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8 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, February 15, 2000 "Scugog"s Community Newspaper of Choice" Owning local CTC a homecoming for area native By Chris Hall Port Perry Star Jeff Hodgkinson is about as close to home as you can possibly be. A native of Uxbridge, Mr. Hodgkinson took over ownership of the Port Perry Canadian Tire store last week, and is look- ing forward to returning to his old stomp- ing grounds. 'When the announcement of former owner Dave Deplaedt's departure to a new store near Ottawa was made, Mr. Hodgkinson said he scooped up the local store as soon as he could. He spent the last 18 months working with the corporation in Calgary, but his family remained in Keswick, where they currently live. "I first came here as a customer in December and was just amazed at the growth here in town, it's unbelievable," he said. "When the opportunity came up, | grabbed it." While he has worked with Canadian Tire for the past 23 years, this is his first stint as an owner. "lI started in 1977 at the bottom, sweeping floors and building bikes. I've moved my way up and I'm very excited about this," said Mr. Hodgkinson Friday, his second day on the job. "We have a great team here and some very loyal customers. We're not looking at any large changes here, we just want to improve the customers' shopping experi- ence," he said. "I'm very interested in the area, and being very active in it. This is a great place and | just want to be a part of it again." The possibility of 'also moving into a new, and much larger, store in the near future is also thrilling, he said. "It's too early right now to say if or when, but it would be great. | know I'd love the opportunity to work in a larger store because it would be so much more satisfying for the customer. There you can offer them what they want, and that's what we're here to do." The only foreseeable changes in the next couple of weeks are the hiring of a new store and service manager, said Mr. Hodgkinson. | "I'm quite ecstatic to be back in the area, there is no better place. I'm plan- ning on being here for a very, very, very long time." Jeff Hodgkinson is the new owner of Port Perry's Canadian Tire store. *~ ® INSURANCE ASSIGNMENT ACCEPTED (WE COLLECT FROM INSURANCE COMPANIES) ® DENTISTRY WHILE YOU SLEEP ® GENERAL ANAESTHESIA AVAILABLE 462 PAXTON ST. (ACROSS FROM PORT PERRY HOSPITAL) PORT PERRY DENTAL OFFICE " x E ® PAYMENT PLANS ARRANGED ® SENIOR CITIZENS DISCOUNT NEW PATIENTS WELCOME oo IEEEEEEE Club. formerly Harrison of Houston, Tx. The 130 wedding guests attended from the Yukon, British Columbia, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Vermont, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Brazil, Chile, Montreal, Ottawa, Belleville, Kingston, Welland, Toronto, Oshawa and Port Perry. The newlyweds geologists honeymooned at Lake Louise and in the Hawaiian Islands, and will reside in Pietersburg, South Africa. Lynn and Kent would like to express their gratitude to all family and friends whose presence, love and support made their wedding day unforgettable. @ EVENING APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE The marriage of Lynn Bailey and Kent Carter took place on January 8, 2000 at Kingsview 8 United Church in Oshawa, with reception at the Oshawa Golf Lynn is the daughter of Earl and Jean Bailey of Oshawa, and the grand daughter of the late George and Alpha Samells of Port Perry and Effie Bailey, of Welland and : Uxbridge and the late Carman Bailey. Kent is the son of the late*Fred Carter and Sydney By Chris Hall Port Perry Star The recent acquisition of Ontario Cashway Building Centres by RONA ~~ FIRST ANNUAL RAFFLE First Prize - $10,000 | 5 prizes of $500 © 25 Prizes of $100 Draw Date March 31, 2000 of 8:00pm st Chamber Office 1 Early Bird Prize - $500 Draw Date: February 28, 2000 (Cat-off date - Feb. 21, 2000) Proceeds for Canada, Festival Days and Santa Clous Parade 2000 Wiring ticket wil be drawn under tha supénvision of Roger B. Moase, Chartered Accountant Number of Tickets: 600 © Tickets $60.00 Tickets available at the Port Perry Star VOLUNTEERS NEEDED The Scugog Chamber of Commerce is actively seeking volunteers to help with Summerfest at the Port Perry Fairgrounds July 6-9 Please call 985-4971 to volunteer Together, we can make it happen! Inc. will have very little immediate impact on the Port Perry store, says man- ager John Bouwhuis. In fact, he adds, cus- /2000 (Sf XVI (IVR IVI TX WL Yd VI] Teh ad [] Jo U0 Bagh» FL B33 Enter to WIN our 50/50 Draw Tickets 32.% each or 3 for $5. available at The Port Perry Star 188 Mary Street, Port Perry All Proceeds to Scugog Shores Museum. Lottery Licence #M144039 tomers may not notice much different about the Scugog St. store except for a name change in the com- ing months. The new name for the store will be RONA Cashway Building Centres Ltd. It was announced on Feb. 7 that Quebec's RONA Inc. had entered into an agreement to acquire the 61 Cashway stores in Ontario. The deal amounted to more than $50 million. The deal had been in the works for some time, said Mr. Bouwhuis. "There were rumours floating around strongly for the past few weeks, but we were told about it at a managers' meeting on 2885 Altona Rd, Pickering Xo presents ® the zany comedy "Playi DINNER & SHOW from $38.95 inc. all tax Reservations 905) 472-3085 www.herongate.com ® 000006000000 Local lumber store bought by Quebec company Feb. 6," he said. "It didn't really come as much of a shock to us." The most positive aspect of the deal was RONA's announcement that there will be no store closures or layoffs in either Ontario or Quebec, said Mr. Bouwhuis: "They have said that no one will lose their jobs, which is really important. In fact, they want to expand." RONA plans on invest- ing more than $400 million over the next three years to expand, renovate and build stores. They plan to build and open more than 100 stores by 2003 in Ontario and Quebec, and hope to have more than 1,000 stores in Canada by that time. "We have yet to see their policies and proce- dures, but we sort of figure that down the road they will fix us up in their image, which is something the people of Port Perry will definitely like. RONA is about presentation," said Mr. Bouwhuis. The Port Perry store will still carry the majority of the products it offered before, but will also stock RONA-brand items, he said. "In the near future we will be getting new sig- nage and other small changes, but for the most part it will be business as usual," said Mr. Bouwhuis.