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i 6 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, June 21 1988 Letters lie SE aay = AR ACH el a ------ Amendment threatens future of farm retirement lots EDITOR'S NOTE: The following letter was sent by Durham East MPP Sam Cureatz to Durham Region Planning Committee Chairman Marie Hubbard. I am writing to you to express my concerns over the proposed amendment to the Durham Region Official Plan whereby the opportunity of farmers retaining retirement lots would be disallow- ed. I strongly voice my objection to such a consideration for the following pointed reasons: 1. The restrictions for farmers obtaining a retirement lot are already extremely onerous. Amongst other things, the re- quirement of a farmer owning a farm for a minimum of 10 years and having the status of a bona fide farmer already severely limits random severancing in the rural community, & I am sure your statistical analysis will show that the number of created retire- ment lots are miniscule since the Incorporation of the Region of Durham. : Recycle...it's smart! - To The Editor: Recycling participation in Scugog Township. Let's see you do it now. Recycling is smart -- Please do your part. Do not have a case of the Blue Box Blues. We need your help! In other words, do not feel left out of the Blue Box. recycling program that recently got underway in Scugog Township, Port Perry. For those householders in Scugog outside the Blue Box pick- up area who want to recycle, there will be drop-off locations at the municipal dump, Port Perry, Cartwright Transfer station (Blackstock) and the recycling depot Thickson Road (Whitby) or maybe a good friend in Port Perry, they can then put .it out with their Blue Box? on pick up day? You see I lived on a farm and while it had its advantages, it also had its disadvantages. Living in the country has helped me realize just how much garbage we create. We seem to be a society that tends to throw a lot of things away without thinking about how they can be recycled. Because of where I lived we had no garbage collection. I either had to cart it away or burn it. Because we were responsible for our own garbage we had to separate our garbage, the burnable items into one pile, jars and tins into another, newspapers and other paper products into a third pile, so they could be used as paper logs in our fireplace. Recycling has always been part of my life. As I drive in Durham Region, I am surprised at how many residents are participating in the Blue Box recycling program. What does happen by the lack of dump space in Durham Region probably won't be good, one way or another we are going to have to put a lid on the increasing amount of garbage we create. We can certainly try to cut down.on our garbage by participating in the recycling program. He who hesitates is Last. Have a Happy Summer. Roy Walker Smith, Port Perry. 2. We, the province and the community should be supporting our farmers especially in today's economic corner that the farmers find themselves in, namely, low prices for their foodstuff and high production costs. The already restricted nature of land planning is such that if a farmer is denied a retirement lot, the most he or she will be able to do is to sell the farm and buy a home in an urban setting and be left with no further income to support himself in the home. At least with a retirement lot, the farmer already has the lot to build on which he saves the cost of buying a lot in an urban setting. 3. There is a psychological ad- vantage to the farmer whose family has contributed so much to his community through the years to remain in that community, and he should be entitled to that right. 4. In some jurisdictions as in western Ontario, retirement lots are denied, but our area is ex- tremely unique in that the topography of the country is often more conducive for the placement of a retirement lot. 5. I have had the opportunity of appearing before the Land Divi- sion Committee and I can tell you the Members are extremely qualified and are expert in evaluating the applications as re- quested by farmers. Those same members are appointed by their respective municipalities, and who knows better than those ap- pointees who are familiar with their community and know the credibility of the applications that are before them rather than a blanket denial to lots as proposed. As in Alderman Doug Wilson's (Ward 7) letter to the Port Perry Star, farmers from across the Region of Durham should be call- ing their regional councillors to stress that they do not want the of- ficial plan to be amended denying them the right of a retirement lot. And I say this to the farm com- munity in Durham that they should be doing this now before the fall municipal election and they should be asking those can- didates where they stand on this issue so that after the municipal election the elected represen- tatives will not have the cushion of 3 years to ward off the wrath of