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OR EVIE RT tr. ve a Trustees vote condom machines out Public school board trustees voted 9-8 against installing condom machines in Durham high schools. The decision came after a lengthy debate at the board of education headquarters _ on Feb. 11. Vol. 125 No. 13 Scugog trustee Joyce Kelly said the debate was excellent with good points being made on both sides of the issues. "The decision was made very difficult" because of all the in- formation presented, she said. But when the final vote came, Mrs. Kelly voted against installing condom machines. "I, like many other people, felt there was ample opportuni- ty for young people to get them (condoms) elsewhere," she told the Port Perry Star in a tele- phone interview. PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1991 The quality of drugstore con- doms would probably be better because of the stores' high turn- over rate as opposed to a school dispensor, Mrs. Kelly com- mented. She felt a decision to install the machines would make Realtors optimistic real estate slump may soon be over The real estate market in Scugog Township started to pick up last month after a pro- longed slump that lasted nearly two years. Local realtors told the Star that January was an excellent month in terms of sales, and they are cautiously optimistic that the up-turn will continue through 1991. "January was the best month we have had in the last several, quite a marked differ- ence over last year. It was not a 'boom market' but the signs were very positive," said Guy Lptraiite of Re/Max Scugog Re- alty. One of the things that seems to be spurring sales at this time is the price. Prices are off about 20 per cent from what they were a year ago, and that is proving to be very tempting for buyers, espe- cially those buying a house for the first time. Chuck Willis of Ridge North Realty said homes in the $130,000 to $160,000 range are in demand. But even with the renewed- buyer confidence, he said people are still being cautious in their buying. Along with price, he said, the fact interest rates are at- tractive is another reason for the up-turn in sales. Ted Harvard of Century 21 said he's confident the market will improve even more as 1991 moves along. And he said there may be a gradual upwards movement of prices. : He said 1990 was a tough year for real estate. The key for improvement is the interest rate, and he noted that some financial analysts have predicted that the rate could drop to "single digit" this Year- Turn to Page 4 Hospital funding up Overall hospital funding is going up 9.5 per cent this, ac- cording to Ontario Health Min- ister Evelyn Gigantes. Warning to fishermen Durham Region Police have issued a warning to ice fishermen not to leave anything of value in their ice huts. There has been a rash of ice hut break-ins on Lake Scugog so far this winter, according to Staff-Sgt. Bill Van Doleweerd. And anything of value dis- appears, he said. Most of the break-ins occur during the night. In recent break-ins fisher- men have lost hundreds of dol- lars worth of gear including au- Turn to Page 2 But that doesn't mean indi- vidual hospitals like Communi- ty Memorial in Port Perry will be getting that much of an in- crease in their 1991 operating budgets. An announcement last week by the Health Ministry said Ontario's 221 hospitals would be getting $7.325 billion this year from the Province, an increase of 9.5 per cent. But that's the total figure that hospitals receive for all purposes, including new pro- grams and construction. Community Memorial ad- ministrator David Brown told the Star that while he wished the local operating budget would go up by 9.5 per cent, the increase will most certainly be less than that. And he won't know for sev- eral weeks just how much the local hospital will get for its 1991-92 operating budget. Turn to Page 3 The NDP Government of Ontario has announced that un-conditional grants to munic- ipalities will be increased five per cent this year. The announcement came last week from municipal af- fairs minister Dave Cook. For Scugog Township, the five per cent will mean an addi- tional $15,000 (approx). iE AL I hee ll iia --.----.---- Last year, Scugog received just over $300,000 in uncondi- tional grants. These grants had been fro- zen for the last couple of years. The unconditional grants, .or household grants, as they are sometimes called, allow munic- ipalities to spend the money in any way they see fit. The grant amounts to about $240 per household. Copy 65¢ (61¢ plus 4¢ G.S.T) young people feel it's okay to have teenaged sex. Mrs. Kelly also said that sta- tistics presented at the meeting showed condoms are not infalli- able when it comes to prevent- ing sexual diseases. Turn to Page 2 Scugog to get 5% grant increase Other grants for such things as roads, recreation, so- cial services, police protection, must be spent for those specific purposes. Scugog treasurer Kathleen Harper told the Star last week the Township has not been no- tifed as to wha tthe increases in conditional grants will be this year.