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CHE! On 83, yn. F 8 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, August 29, 1989 Paying taxes on land he doesn't own About ten property owners at Sunrise Beach on Scugog Is- land are being assessed for land Shey don't legally own, and one of them is upset about it. John Abbott, who lives at Edgeworth Cres. on Sunrise Beach told the Star last week he was shocked to learn his proper- ty has been re-assessed as lake- front, even though he does not have legal title to the 175 by 56 feet of land that stretch from his rear property line to the shore of Lake Scugog. He admits he has been us- ing this land since he purchased his property seven years ago, but he doesn't agree he should have to pay taxes onit. He said he has levelled the land, seeded it and planted flowers "to make it look nice," and he has a small dock where he ties up his boat. He calculates that because this land has been assessed as part of his property, he will be paying another $180 in taxes this year. A spokesman for the as- sessment department familiar with the Abbott case, confirmed that this is true, because Mr. Abbott "has full use of theland." "The value of his property has increased because he (Ab- bott) has use of it. Lakefront properties are assessed higher because they are worth more," said the spokesman. Just who owns the strip of land at the rear of Mr. Abbott's property and nine others on Sunrise Beach is unclear. A 1956 survey map shows the land in question, and is marked "swail." Mr. Abbott said his deed clearly shows he does not own the land, and he knew that when he bought the house Life's Like That by Julia Ashton Saskatoon is magic Somewhere deep in the heartland of Sas- katchewan, amid fields of golden wheat, is a booming little city full of warmth and good old fashion hospitality. : Saskatoon is that city. With a populatio just over 206,000, it is the largest metropoli- tan area in Saskatchewan and a far cry from the hustle and bustle of Toronto. Now don't get me wrong. Toronto has its merits (I love Harborfront) but there is some- thing so beautiful about a city that boasts bridges, not skyscrapers, as their tourists at- tractions. : Another reason | may have been so taken with Saskatoon is because everyone said it was a dog town and | really expected it would be just that. Boy were they wrong. Granted, a lot of work had been done pre- paring the city for the Jeux Canada Games. nterlocking brick replaced the concrete side- walks in the downtown business square; mon- uments, sculptures and clock towers were erected in the riverside parkland; and decora- tive metal grates were placed around many of the trees along Spadina Crescent. (Spadina Crescent is Saskatoon's version of Toronto's Lakeshore Boulevard, except Spadina Crescent is two traffic lanes wide and a full day of traffic on the crescent prob- ably amounts to 10 minutes worth on the boulevard.) What shocked me wasn't all the work that had gone into Saskatoon's beautification pro- gram, but the fact that | couldn't find one scrap of garbage on the streets anywhere. No p cans, no candy bar wrappers, not even a cigarette butt littered the immaculately clean streets and parks. While in Saskatoon, we stayed at the Hotel Bessbowugh. The cabbie that drove us to the Bess (as the natives call it) said the old gal has quite a history. Featured on almost every postcard, the castle-like Bess stands grandly on the shore of the Saskatewan River. But she didn't always stand so proud. The Bess was built in the early 1930s and because of the Great Depression she stayed closed for three years after construction was completed. The Bess is also perfectly situated for peo- le travelling without cars. Museums, art gal- eries, parkland and stores, stores and mores stores are just steps away. | realize I'm beginning to sound like a travel brochure, but Saskatoon doesn't get the cred- it it deserves. The small city with heart really lives up to its slogan -- Saskatoon is magic. * ®t ® While on my holiday, Saskatoon was play- ing host to the 1989 Jeux Canada Games. The games provide Canada's young ath- letes with the chance to compete at the na- tional level, most of who will become Canadi- an delegates at the international level. We were able to take in a few of the games before we left Monday evening and | was sur- prised at the high calibre of althletes this country has produced. Anyways, to make a long story short, we checked our bags at the airport before head-» ing out to the soccer fields on Monday to watch teams from New Brunswick and Mani- toba compete. The match was Spelrbinding Hol to the fi- nal seconds of play. A goal by Manitoba in the final 10 seconds tied the game at 2 apiece. Totally exhausted from our busy travel schedule, we hailed a cab and dragged our weary bodies into the back seat. Since we didn't know what street we were on, the cabbie assumed we were out of town uests and asked if we were participating in 'the Jeux Canada Games. Well I'll tell you. Had Mr. Cabbie been look- ing directly at me when he asked the question (Turn to page 10) J I NM A , -- JT vf = ree, ~ = : . : For Better or For Worse® by Lynn Johnston and property seven years ago. . he Assessment Depart- ment is now in the process of searching title to try to deter- mine who owns the land. If a clear owner cannot be identified, Mr. Abbott may have alegal claim after ten years. That would be OK with him, he says, but in the mean- time, he is not happy about tax- esonland he doesn't own. He plans to raise the mat- ter when he appears before the Assessment Review Court on August 31. Mr. Abbott said he received no formal notice from the As- sessment Office that he would be assessed for the land in ques- tion. "I was told indirectly while discussing other matters of my assessment," he said. The spokesman for the As- sessment Office said itis not un- usual for property owners to be assessed for land they do not own, if they have use of it. He said the assessment was adjusted upwards this year because this was the first time the department became aware that the land was being used by the property owners, including Mr. Abbott. ter to the editor. Letters to the Editor ... our policy It has always been the policy of this newspaper 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 col- umn 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 let- While we enjoy receiving letters from our readers, we must con- tinue to insist on knowing the identity of the writer. Reg. $1088 Package Limited Time Offer: SAVE S3 NOW ONLY Plus 95¢ Sitting Fee 1(8x10), 2(5x7s)*, 8 wallets LIMIT ONE SPECIAL PER FAMILY. Sitting Fee 95c¢ -- Not included in price of advertised special. $2.00 charge for each additional subject in the portrait. Advertised special is only in Blue Old Masters background. Advertised special -- pose our selection. BY APPOINTMENT ONLY Please call for appointment This offer in effect at Sears Catalogue Store in: PORT PERRY, Hwy. 7A East, Port Perry Plaza 985-7311 Thursday, August 31st and Friday, September 1st, 1989 From 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM 'approximate size MICHREL TOLD MeO MICHAEL, J TEACH EL nes LIKE THAT. 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