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a - TE ------------ 6 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, November 15, 1988 Editorial Comments THE ELECTION OK, that's one election down, and one more to go. We now know who will be sitting around the Scugog Town- ship council table for the next three years, and in less than a week, we'll know how the people of this country feel about who should represent them in Ottawa for the next four years. Over the past few weeks, we have heard it said that on more than one occasion that with a municipal and federal election campaign running side-by-side with pol- ling day just a week apart, they've had their fill of politics. Maybe so, but the people of Scugog Township did not show any displeasure by staying home on November 14. Not by a long shot. In fact, the municipal voters in Scugog deserve a pat on the back. The un-official voter turn-out was just over 50 per cent, and closer to 60 per cent of resident voters. That is a respectable number in any election and an indication that even when there is no single burning is- sue in the air, the residents of Scugog are mighty con- cerned about who will represent them locally for the next three years. The new council, led by Mayor-elect Howawrd Hall, Regional rep Yvonne Christie, area rep Don Cochrane, and the ward reps Neil Hunter, Marilyn Pearce, Al Gore- ski and Glenn Malcolm, are going to have their work cut out from them over the next 36 months. There are a lot of concerns being voiced by the peo- ple of Scugog, and it is fair to say that they are "quality of life" concerns. How much should Scugog grow, and where should that growth take place? Should Scugog continue to per- mit fairly intensive housing development on septic sys- tems, or should we be pushing hard for a better and larg- er sewage treatment facility in Port Perry? And there are traffic and parking problems, especially in and around the immediate Port Perry area that simply can't wait much longer to be addressed. Recreation has been a hot topic of conversation in the community for the past couple of years. Most people agree our facilities have not kept pace with the growth; the problem is how to pay for new ones. Likewise a new municipal building. The need is obvious, finding the money is the tricky question. Naturally, we wish the new council well as they wrestle with these serious issues (and others) over the next three years. We suspect there will be some council meetings that go on well into the night. In any election, sadly, there must be losers. We con- gratulate those who let their names stand and lost. Espe- cially, we thank the two incumbents who went down to defeat: Harvey Graham and Neil McLaughlin for their contributions in public service over the last three years. But now the votes have all been counted, the election posters which dotted the landscape should be coming down, and it's time for the new council to get on with the serious work of running Scugog Township. -- -- -y Port Perry STAR 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO Phone 985-7383 P.).Box90 LOB 1NO J. PETER HVIDSTEN Publisher Advertising Manager (6) cn (= Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and Ontario Community Newspaper Association. Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Ltd., Port Perry, Ontario. J.B. McCLELLAND . Editor Authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, and for cash CATHY OLLIFFE payment of postage in cash. News & Features Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 - A Subscription Rate: In Canada $20.00 per year. 2240 as p3s0Ci he Elsewhere $60.00 per year. Single Copy 50* © COPYRIGHT -- All layout and compusition of advertisements produced by the adver- tising department of the Port Perry Star Company Limited are protected under copyright © READY WHEN YOU ARE, GEORGE / frei Chatterbox by CATHY OLLIFFE and may not be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. GOOOOD MORNING SCUGOG! Gosh darn it's great to be back! Didn't honestly think I'd miss this place-- figured I'd be happy as a loon with six weeks away from work. And happy | was. For about a week and a half. Like a lark | settled down on my sick couch, propped up with pillows, hot tea by my side, appily watching the throes of agony and ec- stasy on soap operas and Oprah Winfrey. Wearing nothing fancier than flannel pyjamas day in and day out had a comfortable appeal all its own, and the pain killers sent me spinning zombie-like into mindless oblivion. When | wasn't spaced out, | read a lot and became helplessly addicted to crossword puzzles. My parents and my husband waited on me hand and foot--the only thing they couldn't do for me was go to the washroom, but when nature did call, they'd help lift me off the sick couch, and I'd proceed to walk crab- like down the hall, bent over like Yoda from Star Wars. Getting out of bed was possibly the hardest thing | did during the first couple of weeks home from the hospital (where they yanked my gall bladder). Unable to use my stomach muscles because of the incision, [ lay like a beached whale, scrabbling around on my el- bows, gracelessly howling for help. The first week and a half after the operation was both sweet and sour. The crossword puzzles, books and TV were great--and even the hurting part of healing kept me occupied. When the hurting started to abate, there was no more need for painkillers, and thus fewer afternoon naps and no more oblivion. At about the same time, | grew thoroughly sick of the insanity of soap operas, and the emo- tional roller coasters of talk shows. | even ran out of books to read. Insufferable boredom set in like a thick dark cloud. Having six weeks off because of an opera- tion isn't anything like a six week vacation, alas. A vacation means you're free to hop in the car and do things, talk to people, in short, to get out of the house. Recuperating means being stuck inside the house all day long, day after day, while the rest of the world passes you by. Never have | reciated visitors more. Nev- er have | looked forward so much to the daily mail, and to the many cards and letters | re- ceived from well-wishers (thank you all so muchl!). And never, in all my years working here, have | enjoyed reading the Port Perry Star as much. You know, it really isn't a bad little newspaper. No wonder people read it so faithfully. Reading it away from the office, as a subscri- ber and not an employee, gave me a fresh new perspective on the paper. Not only does the Star cover community events well, it is also an integral pai of the community. | think it would be safe to say that Scugog wouldn't en- joy the same quality of life it does now, if the ort Perry Star didn't exist. This thought was driven home to me last week at the all-candidates meeting. At least two candidates talked about changing the date and time of council meetings, in order to accomodate Port Perry Star deadlines, and therefore give the people of this Township more detailled information about the workings of our community leaders and their decisions. A sensible idea, | suppose, but | found it ab- solutely hilarious!!! | mean, can you imagine Toronto aldermen changing their meetin schedule to accomodate city media? Could imagine any other town I've worked in do the same thing? No! But then again, I've never worked in any oth- er place where a community feels so strongly about its local paper. I must admit, the Star was my lifeline to this community while | was away recuperating at my parents' farm near Claremont. And as | started feeling better (and becoming bored stiff with books and TV), | began to physically crave coming back to work again. The days dragged on and on. It seemed like my gall bladder-imposed holiday would never end. Some people began to wonder if | still worked at the Star. | began to wonder if | still was needed--after all, the staff was putting out perfectly fine issues without any help from me. Finally, incredibly, the morning of my first day back to work armved, and | felt like a kid go- ing back to school in September after a long hot summer. Nervous, wasn't sure what to wear, wondering if I'd forgotten all the stuff | had already learmed. No one else was around when | slipped through the back door of the Star building, so | poured a coffee and headed upstairs to my office. | sat down at my desk and looked around. Surprisingly, not much had changed, except the room was neat, and my calendars still showed dates from September. | picked up the phone, flicked on the computer, and checked the film in my camera. And then, | think, | grinned. Gosh darn, it's good!