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"A Family Tradition for 130 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, May 7, 1996 - 7 I ETTERS Getting the shaft from cable company To the Editor: Do you live on Scugog Island and subscribe to Cable TV? If so, do you realize that anyone paying for more than basic cable service on the Island is do- ing so even though it has been available to all cable subscrib- ers at no extra charge? Last August, my family signed up for the full package of- fered by Hometown Cable. Two months after signing up and paying the extra amount, I found out that even those who did not subscribe for the extra services were still receiving them free of charge. My first call to Hometown Cable netted me a pleasant enough woman with standard sounding an- swers to my. inquiries. The sum- mary of the phone call was that traps, to block out these extra stations were in the installation process and I reluctantly fig- ured I would forgo the two Just a minute To the Editor: In reference to the letter "S.A.C. endorsed curricu- lum" pertaining to the Fami- ly Life Studies in our Dur- ham schools, the issue isn't whether or not the S.A.C. Committee approves, it's that the parents should see beforehand what their chil- dren will be viewing. As we all know, videos can be much more explicit than a lesson taught in class. It is very important for each par- ent of a student in Grades 1 and 2, 5 and 6, 7 and 8 to know what their children will be seeing and learning. In order to make an in- formed decision, be sure to review the whole content of the program including the videos. We are fortunate to have the choice of whether or 'notourchildren participate. Yourssincerely, J. Hutchins, Port Perry months ofextra fees I had paid. Four or five months later, many of you and I are still pay- ing for extra services that are not extra to other cable sub- scribers on the Island! I don't care that people on ba- sic cable are getting these extra channels nor, do I care if Home- town gets traps put in tomorrow or that they didn't have the nec- essary equipment to block these extra channels when they sent us notices last summer about signing up before the due date (Sept./95 I think) and telling us that after this date, we would lose the extra stations over and above basic cable service!!! I do care that you and I have been and are paying for extra servic- es that have not been and are not as of yet extra services to others on the Island. My next call finally got me in touch with a manager in Home- town Cable. It only took him one Picture was O To the Editor: The picture of a parade in Blackstock that appeared in your paper April 16 (Remember en) was a Loyal Orange Lodge Parade, held to commem- orate the victory of King Wil- liam III of Orange and Parlia- ment. That ended the arbitrary powers of kings, and guaran- teed the civil and religious free- doms we all enjoy today. The most recent Loyal Orange Parade in Port Perry was July 20, 1995. This year the Orange Parade in Durham Re- to two weeks to return my phone call. The summary of this call was that there would be no compensation for these extra charges, in fact, he wanted to know if I had a second set hooked up and if so, was I pay- ing an extra $2/month for this! He also informed me that they may start charging basic cable subscribers more because they have been getting extra services for free!!?? Maybe it's only me that thinks we've been getting a shaft you know where, but if not, maybe the others on Scugog Island should get a hold of Hometown (1-800-450-2215) and see if they get any more sat- isfaction than I did and if not, maybe collectively we could come up with some sort of solu- tion. D.A. Booth, Scugog Island range Parade gion will be held on the July 20 in Beaverton. Three other Loyal Orange Parades will be held in Ontario this year: Toronto - July 13, Marmara - July 13 and Carlton Place on Friday, July 12. We hope this explains to your readers the meaning of the pho- to and parade. Robert J. Prentice, Recording Secretary Centennial Loyal Orange Lodge, Port Perry Reformer rejects statements From Page 6 ness is contrary to the beliefs of the Reformers I know in Durham riding. Reform has had many posi- tive affects on national policies since the last election. We have been persistent in forcing changes to fiscal, parliamenta- ry, and criminal justice issues. Members of the party from all ridings must stand united against the types of comments made by Ringma and Chatters. Their misplaced priorities must not overshadow the many posi- tive strides made on public policy. Dean Hickey, Durham Riding Association | to the 50th anniversary tea at the hospital to the do for | We'll make sure they're printed as soon as we're able. Editor's Notepad by Jeff Mitchell § WHAT A WEEK THAT WAS! POWER OF THE PEOPLE: Wow! What an astounding week just gone by in Canadain politics. And the headlining event, the resignation of Deputy PM Sheila Copps, had everything to do with Power of the People, demaning loudly that their will be done. Ms