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6 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, April 26,1994 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" FE Dr [RIOT EN BN RID EI LAT PAVE TORIAL A Editorial Comment Developing An Image Known in the past for its quaint shops, picturesque lakefront and parks, Port Perry is quickly becoming a chosen loca- tion for many seeking a better quality of life. : As Metropolitan Toronto slowly disinte- grates into a large urban nightmare com- plete with murders, related violence, drugs and crime, decent residents are looking to the surrounding communities in which to live and raise families. Durham Region, as has Peel, York and Halton, has experienced this phenome- num in the past 10 years. Scugog is quickly becoming the choice of many families seeking a change of pace and a better quality of life. This has been emphasized recently as a number of developers have been experiencing considerable response to their proposed developments in the area, Most people purchasing homes or con- templating the move to the area cite the location and quality of life as the number one drawing card in moving. Many say they are looking for a safe place to live, away from Metropolitan Toronto. A "housing boom" is expected to take place in the area if the financial climate is right. It is expected that 800 to 1,000 new homes will be built over this period if the municipal services such as sewers and water mains become available. While development and growth of this type could mean a boost economically to the township in terms of tax dollars and industry, many are opposed to the idea of growth in the township. These people are arguing that they moved to the area to flee the built-up areas and are now see- ing Scugog become just that. These peo- ple are calling on the area politicians to stop development in the area. While nobody wants to see Scugog be- come a large urban centre like its neigh- bors to the south, we must not discou- rage development either. Well planned development, that takes into considera- tion the quality of life in the area is what should be encouraged. Guidelines are in place to ensure de- velopments conform to the township's plan, and township officials must enforce these. If a development meets all the re- quirements, we should welcome them. It is selfish of us to deny others the right to seek a better lifestyle by moving to the area. Development for the sake of development is not needed, but develop- ment from which we can all benefit should be encouraged. 4 gout Gry = Mrs. Chester Asling with Myrtle (Luke) Wagner and Leola (Luke) Hooper at the northwest corner of Concession 7 and Brock Road in 1908. I ETTERS Widespread growth of Scugog is irrational To the Editor: It strikes me as very unfortunate that the leaders of this community are en- dorsing what appears to be widespread housing development. The addition of one-thousand homes (as reported in your edition of April 12) to the Port Perry community in the next 10 years repre- gents a population growth to this area thatisirrational. Many of the newer residents of this beautiful town settled here to avoid the 'develop at all costs' syndrome so preva- lent in other areas. We came here to en- joy a beautiful, friendly, easy going town, with light traffic and a low crime rate. The long time residents that I have had the pleasure of making my friends also see these features as essential to the uality of life here. To promote such inor- , Sb growth is irresponsible. It will strain existing resources to the limit, particularly if, as some short-sighted people wish the wonderful and irreplace- able green-space known as the fair- grounds is developed as well. Admitted- ly there are some benefits to development, such as an increased tax base, and local jobs. However, these hardly outweigh the aforementioned downside to development, particularly Turn to Page 7 Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten FUNDING THE OLYMPICS Can you imagine ving your spouse 100,000 if you knew there was a distinct possibility he/she would be walking out on you in the near future? Not very likely! Then how can Ottawa even consider giving the province of Quebec $240 million in funding if Quebec City wins its bid to hold the Winter Olympics in 2002? A small article in one of the weekend papers reports that the Bloc Quebecois wants Ottawa to "guarantee" $240 million because they are preparing a submission to the International Olympic Committee. Ottawa did pay out a similar amount to Calgary when it hosted the Winter Oly- mpics in 1988, but there was a significant difference. Calgary was not trying to sepa- rate from the rest of Canada. If the Bloc Quebecois has it their way, there is a distinct possibility that Quebec will become an independent state or coun- in the next couple of years. So why should the rest of Canada guar- antee Quebec $240 million? I'll bet I'm not the only Canadian who's not pleased to learn that our tax dollars could be going to help subsidize Winter Olympics in a pro- vince which hopes to separate. Hosting the Winter Olympics in one's country is very expensive, and there are many who feel the cost is much too high at the best of times. But to guarantee the funding without even knowing if Quebec will be part of Canada by the time 2002 arrives, would be an absolute disgrace. An alternative idea might be for Can- ada to provide the funding by way of a loan, payable only if Quebec separates. While on the topic of government waste and Quebec, did you read about the feder- al government's plans to fund a theme park in Shawinigan. Prime Minister Jean Chretien's riding! Despite a study which says the project will lose money and close within one year of opening unless it is bailed out with "more government money," the feds refuse to withdraw the $4.5 million in funding earmarked for the project. What we're talking about here is not Disney World, it's a theme park which will showcase the industrial history of the once- thriving community of Shawinigan. Wow! Can you imagine the congestion this is going to cause as thousands of Canadians flock to Shawinigan to visit the theme park during their sumn-er holidays? Give us a break. This is just another great example of government wasting taxpayers money. It's no wonder more and more Canad- ians are feeling less like criminals when they cheat on income tax, welfare, UIC and move to the underground economy in droves to save the dreaded GST. At a time when cutting the fat and stop- ping the waste should be one of the gov- ernment's highest priorities, spending tax dollars on projects like this is both unne- cessary and irresponsible. 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