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"A Family Tradition for 128 Years" -- -_ PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, February 13,1996 - 7 I ETTERS Enforce the snow clearing bylaw To the Editor: Subject: Bylaw Enforcement Is there some in particular reason why the Snow and Ice Clearing Bylaw is not being en- forced? It appears that the local bylaw officer must be relying on the monthly "thaws" to elimi- nate the snow and ice from all the sidewalks in Port Perry. To say thatit has been treach- erous to walk around Port Perry in the past few days, or all win- ter for that matter, is putting it mildly! I noticed that the Town Clerk placed a couple of ads in the local papers a couple of months ago, reminding people that a bylaw did cover the clear- ing of sidewalks. Why then is it not being enforced? Perhaps the local newspapers should be checking with Port Perry Com- munity Hospital to find out how many people ended up there due to their sprained/broken bones due to slipping on the ice and snow. Funny, but people used to clean the. snow/ice from their sidewalks until that taxpayers funded sidewalk plow started to make the rounds (on school routes per M. Pearce for the safety of the children). Not only does that machine destroy lawns, etc., but it leaves a nice amount of snow, that freezes up quite nicely later on. Well guess what! I believe that all resi- dents/visitors to town should be able to walk anywhere safely on cleared sidewalks! So get with it, save taxpayers dollars and get rid of the snow clearing machine, and enforce the bylaw!! Just imagine how much money you can collect from the fines! L.N. Thompson, Port Perry. Treatment more than he could bear From Page 6 onto the stool. She turned the com- puter terminal on, sat there for a few minutes admiring it, looked around a bit, picked up a couple of pieces of paper lying on the coun- ter, looked at them as if wondering what they were, looked around the area some more and got up and went over to a couple of co-workers to talk for a minute or two before returning to her work station to start the procedure all over again. At this point I was thinking, please God, not that one! She final- ly had to do something, so she reluctantly reached for a small microphone and called a number. You guessed it, it was for one of the people in the unemployment crowd. Not wanting to be there all day, I went over to the receptionist (who by this time had gone on her break and been replaced by someone else who didn't particu- larly care what I wanted) and was told to return to my seat and wait; I would be called in a few minutes. Back to observing the work habits of the chosen few. My favor- ite lady, (she was closest to where I sat) spent about 15 minutes with To the Editor: buried there, including myself. . ing their dogs. tombstones. much disrespect. Let's show respect Pine Grove Cemetery in Prince Albert is neat and well kept, and has been part of the community for many years. Many families. in the surrounding area have relatives and loved ones Over the years, I've visited the cemetery to pay respect to my next of kin. During numerous occasions I've noticed people walk- As in most instances, these dogs were allowed to defecate on the cemetery grounds. I've even seen them urinating on the I find it hard to believe that these dog owners can show so Pine Grove Cemetery is not a park but a resting place, there- fore it should be treated as such. Perhaps a sign stating "No Dogs Allowed" would help the situation. Mayor Hall, what do you think? Name withheld, by request her current customers and away they went. She eventually came back and called another number, and would you believe, it was mine. I stated my business, and pre- sented the Death Certificate and application form during which time she was slouching sideways on her stool with a pronounced sneer on her face. I kid you not, folks: her body language was clearly saying "I wish you idiots would lost." I didn't dare say anythig#® for fear of my application being lost in the waste basket. She read the death certificate and slid it back across the counter, glanced at the application. form and said that's it! I asked her if there was anything else réquired, and she repeated, no, that's it. I then asked her how long this procedure would take, and she said two or three months. I truly believe her if the rest of them have similar work habits. I am retired, a veteran of 10 years active services who worked hard all my life, never had any handouts, raised my family and always paid my way. You can well imagine my feelings when I left that office. To be treated with con- tempt at my age, in my country, by one of my government's employees, is more than I can bear. What has this country come to may I ask? Is this the norm? Is Turnto Page 9 CE A i ER ll NR SR ht he il Editor's Notepad OKAY (SAVE); NOW | GET IT OKAY (SAVE), THAT DOES IT: Three times (save). Three. That's how many times this column has been written, and then (save) obliterated. That's because we're having one of those days when the power tends to come and go (save). It's Thursday morning, just before noon, and it was, | believe, about ten'when the electricity first fluttered, then disappeared (save) for good. The Hydro guys got on the problem, found it, and began to fix it, and shortly after 11 (save) restored power. | launched into a column, got about five, six inches into it, and then -- nothing. The power (save) went out again. Then came on, and went out again. And again, and again (save). Call me thick, but | figured each time power was restored that was it, and we could all get on with our day, here. Each time (save) | was proven wrong, and the words | had typed were gone forever. That's why (save) we are: all now hitting the Save button every few lines or words now. Once bitten (save), etc. ABOVE THE DIN: It was during the power outage '| noticed something really odd here at the Star office: The quiet. Gone were the hum of my hard drive, the constant ringing of phones, the tap of fingers on keyboards, and the buzz of conversation in the offices surrounding this one. We certainly weren't looking forward to having three or four hours of downtime -- that did happen here last winter, | remember, and it got chilly in here -- because there's just too much to do, and we depend on electricity, it seems, to do just about all of it. But it was kind of nice while it lasted. Now the Hydro guys have done their thing, and the power seems to be holding. Back to business. SPEAKING OF BUSINESS: Everybody should make it their business to come out to tonight's township meeting on the future of the Greater Toronto Area, convening at 7:30 in the Latcham Centre in Port. Big plans are afoot in the GTA and if recommendations of the Golden Task Force are adopted, life as we know it in Scugog will be irrevocably altered. Come out, hear the presentations from the township, and then give your opinions. MPP John O'Toole will be there, and he needs to hear your concerns. Silence in matters such as this can be interpreted as agreement. Beware. SIESTATIME: As we speak, so to speak, | will be lying on a beach, ordering cervezas, and slurping raw oysters. Time for a mid-winter break. See you next week. (Save). Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten close to two hours mid-morning. Port Perry ground to an immediate halt, while hydro crews scrambled to find the location of the problem and repair the damage as quickly as possible. lates... atime to flutter passionate eyes over a quiet dinner and a glass of red wine... atime to gethome early, instead of going out for a drink with the guys. While this may be the way some men look at THE DAY THAT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT Ever notice how we never think much about our essential servic- ©] es, until we haven't got them. Turn atap and water instantly pours Sint a sink, or, flip a light switch and a room fills with light. That's just the way it is, right? We perform these functions, hundreds of times each day, but of the two services, electricity is the one we've become dependent upon most. There is virtually nothing we can do in our society today without the availability of electricity. Well last Thursday, much of Scugog Township found out how dependent we really are on hydro when electrical power was out in the township for Telephone lines went dead, computer screens went blank, cash registers were silenced, dental and medical practices shut down, and kids were sent home from schools. The entire town was blacked-out because of this tremendously important service, which we take for granted day in and day out. Our society is powerless (excuse the pun) without a constant and reliable source of electrical power and we are fortunate to experience few interruptions in this service each year. Our thanks to those who keep it coming. VALENTINE'S DAY - CURSE IT OR LOVE IT! Wednesday is Valentine's Day. For many men this day represents nothing more than a nuisance... atime when they have to rush into a store and buy a card which expounds their love... a time to dig deep for adozen roses or a box of choco- 'Valentine's Day, I'd venture to say there are many men who welcome the occasion and look onitas a perfect opportunity to express feelings of love and respect for their partner. Inthe hustle and bustle of the 90's, quite often not enough time is spent nurturing relationships with spouses and family. And yet, one of the mostimport- antthings we can do is to letour loved ones know how we feel about them. Happy Valentine's! QUARTER CENTURY MARK Congratulations to the Asselstine family of Black- stock, who celebrated their 25th anniversary in busi- ness last weekend. The business, which was started by Vernon and Vera Asselstine, is now successfully operated by their son Floyd and his wife Ruth. In an age when businesses come and go very quickly, we extend to the Asselstine family our best wishes for many more years of continued success.