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PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, Janvary 19,1988 -- 5 'Viewpoint by John B. McClelland GOOD IDEA Festival Days, the Chamber of Commerce annual summer bash in Port Perry, will take on a decidedly different look this year, when it rolls around in July. Unlike the past couple of years when the theme was Caribbean, in 1988, the motif will be "jolly old England" and everything British. ) The change in theme was announced at last week's Chamber of Commerce annual dinnér meeting. I like it. Putting on a three-day festival with a British flavour has all kinds of interesting possibilities. Besides, I haven't tasted real steak and kidney pie or sipped an honest glass of dark ale since my last (and only) visit to the British Isles more years ago than I care to remember. Also at the Chamber of Commerce meeting last week, there was a suggestion from the floor that Port Perry should be doing something to organize a winter carnival, since this community is fortunate enough to enjoy a wonderful natural resource right on its doorstep. Lake Scugog could be a focal point for such a winter carnival: It's a good idea. A'lot of people at the meeting ap- plauded when the suggestion came from the floor and there was agreement that the Chamber of Commerce directors will at least discuss a winter carnival. But there are pit-falls along the way; namely Mother Nature. The winter weather in Scugog Township is so unpredictable. One week the lake can be perfect . for any number of carnival activities like skating, snow- shoe racing, skiing, snowmobiling and so on. But a quick thaw, as everyone knows, can turn the ice into a giant swimming pool. In fact, if memory serves me correctly, this is ex- actly what happened back in the mid 70's when this com- munity used to stage a winter carnival. The weather was horrendous and literally wiped out months of hard work and preparation. After this happened two or three years in a row, organizers finally threw their hands in the air and scrapped the idea. StiY, it is something that deserves some attention for nextWwinter. For all of us who are not able to break up winter with a week or two in the sunny south, what better way to enjoy winter than with a weekend of car- nival fun? For my money, the ideal date for a carnival in Port Perry would be the last week in January, when we could probably get the best possible break from the winter. It's worth a try. A FOOLISH FEW Snowmobiling has never been popular with me. In. fact, there was a time when I could hardly stand the sight of one. But over the years, I have come to know many people who greatly enjoy this form of recreation. They belong to snowmobile clubs, do most of their riding on trails, are very responsible and go out of their way to ensure their recreation does not burden anyone else. Yet for all the good work responsible snowmobilers have done over the years to improve the image of the sport, there are always a few bone-heads who tear down the good public relations with their dumb actions. Recently, on Lake Scugog one evening, a handful of snowmobilers who were "Indy 500" right off the lakefront pier, racing their machines back and forth at incredible speeds. And as far as I'm concerned, they were racing much too close to where a group of young children were trying to skate. Why do a few féel the need to show off how fast their machines will go? Lake Scugog is a big lake. If somebody wants to tear up and down at break-neck speed, why can't they find a piece of the lake where there are no youngsters playing. For the life of me, I can't understand the thinking of a foolish few who insist on 'winding out" their snow machines so close to other people. : I guess it's the same with anything. It's always the dumb minority who give a black eye to the vast majority who act and behave in a sensible, safe manner. This is something that has been happening on Lake Scugog for years. I'm amazed that there has not been areal tragedy. But I'm afraid it is just a matter of time. I don't have to suggest what would happen if a snowmobile travelling at 60 or 70 MPH suddenly went out of control and hit'somebody. Does this have to happen before these speed demons come to their senses? Surely not. The lake is big enough for everyone to enjoy in the winter months ahead without the risk of serious injury or death. ONE FORWARD, TWO BACK Just when hockey fortunes in Canada were looking up, thanks to some fine achievements in international competition, the sport takes another set-back when a Minnesota player attemps to decapitate a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs in a game at the Gardens on January 5. I'm referring of course to the stick swinging attack by Dino Ciccarelli against Luke Richardson, which I'm sure all hockey fans and most others have seen on TV replays several times. It was a sad display of hockey violence, very sad. But the NHL saw fit to suspend the player for ten games. And the Toronto Police have stepped in to lay charges of assault. The kind of stick-swinging violence displayed by Ciccarelli just adds fuel to the arguments of all those whose dislike the sport because of the violence. And Yesterday's | l.etters Help for head injury victims Memories 70 YEARS AGO RK Thursday, January 17, 1918 A carload of salt has just arrived at J.F. McClintock, Port Perry. Also see their fine stock of sweater coats, underwear, boots and shoes, priced right. About $300.00 damage resulted to a house owned by Mr. Norman Phair, Greenbank, when fire destroyed the back kitchen. Mr. R.D. McTaggart and family, Seagrave, have moved to Toronto and will be at home to their friends at 269 Carlton Street. Mr. Thomas Bowerman, Port Perry, left on Wednesday morn- ing for California where he will be spending the winter. 