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| | 6 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, February 2, 1988 Winter being what it is, Groundhog Day shouldn't be what it is---that is, a working day. Every Canadian should have the day off to contemplate the groun- dhog's prophecy. Skiers and those who spend their winters bask- ing in the tropical sun aside, most Canadians hate winter. Every morning they wake up asking 'Is it spring yet?" Optimists begin this ritual as early as Jan. 4th. By now they need a break. If it isn't spring by now, the least they could do if Greundhog Day were a holiday was roll over and play dead and forget about the car battery that already died for real earlier that morning. Just for one weekday this winter, wouldn't it be nice to know you didn't have to go out to a cold car and sit there freezing for five minutes while it warm- ed up? Just for one day, wouldn't it be nice not to have to scrape ice and snow off the windshield? Wouldn't it be nice not to have to shovel your way out of the house? From New Year's to Easter, there are no holidays but when does one need one more than on a dark, frozen winter morning? What could be more heart- warming than to hear that three feet of snow has fallen overnight and winds are blowing from the north at 30 m.p.h. and then shutting off the radio and bur- rowing at little deeper under the blankets? When is a day off needed more? I'm not talking about a long weekend here, simp- ly a day of rest in the middle of a dreary week. For those rarities who love the winter, it would allow an extra day to enjoy the outdoors. Summer lovers get plenty of long weekends to water ski, sun bathe or go fishing. But the winter sportsmen--the snowmobilers, the ice fishermen, the snow shoers, cross country and downhill skiers get only the weekends. There isn't one extra day thrown in for them or winter resort operators.' : Okay, there's Christmas and New Year's but you usually can't get the fish huts onto the ice before the end of January and the ice isn't solid enough for skating until January. And as for snow, most years, there's very little skiing before Christmas. The winter One Woman's View "by Chris Carlisle fun season doens't really get started until January. There's just cold and winds and freezing rain and a slow, steady call or. the body to curl up and fall asleep. Why else do so many people eat so much at Christmas? It's the hibernation instinct. What we all need is a little mid-winter holiday to wake us all up. Or, in the case of those whose bodies simply rebel and shut down, a day to give in and sleep. New Year's to Easter is just too long to go without some special event to liven the spirits. Throw in a Groundhog Day celebration and new life could enter even the deadest bodies. We all need something to look forward to. Groun- dhog Day would be a bright light at the end of January's frozen tunnel. New Year's over, we could set our sights on Feb. 2 and sprint through the deepest part of winter knowing a party or a rest was only a matter of weeks away. Once we had word from Mr. Groundhog on winter's fate, we could either rejoice knowing we'd - soon be warm or drown our sorrows in any way appropriate. For some it would be sitting by a fire; for some catching up on the post-Christmas cleaning that never got done and usually becomes a spring affair. Some would no doubt love to go and stake out a groundhog hole of their own and make a picnic of it with the kids. Still others would see it as the ideal opportunity to whip up a special Groundhog Day feast to share with friends whose energy is lagging and need an extra layer of fat to make it through till spring. And of course, the outdoor types could get their toes frostbitten and noses numbed until their ears fell off if they so desired. Groundhog Day should be a statutory holiday. It's a national past time watching for the groundhog but we're all too busy working to do anything about his prediction. It's time we gave the groundhog and ourselves our due. If he can rouse himself to come out of his hole into winter, the least we.can do is salute him by taking the day off. Going to court The City of Oshawa has hled a statement of ¢laim in the Supreme Court of Ontario seeking a 30 per. cent ifterest in the land on which the Durham Region headquarters building is located and a further 45 per cent interest in the portion of the building used by the provincial goverment as a courthouse. The City is claiming it has a right to these shares in the land and the building on Rossland Road in Whit- by by virtue of a 1963 agreement bet- ween Oshawa and the former Coun- ty of Ontario. The City, in its statement of claim, pegs the total value of its two claims on the land and building at $5 million. In addition, the City is seeking 45 per cent of all the future revenues the Region collects from the provincial government for the court rooms, and 30 per cent of all future rents and profits from the land. The statement of claim was filed in the court on January 20 by the Toronto law firm of Gardiner, Roberts, and it was presented