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6- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, December 13, 1994 a SLED EA ---- "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" D> PORT PERRY STAR Ep ITORIAL Editorial Comment Blackstock plan is solid The Blackstock park issue appears to be one that's not going to go away, at least for a while yet. A couple of weeks ago, we carried a story about one family living in the north end of the hamlet who have announced they'll be challenging a township decision to sell of a parcel of open space on Greensborough Dr. and use the profits -- estimated at $150,000 -- for improve- ments to the Blackstock fairgrounds. And yesterday, council received written confirmation that a number of others have joined in the fight against the plan. These people have seized upon this matter and are determined to see it through, holding out for a hearing before the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), a quasi-judicial body whose purpose is to settle municipal disputes. While their tenacity is laudible, their fight will not succeed. The OMB will base a decision on plan- ning matters alone, not giving credence to emotional arguments. The board will judge only if the township's plan is sound from a land use persepctive. That will make arguments about the rate of use of the land, and the enjoyment some nearby residents derive from its be- ing there moot. Unless the objectors can submit a valid argument based on sound planning principles, their fight will be for naught. And indeed, the issue is primarily an emotional one: Squared off over the plan are residents who feel auctioning off any open space is a sin, and those who feel investment in the fairgrounds will result in the greater good being sought for the community. If the argument is viewed on the basis of numbers alone, the township's plan makes sense. Improvements to the fair- grounds and ball diamonds in Blackstock will immediately benefit the hundreds of young people who play ball each sum- mer, and now find themselves without sufficient facilities on which to practice and play. It will also be a boon to the hundreds more who take part in the annual fair, an important part of the rural lifestyle upon which Blackstock and Cartwright resi- dents still pride themselves. The township should stick to its guns on the issue, as we know they will. And the objectors, who will likely be just as in- tractable in their stance, should listen closely when the board convenes. The sale should go through. oN \ \u . NNN T-TANK WE MA HAVE STARTED THE "out Doo SERSON A BIT -T00 i | ~-- NON . \ MNCS Ni \ Noo \\ WAN) To . AIAN SYN 1 \ N\A Neen RO \ dy ER pyre unknown. A view of Queen Street in Port Perry looking east. Dato of the photo is LETTER OF THE WEEK For children's sake, information is imperative To the Editor: With reference to last week's contribu- tion by Jan Sullivan of Ajax, "Adoptees need access to information:" Ms. Sulli- van mentions the many psychological nies that adopted adolescents and adults endure as a result of the "identity crisis" that lack of information causes. She also touches on some of the medical issues. There are many wonderful people who are desperate to adopt a child. Many can only consider a healthy child as they have had no past exposure to children with disabilities and believe they could not cope with the demands. These people deserve to have the truth about their prospective child. Too often marriages have been destroyed as a result of the stress of trying to raise a child with men- tal health needs without appropriate supports. This has been due to a lack of early identification of the child's condi- tion. There are other couples who may have had a family member with a disability and feel that they wish to open their hearts and home to a child in need. These people are exceptional. To provide the training and preparation they and the child's teachers and social workers need, it is imperative to have the mater- nal and neonatal medical records. We cannot meet the needs of a potentially at risk child unless we understand where and when the damage occurred. Frequently a baby born to an alcoholic Turn to page 7 Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten LIVING WITH KIDS AND PUPS Dog lovers, espe- cially anyone who has ever raised a pup, know pups are really just kids with four legs. Like kids they whine... they chew... and they squat to piddle wherever convenient, which quite often is in the middle of the kitchen floor. They make us laugh... they make us cry... and worst of all, they make adults act like kids, rolling on the floor playing with them. Well the past four weeks have been a real experience at our house, which now looks much like five years ago when the twins were first learning where they could go and what they could touch. Our rooms are barricaded, toys (dogs & kids) are all over the floor, and we con- stantly find ourselves subjected to wet socks, from stepping in puppy puddles. Farley, that's the name of our pound pup, has located where the telephone cord is plugged into the wall, and three times proceeded to disconnect us from the rest of the world. The cord has since been coated with tobasco sauce and Cyanne pepper to discourage this act. At bedtime we've taken to barricading him in the back hall, in a effort to contain the mine fields of poop he leaves through- out the night. The barricade consists of an old piece of flooring which he's masterfully scaled the second night. I'm still having trouble figuring out how a 10 inch dog can scale a four foot wall, but he did! One morning last week | awoke to hear him whining in the back hall. He didn't sound too desperate, so | laid back for a few more minutes rest, until | heard something thumping under my bed. Thinking it was one of the kids, who quite often sneak into our room by crawl- ing along the floor (like a dog), | rolled over and was greeted by two big, happy, brown eyes, a wagging tail, a cold nose and a wet tongue which promptly washed down one side of my face. While we all love the little pup, Tom and Dolly (our other pets) are not impressed with this young whippersnapper, who has put our house in turmoil. But they're learn- ing to tolerate their exuberant mate.