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CRINLIOA AR) COPIA ERIN Hg ARR E a 'DITORIAL PINION , Councillor Armour McMillan said, A move | in 1 right direction The public mising. held last Hi aten night for ratepayers.of Reach Township could scarcely be termed "overwhelmingly successful." The purpose of the meeting was to talk about the issues, and give the Council candidates an opportunity to go on record as to what they, would do for Reach Town- ship. Out of 2,500 potential voters in the Township, about 100 attended the meeting. The Council candidates more or less expressed the same thing: namely that each would endeavour to do his best, and act in the best interests of the voters.Some candidates felt that the major issue is the planning and growth of the Township, while others called: for 'an 'increase in dialogue ,and communication. Considerable time was spent by some ratepayers complaining about their own personal grievances and squabbles. The words 'regional government' were kicked around alot, with it soon becoming evident that both the public and the elected officials are still pretty much in the dark as to just what regional govern- ment is, and what it could mean to this area. As "the more. meetings you attend, and the more you read on the. to _know.what the issues are, how they will--be ---the future. Citizen concern, especially at this time, ER Aa ea 2 Sa RE pro bare, 3 AT a ESTA Li tl Say i et en - RON We : subject, the more confused you become."' However, despite the personal squabbling, and despite the fact that the answers to some questions remained obscure, the meeting was a concrete step forward in the right direction. For those 100 or so ratepayers who were present indicated at least a desire to involve themselves. They indicated they are concerned enough to want handled; and just what Reach Township is facing in is of the utmost importance. It is the opinion of this writer, that not oly Reach Township, but the Village of Port Perry, and Scugog Township as well, will be undergoing some fairly substantial physical, economic, social and psychological changes in the next decade or so. And these changes are pretty much unevitable regar---- dless of what form the municipal governments are operating under. Whether one is aware of it or not, there is a metropolis less than fifty miles from here, with a population over two million that is growing at the rate of 1,000 each week. Metro Toronto's:-present boundaries are strefched to capacity, bursting at the seams. There is no way the city can ac- commodate this population growth. The ac- . commodation will have to be provided through east- west expansion, which is already happening if one looks at Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, and towns like Georgetown, Streetsville, and even Brampton. It is only a matter of time before growth on a propor- tionate scale moves into our area. 3 With the advent of rapid transit systems, it is quite conceiyable that. a man could live in Port Perry, or Reach; or Scugog, and very comfortably commute each day to the corner of King and Bay Streets. One doesn't.need an Orwellian imagination to see the population of' Port Perry, Reach and Scugog doubling o- even tripling ih the next decade. next decade. It is for these reasons that public meetings are not only important, but a necessity. It is the average citizen who will ultimattely have to live with the effects, good or bad, of what transpires in the near and distant future. It is the average citizen who must at least be made aware of the im- plications; or to carry it further, should have a voice either as an individual or a group, in the af- fairs of the area in which he lives. The need right now for meaningful dialogue, communication, sknowledge, and information is great. Anyone who is content to remain complacent, who is content to sit back! and let 'things fall where they fall'"', is not doing himself or the community much good. To the citizens of Reach: it is hoped that meetings similar to the one on Thursday night become a regular thing, and the citizens of Port Perry and Scugog might seriously consider following suit. "Now, IF WE COULD ONLY GET A PERMANENT THING JO HANG £m) ON' i La he } BILL@NMILEY UGAR ano "BILL FINDS OUT -ABOUT-A-RIP-OFF -- Do you have difficulty in communicating with young people? Don't worry. We all do.. - I have two of my own, and I teach the I've come to the conclusion that it's not our fault, it's theirs. We just can't keep up with their everchanging slang. For years I thought a hang-up was something I'd had during the war. It was what we called the rather delicate situatior created when one of your bombs was caught -- by the tail and, hanging nose-down, fused, refused to drop. I had to land with one of these babies dangling there, one day. One bounce on landing and the aircraft and yours truly 'went to glory. As you can see, I landed like a ° feather on a snowbank, but it was a little