to Durham Region council at the meeting January 27. The issue of who owns the Durham Region building on Rossland Road has been bubbling at Regional council for the last couple of years, and came to boil last spring when the council rejected a bid by Oshawa to have a new Regional HQ constructed on land in downtown Oshawa. Oshawa Mayor Allen Pilkey at that time threatened to go to court to settle the issue of ownership of the building. y Yesterday's Memories (From Page 5) Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Dowson on the occasion of their 50th Wedding Anniversary. The H.H. Goode and Son Feedmill, including a large grain elevator, two Canadian Pacific Railway sleeper cars and a box car "and part of the C.P.R. station were destroyed last Thursday even- ing in a fire which started shortly after midnight. 10 YEARS AGO Wednesday, February 1, 1978 Suddenly, without warning, the most violent winter storm in liv- ing memory caught Scugog Township in a deadly grip, causing at least one death, many injuries, massive property damage, power failures and a huge traffic jam on the Oshawa Road involving more than 400 abandoned vehicles. Eighty-two accidents resulted, involving 200 vehicles and at least $100,000 damage. Elva Eileen Rynard of Ux- bridge died in the blizzard, and 21 others reported injuries. The peo- ple of Scugog opened their hearts and homes to the stranded, in what was the worst crisis of the year. After 35 years as Prince Albert correspondent for the Star, Mrs. Grace Beacock decided to give up her writing. | Random Jottings by J. Peter Hyvidsten oe ELECTION FEVER 4 It seems early to start talking about elec- tions, but almost every day on the TV, radio and in the newpaper there is some type of com- ment about 1988 being an election year. There may be some doubt as to when next federal election will be called, although most feel it will be this year, but we know for sure there will be ii municipal election come this November. } It may seem awfully early to start talking about an election in Scugog Township, but when you are out-and-about, the topic of an election is becoming more and more frequent. We've heard the rumours about who is and who isn't going to run on our present council, and the speculation about who will rur for what seat. With an election 'still about nine months away, you can bet there will be a lot of jockey- ing, speculating and waiting as one candidate waits to see what the other is going to do hefore making a committment, but the fun has al- ready begun. Dealing with. local council week in and week out, we at the Star have our own ideas about what will happen with the present mem- bers of council, but the unknown is who is go- ing to throw their hat into the ring from out- side. - It's not to early for prospective politicians to begin some groundwork now. Test the wa- ters and see what their chances are in being elected. Although there have been no confirmed candidates yet....we're sure it won't be long until someone declares, and that just possibly will open the floodgates starting election fever in Scugog Township. O' CANADA Well, here we go again! Now someone has decided in their wisdom that the words of O'Canada should be changed again, so as not to offend or exclude women. The wording they are referring to is in the fourth line of our National Anthem, which says "In all our sons command" Sons obvi- ously indicates the male species so the sugges- tion is to change the wording so it refers to both sexes. Really, T have no problem with changing the wording to the suggested "In all of «vs com- mand," except that it is hard enough to get peo- ple to sing our national anthem now because most people are not sure of the words anymore. Have you ever been in the the company of a large group of people in a school auditorium, an arena or a ball park when they played the national anthem? There are many who do not sing the na- tional anthem because they're either just to lazy or don't give a damn, but there are many who give up half way through because the words aren't the same now as when they went to school, and they get confused. All we need to do now, just when people are starting to get used to the new words is change them again. Personally I don't think the word "sons' was ever intended to exclude women. It is no different that using words like chairman, weatherman, fireman, ete. When these words were first used, it may well have been that "men" were the people fill- ing the positions, but I would suspect in this day and age, there are few who even give a second thought to in inference that a "weatherman" must be a man. I would think by now that most people, male or female, think of those words as the de scription of the type of job. The same is true of the word "sons" in the national anthem. I have never heard anyone critical of the use of the word because it does not inc ude women. " Unless there is a huge public outcry, I would hate to see the words of O'Canpada changed again, just to passify a few eccentrics who seem to have little to do but look for things to complain about. 3 T be