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/ - - - Celebrating an All-Ontario victory The Port Pefry Panthers celebrate their All-Ontario A Division Juvenile hockey victory Saturday night in front of a large and 'appreciative hometown crowd at the Scugog Arena. Panthers needed a win to clinch the banner over Sutton ice and they got it by a 6-4 margin. But It wasn't easy as the outcome of this game stayed In doubt uptil mid-way through the third pefiod when the Panthers began to sense victory and pulled away from their opponents. This Is the only Port Perry minor hockey team to win a provincial champlonship this year, Full detalls and more photos of this great sporting moment on Page 21. a * I > 1 ) . Region taxes' - .go up slightly Durham ratepayers will notice a very slight tap on. the wallet * this year after Regional council approved a Ludget last won' that calls for a tax hike ot 1ess than one per cent. . In Scugog Township, it will mean an increase of $14 on a house with an average assessed value of $3600. The increase amounts to about $700,000, said Scugog Mdyor Howard*Hall and virtually all the money will be used to pay for 27 new officers and civilians ' added last year to the Region's Police force. now facing murder charge One of the men facing numerous charges over the October 1994 bank robbery and shootings 'at the Port Perry Plaza has been. charged with the first degree murder of a Kingston _ man who disappeared in November 1982 and has not been since. The murder charge against Mitchell "Micky" Gordon McArthur, 43, was laid last week after a joint investigation by the OPP, Durham Region and Kingston Police forces. ji Kingston Police say that on November 12, 1982, Thomas Gencarelli, theft 24, left his Kingston residence. Police described his disappearance as "suspicious," and said no trace hag been found of the man. . The investigation by the three police forces was. stepped up in January, 1995, leading to the charge last * week, said a Police spokesman. No other details were released, but the spokesman said the tigation is inuing « McArthur, along with his younger brother Angusy,both from the Kingston areas in custody. waiting trial on nearly + 20 charges in connection with the robbery at the Bank of Montreal in October 1994 and the shootings the same evening that wounded the bank manager, three Durham Police officers responding to the call and a real estate agent working in. n office across the highway the plaza, ~N . NN The trial on those charges is expected to get underway this spring. The investigation into the bank robbery and shootings have cost the Durham Police in excess of $1 million and the bill continues to grow. Funds from the provincial solicitor general . and "If the Police Services Board -Itad been forced to fhd-that #77" 20 there would have been .." officers," the Mayor told the Citizen, adding that he is satisfied with the Regional budget approved by 'council last - week Even s0; he noted, the Durham Force remains 'under-staffed in relation® to its growing population. The tdtal Police budget in 1996 is $52 millions » and the total Durham Region _budget is about $400 million * - with the tax levy coming to $99.6 million. \ In settipg their 1996 budget, \ Regional €oungil and staff had to" (content with about $8 million 'less irk transfers from the ' provincial government and there "are more cuts looming next year." "It was really a chop, chop, chop budget," said the Mayor. The Regional tax hike of about $14 in Scugog will be off-set for Township residents who are on Durham water-sewer services. Their water bills will decline this year by about $9, thanks to a surplus of funds in the solid waste reserve account. t And property taxes will not move up or 'down in Scugog as 'Township council approved its biidget March 25 with a zero hike for 1996. : "I believe that both the Region and Scugog will be able to carry on this year without cuts in services," said the Mayor. However, he added that pot- holes in the roads may not get fixed as quickly as some would like, "but they will get fixed." Just how big the total increase in property taxef will be in 1996. won't, be known until the Durham Board of Education approves its budget in the next week OF so. MPP says he's sorry ¢ Durham East MPP John O'Toole has issued an apology for, what he calls an "unfortunate incident" in 'the Legislature + March 21 in which he mis- Suspect in local bank robbery' +pronounced, the name of Rosario Marchese. ; O'Toole said the mispronungiation on his part was "accidental." - In a statement Monday O'Toole says "the member took great ption to my pi ation of his name. Recognizing my error, I withdrew the comment and asked him to advige me of the / correct pronunciation. After the ~gession ended, I spoke with the Rou sod explained that I did +, not deliberately mis-pronounce his name." ~._ O'Toole goes on.to say that he believed that was the.end of the incident until he heard Marchese discussing it on a CFRB talk "If anybody has been offended by this incident, I apologize. This experience has taught me to correct: services istry were allocated to conduct the murder investigation. follow pt and to addr all members by their riding names only," he states. ! pat FRIDAY, SATURDA