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aT, mm -------- Vol. 125 No. 33 PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - TUESDAY, JULY 9, 1991 Copy 65¢ (61¢ +4¢ GST 52 Pages Commuters still fighting Byd ulia Dempsey Members of a local passenger association want the NDP gov- ernment to spend wisely or not atall. Paul Pagnuelo of the Toronto to Peterborough-Havelock Pas- senger Association says if the government is going to spend millions of dollars on a commut- er system for the area, the mon- ey should be spent on rail ser- vice, not a "luxury superbus service nobody wants." Mr. Pagnuelo and associa- tion member Dave Lester re- cently attended a Queen's Park rally set up by People Against the NDP Budget. At the rally, Mr. Pagnuelo spoke out on the NDP's first broken election promise of ex- tending GO Train Service out to Peterborough. "On November 26 ... Trans- port Minister Ed Philip con- ~ firmed our charge a month ear- lier that the Peterborough GO Train would have the dubious distinction of being the Pre- mier's first broken election promise," Mr, Pagnuelo told the 3,000 people in attendance. "The train, they said, would require an annual subsidy of just over $2 million, a number which we feel is inflated," he added. "As a consolation prize, this dynamic duo of Rae and Philip are now trying to ram down our throats an all-day luxury bus service at a subsidy cost of $1.9 million a year or $9.5 million over a five-year contract peri- od," he said. The bus service was original- ly scheduled to start up on Feb- ruary 15 and then in late spring/early summer. The asso- ciation hopes it never gets off the ground. "Our hope is that it gets killed," Mr. Pagnuelo told the Port Perry Star, adding the bus system would set rail service back 10 years. He said the NDP government should look at the past decade when attempts to service a bus system in this area failed twice. "The ridership just continued to drop and drop until it was nothing. It just doesn't work." It's just too inconvenient, Mr. Pagnuelo says. en VIA Rail was in ser- vice, Mr. Pagnuelo says he drove 20 minutes from his Lit- tle Britain home to the Myrtle station and then spent one hour on the train. Councillors divided on benefits of town study By Scott Anderson The Urban Design Guide- lines prepared by an indepen- dent consulting firm received mixed reaction from Council- lors at Monday's meeting. The guidelines, prepared by Totten Sims Hubicki Asso- ciates, outlined a number of rec- ommendations for the improve- ment and preservation of Port Perry's downtown core. These included ensuring commercial signage is easy to understand and conforms with Township standards; emphasizing special or unique building design fea- tures to maintain the historical flavor; and ensuring buildings are complementary in design. Charles Thomas, director of the Architects Circle, develop- ers of this study, told the Port Perry Star the purpose of the study was "not to improve, but to perpetuate" Port Perry's Turn to Page 20 A bus trip adds a third, and unwanted, mode of transporta- tion, he says. That route also takes longer. Mr. Pagnuelo says he stopped taking the bus when he was un- able to get to work on time. for rail service "For casual day travellersit's acceptable, but it is beyond the realm of human endurance" for daily commuters, he says. The association is also furi- ous over the NDP's plan to ten- der the service out ot the pri- vate sector over a five-year contract period. If the service failed, Mr. Pag- nuelo says buses will continue to run regardless of whether there is any passenger. Turn to Page 3 Yvonne, there's a hole in your bucket! . Scugog Township council squared off against the Standard Electric teenager lob ball team Saturday night. The event was held as a benefit fundraiser for Greenbank resident Michael Green who leaves in two weeks for a one-year tour with the Up With People group. Scugog council tried every trick in the book to come up with a win, including Yvonne Christie's unique catching style. But Standard Electric's well-honed style proved to be too much for the councillors. Local recycling plant closing F.G. Stewart Recycling Systems Inc. will be shutting its doors to customers this Friday, citing economic conditions as the prime factor behind the deci- sion. Vern Ward, general manager for the Orillia-based recycling firm, told the Port Perry Star that it was not "a com- mercial success" as people were not willing to pay the rates for the tippage and scale fees the company was ask- ing. Mr. Ward identified part of the prob- lem as being the reluctance on the part a Ny of the companies to transport the ma- # terial, at high transportation costs to the Reach Road facility. He also cited competition with similar companies in Metropolitan Toronto as a factor, as well as significantly cheaper rates south of the border. In a letter addressed to its custom- ers on July 4, the company informed them ofits intentions to close the facili- ty as of July 12. Mr. Ward says the company has a commitment to clean up the site before totally vacating the premises. He anticipates the business will cease operation at the end of Au- gust. In the meantime, if a buyer for the operation is found, it could remain open. Mr. Ward says many people have shown interest in the facility and hopes it is just a matter of time before the situation is resolved. "We're looking for something bright," he says. "We're desperately trying to keep itopen." The Reach Road operation was han- dling the recycling of clean waste wood, under a Ministry of the Environ- ment licence. The finished product was then used in the construction of wood related products such as particle board. Mr. Ward believes the operation is "a viable concept" adding that it is the only way to get rid of waste wood as landfill sites will not accept the waste wood "at any price." Despite closing the Port Perry facili- ty, the company will continue to oper- ate its prosperous mobile operation. At Prose the company has three mobile units.