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od RI OR a BI mo 15 A PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 1992 Copy 65¢ ©1¢+4¢GsD 36 Pages It was a cold day for the opening "] Laural Griffin is seen here tying DAO] A SL ESE 3 FETT TE TAS ERIE HS HIE TT of the Port Perry Open Air Ice Palace last Saturday morning, but that didn't deter this young skater and her mom. x 2 1/2 year-old Janet's skates on just prior to 33 testing the ice. The Ice Palace was officially opened Saturday with a ribbon cutting by Mayor Howard Hall. Cold weather kept many away, but those who did venture out were admitted free the first day. more photos on page 15. Nothing 3 'sacred' as Region set to slash By Scott Anderson Nothing is "sacred" when it comes to cutting expenses from the regional budget, says Dur- ham Region's chairman Gary Herrema. In an emergency meeting on Jan. 15, chairman Herrema called for massive cuts to the budget for 1992, to reduce the increase to a "single digit." Chairman Herrema was re- sponding to the figures from the preliminary budget which indi- cates an increase of 28.8 per centover last year's figure. According to the report, the preliminary budget for 1992 to- tals $101.75 million, up from 1991's figure of $78.65 million. In an address to regional councillors, which at times sounded like the War Measures Act, chairman Herrema said "everybody must share the pain, both the taxpayers and the employees." Chairman Herrema said all areas of the budget would be looked at and every possible cut would be considered. "I do not believe anything is sacred when it comes to review- ing services," he said. In order to make the decisions as to which areas needed to be addressed, regional councillors voted in favor of establishing an Economic Strategy Committee to prepare a plan of action. This committee will begin a series of meetings on Jan. 29 to budget decide where the cuts will take place. The chairmen and vice- chairmen from each committee, as well as chairman Herrema, will form the group. After the decisions have been made, a report will be prepared for the Finance and Administra- tion Committee. Falling short of saying which areas will be cut, chairman Her- rema said they will be "extreme- ly cruel." He said there won't be a department or a program that won't face a cut." He added that even "recyclingis notsacred." Chairman Herrema said a re- duction in recycling could be possible. He suggested cutting the service back to just newspa- per and cans to save money.. But works committee chair- man John Aker said he "doesn't expect recycling to be affected" other than the possibility of no future expansion. He said for at least 1992 it will be "status quo." } Despite the threat of massive cuts, there are areas which are untouchable. Under provincial law, the regional government is required to fund 20 per cent of the General Welfare Assis- tance, with the province picking up the additional 80 per cent. Chairman Herrema suggested that a possibility would be to ne- gotiate with the NDP govern- ment to change this to 90:10. Turn to Page 4 Let's "feel good about Canada" By Scott Anderson Ward 3 councillor Ken Gads- den says there are so many neg- atives pulling the country down right now and he wants to ange that. ' oh eillor Gadsden believes that the Township of Scugog should do all it can to promote celebrations for Canada's 125th birthday on July 1. "I feel there is so much nega- tives concerning the country out there right now," he says. "It's time we did something pos- Suggests Township gets behind 125th Celebration itive." Councillor Gadsden said he remembers back to the coun- try's centennial in 1967, and says there was such an electri- fying feeling then. He says 1967 was "a highlight year" for himself. "I think back to how great we feltin 1967," he said. Councillor Gadsden has been trying to rally the support of the local council members to es- tablish a committee to co- ordinate the 125th birthday events. He says some planned events might bring back some positive feelings in the commu- nity. It was suggested at a recent council meeting, that members from the various service clubs in the Township of Scugog get together to plan activities for the birthday. Groups involved in the planning session would include the Kinsmen Club, Ro- tary Club, Lions Club and Chamber of Commerce. Getting all these groups to- gether would enable the vari- ous clubs to co-ordinate activi- ties, Councillor Gadsden said. Although plans are sketchy and very preliminary at this point, councillor Gadsden said he would like to see a number of activities leading up to the July 1 weekend. He says the pur- pose of all these events should be to "feel good about Canada." Councillor Gadsden says there is a real need for this type of celebration considering the fragile state of the country. SCUGOG'S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER OF CHOICE ET we right now. "I think there's an awful lot of people who want to see the country survive," he said. Other Scugog councillors were also in support of council- lor Gadsden'sidea. Mayor Howard Hall said these types of activities are just what the country needs. "Anything that can create enthusiasm this year is need- ed," he said. There is already one event Turn to Page 10 A FAMILY TRADITION FOR 125 YEARS