45 YEARS AGO Thursday, January 14, 1943 Hogg & Lytle of Port Perry have been unloading a cdr of wheat which arrived by C.P.R. a few days ago. It has been taken by truck to their warehouse. Word has been received of the safe arrival overseas of Sigm. Frank Densham, R.C.C.S. He has met his brother, Sgt. Fred Den- sham, and they spent a Fappy time together. The back order of coal which has been unavailable for several months has finally arrived. Elwood Masters, manager of the Myr- tle Station elevator, with the help of three men, if filling and transpor- ting the coal orders to local customers. Mr. Masters has been in charge of the elevator for seven years. : hy 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, January 15, 1953 John W. Lowry of Toronto has been appointed Bell Telephone manager for Port Perry with headquarters in Oshawa. He succeeds A.A. Gillespie who has been transferred to Montreal. The 81st Council for the Village of Port Perry took the Oath of Office last Monday then promptly began business under the Reeve Harry Peel. | Jessie McArthur, a member of the St. John's Church, Blackstock, was chosen as one of six girls in the Anglican Church across the Domi- nion of Canada for the honour of attending the Coronation celebra- tions in England, in June. : Last week's press run of the Port Perry Star hit a record high of 1,150 as the result of the demand for copies of the issue with the story of the Community Memorial Hospital opening. 30 YEARS AGO Thursday, January 16, 1958 Mr. and Mrs. H. Collins and family of Blackstock are living in the older Skerratt house, Prince Albert. : A party was held at Utica Community Hall for the newly mar- ried Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Rudkin. They were presented with a coffee (Turn to page 8) | To The Editor: "Head Injury' What does it mean? It is only a phrase, until it happens to you, a friend or a loved one close to you. The results of head injury have been around for a long time. Nearly eighty percent of traumatic head injuries are caused by motor vehicle accidents, twenty percent by falls, comas and other accidents. Many hospital wards are full of them. Members of the police, hospital staff and other emergency services see head injuries at their worst. Too often it is a bloody mess of flesh and bones, in a motor vehicle accident. However, they are beginning to understand that visible blood does not mean a lot. Such things as time of unconsciousness and mood swings do. - Care received in hospital trauma units is excellent, but after hospitalization some arrive home only to find out they are very limited. IN Take Now A SHOPLIFTING IS A CRIME This message sponsored by the Port Perry Star. Once "Home Care,' is used up--a life time then, of almost nothing. Their number of friends tapers off. Their only friends become the peo- ple at the monthly support groups H.I.LA.D. (Head Injury Association of Durham) and people at psychiatric group meetings with the - same problem. / A community re-entry/halfway house could allgw people seven days per week to share topics such as" your rights, the law and too]s for work or play. People who survive head injuries need a halfway house for short or long term care. Most do not get a chance. Many end up in a mental hospital. Obviously this is not where they belong, but should be: somewhere else. It would be so beneficial to share friendship, information and services with other survivers and family in a communily re-entry/halfway house. In a great many cases, friends and family burn out. Divorce and depression are a price of years of care, responsibility and love without any feedback. "Head Injury." It is not as simple -as it sounds and after a head injury, "it is never the same. Each year thousands of people suffer from head injuries in Ontario alone, about two thousand people per year are left with intellectual and behavioural deficits, severe enough to preclude their return to normal life. This tragedy affects not only the head injured but their fami- ly and community as well. We need a Community Re- Entry/Halfway House in Durham Region for these people. Maybe, just maybe, someday we shall want to know a loved one is be- ing taken care of properly? The Head Injury Association of Durham Region meets on the se- cond Tuesday of each month at Oshawa Generai Hospital in the 2C Physio Gym at 7:30 P.M. See you there? Roy Walker Smith, Port Perry. to the editor. Letters to the Editor ... our policy It has always been the policy of this newpspaper to encourage our readers to make use of the letters to the editor column. Our readers have a right to freely express their opinions and view- points on just about any subject, and we feel that a lively letters column helps make a better community newspaper. We insist, however, that a letter writer sign his or her name. On rare occasions, we will agree to with-hold publication of a letter writer's name, if we feel there are very good reasons to do so. Under no circumstances will this paper print an anonymous letter While we enjoy receiving letters from our readers, we must con- tinue to i sist on knowing the identity of the writer. ---- TR -------- Ba SS RES YY BRE ARR dsr FR pl SI F Se \ oT