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Vol. 128 No. 11 Copy 65¢ ©1¢+4ecsn 32 Pages - Scugog gets $1 million By Scott Anderson Port Perry Star Scugog received a major shot in the arm last week as details of a federal/provincial infra- structure were unveiled. Durham East MPP Gord Mills announced on Tuesday that the township was awarded $667,415 in federal/provincial funds as part of the Canada- Ontario Infrastructure Works program. - © And after the township kicks in $333,708 as its share, the purse will rise to approximately shot in arm $1 million for local works pro- jects. Last week, federal and pro- vincial officials signed the Can- ada-Ontario Infrastructure Agreement. This initiative was. part of the federal government's three-year, $6-billion plan in- troduced during the election. More than $2.1 billion is ex- pected to be invested over the next two years when the $772 million that Canada and Onta- rio will each provide is com- Turn to page 2 Old railway lands interest township For sale signs have been post- ed across the country on aban- doned railway lands. And Scugog council has some of thisland in mind. CN Real Estate announced recently that it was disposing of all abandoned rail lines in Can- ada. The lands include a five-mile stretch in Scugog west of Marsh Hill, adjacent to the Beaver Riv- er. Last week, Ward 2 Councillor Marilyn Pearce suggested the township work with the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA) to acquire the land. The authority is seeking to buy all the abandoned lands of the Beaver River Wetlands from Blackwater to Woodville. This area is classified as Class 1 Wetlands. According to Rennie Vos, manager of policy and planning for LSRCA, the authority is in the final stages of closing a deal to purchase the land at a cost of $12,000. The transaction is ex- pected to be finalized in two or three weeks. He said the land would serve as the backbone of a wetlands acquisition scheme the associa- tion is currently planning. This means acquiring all the land from Uxbridge to Cannington, including the five-mile stretch through Scugog. Mr. Vos said the authority would also make a pitch for the Scugog land. but itis not includ- ed in the talks at the present time. By acquiring the land, Mr. Vos said it would not only pro- tect valuable Class 1 wetlands, but serve as a recreational trail for hiking and snowmobiling. Councillor Pearce, who serves on the executive board of LSRCA, said the authority would benefit by working with the township in negotiating a deal as the township is exempt fromland taxes. The authority, on the other hand, lostits tax exeption, when the Ontario government changed its tax system recent- ly. "Lake Simcoe Conservation Authority would be very inter- ested in the land if they should get tax exemption," she said. A public consultation meet- ing is planned in Sunderland in February to discuss the long- term plans of the authority. Kevin Sherren (left) and Adam Johansen of the: 1st 8 Se: he the top of thelr fishing hole during the Pineridge District Cubs and Scouts Fishing ) agrave Cubs, clean ice off "J PETER NVIDSTEN / PORT PERRY ETAR 'Derby held last Saturday on Lake Scugog. Over 300 warmly dressed youngsters and their leaders hiked out onto the ice for a day of fun and fishing along Port Perry's lakefront. Although fish were scares | the: feds 1 had : a great. te: More ; photos and story on page 28. : Trustees say "nothing carved in stone" in coming school budget By Scott Anderson Port Perry Star Durham's school board bud- get is starting to come together, but thereisstillalongway to go, says a Scugog trustee. "We're struggling with bud- gets at. this time," Scugog trus- tee Joyce Kelly told the Star last week. Mrs. Kelly said the trustees have looked at a number of are- as over the past few months, but "nothingiscarvedin stone." The trustees have been work- ing since last fall both in various committees and with the public to pare down the cost of the edu- cation and the threat of rising taxes which could be as high as seven per cent. To date the bud- getis estimated tocomein at ap- proximately $380 million. The board's finance commit tee made a number of recom- mendations recently. These in- clude: - The elimination of one su- perintendant and one adminis- trative secretary, - staffing the new Sinclair High School with secretarial and custodial from existing staff within the system; - eliminating advertising for Education Week; - deferring the start of French immersion instruction from kindergarten to Grade 1; - and allowing gifted children living in Whitby to attend class- es in their own municipality. They are currently bused to Oshawa. Mrs. Kelly said the only rec- ommendation- which has been acted on so far is that kinder- garten French immersion has been scrapped. The students will now begin instruction in rade 1. Another controversial issue involving kindergarten is the recommendation to introduce all-day kindergarten every sec- ond day. Mrs. Kelly said the board is looking at this option which was sent to the Programs Committee from the Finance Committee for more analysis. The budget is not expected to be completed until late March orearly May. In the meantime, Mrs. Kelly, who serves on the Employee Re- lations Committee, is also work- ing on a contract with both the elementary and high school teachers. The teachers have been without a contract since last September. " " r- 5 i Le .