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TE 6 - PORT PERRY STAR - Wednesday, August, 5, 1992 The Port Perry Star "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" BUSINESS OFFICE Office Manager - Gayle Stapley Accounting - Judy Ashby EDITORIAL Publisher - J. Peter Hvidsten News Editor - Scott Anderson 188 MARY STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - LOL 187 PHONE (416) 985-7383 FAX (416) 985-3708 The Port Perry Star is authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, for cash payment of postage. Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Subscription Rate: 6Months-$17.72 includes $1.22GST BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1992 1Year-$32.10 includes $2.10GST Forelgn-$90.95 includes $5.95GST Features Editor - Julla Dempsey Sports Co-ordinator - Kelly Lown Reporter/Photographer - Marnie Luke ADVERTISING Advertising Manager - Anna Jackman Advertising Sales - Jackie Metz Production - Pamela Hickey, BarbaraBell Barbara Lachapelle PRODUCTION Billing Department - Louise Hope Retail Sales - Kathy Dudley Annabell Harrison, Trudy Empringham Robert Taylor, Marlene Moore, Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association Ontario Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Ltd. Port Perry, Ontario * GST Included in price Editorial Comment Long Weekends Over the past couple of days residents of Ontario cel- ebrated a long weekend. Nothing more and nothing less. This weekend gave us a chance to enjoy a few days away from work and relax with family and friends. But few of us realized the historical importance of the day. Official- ly August 3 was "Simcoe Day", but for the majority of On- tario residents it is nothing more than "the long weekend." Few people realize the importance of John Graves Simcoe and the effect which this man had on the shaping of Ontario approximately 200 years ago. August 3 was the 200th anniversary of the landing of Simcoe in York, which is now Toronto. On this location he established the capital of the province which is now Onta- rio. . It is from this location that Simcoe, who later became the first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, implement- ed many of the characteristics that are still inherent today. One of the first steps Simcoe took was to establish an elected representative assembly, much the same as was demanded in the United States in 1776. He repealed the French laws in the province, which were established by the Quebec Act of 1774, instituted the system of English common law, which includes the guarantee of the right to trial by jury. Simcoe established English weights and measures, district courts, civil magistrates and provisions for collect- ing small debts. Simcoe also introduced legislation to abolish slavery in Upper Canada almost 30 years before it was abolished in England and 75 years before it was eradicated in the United States. He also encoraged immigration into Canada by offer- ing free land to Americans. He realized by encouraging growth in Upper Canada it would protect the country from invasion. In populating the area he was also responsible for the development of the shoreline into a bustling com- munity which we now know as Toronto. Much that Simcoe Introduced 200 years ago is still in place today and are characteristics that makes Ontario and Canada radically different from other countries. But Canadians are still reluctant to come to grips with our history and the importance of people and events re- sponsible for shaping the identity of the country. While Britain celebrates Guy Fawkes day and the French Bas- tile Day, we refuse to accept the importance of such days. It's a shame that a day as important to the tone and character of the province as Simcoe Day is not fully real- ized and will for years to come be known as simply an- other long weekend. Community Spirit Community spirit. Community involvement. These two vital components were evident in activities which oc- curred in the Township of Scugog over the weekend. Hundreds of residents were in Greenbank on Friday night to take in the annual Greenbank Beef Barbecue. They didn't let the rain and cold weather dampen their spir- its. On Saturday, Sunday and Monday a similar outpour- ing of community spirit was evident during the 60th annual Caesarea Regatta. Both year-rdund residents and summer cottagers joined together in the fun and games. At a time when morales are low and worries are high, more of these activities are needed to keep communities together. Let us never forget the need for community activi- ties and community involvement. Communities, after all, are where we live. | we all had 4o make dome KL ARONA OS a A ED AIS 33, T AANA Y on CZ ARN KIRAN Th: RA / 4 A IN ls Residents of Scugog need to fight for the right to have adequate ambulance services in the future. It has recently been announced that the two ambulances currently servicing the area may soon cut back to one. It is a scary thought that one ambulance may have to cover the same area that two presently cover. One ambulance may be expected to cov- er the same area and the same amount of people that it did in the 1970s!!! We are a growing township and one am- bulance is not going to have the response time that is necessary to service the area the way it needs to be serviced. We have not only grown but we are also a tourist area in which there is the potential for more emergency situations. On any given day there can be several emergency calls at one time that need to be attended to. Itis not fair or right to have one person's response time doubled because of cut backs. Life is more precious than money. Response time is currently three minutes in Scugog Township and with one ambu- lance at time could be more than dou- ed. No one should have the right to allow someone who is suffering to have to wait an additional several minutes when they need help immediately. It is a scary thought that while an ambu- lance is at an accident scene where there are often multiple injuries, that someone on the other side of the township is suffering a heart attack and the response time of that ambulance is lowered, thus that patient's chances are decreased. Everyone knows that seconds count, let alone several minutes. The one ambulance in Scugog currently performs mainly transfers and obviously is needed or it never would have been imple- mented. If that ambulance is cut back eve- ryone in every type of emergency situation will be made to wait. EA This response time is a matter of life and death in many incidents. We as residents should not allow that to happen, we all may hed their service at some point in our ves. Ambulance officers know better than any- one the drastic effect cutting back on ambu- lances will cause and are justly concerned, not for their jobs or wages, but for the resi- dents they serve. The ambulance officers held a rally in downtown Port Perry on Tuesday to show their concern with the proposed cut backs. Those officers know how many calls they attend in a day a month and a year. If they believe one ambulance cannot cover the territory, who can argue. | don't beleive anyone else could be a better judge. If indeed the officers are con- cerned, we as potential victims need to be even more concerned. If the service is cut back it will also end up costing the township and the taxpayer more money. If an ambulance cannot make it to an emergency call right away, the fire depart- ment will be called. Often these firefighters are called to assist ambulance attendants several times a year. The more the firemen are called out, the more it will cost the township and the indi- vidual taxpayer. Although these firemen are equipped to handle Sr Grgency situations, are trained in CPR and first aid, they are not as trained as the officers and do not have the complex life saving equiment that the officers have access to. No one knows when they may need the service of our ambulance officers and it would be nice to know the fesporise time will be what it is today and should be today, not what it was in the 1970s. The decision to cut back or not to cut back on ambulances is realy a life and death decision. Hopefully those involved make the right decision, and realize be really impor- tant. : -------- -- TE i engi. dT diel. ould sooliin, wlinis. OML enu.. WS EEE ie