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A aati abe ant a + -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, December 30, 1986 Editorial Comments ~~ Scugog In The New Year As we prepare to bid farewell to 1986 in Scugog Township, we have no hesitation in suggesting that a top priority for the New Year ig be a quick and satisfactory resolution to the Fairgrounds-School @ issue. This dispute has been bouncing and bobbing in the Township for the past ten or 11 months, and it is high time that all three parties involved -- the local Fair Board, the Township council and the Durham Board of Education -- sit down around a big table and negotiate a satisfactory end to it. : This issue, the details of which have been recounted numerous times in these pages over the past few months, is crying out for a negotiated settlement. The Township is now in the rather unfortunate predicament of having the Board of Education launch expropriation proceedings against Scugog to get seven acres of land at the Fairgrounds for a new public school ---- land, by the way, which is owned by the Township. It must be obvious by now that the Durham Board wants no other piece of land as the site for a badly needed new school and by threatening the expropriation route, the Board has served notice it is "taking the gloves off." We understand that a meeting early in the new year is in the works between the council, the Fair Board and the Board of Educa- ~ tion. Surely; for the sake of all concerned, it is time to put the past behind us and settle this issue without expropriation. In saying this, we would remind our readers of some basic facts that may have been forgotten. Firstly, Port Perry and Scugog Township are in dire need of a new elementary school. That is indisputable. Secondly, the council of Scugog has reconfirmed its offer of finan- cial assistance to the Fair Board to move to a new location behind the Scugog Arena. The council is on record to provide up to $300,000 in assistance, plus spend the money to prepare the area as a com- munity facility, of which the three-day Fair over Labour Day weekend would be a part. There are some in the community who believe this offer is more than generous. : 2, Thirdly, if the School Board takes seven acres of the Fairgrounds for a school (as it appears it will, one way or another) it will leave some 16 acres of very valuable land in the hands of the' Township. A preliminary development plan for this remaining land indicated some 55 residential lots, plus low density multi-unit housing. At 1986 prices, this development would conservatively net the Township some $750,000 -- money which could be spent to improve municipal facilities in all areas of Scugog. Finally, this dispute has generated a lot of ill-feeling in the com- munity. Parents, with young kids in school have pointed fingers at - the Fair Board. There has been talk of a boycott of future fairs in Port Perry. There have been resignations from the Fair Board. Some Fair Board members have pointed fingers at the council and the School Board and accused them of "'rail-roading" the Fair to a new loca- tion. Some in the community have said there is so much ill feeling that the very future of the Fair itself is in jeopardy. For these (and a lot of other reasons) it is paramount to get this issue settled through reasonable negotiation. We need a new school in this community. We need a vibrant and successful fall fair each year, and the Fair, to be vibrant and successful, needs a cross sec- tion of people willing to roll up their sleeves and work together. And it needs the people of the community to click the turnstiles on Labour Day weekend. A negotiated settlement of this dispute will require a degree of compromise by all parties concerned. It is now within their grasp to do this. We hope, as a New Year's wish, that they get on with it. - Port Perry Gon L : | C1 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO Phone 985-7383 P.0.Box90 LOB INO J. PETER HVIDSTEN Member of the Publisher Canadian Community Newspaper Association Advertising Manager and Ontario Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Ltd. Port Perry, Ontario J.B. McCLELLAND E Authorized as second class mail by the Post Ottice Department, Ottawa, and for cash CATHY OLLIFFE ' payment of postage in cash News & Features Second Class Mail Registraton Number 0265 Subscription Rate: in Canada $15.00 per year. Ss CS ro Elsewhere $45.00 per year. Single Copy 35' Chatterbox by Cathy Olliffe PREDICTABLE PREDICTIONS Yes sirree, it's that time of year again, the rebirth of calendar pages all over the nation, a chance to wipe the old slate clean and dirty up a new one. And what's a new year without a bunch of predictions? Here's mine: 1.) As winter grows into February, the dip in the front of the baseball diamond on Water Street will grow deeper. This is a fact of Port Perry life. Every winter it gets deeper, more cars disappear into it, more people complain about it, and every summer it goes mysteriously away. Where it goes, nobody knows, but I've heard rumours about the Bermuda triangle. 