the rural community if the policy is adopted right after the election. Yours sincerely, Sam L. Cureatz, M.P.P. Durham East. ville Legion Hall. Montreal. Yesterday's Memories (From Page 5) Legion, Port Perry and now Zone Commander of F'1, was recent- ly a guest and officially opened the new addition to the Bowman- 10 YEARS AGO Wednesday, June 21, 1978 Just two weeks after Scugog Township council turned down an offer to parchase the lakefront property of Lake Scugog Lumber, it has been sold to Ken Jackson. He told the Star that he has no immediate plans for the land, but when he takes posses- sion next spring will tear down the old mill and boathouse and sod the entire area down to the, water. The people of Scugog Township turned out in large numbers last Friday evening for the official opening of the new Bank of by J. Peter Hvidsten Random Jottings -_r RAIN YOU SAY! A couple of weeks ago a couple of friends and myself were invited to go to the Bahamas to try out some scuba-diving. Having been a diver for the past ten years, but not getting the chance to practice it that often, | ac- cepted the offer and away we went. When we arrived in the Bahamas, there was a light overcast and as we made our exit from the air- plane a light drizzle welcomed us to the island. Rain on the islands is not unusual, but the showers are usually brief. When the hot sun comes out the hu- midity makes it almost unbearable, especially this time of the year. After a ride to our hotel, which was at the oppo- site end of the island from all the activities, we got our rooms, emptied our luggage, changed our, clothes and headed for Nassau, with our guide and "good friend" Raymond Dames of the Toronto based Bahamas Tourist Office. Raymond has been to Port Perry on many oc- cassions, primarily during the Bahamas Festival Days held for the two years prior to this summer. He has since become a good friend of a few people in Port Perry and it was he who arranged the frip. We had a few hours to kill during the afternoon, as our first dive was not until the next morning. While Raymond went to visit some of his family, we strolled along the streets window shopping. A light rain began to fall about an hour later, so we headed for the pub which Raymond said he would meet us at when he was finished with his business. After a few cold Bahamian drinks, we went to the door to see what kind of a day it was, and the rain had started to pour out of the skies. The pub we were situated in was on a hillside, and the water running down the street looked like a small river. After waiting for close to an hour, we decided that Raymond must have run into some difficulties, so we thought we might as well catch a taxi back to our hotel. But a taxi could not be found! It was finally decided to run to the main street of Nassau, where surely there would be a taxi. As we left the pub, we ran down the hill, with a river of rain water splashing at our heals and dripping off the end of our noses. About a block away from the main street, still running on the sidewalk, we all landed in water past our ankles. By this time it really did not matter was our shirts and pants were completely soaked. But running in water ankle deep became a little more difficult. When we arrived at the main street it was quickly obvious that we were not the only people wanting to get a taxi, as hundreds of people hundled under awnings and umbrellas trying to keep dry while they waited. The entire street was cove.ad in about eight inces of water, and we saw a number of cars stalled in the middle of the street, unable to move. Horns were honking, people were yelling and there was a general appearance of turmoil. After walking for a few blocks we came to a hotel with a taxi parked outside, and we obtained the help of a police officer to help us find the driver. We never did find him, but a clerk at the front desk of the hotel arranged for a friend of his to take us back to the hotel in his car. The ride back (normally about 45 minutes) took over an hour and a half as our "new friend" weaved up and down streets, back-tracked were necessary to avoid traffic, and eventually got us out of Nassau. We settled back in the seats, soaked to the skin as he drove us back to the hotel. On the way he said that this storm was one of the worst they have had in about 20 years, and that he couldn't remem- ber the streets being so deep in water. Comforting words when you only have two more days on the island, and it had rained for the past week. Never-the-less, the sun came out brightly the next morning and we 'headed out into the aqua- blue,green water of the Bahamas to take in our first dive. In all we pulled on our equipment and made four dives during the two and a half days. We dove on corral reefs, some old James Bond underwater sets, saw giant sting rays, and plenty of colourfull fish and sea-life. Thanks Raymond....we had a great time! But next time, forget the rain! BEEF ESE BE 3 2 ABLYEEE RD » xX y 7 an