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Durham council put its stamp of approval on a 1984 budget which will increase Regional taxes by an average of just 2.8 per cent this year. This is the lowest tax increase for Regional purposes in the last four years and members of council were pretty pleased with the budget Vol. 118 No. 14 which got approval at the meeting March 1. While rr Regional average tax hike is 2.8 per cent, the news for Scugog Township home- owners is even brighter, as the net impact here will be 1.1 per cent, or $1.95 on the average home with assessed value of $3000. What's this? A tax hike of just $1.95? But some Durham municipalities are gett- ing away with an even lighter tax increase on an average home this year. In Brock, for example, the Regional tax hike will be 18 cents; in Oshawa 59 cents; and in Ajax $1.99. At the other end of the scale, homeowners in Tuesday, March 6, 1984 Pickering will be asked to pay $18.22 more in Regional taxes on an average house; in Whitby, the figure is $12.08 and in- Uxbridge $7.52. The reason for the difference from one municipality to the other is a complicated (Turn to page 3) 32 pages Old Man Winter is not by Cathy Robb It's not nice to fool Mother Nature, but then again, it's not nice the way Mother Nature has been fooling around with us lately. Two weeks ago Scugog Township roads were ravaged by unseasonally mild temperatures and heavy rainfall. Last week all of southern On- tario and parts of Quebec Driver injured in 2-car crash A two car accident early Sunday evening on Concession 7 has sent a Scugog Township woman to 'Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital with serious injuries. According to Durham Regional Police, Vicki Bigglestone was west- bound on Concession 7 about 5:30 P.M. when her 1982 Honda collided with an eastbound 1984 GMC driven by 23 year old Gordon Simmonds of Scugog Township. Jailed A 28 year old Peter- borough man has been sentenced to two years less a day in reform- atory and three years probation after pleading guilty in Whitby court last week to a charge of indecent assault against a 12 year old Port Perry girl in July, 1982. Gary Trumble rec- eived the sentence from county court judge Joseph Kelly who said the sentence "should reflect society's abhorrance of this kind of behavior." Ms. Bigglestone was transferred to Sunny- brook that night and her condition was described as stable. The driver of the other vehicle was not seriously injured, according to police. Damage was estimat- ed at more than $15,000 as both vehicles were described by police as write-offs. The accident is still under investi- gation by the Regional Police. for assault Evidence given in court indicated that Trumble drove to Port Perry July 10, 1982 and broke into a Port Perry home in the middle of the night while under the influence of alcohol. The young girl was awakened by a noise and then assaulted in her downstairs bed- room. She managed to cry for help and other family members sub- dued her assailant until police arrived. Trumble's lawyer argued that a brain opposite kind of weather as the worst snowstorm of the year brought everything to a skidding halt. Although snow was falling steadily Tuesday morning, the storm didn't begin in earnest until later in the after- noon when gusting winds and dry, powdery snow created zero visibility. By Wednesday morning the snow had stopped, but the winds raged on, making driving treacherous on most highways throughout the area and impossible on many rural roads. As weathermen watch- ed the snowstorm march north from the United States on Monday, shop- pers heeded their storm warnings and converged upon local grocery stores en masse. Cashiers from Dowson's Red and White tumor may have been responsible for his client's behaviour that night, but after review- ing medical evidence, Judge Kelly dismissed this argument, saying that alcohol was the determining factor. During the court pro- ceedings last week, the Judge imposed a total ban on any publicity that would identify the victim or her family. The convicted man has been ordered to take treatment for alcohol- ism after his release from jail. finished with Scugog yo : - suffered from exactly the and Port Perry IGA were kept busy all day Mon- day, usually one of the quietest days of their week, with people stock- ing up with bread, milk and other staples. 'Nobody. admitted they were buying stuff in case they got snow- bound, but that's what they were doing,"' one clerk said. Tuesday was an entire- ly different matter, however. More than half the stores in downtown Port Perry were closed by 3 p.m., turning Queen Street into a ghost town. As snowdrifts piled up along sidewalks and storefronts, up to six feet deep in some spots, re- maining merchants stood by their windows, eyeing the white-outs with growing "apprehension. Walking down Queen and Water Streets was a chore suitable only for the warmly-dressed as hurricane-like winds gathered momentum across the lake, blanketing the downtown with a white im- penetrable sheet. Driving was even more difficult and by 4 p.m. the Township snowplows were called back. With abandoned cars dotting many routes, roads became blind obstacle courses. As more and more peo- ple got the message, traf- fic throughout the Region came to a standstill, with the exception of the brave or foolhardy, emergency vehicles and school buses. Because (Turn to page 2) He's a Leap Year Baby! Little Jason James Michel will have to wait four years before he celebrates his first birthday as he was born February 29 at the Port Perry Hospital. His Mom, Lynn says Jason will actually celebrate his birthday on February 28 each year, just so he doesn't miss out on all the fun. As you can see from the photo, Jason really didn't care much about being a Leap Year Baby. He's the third child for Lynn and Robert Michel of Blackstock. So just in case we forget four years from now, have a happy first birthday, Jason. A iE . 3 Pel. Bs Me, " i : TAH 4 > J « i " . # Fy, a 4 ry i 1 Pi You know a storm is really bad when the Swplows get stuck. This unlucky Township grader was clearing off the. snow one of the back roads south of Utica when it ran info a seven and half foot drift. Tow trucks were so busy that it wasn't released from ifs * snowy prison for more than two hours. Two school buses and a police cruiser were also stuck during a vicious two-day snowstorm.