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i 7 { f 4 Vol. 127 No. 52 PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16,1993 Board of Education | wants public input | in budget process By Scott Anderson Port Perry Star Next year's school budget will be tough, says alocal trustee. Bobbie Drew, a Durham Board of Education trustee for Scugog, said a lot of thought will have to go into this year's bud- get. And in order to make the pro- cess run smoothly, the board is calling on Durham residents to aid in the process. A series of budget meetings have been scheduled across the region to garner public input. A eting is scheduled at Port "Perry High School on Thursday night. "We're looking to work togeth- er with the people," Mrs. Drew said. "It's a big problem we've got here and we want to work with the people." Mrs. Drew said all areas of the budget will be looked at, ex- cluding those mandated by the provincial government or bound by contractual agreements. "We're looking at all areas and deciding if we can do it cheaper," Mrs. Drew said. "It's their farm. was rabid. ty to the barn." rantined. dle them." Utica family's pet & cattle quarantined By Julia Dempsey Port Perry Star A Utica family has had to quarantine its dog and more than 20 cattle for three months after a rabid fox was found on On Thursday, Nov. 4, John and Pat Sutherland of Marsh Hill Road noticed a healthy-looking fox with Archie, the fami- ly's pet, in the dog's house. The following day, Mr. Sutherland shot and killed a fox which was having trouble keepingits bal- ance near the barn. Testing on the dead animal revealed it "We didn't actually see the fox with the cattle," Mrs. Su- therland told the Port Perry Star. "But it was in close proximi- Animal health officials with Agriculture Canada recom- mended that the Sutherland's 20-25 Holstein heifers be qua- "We have to sit tight for three months," Mrs. Sutherland said, adding none of the cattle can be sold. "We feed them with a tractor and loader, but we hope none of them get sick (with unrelated illnesses) because we can't get in with them to nee- Since there is no way of determining if the fox seen with their dog was the same one which was shot, the Sutherlands have had to quarantine their pet. Archie, a one-year-old mixed breed, had been vaccinated for rabies in May. Animal health officials felt the quarantine was a necessary precaution. Ar- chie must be kept on a chain and confined to a fenced-in pen. According to Dr. John Churchill of the Agriculture Cana- da office in Bowmanville, more than 10 dogs and six cats are presently under quarantine in Durham Region. oo Eighty animals have tested positive for rabies in the re- gion this year, including 46 foxes, 18 skunks, eight cattle, three bats, two dogs, two cats, and one coyote, he said. healthy. We should be doing this in our every day bud- gets." The board has published a draft paper containing ideas and options to address budget reductions. This 34-point plan looks at areas including staff- ing, program and transporta- tion. According to figures released by the board, it spends $288.1 million (75 per cent) on staffing, $14.7 million (3.86 per cent) on programs, $15.1 million (3.97 r cent) on transportation and $63.1 million (16.56 per cent) on other items including mainte- nance, operations and capital. The plan suggests measures such as reducing staff release time for professional develop- ment purposes, decreasing the number of trustees, reviewing the outdoor education program, seeking cost-efficient ways to run family studies and design technology and studying the fu- ture of the French Immersion program. The paper was drafted earli- Turnto Page 15 ing t it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Port Perry. R deer and Frosty the Snowman visited the Settlement House Shop store's 15th Anniversary Christmas Open House. Santa Claus, the jolly old man himself, will be coming to Port Perry on Saturday, Nov. 27 for the Santa Claus Parade. SCOTT ANDERSON PORT PERRY STAR udoiph the Red Nosed Rein- on the weekend dur- Blackstock fairgrounds to get $350,000 facelift By Scott Anderson Port Perry Star A revitalization project for the Blackstock Fairgrounds will serve as a long-term project for the community, says a member of the Fairboard. Ward 2 Councillor Marilyn Pearce unveiled plans for an ex- tensive upgrading of the exist- ing fairgrounds in the heart of Blackstock to Scugog Council on Monday. The $350,000-plan includes the improvement of the existing ball diamond, the construction of another diamond, adding lighting to the two facilities, ad- ditional parking, the construc- tion of washrooms and building a creative playground. Plans also include landscap- ing around the recreation cen- tre and closing off the existing track providing a permanent staging area. The project, which has gone before the local fairboard, has received enthusiastic response, Councillor Pearce said. "It's really going to give the community of Cartwright the opportunity to take on a project with long-term implications," she said. Although the project has been endorsed by the fairboard and viewed by council, the public has not had an opportunity to view the plans. A public meet- ing in Blackstock has been scheduled for December 2. At this time the group will garner comments from the com- munity. One issue on which the group 18 seeking suggestions is fund- ing. "We want to meet with the community to see how we can raise the money," she said. "We are still finishing up the pro- cess." According to Councillor Pearce, municipal staff is look- ing at a number of funding op- tions including government grants. She stressed, however, going to the public was out of the question. "We're not looking at any money from the tax ey she Turn to page 3 - a »- mm = = a