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6- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, October 5, 1999 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" PUBLISHER - J. Peter Hvidsten GENERAL MGR. - Don Macleod MANAGING EDITOR - Jeff Mitchell REPORTER - Chris Hall OFFICE MANAGER - Gayle Stapley ADVERTISING MGR. - Deb McEachern Member Ontario Community Newspaper Assoc. PHONE (905) 985-7383 FAX (905) 985-3708 E-MAIL: port.perry.star@sympatico.ca Aocna [Geen hot 1 Year - $37.45 (includes GST) Six Months - $19.79 (includes GST) will be corrected if brought to the editor's attention. We reserve the right to edit or refuse publication of any material submitied. A : : connaction with any advertisement in any subsequent issue or the refund of any monies paid for the advertisement. All claims of eor in publication must be mada by Wednesday, noon, prior to the next week's publica tion, and, if not made, will not be considered. No claim wil be allowed for more than ona insertion. Association Publications Mail Registration No. 07881 Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Company Limited, 188 Mary Street - Port Perry, Ontario - LIL 1B7 SUBSCRIPTION RATES onlet ana ian Community {v CNA Foreign 1 Year - $96.30 (includes GST) Party Sta, Lots must bo signed and the elephone number (whch wil not be published) includ. Requests that a name bo witihad wil be honoured only if herd isa compel reason fo Go 0. EES DVERTISING POLICY: The publisher is not liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not BUSINESS OFFICE: Judy Ashby, Kathy Dudley, Janet Rankin, Heather Callan. ADVERTISING: Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, Gail Morse, Heather Mack, Linda Clarke, Janet Archer PRODUCTION: Trudy Empringham, Pam Hickey, Daryle Wright, Robert Taylor, Richard Drew, Scott Ashby, lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher is not liable for other errors or omissions in Editorial comment Planning for Port Perry's future Scugog Township councillors will soon find themselves in the difficult position of making decisions on two major retail developments here. | Both lie outside of the confines of Port Perry's downtown and, consequently, are drawing fire from merchants and residents. Critics say the construction of large stores and plazas on the outskirts of town.will be detrimental to the core. Judging by precedent alone, they're right. Southern Ontario is full of towns and small cities whose downtown cores languish while shoppers flock to malls and big box stores with huge parking lots. Main Street Ontario ceases to be the hub of commercial and social interaction. Small towns can lose their identities, and become bland copies of urban templates. But the shoppers go, and if the demand were. not there, the stores wouldn't be built. Many who lament the demise of Main Street can be counted among the throngs at the Oshawa 'Centre on Saturday, searching for bargains. So it is that business owners argue they must grow and.offer more to consumers in order to survive. Because if they do not, another retailer will surely step in to meet the demand. It's not a long shot to predict that either the plaza proposed on Simcoe St. south of town or the IGA plan in the west end will wind up in front of the Ontario Municipal Board, which adjudicates such matters. If that happens, they will base a decision on planning principals. Opponents will have to present more than their own economic concerns to make a compelling case. A vibrant, thriving downtown is inestimably important to Port Perry, obviously. And its health has to be considered by a council voting on new proposals. But times change, and towns change. Good luck, councillors. GET A o{ GREAT BLUE HERyy o | LOT MACHINE PROCEEp any | = J) TERRES WDOCIIN-W-T 1 \ DOA a Por PERRY STAR To the Editor: I am writing to express my concerns about what appears to be a very disturbing trend: The lack of responsibility of those who choose to fly the Canadian flag. Over the past year or so have witnessed our national symbol in various forms of distress; torn so badly that perhaps only one third is flying, tattered like a rag, or so faded the brilliant red looks like dull orange. These various flags were discovered flying everywhere from a private residence by the Island road (a very large one that is extremely majestic when it is cared for) to Peace Park, Caesarea (shame on our township), to, unbelievably, the RCMP offices in Bowmanville. I realize that today's pace makes it dif- ficult to complete all that we have to do, but please recognize that choosing to fly the flag is a responsibility that requires more than raising it up the flagpole and forgetting about it until you receive a complaint. The flag is a proud symbol of our nation, its people and their accomplishments. Please respect that fact. If you can't, please do not fly the flag. Paul McCourt Caesarea Random Jottings Pa "by J. Peter Hvidsten FALL - THE SPORTS FANATIC'S SEASON Ya gotta know its fall... when night time temperatures reach the id single digits, falling leaves begin to RY , _ cover the once lush, green lawn, a blanket of white frost greets the morning sun, dark- ness arrives before suppertime, and the TV is saturat- ed with sporting events. ~~ Every year about this time, television screens become a virtual stadium for a wide spectrum of sports. It doesn't really matter what sport you like, you can almost be assured that once October comes along, you'll find it on one of the hundreds of channels "available to the viewing public. "And the converter -- a woman's curse -- is the sport _fanatic's best friend, allowing him to zap from one sta- tion to the other catching a few minutes of golf, foot- ball, hockey, baseball, soccer, basketball and almost any other sporting event you can think of. So before the baseball and football playoffs get under way... sports widows would be advised to get their lists of most important Fall projects ready, so they can catch the "old couch potato" before he set- tles in for the next couple of months. Once talk about the World Series and Grey Cup begin, you can bet there's little chance of dislodging his rotund rump out of a soft couch to clean dirt out of the eavestrough, rake the leaves or put away the lawn furniture. Lis Ahhhhhh, Fall, isn't it wonderfull NEED ONE BIG PARTY Aside from a few brief mentions of parties taking place at the Blackstock Rec Complex and the Scugog Community Hall this New Year's Eve, there's been precious little information provided to the public as to the 'extent of plans for a community celebration. We're talking about celebrating the start of the new millennium, or if you're one of those who believes that the new millennium doesn't start until the end of the year 2000, then it's a celebration of the beginning of a new century. Regardless of your belief, it would be nice to close off the roads in downtown Port Perry and hold a large celebration that everyone could attend... kids, teens, moms, dads and grandparents, all gathered at one central location to celebrate. Imagine the downtown crowded with thousands of people, young and old, singing and waving flags, around a large bonfire located either in the middle of the street, or perhaps behind the Post Office. The celebration could have been the experience of a lifetime as a sea of faces gathered at the base of the Post Office to watch the hands of the tower clock tick away the final seconds of the 20th century, under the glow of a dazzling display of fireworks. ; From the little we've been able to learn so far, it appears as if plans to date are very fragmented, with parties taking place in different areas of the township . which limit the number of people being able to take part, and different events still in the planning stages. Maybe my vision of the tum of the century is a little too simplistic, but | don't really care about attendinga dance or celebration with other adults. I'd like to spend the last few hours of this century budge 4 warm with my wife and children snuggled by my side. * That's my idea of a good way to end 1999 andto begin a new century. ~~ SET ED PALATE ng * FREI