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Vol. 128 No. 18 PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 1994 Port Perry hospital copes with shut down favorably By Scott Anderson Port Perry Star Despite a shut down by Scu- gog's doctors, the emergency room at Community Memorial Hospital has not been over- worked. Last week, members of Port Perry Medical Associates closed their doors in compliance with Social Contract legislation. As part of the legislation, On- tario's doctors must chop more than $150 million from the health care system. Many doc- tors chose to do their part by taking unpaid days off. Although the doctors' doors were closed last week and no services were offered, the emer- gency room at the local hospital was not flooded. It experienced only a slightly higher than usu- alrate. Rae Robson, director of nurs- ing at CMH, said the hospital averaged 60 to 65 patients per day during the first three days of the week. Mrs. Robson said the pace has been "steady" noting these num- bers are typical of a weekend. Of the more than 60 visits, 80 per cent were "traditional office visits" including sore throats, ear aches, coughs and children with fevers. A number of emergency situa- tions including two motor vehi- cle accidents caused a backlog on Wednesday while emergency crews attended to the victims. One nurse, as well as a doctor on call, staffed the emergency room at the hospital. No addi- Turn to page 2 Taxpayers get break as council passes budget below "zero increase" target By Scott Anderson Port Perry Star Taxpayers will be a few cents richer this year. It took less than 15 minutes for Scugog Council to approve its 1994 budget which calls for a decrease of 38 cents (-0.089 per cent) on an average household's assessment. The budget details expendi- tures of $7.88 million with reve- : three separate store robberies. According to Durham Re the Beckers, store at Brock ; car with another male. bik away. .No cash was taken. the clerk starte 7:30 p.m. on March 15. counts of robbery ort Perry residents harged in robberies Two Port Perry residents were charged last Week after ional Police a lone male ad and Highway 7 in Brougham ~ on March 14 demanding cash. After in a is received a small amount of cash, He was seen leaving ina The following day the same male entered the Nestleton Country Store on Highway 7A at 3:50 p.m., pgain i ihdicatin cating > he had a gun and demanded money. | the youth ran away and met with another a short distancs | | ttle more than one halfhour later the sammie male entored * the Prince Albert General Store on King Street. Agai 'cated he had a gun, and demanded cash. Accor to scream and the youth fled em Durham Regional Police arrested a 19-year-old Port Perry man and a 17-year-old youthful offender at ap proximately ey were both charge . Both ph in Oshawa Provincial Courton March 16. 7 aA 0 entered icating he hada gun, ent he clerk ain heindi- g to police ty-handed. with three nues of $4.34 million. As a re- sult, a tax levy of $3.54 million was required. Last year's budget came in at a slightly higher number with a 0.894-per cent increase and $6.54 million expenditures with revenues of $3 million and a general tax levy of $3.5 million. Finance Committee Chair- man Yvonne Christie termed the document "an ambitious budget," noting it provides for a variety of projects to be complet- ed this year. "It's a responsible budget. It's aware of the times. We've tried to do a wide variety of things and accommodate a wide varie- ty of projects," she said. With the exception of the Li- brary Board and the Museum Board, which have been forced to pay higher salaries under the province's Pay Equity legisla- tion, all departments were af- fected. Despite the tight reins, a number of projects will get the green light this year. Leading the way is roads con- struction with capital expendi- tures of $862,000. Approximately $647,000 has been allocated to the Roads De- partment to conduct major con- struction in the township. The projects include Ma Brown's Road, Cragg Road, Queen Street, Summit Drive and Carnegie Beach Road. Bridge work will also be con- structed. Councillor Christie noted the roads projects chosen this year will "please everybody and an- noy nobody." The Fire Department was awarded $452,853 for its opera- tions which include the pay- ment of $230,000 for a pumper truck and $91,998 for a rescue vehicle. These two items were ap- proved in last year's budget, with payment deferred to 1994. The Parks and Recreation De- partment received $28,300 for various projects, while Scugog Arena was granted $68,196 to convert its interior lighting to a cost-efficient system. Despite being pleased with the overall budget, Councillor Christie expressed concern that the provincial government could rain on the township's pa- rade when it announces trans- fer payment cuts. The province is grappling with ways to compensate for yet another $2 billion shortfall and has said transfer payments are being considered. Councillor Christie believes a three to four-per cent decrease could be handled by the munici- pality, but stressed anything higher would mean spending cuts and drawing from reserves. She ruled out one measure, however. YVONNE CHRISTIE Chairman of Finance "I'm not pro to re-opening the budget," she said. The municipality was also able to avoid unpaid days off or: "Rae Days" this year as a result of producing a negative budget. The Finance Committee was aided greatly by a surplus of funds, which allowed for the de- crease. The township had more than $203,000 of surplus funds on the books at the end of last year, with approximately Turn to page 2