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"A Family Tradition for 128 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, November 1, 1994 - 5 Ss COMMUNITY 'We've had it' say residents frustrated by mailbox vandals By Jeff Mitchell Port Perry Star Rose Manolas and her neigh- bors have had it. They're among a number of people living in the rural areas of Scugog Township who are on a regular basis being hit by vandals with a specific target in mind: Their mailboxes. Mrs. Manolas, of Marsh Hill Rd. north of Epsom, and friends Susan Allward and Nancy Byers of Cragg Rd. west of Greenbank, were all hit within the past couple of weeks by hooligans who drive by, swing- ing baseball bats at the mail- boxes... and in a lot of cases, pulverizing them. They can tell horror stories of living in the country and receiving your mail in a mail- box. "I've been pretty lucky," said Mrs. Manolas last week. "I've just been bashed a little bit; just 10 or 12 times." Mrs. Byers' most recent expe- rience is telling, as well. She said after losing several flimsy aluminum mailboxes to vandals, her husband, fed up, erected a steel plate mail box. Vandals took a sledge ham- mer to the reinforced receptacle. and when they couldn't inflict enough damage, they set the mail inside on fire. Mrs. Byers approached Canada Post officials, as well as the local police, but there's little they can do. No one has caught the vandals red-handed -- many folks in the area live at the end of long driveways, and only discover damage the morn- ing after it occurs -- and the residents are responsible for the upkeep of their mailboxes. "The only alternative (to rural delivery) is to take out boxes," said Mrs. Byers. "and that costs money, plus it's incon- venient." | Mrs. Allward sounds equally resigned to accepting the van- dalism as a fact of rural life. "That's what's frustrating about it: You can't do anything about it." Mrs. Allward runs a business from her home, and receives all her mail in the roadside box at the intersection of Cragg and Marsh Hill Rd. She shudders when she hears Mrs. Byers' tale of torched mail. "I'm at the point where if it keeps up, I'll just have to get a box in town," she said. "I just can't take the chance." Mrs. Manolas' most recent encounter with the vandals was one evening last week, when she arrived home about 10:30. There was her mailbox, battered A Communi | News aay? The Port Perry Star 985-7383 and dangling from the rein- forced post her father in law installed after vandals a couple of years ago uprooted the mail- box, post and all. "At first it was only once in a while," she said. "Now, it's more and more. This is ongoing. "I thought, that's it, I've had it." While the women realize they can't do much to stop van- dals bashing in their mailboxes, they hope a plea to the guilty parties might make them understand the damage and frustration they're causing by pursuing their nocturnal shenanigans. "I'd like to know why they do it," said Mrs. Allward. "What possible satisfaction do you get from bashing some- one's mailbox in?" Auction time Isabel Lee models the autographed sweater of former Toronto Maple Leafs' captain Wen- dell Clark as the Port Perry United Church prepares for its third annual auction, to be held at the Queen St. church Saturday (Nov. 5) from 10 to 4. Also on the block are an 89-inch by 104-inch quilt (shown by Dot Taylor, Margaret Brignall, Audrey Lee and Emma Martin), and a basket of office supplies from Kastelic Kounting, and much more. Harvey Graham calls it quits after 30 years of political life By Kelly Lown Port Perry Star After 30 years of being in and out of politics Harvey Graham is officially retiring from the election race. Although the current Area Councillor said he "thoroughly enjoyed all the years," commitments to other organizations have convinced him to call it quits. After missing a few municipal meetings this year, which he says he does not like to do, #1 and finding himself juggling . his schedule, he knew it was time to end his political career. "I feel that someone elected to represent the people, should be at every meeting," he said. . Mr. Graham, who owns a { large farming operation on ¢ | Regional Road 19, grew up in fl the township and has been farming since 1957. Today his son Mark runs his "Breezy Acres" farm along with him. The area farmer is the vice president of the Ontario Cattlemen's Association and is likely. to be its next president. He is also a representative of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, a member of the Canadian Beef Improvement Association and the Beef Improvement Ontario organization. Each commitment has him in Ottawa, Calgary, Saskatoon and Guelph at least once a month, leaving him just no time to pursue or further his political future. Mr. Graham began in politics in 1965 as a public school board trustee in Cartwright. He served several terms on the public school board before it and the high school were amalgamated. He then sat on Cartwright Council for several terms. When the councils were amalgamated under regional government, he got out of politics for several years in the 1970s, citing a busy schedule. A need "to ensure the rural areas of the township were being adequately represented," drew Mr. Graham back to politics when he served as Ward 4 councillor for one term with Scugog Township council and two subsequent terms as Area Councillor. His one regret is he never had the opportunity to sit in the mayor's seat. He lost his bid for the seat in Howard Hall's inaugural year as mayor. "I would liked to have won that position," he said. This month's election will see the ending of an era, as the Area seat has been eliminated from the system and replaced with Ward 5. Whether the area seat was up for grabs in the upcoming election or not would not have changed Mr. Graham's mind about seeking another term. HARVEY GRAHAM "I decided long before the electoral system was changed I would not be running," Mr. Graham said. Over the course of his political career Mr. Graham looks back fondly on changes to the township and takes pride in several accomplishments. : The first major accomplishment he remembers is being part of the committee which decided to go ahead with the addition to Cartwright Central Public School. He calls it a "beautiful building" of which he is glad to have been a part. He said he is also glad to have been a part of the decision making process which resulted in recreation centres for both Nestleton and Blackstock. "I am also happy to have been part of the council which decided to go ahead with the new recreation centre at Scugog Arena," he said. "It will be a good building." Small changes, sometimes unnoticed changes to the township, were also an important part of his accomplishments. While serving as chairman of the roads committee, he said he helped to make several changes to the roads system which have left him with a good feeling. He had a strong desire to ensure roads in the area were safe to be traveled. Whether it was changing a dangerous curve or a blind spot, he often made deals with property owners to have many potentially hazardous areas changed for safety reasons. "A major concern for me was the roads of the rural areas. It was very important to me," he said. Even though Mr. Graham will not be on the ballot in this month's election does not mean he won't be keeping a close eye as the polls come in. "I've always been interested and I will continue to keep a watch on the election. The night the polls come in is an exciting time," he said. And, he will be keeping a keen eye on all the incumbents to see how they do. "I think the municipal vote is the most important one. It affects your lifestyle the most. The municipal vote can change the direction of the community and I encourage everyone to exercise their right to vote," he said. He does believe that the community is much more involved in the voting process than they used to be and that is a good thing. As the election looms closer, it is obvious Mr. Graham will miss the life of a councillor. "I will miss the contact with the people," he said. But, "I leave with a good feeling when I look back at the last 30 years." One of the most important things he learned over his political terms is that you cannot please everyone all of the time, but he prided himself on always trying to look at both sides-of every issue. "Someone will always criticize. But, I learned a long time ago not to let it bother me," he said.