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"Scugog"s Community Newspaper of Choice" > . Ie «Whit | CT ing ; AT He'l] Write te Christmas Contest Rules I. Use crayons, felt tip markers or coloured pencils 2. Limit one entry per person 3. Prize will be awarded for a winner in each category a) 5 and under b) 6 to 9 years 4. Completed entries must be turned in to the Port Perry Star by December © 17,1999. at 5:00pm 5. All entries must be signed by the parent of the child entering 6. All winners will be announced on December 21, 1999. 7. All judges decisions are final Prizes donated by the Port Perry Star Office Centre. Back! Don't Forget Your .& Return Address! oH Ade > A special thank you amd Mevvy Noumirou boHoHO Christmas to all the merchants who amen spousoved our Colouring Contest oo wf a, What Goes Around Comes Around 1869 Scugog Street Port Perry, 985-7380 Reid's Organic Farm Market 1615 Scugog Line #8 Port Perry, 985-2123 Marigold Travel 12 Water Street Port Perry, 985-7878 The Skaters Comer 14620 Old Scugog Rd Blackstock, 986-0177 ~ Pioneer Snack Express "1805 Scugog Street Port Perry, 985-0069 Utica Community Day Care Centre Inc. 14251 Marsh Hill Rd Utica, 985-8783 A} Drop entvy at the Port Perry Stav along withthis vallot H&R Block 174 Perry Street Port Perry, 985-9803 r | i | | Just B-Cuz : 255 Queen Street ; Port Perry, 985-5302 f | | | | | The Framer's Gallery 237 Queen Street Port Perry, 985-2543 Dr. B. Hadden Merry Christmas from Dr. Hadden & Staff 985-9385 Ghy: oo Mike Tobin Photography 359 Sexton Street Port Perry, 985-7725 Brodk's For Kids 178 Queen Street 188 Mary Street, Port Perry Port Perry, 985-8797 | 85-7383 | ll ti I J J ---- 3 Police working out bugs in new digital communications From page 1 ation soon. Technicians from the Motorola company were to be in Durham Region last week to listen to concerns raised by the force, and conduct some trouble- shooting exercises with a view to making recom- mendations for clearing the problems up, said Sgt. Mack. Some bugs are to be expected when imple- menting a totally new sys- tem, said Sgt. Mack. Durham, he said, is the only police force in Canada to make the switch to a fully digitized system. Other urban forces use digital commu- nication for specific opera- tions; the benefits of the technology are its clarity and range, and the fact transmissions cannot be monitored on scanners. Sgt. Mack said that police brass have met with police union officials to hear 'concerns about the new system, and have made assurances that their issues will be addressed. "It's a concern of ours; it's important to us," said Sgt. Mack. Police Association head Terry Ryan said the digital radio system is not per- forming up to expecta- tions, and may be putting some officers at risk. But after meeting with Sgt. Mack, he said he's confi: dent that problems with the new system could be dealt with, but added it had better occur quickly. While acknowledging that all new systems have their bugs, Mr. Ryan wants the system brought to full efficiency as soon as possible. The system has crashed on a least one occasion already, he said. "The radio is the offi- cer's lifeline... it simply has to work properly," said Mr. Ryan. "For the safety of the public and the officer, it simply cannot perform less than 100 per cent." Sgt. Mack said that despite the glitches, the digital system has widely increased the range of police communications in Durham. : "The coverage is better than I expected," he said. "We now have 97 per cent coverage (of the force's patrol area), minimum." The old system may have been efficient in as little as 80 to 85 per cent of the region, he said. "For the most part, the audio quality is being brought up to what we expected," said Sgt. Mack. The digital system, which came on line in November, was in the works for some time. It involved a $6 million out- lay for capital costs, and is expected to cost up to $7 million more over 15 years of use, said Sgt. Mack. News? 985-7383 Chnstmas Tives CAUSEWAY LIVE BAIT #2080 Hwy. 7A Pine & Spruce Free Delivery in local area CHRISTMAS TREES CUT YOUR OWN OR (M2 { TeV) A 3 2{0 [of N PINE, FIR BLACKSTOCK 7A to Blackstock 8km south on Durham 57 OPEN DAILY 9am-5pm Free Tree Baling » Hot Chocolate OSHAWA 3km west of Durham College on Conlin Rd. OPEN DAILY 9am-5pm Free Tree Shaking and Baling Cut your own $22 Tax included any size Fresh cut trees $10 & up Tax included Tree stands and bags available WATSON TREE FARMS (905) 263-8858 FREE CANDY CANES FOR THE KIDS » FREE BOUGHS AND CONES