The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Vol. 130 No. 12 Suspect GTA PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1996 could raise taxes by 21% - By Jeff Mitchell Port Perry Star Scugog taxpayers could see their property taxes rise a whopping 21 per cent if the Golden task force recommen- dations on the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) are adopted by the province. That's why people here had better sit up and take notice of the discussion now taking place on the future of the GTA, Scugog Regional Councillor Marilyn Pearce said during an interview last week. "We're probably looking in the neighborhood of (a) $250 (increase) on an average assess- ment here," said Councillor Pearce, referring to estimates drawn up by Durham Region staff in anticipation to the recently-released Golden report. It calls for massive reforms in the GTA, including the elimination of Regional government -- Durham includ- ed -- and the formation of a GTA-wide, 32-member council. Scugog Township is hosting an information night.on the GTA report tonight at 7:30 in the Latcham Centre in Port Perry. Locals will be given an overview of the plan, and asked to provide their comments. Councillor Pearce said last week that local response to the report has been low, and that could be simply because it's just too complex for the average person. But she said there are recommendations that could have profound effects on Scugog, not the least of which is absorption by the huge new municipality. Also troubling is a hike in taxes for commercial and . industrial properties Councillor Pearce says could be crippling. The report calls for similar properties within Metro to see their tax burden lowered. ' "Our commercial and indus- trial sector is going to feel the TurntoPage3 COPY 65¢ 61¢ = 4¢ GST) Without power for two hours restore the power. Electrical black-out shuts Scugog down Ontario Hydro is blaming a defective insulator as the cause of a power outage that.saw most of Scugog Township without power for two hours last Thursday. The power went out in Port Perry, Scugog Island and Prince Albert, among other areas of the township, from approximately 10 a.m. until noon. Although some of these areas are served by Scugog Hydro, they were affected because the problem was interfering with the main feed into town. Gary Ross, of Ontario Hydro, said the problem was hard to locate, because it is not a malfunction that happens often. The defective insulator was failing intermittently, making it hard to find, he said, but once the problem became perman- ent the crews were able to locate the problem area and pass 3.4 5 ) <A J. PETER HVIDSTEN / PORT PERRY STAR Ah shucks Lucas, you shouldn't have... Although February is the shortest month of the year, the one bright spot in the month is Valentine's Day. That's tomorrow (Wednesday) for those who haven't bought a card, box of chocolates or flowers for their loved ones. Lucas Puckrin, 6, and Melanie Thompson, 6, cautiously agreed to pose for this Valentine's picture over the weekend, although it appears Melanie was not really too sure what to do when Lucas offered her this large box of chocolates from Nuts About Chocolates. Happy Valentine's Day! Includes: ® Battery tray cleaning Talo IET=Tol U1 {VR elgTed § ® Battery and cable inspection. AOI CET R= Talo Rilo [a1 Ca R=] ela lal- oi {[e a FNP EN (=To [Ul {Te § PHI, PONTIAC BUICK LIMITED 10 Vanedward Drive, Port Perry 985-8474 Offer Expires Feb. 29, 1996 nT: I ---- i hia als adil a "calli a ar mi A a 5 RT TEI