disconcerting -to see everyone on the air- strip flat on his face as I was coming in. Now I realize that I had two hang-ups that lay. There was the physical one of the somb. And there was the mental one: I had sort of a hang-up about being blown up. Now, of course, 'hang-up' is almost old. hat in younger circles. It means anything: from an obsession to a minor worry. You. can be hung-up on the other sex, on drugs, on" school work, Another term that is enjoying quite a vogue these days is "rip-off." Basically, it means stealing, but there are milder forms, It can also mean talking somebody out of something you want, conning somebody into taking something he doesn't want, not providing something you've promised, and SO on. My daughter Kim was home from college last week. She was supposed to come home for the weekend, but it was so pleasant at home, and she enjoyed being spoiled so much. that she stayed the whole week. I observel her manoeuvres as she prepared to return, and thought -I was seeing a real rip-off artist at work. Ee Tt went something like this. "Oh, Mom, is' that ever a smart blouse! Could I try it on?" Momma, with resignation, *'0.K:, but you're not getting it. That's the only decent thing I need it; I have those crumby old T-shirts that you hate so much. But it really fits me, doesn't it?" And so on. I don't think I need to elaborate. She got the blouse, our teapot, my typewriter, various pots and pans, the only deodorant in the house and about 64 other items, too miscellaneous to list. The Old Lady finally balked when Kim tried on a fur jacket and started swanking around in front of the mirror, cooing, '"This really does something for me, doesn't it, Mom?" Her mother stood her ground and said, in effect you get your rotten hands off . that jacket. Well, as I said, I thought Kim was an artist at ripping off, I changed my mind when we took her to the city and saw the apartment she and another girl had rented in the fall. Kim is a rank amateur, a babe-in-the-woods, compared to city landlords. The apartment is on the fringe of a slum area. In September, she told us glowingly that . the apartment was 'really neat". It had a new stove and fridge: There were three bedrooms, kitchen, dining room and living room and bathroom, all for $145 a month. It. was unfurnished, of course. Sounded pretty good, The 'new' stove has an oven that does not work. The "new" fridge might fetch twelve - dollars at a rammage sale and the handle is falling off. + The kitchen is like something out of Dickens. The bedrooms are boxes, only one with a window. There are no locks on the doors. The toilet doesn't work, except when it feels like it. Etc. Rip-off; I'll never be a wealthy old school- teacher. But I'm certainly going to look into the prospects of becoming a" wealthy old slum landlord. have: to.wear."?-Kim, brightly; "Oh, 1 don't '50 YEARS AGO Thursday, December 1, 1921 \ hess Roach has had a "couple of nice offers to enter professional hockey as goal tender, One in Toronto of $1,500. and one in the west of $1,600, He turned them down as he has a good position in "the Dominion Bank. Mr. Clarence Kellett brought a number of dan- delions in bloom on Nov. 29to the Star Office, Mr. and Mrs. Robertson, Bruce Manchester, have 'moved to their new home in Fenelon Falls. 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, December 7, 1946 Paul Diamonds farm at Myrtle was sold to Charlie Andrews of Port Perry and John Young's farm at Little Britain to Arthur Cook, Toronto, 32 Mr, and Mrs, John Munroe 'have opened a new store in Prince Albert. They. will be selling a complete line of patent medicines, stationery, gifts and con- fectionery. . The young people of Scugog met at the township hall and formed a club namely "The Fort-Nite- Club", Elected as President was Vernon Graham, Vice President "Alan Martyn, Secretary, Mrs. , Alan Martyn, Treasurer, Ralph Milner. 15 YEARS AGO Thursday, December 6, 1956 The three honour students at Port Perry High School were Muriel - Lamb, Man- chester, Bruce. Taylor, Greenbank and Barbara Love. Chicken Pox seems to be making "its rounds in the schools. Congratulations . were extended to Fred Trewin who sent five sheep to the Worlds Fair in Chicago and received 1st and fourth on Ewe lambs, 2nd on a pen of three lambs and 5th prizes on a ram lamb and a yearly lamb. All Junior Farmers Clubs in the County met in Brooklin Hall - for their Christmas Party. 10 YEARS AGO Thursday, December 7, 1961 A barn owfied 'by Mr. Milton Fisher, Caesarea was burned to the ground, also burned were 42 head of cattle, and his complete dairy equipment, Arnold Kerry and 'Mac- Couperwaite, of Morrow Farm Equipment are at- tending a one week advanced technical course at Massey- Ferguson Service Training Centre in Detroit, Michigan. The Floodlight Campaign Fund is well over the $4,000. 'mark. . Mr. Al Gibson was elected reeve of Cartwright Township with 397 votes against Lawrence Malcolm's 281.