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0000 Blaze Bowmaille Awaits Facel Street improvements designed to give downtown Bowmanville a new lease on life are expected to begin by the middle of next month. Jack Dunham, director of public works for the Town of Newcastle, said yesterday that the tentative schedule for re-constructing King St. calls for work to begin September 11. Two months later, it is expected that all street and sidewalk im- provements between Scugog and Temperance St. will be finished. Work on the remainder of King St. between Temperance and Ontario St. will take place in the spring, Mr. Dunham said. Detours Likely The works director also said that some traffic will have to be detoured when construction gets underway this fall and he added that the traffic could be re-routed through Church or Queen St. The works director said he had no idea how long the main street will be closed to traffic because detailed construction plans wil not be known until a contractor is chosen. Newcastle's public works commit- tee is scheduled to meet this Friday at one p.m. to open tenders on the King St. project. This is the first step in the process of choosing a contractor to re-build the street. The total cost of re-developing King St. has been estimated at $900,000, Mr. Dunham said. That figure includes expenses such as the repair or replacement of under- ground sewers and watermains; the reconstruction of sidewalks and the reconstruction of the highway itself. No Widening Mr. Dunham said there will be no widening of the paved portion of the road between Scugog and Temperance St. The presenit width of the pavement is about 42 feet and the new pavement will be 42 feet wide. However, the drop from iithe sidewalk to the roadwýay on the north side of King St. will be eliminated, Mr. Dunham said. Wires Underground Other street improvements calL for the elimination of all above- ground utility wires and the installa- tion of new streetlights. Turn to Page Two Damage has been estimated at $300,000 following a blaze in down- town Bowmiranville Sunday night. Newcastle Fire Chieff Jim Hlay- man said this week that he believes the fire at Bowmanville's Stedrans department store was deliberately set. He described the cause of the fire as "vandalism". "I think it's just plain stupidity," he added. Police Investigate Durham Regional Police confirm- ed Monday that arson is being investigated as a result of the eight-hour fire that demolished almost all of the department store and threatened nearby apartments and businesses, However, at press tire today police saidno arrçsts had been made. The Stedmians store emrployed a full-time and part-time staff of .2ta 14 persons. While the exact agetof the building is not known, the structure is well over 100 years old, The store had been operated by Stedmans since the 1920s. Sunday's fire means that a total of close to half a million dollars in downtown Bowmanville property has been burned during the last two months. Prior to the Stedans fire, two stores plus several apartments and offices- were destroyed or damaged on King St. east. Fire officials said that blaze was started spontaneously. It caused over $100,000 damage and occurred Turn to Page Two Biggest Stage Ever Being Built for Canada Jam Dean Taylor, above, production director and site coordinator for Canada Jam at Mosport Park this Saturday, claims this huge stage in the background will be the biggest ever built in Canada. It has rotating band stands so there will be only brief delays in the rock music that starts at 10 a.m. and continues until at least 10pm. A large crew of workers is already at Mosport, preparing the facilities. A special sound system will be used so listeners in any part of the huge compound will hear the music without distortion. Another view of firemen climbing ladder to roof. - Photos by Rick James and Peter Parrott N Bits & Pieces STEADY JOB - If things don't slow down a bit for local firemen, the town's fathers will have to consider having more permanent men on the roster. After a hectie two weeks, culminating in the disastrous Stedman building fire Sunday night, they added a car on fire Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon a tractor-trailer went over a bank opposite the Oshawa Motel on Hwy. 2 and was leaking fuel. While that was on, a second pumper answered a grass fire call at Maple Grove. Enough's enough! The boys would like to see their wives and families now and then. ALIVE AND HAPPY - Former Council- lor Ken Lyall is still going strong. The Editor received a letter from him Tuesday morning from R. R. 4, Souris, P.E.I., the first in sometime. He is still pounding out news on a typewriter for the Charlottetown Guardian and both he and his wife are feeling great and enjoying life. They've had several visitors from up this way and appreciate being brought- up-to-date on the Durh-am Region scene. CANADA JAM - We hope to visit Mosport later before press time to check the arrangements that are being made for the Canada Jam festival slated for Saturdav. At the moment, there's no definite information on the number of rock fans who are expected to attend, but they could hit the 100,000 mark or more. CORN ROAST - Allan Lawrence's annual corn roast and barbecue has been scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 6th, start- ing at 4 p.m. at the hone of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Foster near Kendal. The news re- lease adds a note that it will be cancelled if a federal election is called before then, and postponed to the following day if it