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hae db. dh b il ob du av oma ae 6 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, February 15, 2000 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" PUBLISHER................. J. Peter Hvidsten GENERAL MGR........... Don Macleod MANAGING EDITOR... Jeff Mitchell OFFICE MANAGER..... Gayle Stapley ADVERTISING MGR.... Deb McEachem REPORTER.................. Chris Hall Freelance Writers- Heather McCrae, John B. McClelland PHONE (905) 985-7383 FAX (905) 985-3708 E-MAIL: port.perry.star@sympatico.ca Qocna Member Ontario Community Newspaper Assoc. Publications Mail Registration No. 07881 Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Company Limited, 188 Mary Street - Port Perry, Ontario - LL 1B7 SUBSCRIPTION RATES 1 Year - $37.45 (includes GST) Six Moriths - $19.79 (includes GST) Foreign 1 Year - $96.30 (includes GST) BUSINESS OFFICE: Judy Ashby, Kathy Dudley, Janet Rankin, Lesley West ADVERTISING: Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, Gail Morse, Heather Mack, Linda Clarke, Janet Archer, Malcolm Lennox PRODUCTION: Trudy Empringham, Pam Hickey, Daryle Wright, Arlene Cheel, Robert Taylor, Richard Drew, Scott Ashby EDITORIAL POLICY: Opinions expressed by columnists, contributors and letter witers are not necessarily those of The Port Perry Star. Letters must be signed and the telephone number (which wil not be published) included. Requests that a name be withheld will be honoured only if there is a compelling reason to do so. Errors wil be corrected if brought to the editor's attenion. We reserve the right to edit or refuse publication of any material submitted. ADVERTISING POLICY: The publisher is not kable for sight changes or typographical mays that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher is not able for other ors or omissions in Editorial Comment connection with any advertisement in any subsequent issue or the refund of any monies paid for the advertisement. All aims of error in publication must be made by Wednesday, noon, prior 10 the next week's publication, and, If not made, will not be considered. No claim will be allowed for more than one insertion. SCCs take up the debate AS It's good to hear that representatives from school commu- nity councils (SCCs) throughout Durham Region will be stepping up calls for a resumption of extracurricular activities in high schools. Martin Demmers, representing Port Perry High Schools SCC, will be joined by others from across the region at the Feb. 21 meeting of the Durham District Board of Education. They'll be urging trustees to come up with a plan that will 0S end the impasse between the board and teachers that has o CRIN resulted in an almost total withdrawal by teachers from the 4 6 XA ANG \ TEER te oo . extracurricular programs so many kids enjoy and thrive in. fo A Most teachers -- and there are some notable exceptions, : fori AE particularly at the high schools here in Scugog -- are ry \ refusing to take part in the after-school programs, as a . Re means of protesting against an imposed contract that x requires them to spend more time in the classroom than they had previously. The teachers argue the extra class time cuts down on the preparation time they need to do their jobs properly. The board insists it's just imposing requirements handed down by the province. An arbitrator agreed with the board after a bitter strike last / fall. It's unlikely there will be any movement on this issue for =. Jp now, as talks on a new contract are set to begin soon. Rv. SRE Extracurricular activities will no doubt be an important 3 Sn py LA aspect of those talks, and a factor in any settlement which is reached. 4 e * "ele eo * rrr ann arts ® [2 Md 2 TTY i Still, good for the parent representatives of the SCCs. RpovA They're taking public what many students and parents have Poet Perey been saying all along: That these programs are an important STAR and beneficial aspect of school life, and shouldn't be withheld. Port Perry Star Letter of the Week Expand deer hunt, cut accidents To the Editor: Too many people are killed or injured on area roads because of an overabundance of wildlife. #8 8 BE haat Over the course of the past year, I've read, heard on radio and seen on television, many stories of cars in collision with deer and, in one case, a bear. My husband also hit a deer this year and we've heard of several more near misses. The increase in collisions indicates there are a lot more deer. Don't get me wrong, | appreci- ate and care for wildlife very much, but reality dictates that, as caring, intelligent people we must prop- erly manage our wildlife resources. Allowing wildlife like deer to over- run their natural habitat is not a wise way to look after our world. When a deer collides with a car, the deer suffers injuries and often a slow, lingering death. These types of accidents also imperil people and cause tens of thou- sands of dollars in property dam- age. A solution that benefits both animals and people is to allow more hunting. We must consider issuing more deer hunting licenses and tags. Perhaps extended seasons, or deer tags for each of the three main deer seasons - bow hunting season, gun season, and the black powder season. Hunting is an excellent means to control the deer population. By selling deer licenses and regulat- ing the number of animals har- vested, the population of animals is controlled and healthy. When deer populations are high, so too should be the number of deer licenses. And when deer popula- tions are low, a corresponding drop in deer tags will follow. With deer populations in balance, fewer Please see next page