail-type ser- vice has been positive. She said the residents like the increased hours of operation, and the sev- en-day service, not currently of- fered at a traditional post office. "It's a little bit nicer all the way around," she said. In terms of the actual mail gervice she said it would be "status quo service, if not bet- ter." Local DJ says council's ban of teen dances will hurt him By Scott Anderson Port Perry Star A local disc jockey feels he is the big loser 1n council's deci- sion to ban teen dances at public halls until a review is complete. Steve McEachern, 22, of Port Perry, says the decision will hurt not only people like himself who depend on the dances as a source of income, but it will also hurt the community. The Township of Scugog council decided to suspend the practice of renting township halls such as the Latcham Cen- tre for teen dances until they re- view the booking procedures. According to Ward 2 council- lor Marilyn Pearce, who also serves on the Parks and Recrea- tion Committee, there seems to be a number of irregularities when renting out the hall and she wants things ironed out be- fore any more functions are held. | Under the conditions of the rental agreement, functions such as teen dances must have a number of chaperones and at least two off-duty police officers. On a number of occasions, this has not been the case. Also, there has been irregularities when it came to signing rental agreements and picking up keys. Council would like to have a firm policy in place before re- suming the rental of the halls. The issue of teen dances came to the forefront on Feb. 28 when a brawl occurred outside the Masonic Temple in Port Perry. Officials with the temple have also banned teen dances until further notice. Although Mr. McEachern was not the organizer of the dance that night, he feels he could be hurt most by the deci- sion to put the events on hold. He says he is being hurt by the apparent disregard of the rules by a few guilty parties. "Our names are being asso- ciated with all the wrong doing and pathetic organizing," he told the Port Perry Star. As a result of this, he and his partner Carl Payne, appeared at council recently to offer help in solving the problem as quick- ly as possible. Mr. McEachern pointed to the fact that he has held teen danc- es for a number of years and there has not been any prob- lems at them. Noting his extensive night- club experience, he outlined the various security measures he imposes at a dance which he sponsors. These measures in- clude a search at the door, a vid- eo tape of the whole dance, adult chaperones and off-duty police officers. Council was impressed with the measures which Mr. McEachern has taken, and sug- gested they may incorporate some of his ideas into its formal policy. Area Councillor Harvey Gra- ham commended Mr. McEach- ern "for taking the initiative in coming to council to work the problem out." Although Mr. McEachern is concerned that the township's decision will hurt his company, Rebel Disc Jockeys financially, he also believes that the com- munity will suffer as well. Mr. McEachern claims a teen dance keeps the young adults off the streets and proyides them with some form of enter- tainment., Using past statistics, he not- ed that not one teen has been killed in an alcohol-related au- tomobile accident on the night of a dance since he began con- ducting them. He says the decision also hurts the community financial- ly. A number of the retailers profit quite well from the activi- ties on a weekend and he be- lieves the business would drop if there weren't teens in those es- tablishments. Mr. McEachern says he doesn't just hold the dances for his own benefit, but puts a lot of the proceeds back into the com- munity through donations to various charitable organiza- tions. Mr. McEachern says he is ea- ger to work with the township to establish a consistent policy. A formal policy is expected by April 1. Call Robert J. Gow MUTUAL FUNDS Invest Wisely ROBERT ). GOW 434-6161 BE EEE ob Ca os EE a au a a Et i | Investment advisors to Canadian enterprise and enterprising Canadians (TORONTO LINE) 683-1081 12 King Street East, Oshawa, Ontario L1H shape wi thout getting bored! For over 1,000 years, the martial arts have been helping: people stay in shape through a unique blend of stretching, cardiovascular conditioning and fun. The martial arts are the best way to help you stay in shape. Our programs include: # Great stretches to maintain and increase flexibility. 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