Copps' resignation was being described in the days immediately following as a watershed event in Canadian politics, and hat it surely is. All of us -- nasty, cynical old journalists and just-plain-tired voters as well -- raised our voices in a uniform chant, and it carried all the way to Ottawa. And for once, Ottawa -- at least Ms Copps, anyway -- seems to have listened. ...How could she not? Think: When can you remember one politician being so strongly and consistently held accountable on one issue (the general loathing of Brian Mulroney notwithstanding)? And the people got something out of it; Copps had to make good on her promise to quit when her party failed to scrap the GST. Canadians didn't get rid of the God-awful Sales Tax, but they sent a message, loud and clear: If you're' gonna say it, stand by it. Or we'll be coming after you. WHAT A WEEKEND: ...And that's not coming from some guy who woke up Sunday with a crashing hangover, either. No, that's coming from the fella who was kept busy in Scugog, doing his best to cover one of the first frenetic intervals we call weekends when the weather gets warm(er) around here. From the kids planting trees at Camp Adamac to the (Writes of Spring poets' session Sam Pudleiner at Lease A Sign... phew! And next weekend's just as busy, with the big home show at the community centre, the arts and crafts sale at the high school, the Hospital Auxiliary's silent auction, and all the rest. MAYBE IT'S THE WEATHER?...Elsewhere in today's paper you'll find a story on a record-setting month at Community Memorial Hospital's New Life Centre. They set an all-time mark for births there in April, with 29. Prior to that, the highest number of newborns in a single month was 24, nursing staff chief officer Rae Robson told me. Wow. Twenty-nine babies. Almost one a day. That's a fair clip. Guess we know what everyone was doin' last summer... | WRITE ON: Once again, we're getting tons of letters on a variety of topics, and some weeks finding it tough to get them all published. Please be patient with the editor... I Ul et el tii i a EER hak Random Jottings RR} by J. Peter Hvidsten THE TWO THOUSAND DOLLAR ROTARY TIE Despite tough economic times, munity is the real winner. Among the dozens of most desirable auction items eachyearis a colorful men's tie. It's a ordinary tie - in fact very ordinary - but over the pastsix years it has re-surfaced every yeartobe auc- tioned off again and again. Although thetie doesn't fetch the high prices of the recent Jacqueline Kennedy-Onasis auction, ithas sold services currently offered at both hospitals in a way that both work together come to a solution which is accept- able to both communities. Port Perry Hospital chair Jerry Taylor made it very clear at the meeting that although both hospitals would like to hang onto all the services they provide, the reali- ty is they no longer can. This is the crux ofthe problem. How to divide up it's apparent that acommitmentto see | supportthe community is alive and #7] wellin Scugog Township. Artfest dinner/auction held at the new Scugog Community Centre last Saturday night, and dug deep into their pockets to support the club's work. Not only were those attending the fundraiser gen- erous intheir bids, but praise should be given to the entire business community, which so generously sup- rted the event with auction items. The Rotary Club willundoubtedly realize a sizable profit from the event, which will be used for both local and national Rotary projects, but in the end the com- Closeto 150 people attended the annual Rotary Club for as much as $450 and this year raised another $350., bringing its total value to more than $2,100. in the past six years. Not bad for an ugly tie bought off the $5 rack! ADESPARATENEED TO CO-OPERATE After sitting through a three-hour meeting in Uxbridge last week as councillors, health and hospital officials from both Port Perry and Uxbridge tried to sift through a mountain of information about the health care system, | came away with the feeling there's still a lot of work to be done before the two communities agree on how services will be split. For as long as | can remember there's always been a competitive relationship between these two northern Durham towns, but now more than ever it's important each community feels ithas not be shortchanged. The only way this can ever happenis for the boards of the two hospitals to be given the freedom to negotiate in good faith and make some tough decisions. Accus- ations and finger pointing by either side'has a negative impact and will not help at this crucial time. There's still an lot of work to be done, but with open dialogue and co-operation there's a good chance a plan can be formulated which is acceptable to all. To achievethis it will take the level of co-operation and commitment already enjoyed by Port Perry Hosp- ital chair Jerry Taylor and Uxbridge Hospital chair Randy Hoban, by their respective boards. Only through co-operation can the two hospitals hope to continue providing quality health service to their communities.