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Vol. 128 No. 30 PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - TUESDAY, JUNE 14, 1994 Thief escapes after hold up at local bank By Kelly Lown Port Perry Star vA man, indicating he had a weapon in his pocket, demand- ed money from a Bank of Mon- treal employee last week, and escaped with a small amount of cash. According to Durham Region- al Police, the lone male entered the bank, located in the Port Perry Plaza, just before 11a.m. ondJune 9 and demanded money from a teller, declaring "some- one would get hurt" if they didn't co-operate. The suspect placed the cash in his pants and fled the scene on foot. According to several witnesses he was followed by people at the plaza, but the sus- pect fled behind the RidgeNorth Realty building and proceeded over the fence towards Borelia Co-Op. Port Perry resident Marilyn Moore, who was one of about four people in line to do their banking at 10:50 a.m., when the man went to the counter and placed his hand over it. She then heard him demand the cash. "He was very calm about it," she said adding, "I couldn't be- lieve it was happening." Although Miss Moore said she did not see a weapon and Durham Regional Police said no weapon was shown, the man did indicate he had a weapon of some form in his pocket. "The most important.thing is there were no injuries. From our standpoint that is the most important thing. The staff was looked after," bank manager Al Knight told the Star. The bank which has an cm- Turn to page 2 store last month. carrying. Scugog man arrested in Mac's Milk hold up Several leads provided by the community led to the arrest of a local man for an armed robbery of a Port Perry convenience According to Durham Regional Police's Robbery Squad, a 23-year-old Scugog man was arrested June 8 and charged in the May 19 robbery of Mac's Milk in Port Perry. The man has been charged with robbery, wearing a disguise while commiting a criminal offence and possession of a dan- gerous weapon, which was a hunting knife. A lone Mac's Milk clerk was approached by a man just be- fore 2a.m. on the morning of May 19. The man, brandishing a 10-inch knife, demanded the clerk empty the contents of the three cash registers into the plastic Mac's Milk bags he was J. PETER HVIDSTEN / PORT PERRY STAR More than 100 people, natives, government officials and residents of Scugog Township attended the official opening of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation Community Centre last Friday. Among the special guests present to take part in the ceremony were, from left, Sue Anderson, Chief Gary Edgar, Harvey Anderson, an elder from the Chippewas of Rama, First Nation and John Kerr representing the ~ Mississaugas of Scugog Island. See story and more photos on page 11. Automotive supplier leases Johnson Controls building By Scott Anderson Port Perry Star New jobs will be created local- ly when a manufacturing facili- ty is up to full capacity in Scu- a J Last Friday, Port Perry Metal Processing, a division of the Mississauga-based Makagon Industries, announced 1t was moving to the Johnson Controls buildingin Port Perry, afterink- ing a 10-year deal to lease the building. This facility has laid vacant for more than three yhars. The company will produce first stage and tailored blanks for the automotive and appli- ance industries. The company will utilize the entire 60,000 square feet of the building on Regional Road 2, and over the next few months completely refurbish the com- plex. The renovations began on the building yesterday and the company has plans to use local contractors as much as possible. According to Gord Hawker, general manger, the company will be the first in Canada to use mashed welding in its opera- tions. Tailor-made equipment has been ordered from Switzer- land. "We're making a substantial capital investment in the com- munity," Mr. Hawker said. Although he refused to re- lease costs on the start-up of the roject, he noted that more than $50 000 in local contracts had already been let to renovate the building. Most of this work will be done by Durham-based con- tractors. From its operations in Port Perry, the company will be sup- plying primarily the auto indu - try with its products. Its cus- tomer base includes General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and Volkswagen. It was due to this customer base, the company chose to lo- cate in Port Perry. Mr. Hawker noted the central location of Port Perry to its customers which are spread across South- ern Ontario. But "the quality of the work- force and its skills and dedica- tion" was also a key factor in the decision to set up shop. The com- pany expects to begin produc- tion in September with a small workforce, butin two years time when the company is at full ca- Stamping plant sets up shop pacity it is expected to hire 60 to 70 local workers. The hiring pro- cess is expected to begin shortly. Mr. Hawker said it is the in- tention of the company to not only set up shop in the area, but to become a good corporate citi- zen. "Our intent is to be part of the community and have an input in the community," he said. "It's our intent to be here for a long time, grow with the com- munity and serve the communi- ty." Friday's announcernent was the culmination of more than three years work to attract a tenant for the abandoned build- ing which was "an eyesore," said Mayor Howard Hall. "I think it's great that our community was selected by Port Perry Metal Processing to lo- cate their operation here," said Mayor Howard Hall. "Hopeful- ly, this may encourage other companies to consider Port Perry and Scugog as an ideal place to relocate to." Mayor Hall said it was an ac- complishment to attract indus- try to the area, noting the poor economicclimate. "We're one of the few commu- nities that have been able to at- tract business in the past three or four years." Mayor Hall expressed hope that Friday's announcement was only the beginning in the community's search for more in- dustries. "I hope this starts a bit of a trend." Give the Gift of Life - Blood Donor Clinic Wed. June 15th