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Vol. 130 No. 16 PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 1996 Board forced to play 'heavy' In cutbacks: union By Jeff Mitchell Port Perry Star School boards have been designated the role of "the heavy" in provincial cost-cut- 'ting measures, says the head of one Durham Region teachers' union. Ontario Public School Teachers' Federation (OPSTF) president Bill Butcher was reacting last week to the announcement of Education: Minister John Snobelen's long- awaited "tool kit" of legislation, which was supposed to provide local school boards with the means to trim $400 million this year. In Durham, the pub- lic school board has $12 million less in provincial transfer pay- ments to work with; confirma- tion of grant levels was-expeet--- ed yesterday. : "It looks to me as if the gov- ernment has decided not to play the heavy, but to make school boards play the heavy and make all the cuts," said Mr. Butcher. His comments were echoed by his colleagues in the region, who had endured weeks of spec- ulation about what powers would be given school boards by the province. there was widespread talk of cuts to fund- ing for programs like French immersion, and a belief that the government would allow boards to revisit collective agreements and cut back on items like preparation fime. In the end, though, Mr. Snobelen made just one refer- co Turnto Page 17 Lakeview Peek-A-Boo? Not likely. on Scugog St. Peek-a-boo, Port Perry! ..otrip club sign a hoax Tongues were wagging in Port Perry this weekend, after an elaborate sign advertising the pending arrival of a strip joint showed up in front of a vacant store in the Port Perry Plaz But it appears someone is playing a joke on us, according to the real estate man who looks after tenants in the mall. - "I can't help but think it's somebody playing a joke," Bill Rae of Ridge North Realty laughed Monday morning. ® "Quite frankly, I have heard nothing in that vein." Passersby were shocked Saturday morning to see the elab- orate, professionally-done sign, which promised the imminent away the cold. It's been warmer the past few days, though, and we can only hope winter's over at last. Winter's last blast? = =. Spring still appeared to be reluctant to make an appearance in Scugog this past weekend, when Saturday blew in cold and windy, and had us all shivering once more. ' Beating the elements were people like Pamela Ellis, who. bundled up in fur to keep : TY JEFF MITCHELL / PORT PERRY STAR arrival of the Lakeview Peek-A-Boo strip club, in front of the store where Dowson's Valu Mart used to be located. It will be the site of an A & P Food Basics store, to open in April. In fact, work was supposed to start inside the building yesterday. The sign, which says the strip joint is "coming soon", promised features such as lap dancing, exotic couples, live sex shows, and "250 luscious ladies", and promises the bar will be open until 4 a.m. : Mr. Rae admitted to being flummoxed by the sign. But he said the people of Port Perry probably shouldn't worry about hundreds of strippers setting up shop in town. "I rather doubt if 250 luscious ladies will converge, scantily- clad, any time soon," he said. GET WHAT YOU WANT FROM YOUR PONTIAC PERFORMANCE TEAM Pontiacs - Buicks K - GMC Trucks - | &Go IT hha odwill Used Cars & Trucks By Kelly Lown Port Perry Star Scugog Township councillors are unanimously opposed to the recommendations outlined in the Golden Report. That is the message Mayor Howard Hall will be relaying to 'the GTA panel this week. Council does not dismiss the 51 recommendations in their entirety; they feel some should Council o) oJ [1a CR (0 £ 985-8474 be dismissed immediately, and others should be pursued. The township wants to see a fair and equitable province- wide assessment system imple- mented, saying the message is loud and clear that the current method is outdated and ineffec- tive. From a rural perspective, council is disappointed that the Turnto Page 5 PELE, BP PONTIAC BUICK LIMITED 10 Vanedward Drive, Port Penty RN