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6 - PORT PERRY "WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2000 PUBLISHER................ J. Peter Hvidsten GENERAL MGR.......... Don MacLeod MANAGING EDITOR.. Jeff Mitchell OFFICE MANAGER.... Gayle Stapley _jocna poz VR WEEKI a ADVERTISING MGR...Deb McEachem Member Ontario Community Association REPORTER................ Chris Hall Newspaper Assoc. : Freelance Writers- Heather McCrae, John B. McClelland Published every Friday by the Port Perry Star Company Limited, 188 Mary Street - Port Perry, Ontario - L9L 187 PHONY 09 pine Distributed free in the following communities: Port Perry - Uxbridge - Sunderland - Little Britain - RR Lindsay Janetville (805) 985-3708 Oakwood - Manilla - Seagrave - Greenbank - Brooklin - Ashburn - Columbus - RR Oshawa E-MAIL: port perry.star@sympatico.ca Caesarea - Blackstock - Raglan - Nestleton - Yelverton - Prince Albert will be corrected if brought to the editor's attention. We reserve the right to edit or refuse publication of any material submitted. ADVERTISING POLICY: The publisher is not liable for slight changes or communty (de CNA EDITORIAL POLICY: Opinions expressed by columnists, contributors and letter writers are not necessarily those of The Port Perry Star. Letters must be signed and the telephone number (which will not be published) included. Requests that a name be | is errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher is not kable for other errors or omissions in connection with any advertisement in any subsequent issue of the refund of any monies paid for the advertisement All iaims of erfor in publicasion must be made by Wednesday, noon, prior 10 the next week's publication, and, f not made, wil not be considered. No claim wil be allowed for mare than one inserion BUSINESS OFFICE: Judy Ashby, Kathy Dudley, Janet Rankin, Lesley West, Heather Callan ADVERTISING: Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, Gail Morse, Heather Mack, Linda Clarke, Janet Archer, Malcolm Lennox, Lisa Monk PRODUCTION MANAGER: Pamela Hickey Production Staff: Trudy Empringham, Daryle Wright, Arlene Cheel, Robert Taylor, withheld will be honoured only if there is a compelling reason to do so. Errors OPINION You call this open government? Premier Mike Harris and his Tories ran and were elected on a platform of open, accessible and responsible government. "During the course of their mandate, however, the opposite seems to have been occurring. Consider: a The passage this week of Bill 74, which essentially gives the province the power to step in and take over school boards which do not do the government's bidding. Trustees here have pronounced the bill a furthering of the Tories' apparent plan to eventually eliminate local control of schools altogether, and it looks as though they're right. a The closure of the local Ontario Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) office in Port Perry, and the consoli- dation of services for the area in Lindsay. Our calls to the new Lindsay office have gone unanswered for days at a time... wonder how the farmers are making out? a The similar dismantling and restructuring, early in the man- date, of the Family Responsibility Office, which helps single parents track down former partners who fail to make child support payments. Where once folks could find people to speak with, they now find machines. no The apparent lack of concern or respect on the part of the premier and his cabinet for anyone who does not agree with the government's agenda. They are dismissed, more often than not, as "special interest groups". Say, what's more "special interest" than a political party, eh? Once again, fine promises evaporate, before our eyes. <r PHoto OF THE WEEK Jenelle Hailey Abram, daughter of Joy and Bob Abram of Scugog Island, appears to be delighted to find herself sitting among the tulips. If you have an interesting picture we could use for Photo of the Week, please drop it by The Star office, or give us a call at 985-7383. . LETTERS ~ ET 24 Ratti TRA . " To the Editor: The Durham Rowing Club would like to express appreciation to all the boaters, who with their cooperation of keeping the wakes down and avoiding the race, helped to make this year's regatta a success. To the homeowners on the shores adja- cent to the course, thank you and our apolo- gies for any noise or inconveniences caused. To the staff of the Township of Scugog, Mr. Bacon and Port Perry Marina, thank you for your assistance, your efforts and extras put forth for our Regatta. To the officials, the volunteers and all Thanks for helping event go smoothly the rowers and their families that attended Durham's second Invitational Regatta, it could not have been done without you. Thank you for making it successful and we look forward to working and competing with you next year. Special thanks to Harry Dyas, past presi- dent of Kiwanis Club of Sydenham and John O'Toole, MPP Durham for being a part of our boat christening ceremony. Michael Maher, President To the Editor: About two weeks ago I called my local MP office to ask the how and why the grants department gave the Province of Quebec $48 million while the Province of Ontario received just $8 million. | was informed by Mr. Shepherd's staff that he would return my call the next day. Unfortunately he did not have the courtesy to do so. Is the federal government trying to buy votes for confederation? The attitude of the Quebec Government is if you don't Are the feds just paying off Quebec? give us more we will separate. Well, | think it is about time we let them go as the Canadian taxpayers cannot put up with this political blackmail. Recently the Heritage Department gave out our money for Canada Day cele- brations and guess what? Quebec gets 76 per cent of all money. Perhaps the people of Ontario should start a separate policy and hope we get the same treatment. E. McMeekin Caesarea ACT hi