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TITER Ws a 4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, April 3, 1990 Scugog Township is to be designated "officially bilingual" in a year long pilot project by the federal and provincial gov- ernments. The announcement, which caught local councillors and civ- ic leaders totally by surprise, was made Sunday, April 1, when Premier David Peterson and Prime Minister Brian Mul- roney arrived by helicopter fora a -gai i . earsofeveryone within 30 feet. Buthe added that roads su- Out in front of the Post Of- ; ae Iain with the May- and OM vega ww le mp Marilyn Pearce, whose ties per Ronn MacDonald is going to fice, as workers put up a new 4 or. by a Star reporter. with the Liberal Party are well flip out when he sees "Canton Bureau de Poste sign, citoyens Peterson and Mulroney de- "We are delighted, sort of, known, did her level best to be de Scugog" written on the side de Scugog going about their | clined to be interviewed by the that our Township has been se- diplomatic. of his brand new half-ton. business Monday morning ex- Star, claiming they had "press- ing matters to attend" in Toron- to and Ottawa, but aides left be- gog was selected after an ex- haustive search for a "representative community with a well-deserved reputation for fairness, tolerance, and a progressive attitude." Scugog Mayor Howard Hall emerged grim-faced after his hour long meeting with the Premier and Prime Minister, but pulled himself to-gether lected from the hundreds in On- tario as the guinea-pig, sorry, as the testing ground for this pilot nowhere near enough to cover the cost of simultaneous trans- lation of council meetings. She said bilingual stop- arret signs alone will run at least twice that much. "Who's picking up the tab for that, the tax-payers, that's who," she groused, and then let fly with a stream of cuss words en francais that blistered the Marilyn, a member of the recreation committee, could only shake her head at the But Al was a little worried for the boaters on the lake this summer who will see signs on the marker buoys saying "gar- dez a droit ou gauche." And Don Cochrane, who chairs the powerful roads com- mittee, said he didn't care one way or another. "A pot-hole is a pot-hole in any damn lan- guage," was his terse reponse. Reaction in the community was mixed. Community Memorial Hos- Scugog picked for 'bilingualism' pilot project pilot project, the new recreation complex would be built gratis, with bucks from Queens Park and Ottawa. "The nerve of them, trying to bribe us with our own money. If Peterson and Mulroney have any extra dollars kicking around, they should be fixing the roads, especially the roads in Ward 4," he snapped. pressed surprise when told of the news. "Where's APEC when you hind a news release outlining project. thought of a bilingual time- pital administrator Dave need 'em," snapped one farmer details of the move. eomo---- error - i ------ 3s ha keted his farm tax re- Though Scugog will not get | ; a ate cheque. much direct financial help for the pilot project (about $5,000) there is a promise that a new recreation complex will be built with federal and provincial money as soon as the year is over. Starting immediately, all senior administrative jobs with the Township are designated bi- lingual. Council meetings, includ- ing agendas and the minutes are to be conducted in both offi- cial languages. And all by-laws, reports and official documents will be in French and English "I am confident that Town- ship staff and the fine citizens of Scugog will meet this chal- lenge head-on, and work to make the project a huge suc- cess," he stated, with less con- viction than normal in his voice. And just to get into the swing of things, the Mayor dust- ed off his high school French and said a few halting words in the other official language. "Mesdames et mes mes- = clock for the Scugog Arena. "I want to see a consul- tant's tspors before I vote on that one. What we really need is a little bilingual asphait for the arena parking lot," she huffed. Glenn Malcolm was at a complete loss for words (in ei- ther language) and muttered that he was going to have a big problem selling this one to the folks over in Cartwright. "I won- der what Dad would do," he Brown declined comment until he gets a direct communique from the Health Ministry, but noted that the hospital already has "defense de fumer" signs everywhere. "We're pretty darn progres- sive around here. If they say French and English, we can handle that, no problem. Ray- ons-X, par ici," he chuckled be- fore hanging up the phone. Dean Kelly, letter writer "C'est vrai? Mon Dieu, mer- ci, merci," said a young man in his twenties, adding he is fin- ishing university this spring and can't wait to apply for the new job as Scugog Commission- er pour les Deux Langues. One well-dressed business- man said simply "that's the last straw, I'm pulling up stakes and moving to the Soo." Another lady wondered if the pilot project meant the Port Perry Star would be bilingual, and expressed relief when told "just the ads, madame, just the ads." . : . , " hop ly, an elder] - for the duration of the pilot pro- sieurs. Bienvenu a Scugog," he whispered. par excellence, said it's all part dom rm pve ject. } } said slowly. . Likewise for Neil Hunter of a plot, "the plot I've been the top of his steel-rimmed Stop signs in Scugog will How's the accent," he who stated French had not been warning about for years. I hate specs, putit all in perspective. read "arret-stop" and all signs posted in public buildings (are- nas, library, community halls etc.,) must be in both languag- es. And this includes the time- have already started intensive six week training courses in French so they can answer the phones with a cheery "Bonjour- asked Earl Cuddie, who was standing a few feet away. "Needs a little polish, Mr. Mayor. But I'll see if I can find you a convention in Quebec City Reaction from other mem- bers of council (who were not in- vited to the tete-a-tete) was mixed. heard in Greenbank since be- fore the turn of the century, and besides, there's just no way vot- ers out there would cotton to getting their tax notices in two plussed about it all, saying sim- ply that Scugog Island resi- dents have been waiting for years to declare the Island an to say Itold you so, but......." e promised another letter for the nextissue of the paper. Dave Frew, chairman of CAUT, just rolled his eyes in FAX machine in Earl Cuddie's office. And he wasn't at all im- "What's that you say, son- ny? Scugog bilingual? Not a chance. "I know what you're up to . i Perry Star. I fell f clockatthearena. 80 you can brush up," replied Janguages. dismay at the thought of his tax oy ®t bole sory oy Anko. fy of Staff at the municipal office the administrator. Al = Goreski was non- dollars spent for a bilingual years ago, and that prison one too. You ain't gonna fool me with no dang-blame April Fool's story 'bout Port Perry goin' tot . pressed by the pledge from Pe- .Nosiree." hall Sonne Chrisie (whe is independent republic with aig larson and Mulropey ter ans ape Noszee" 0 TU The news release conclud- wrestling with the 1990 budget) gate at Redman's Farm. This reward to the folks in Scu- ourselves, old timer ed with the statement that Scu- fumed that the $5,000 grant is- wag their chance. gog for going through with this ' } | Durham Mobile Agri Service RR 3, PORT PERRY 985-9528 pre ~-- 9 RT Cr rd Se nee TE FO I a IIT " A Ri # at a NS or #6 NT ST TT To et re > LL ae rR a oh Wm i ro N ar: TPT x EXCITING NEWS EXCITING NEWS .The Settlement House Shops have acquired adjacent space (approx- imately 3700 sq.ft.) suitable for a downtown Antique and Collectibles Market. If you are interested in participating in space or in operating the market, contact us in writing. Send to: Tom Mitchell, Settlement House, 183 Queen Street, Port Perry Ontario EXCITING NEWS UD, EXCITING NEWS | CL {4 KA SRT