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6 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, February 16, 1993 The Port P St CNA EDITORIAL BUSINESS OFFICE oO | e ry a r : Publisher - J. Peter Hvidsten Office oy, Payle Stapley - Anderson ccoun - shoy 188 MARY STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - LoL 187 [CTRUITEN |onrs Editor - Scot A Domasoy Retail Sales - Kathy Dudley, PHONE (416) 985-7383 FAX 985-3708 RII {0]YR Sports Editor - Kelly Lown Marlene Moore The Port Perry Star is authorized as second class mail by the AWARD Post Office Department, Ottawa, for cash payment of postage. ADVERTISING PRODUCTION Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Advertising Manager - AnnaJackman Annabell Harrison, Subscription Rate: LESESPA Advertising Sales - Jackie McDonell Trudy Empringham 1Year-$32.10 6Months-$17.72 Forelgn-$90.95 Production - Pamela Hickey, BarbaraBell Robert Taylor, Barbara Lachapelle includes $2.10GST includes $1.22GST includes $5.95GST Editorial Comment Dollars and Sense it's coming down to the crunch for the Township of Scugog as it wrestles with another budget. This year township officials and the Fi- nance Committee members are attempt- ing to keep the budget at last year's level and not implement any type of increase. This is a tough task to achieve. Many organizations are in need of large cash outlays to continue to operate and serve the public as they have in the past. The museum board is in need of a sub- stantial amount of money to save some of its buildings on the site. Head Church needs extensive roof repairs, as well as other structural improvements. Other buildings also need repairs. The Library Board is in dire straits as well. Scugog Memorial Library is falling well below standards in its collection of books. According to the standard, a li- brary serving the population of the Scu- gog library should have 2.5 items per per- son, but it has only 1.96 items. It is estimated that it would cost more than $173,000 to bring the library up to stan- dards. It also needs a state-of-the-art hu- midifier system and new computers. The Scugog Fire Department is also asking for additional money. The Fire Chief presented the budget for the two halls recently. The Fire Department has requested almost $850,000 in money this | year, far exceeding the $471,128 it re- ceived last year. The fire department is seeking two new vehicles which should cost close to $375,000. It also needs supplies and oth- er safety features to maintain provincial standards. Many other committees and township sponsored groups also have similar needs and will be 'asking for money for various projects and programs. Over the next few weeks the Finance Committee must look at more than a doz- en budgets before plugging in the num- bers to arrive at the final figure, with the final product due in early March. It is an unenviable task the township of- ficials have. Officials must be frugal in handling the money to ensure that the budget achieves the desired zero-per cent increase, while considering all the needs of the community and in the case of the Fire Department, the safety and well being of the community. No matter what the outcome of the budget, not everybody will be happy, but let us hope it has the interests of the community at heart. = NEWS TTEM: ScuBos 7wl wRESTLES WITH BudéeT FoR 1448 . eS . ee apsa------ McLaren and her pet cow. Letter to the editor AIDS Committee appalled at allegations To the Editor: As Community Development Services Coordinator for the AIDS Committee of Durham I am appalled by the recent at- tention our community based agency is receiving. We have been accused of trying to re- cruit people to homosexuality, raise funds for this task, putting explicit pamphlets in our school system and pro- viding information that would intention- ally keep getting more people infected with the HIV virus. I can only say for the last time these ideas are totally untrue. We have responded to the allegations that have been thrown haphazardly at us. As a result we have decided to stop this back and forth of letters to the edi- tor. We are spending too much time deal- ing with people who seem to think that ignorance is the best way to protect your- self from this deadly disease. We have tried repeatedly to inform these people of our policy on informed decision mak- ing but to no avail. To these people who keep throwing ac- cusations I hope they could somehow channel their negativity into something more positive. Maybe they could help in Turnto Page 7 Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association Ontario Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Lid. Port Perry, Ontario * G8T included In price | Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten " er KING OF POP, ROCK & SOUL Not sure how many of our readers tuned in with the estimated 90 million le who watched Michael Jackson interviewed by Oprah last Wednesda night, but I must confess I caught the last hour of the program. While I'm not an avid fan of Michael Jackson, I do enjoy some of his music and admit to being curious enough to tune in. But what amazes me even more than his music is the agility and creativity of this mega-star when he sets foot on stage. I can't think of another entertainer that brings such life to the stage when he performs. Michael Jackson might be considered by some to be crude, vulgar or just plain bad, but he has also proven to be a very sensitive, caring person with a deep love and affection for children and the less fortunate. We've seen this side of him twice in recent . weeks, once during the inauguration of President Clinton and again during the half- time show at the Super Bowl. : His songs "Gone Too Soon," dedicated to a young cancer victim he befriended and "Heal The World" dedicated to the children of the world portray him as a true humanitarian. With foundations set up to help combat drugs, to a theme park on his California ranch were he invites terminally ill children with cancer, Michael Jackson has proven he's much more than a money grabbing pop star. Liz Taylor was first to call him the "King of Pop," and unless the world was given a real snow job last Wednesday night, I'd have to a with the title. e tabloids will no doubt continue to be critical of his plastic surgery, skin toning, crotch grabbing and anything else they can find to pick on, but that show biz. No one can deny that Michael Jackson has proved to be one of the most exciting enter- tainers of the past decade. The fact he is extremely talented, caring, and sensitive to the needs of others just goes to prove he's more of a star than most of us ever believed. NEED COOL HEADS This afternoon, representatives of the Port Perry fairboard and Scugog Council will meet for an informal discussion about the future of the fairgrounds on the present site. As many will remember, efforts to sever a corner of the 27 acre property for a new pub- lic school a number of years ago, met with harsh opposition and a split in the community While there are plenty of good reasons why the fairgrounds should remain on the site it's occupied for the best part of this cen- tury, there are also equally good arguments why it's time for it to be moved. is proved to be a very contentious issue last time council suggested the site should be moved, and will likely be contentious again. Issues come and issues go, but sometimes the damage and hurt caused by differing "views can last for years, which is detrimental to the well being of the community. Let's hope cool heads prevail, and both sides consider all the facts before jumping into another fracas which could split the community even further over this issue. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Port Perry Star encourages our readers to make use of the letters to the editor column to express their opinions and viewpoints on just about any subject, as we feel a lively letters column helps make us a better community newspaper. We insist, however, that all letter writers sign their name and include a phone number for verification. Sorry, no anonymous letters will be published. The Port Perry Star also reserves the right to edit with respect to libelous comments or length of letter. i. rat ,