2.) The weeds won't be so bad on Lake Scugog this summer. Personally, I think they were at their peak two summers ago and are on their way to distinction (er, extinction). 3.) The School Board will expropriate the Fair Board. It'll be a down and dirty affair, but by the end of this school year, the Fair Board will be out on it's collective ear. No doubt the letters to the editor section of this newspaper will be filled with pro's and cons from the afore-mentioned subject matter for the duration. 4.) The 1987 Port Perry Fair attendance won't be so great, but by 1990, the Fair will be booming more than ever. While many people will hold grudges for a while, they will eventually forget, and the Fair will once more be a fantastic place to spend the Labour Day weekend. 5.) Courier trucks will continue to litter and clog Queen Street for the next several months, un- til I can figure out how to wire an explosive device powerful enough to blow the offending trucks all the way back to Toronto. 6.) Mayor Jerry Taylor will not run in the next election. The poor guy, how much abuse can one person take? What is this, pick on the Mayor decade, or what? Probably he will retire, see a good doctor about his ulcers, if he has any, and live the rest of his days in peace. Thankfully, we won't have Jerr to kick around anymore. 7.) If I can talk him into it, my editor, the great John B. McClelland, will run for Mayor in the next election. Now honestly, can you think of anyone better in that role? He's honest, reliable, straightforward, and supremely intelligent. Plus, he knows how to play hockey. Also, if he is elected, I get his job and can run the paper like the tyrant I was born to be. 8.) I understand if John B. runs for Mayor, his main platform will be banning courier trucks from Queen Street. What a guy! If he can succeed do- ing that, I will personally nominate him for the Order of Canada award and he will be rich and famous. (Hey John, can I get that raise now?) 9.) I will not get pregnant in 1987. Listen, what is this? First everyone bugs you to get married, so you do, and then they start bugging you to start a family! Usually, th~ veople who do this already have families of th id are overwhelmed by diapers, drivers licenses, and dope. Do I want to worry about this? Are you crazy? 10.) Next year's Christmas Lights contest will be simply incredible. Already, people are talking about adding more lights to their homes and the competition is absolutely fierce. Unless Hydro goes up, I'm confident we'll have at least 100 en- tries in next year's contest. 11.) The price of Hydro will go up. Everytime we discover a good thing, someone comes along to ruin it. This is the way life goes. 12.) John B., Randy Harvey, Roxanne Reveler and Kathy Dudley will not quit smoking in 1987. All employees of the Star, they have made aridiculous pact to quit after New Year's. I laugh at this. By the end of January, they will all be back on the weed. I'm willing to lay money on this. 13.) Hockey, although a great Canadian sport and all that schtick, will continue to be a wife's greatest source of hatred in the coming year. Do you know, if we took all the money men wasted on hockey, we could feed all the starving children around the world? Do you realize, if men spent all the effort they waste on hockey worrying about the world, we could have world peace? And did you ever stop to consider, if wives stopped being jealous of the amount of time their husbands think about hockey, they wouldn't have much else to be jealous about? (With the exception of other women?) : 14.) 1 will continue to have problems filling this space. Have you ever stopped to consider just - how difficult it is to fill four typewritten pages for this column week after week? Let me tell you, it's not easy. It may be easy if you're Slinger, Paul Rimstead or Christie Blatchford, but then again, those guys are genuinely talented, that's all they do, and they get paid five times more than I do. Added inspiration, I would say. So if you're wondering why this column is so rambling, consider prediction number 14, as well as the fact that it was written on Christmas Eve at 3 p.m., when I still had eons of shopping to complete. I ask you, what is more important on Christmas Eve at 3 p.m. than starting your Christmas shopping. This column? What, are you crazy? I gotta go.