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I ET RE ER J------ REIN Hoop. en. JON wT Ties 4 v 4 1 STII tt em . ously 6 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, March 1,1994 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" 188 MARY STREET - SUBSCRIPTION RATES: 6 Months $17.72 includes $1.22 GST 1 Year - $32.10 includes $2.10 GST The Port Perry Star PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - Phone (905) 985-7383 FAX 985-3708 Toll Free 1-800-561-6698 The Port Perry Star is authorized as second dass mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, for cash payment of postage. Second Class Registration Number 0265 Foreign $90.95 includes $5.95 GST EDITORIAL LoL 187 ADVERTISING Publisher - J. Peter Hvidsten News Editor - Scott Anderson Sports Editor - Kelly Lown Advertising Mgr. - Anna Jackman Advertising Sales - Jackie McDonell Advertising Sales - Paul Hillier Production - Pam Hickey, Barbara Bell BUSINESS OFFICE Retail Sales - Kathy Dudley, Retail Sales - Marlene Moore. PRODUCTION Annabell Harrison, Trudy Empringham, Susan Milne, Robert Taylor, Richard Drew Office Manager - Gayle Stapley Accounting - Judy Ashby, Louise Hope CCNA 4 ae @ Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association Ontario Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the a Pon Perry Star Co. Lid. - Port Perry,Ontario. Editorial Comment Bumpy Roads Ahead It's ironic that Scugog's Mayor Howard Hall should use the recent "Good Roads" conference in Toronto as the venue to point out just how bad the local roads are. But such was the case last week. The state of the roads in Scugog has been a prime concern of Mayor Hall and his council and the concern of many councils before that. To put it simply, Scugog's roads are not only inadequate but in need of much repairs. Although the township does all it can to keep the roads in good shape, the costs to maintain the roads far exceed the provincial grant money needed to fund these projects. A recent report prepared by consulting engineering firm Totten Sims Hubicki indi- cates the township has an immediate roads construction need of $43 million. This figure jumps to $57 million when a five to 10 year study is factored into the equation. In 1982, the township's roads were rat- ed as being 85.5 per cent adequate. But 10 years later in 1992, this figure dropped dramatically to 55.7 per cent. And Mayor Hall places the blame for the deteriorating roads on the province. He argues the township is not being treat- ed fairly when it is considered for roads subsidies. Last year the township re- ceived $1 million in grant money, but the mayor would like to see much more mon- ey. The mayor argues Scugog is unique in that Lake Scugog, in the middle of the township, interrupts the flow of the works crew. He says much more time and mon- ey is needed to maintain the roads due to the impediment. Mayor Hall met with Transportation Minister Gilles Pouliot and other officials in Toronto last week during the Good Roads conference and used this opportu- nity to point out the problems the town- ship is experiencing in maintaining the roads. But this is not the first ime Mayor Hall has pleaded his case. Both Mr. Pouliot and other ministers have heard this argu- ment before. Roads are a major part of a communi- ty's infrastructure and important transpor- tation links. If the township wishes to grow and prosper, it must maintain its roads. Deveiopment depends on solid in- frastructure. It is important the minister takes seri- the concerns which were ex- pressed to him last week. Letters BE aR eA 3 NON NG MAN SUNOS NEA UNS Sa NN LE. VA . Ll PANN NON CE ay . TO Nv : i SN AN IR To mp" T_T er ---- . -- SF a CRA AC rE = WL - \ ~~ Um A AT 1 RLERY a Te Ll a tT ' ECs 3 a \ TT YE ya J 4 -- / NA : w- Liv- edi GORD MiLWs [EE _ {Cl (CGC Remember When ? HISTORIC PHOTO COURTESY SCUGOG SHORES MUSEUM VILLAGE n This photograph (Circa 1900) shows Port Perry and Scugog Island during a spring thaw. ice damage to the causeway between to the editor Wow, a totally To the Editor: Wow! A totally refundable tax. What a concept. In a letter to the editor last week, it was stated that the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF) was now collecting a "tax" under the Farm Regis- tration and Farm Organizations Fund- ing Act. The letter also contains the point that the annual fee is totally re- fundable. That doesn't sound like much refundable tax. of a tax to me. The concept of OMAF registering On- tario farm businesses is to have a com- plete data base of basic information. With cuts to all levels of government, OMAF can use the information to target funds as the makeup of Ontario agricul- ture changes and evolves. It takes httle time to complete a farm business registration form. Perhaps 20 minutes by the time the form is filled What next? out, a cheque written and the envelope sealed and stamped. It seems a small sacrifice for the possible benefits to On- tario agriculture in general. In regards to the General Farm Or- ganizations (GFOs) involved, they are both credible organizations whose lobby- ing efforts are for a strong agricultural sector. Certainly part of their goals is for Turn to Page 7 Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten THE TROLLS OF LILLEHAMMER The Winter Olympics in Norway held a spe- cial spot in my heart the ast couple of weeks ause its the birth- lace of my father, and ome to many of my relatives. I've enjoyed watching the short vignettes about the gouniey and in particular at one featuring the fabled Norwegian Trolls. Trolls are not new in our family as | began collecting them when | was about 16-years- old, after my father brought me one follow- ing a trip overseas. My collection of these unusual mythical characters has grown over the years and are now displayed on a shelf in my office. The trolls move from house to office came about a couple of years ago when Nancy was about to put them into storage because she couldn't stand their beady eyes staring at her from atop our fireplace. I couldn't convince her that "in an ugly kind of way," they were cute. The fact one has three heads, another one eye, they're old and gnarled and most have long, wart cov- ered noses doesn't take away from their character from my point of view. But all this logic didn't wash with my wife, and hence they found a new home here on Mary Street in my office. They' ve become quite a conversation piece when people come by for a visit, and when I'm asked what they are, I lovingly refer to them as my ancestors. After receiving so much publicity during the Olympics, I'm sure trolls will now become a popular collectors item, and we'll no doubt find them popping up on the shelves of many department stores. THE OLYMPICS Finally they're over and now we can get on with our lives. The Lillehammer Winter Olympics, while being touted as one of the most successful ever, were definitely not without controversy. Sixteen days of incredible weather in Norway's frozen north, Olympic records dropping like leaves and unbelievable per- formances by many of the world's top ama- teur athletes were unfortunately overshad- owed at times by other pathetic events. Among the worst of these was the Kerrigan-Harding fiasco. The amount of ress these two Americans received was ridiculous and unfair to the other competi- tors. And while the Olympics are over, it's likely this saga will continue for months. For Canadians it was the best Olympics ever, with our athletes capturing 13 medals. But the accomplishment was bitter-sweet for the Canadian hockey team as their quest for a gold medal fell short with only hours to go before the closing ceremonies. Sweden and Canada battled for the final old through 60 minutes of regular time to a -2 draw. And when 10 minutes of over- time didn't produce a winner a shoot-out resulted in Canada settling for silver. Gold would have been nice, but let's not forget this young bunch of hockey players weren't supposed to even be in the final game, let alone be battling for gold. Congratulations to all of our athletes for making us truly "Proud To Be Canadian.", LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Port Perry Star encourages its 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 will help make this a better community newspaper. We insist, however, that all letter writers sign their name and include a phone number for verification. Sorry, anonymous letters will not be published unless The Star believes it to be in the best interest of the public. We also reserves the right to edit letters with respect to their length, content or libelous comments.