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Outspoken senator calls Thompson affair | [E af BY a "wake-up call" By Rik Davie Port Perry Star Members of the Blackstock Lions Club were treated to a lesson on the Canadian Senate and how it should be reformed last Wednesday from Senator Con DiNino. Senator DiNino, appointed in 1991, wasted no time in address- ing the issue of Senator Andrew Thompson, who lives in Mexico and was recently disciplined by the upper house for his lack of attendance. The outspoken Senator DiNino minced no words in describing how Thompson was treated by his colleagues in Ottawa. "We suspended him for thistses- sion," he said. "By the time the sus- pension is over he'll likely be over the retirement age (75) and he'll be gone." DiNino went on to tell the audi- ence, which included Durham East MPP John O'Toole, that the Thompson affair has galvanized public opinion on the Senate. "The media's coverage of the Thompson business should be a wake-up call to the rest of us," he said. "Most senators are hard- working people who wish to serve, but changes must be made." Still, he said he doesn't care for the media's notion of how his per- formance should be judged. "If 'm going to be judged by the number of times I sit my fat ass in a chair, well please, that's a very small part of what I do as a senator." Senator DiNino, who now resides in the Uxbridge area, would like to see an independent committee pick senators, who would then serve shorter terms. "Perhaps five to seven years," he suggested. "Shorter for sena- tors picked to work on a specific problem." ) In addition, Senator DiNino would like to see the Senate take over the role of Royal Commissions. "They are all ready with staff in place, and the original idea of the Senate was to investigate matters important to the Commons. It would save a pile of money," said Please turn to Page 10 Ashton's turn hobby into business Maple Syrup time By Chris Hall Port Perry Star What's been a family hobby for many years has turned into a full- time spring operation for Epsom's Ashton family. After years of tapping trees on their Medd Rd. property for their own maple syrup, the Ashtons are becoming one of the area's leading syrup suppliers. With approximately 300 trees tapped in roughly 20 acres of bush, Rob Ashton is ready for a hectic spring. "We've always tapped for years and years off and on, but we've been at it seriously for the last two years making it and selling it," he said recently. "We're going to start selling it now instead of using it for our own consumption." This year the job will have to be done by hand as mild weather has started the season close to a month ahead of schedule. There was no time to set up a line system, so sap will be have to collected from buck- ets at each tree this year. Sap season is never easy to pre- dict and understand, but this year has been totally out of character, said Mr. Ashton. "Last year we tapped the trees on March 15 and it didn't start run- ning until a week and a half after Please turn to Page 17 PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 1998 COPY 65¢ (61¢+ 4¢ GST) 28 Pages X ? : CHRIS HALL / PORT PERRY STAR TASTY TREAT: Epsom's Ashton family is at it once again this spring as they have resumed tapping maple trees on their property in an effort to produce maple syrup. While sap season is usually unpredictable, this year has been exceptionally strange as mild temperatures have made the sap run up to a month early. Here, 10-year-old Kate Moss checks out one of the 300 buckets the Medd Rd. family uses at their operation. $i Pa ly y W kel A pe v i ok WE a PRES 8 IN cl XY vi A AT RR a % oR A 3 kan A AR 4 Five children home alone at time Armed youths ransack home and her 10-year-old brother in the living room at the time. Three younger siblings were in bed at the time of the incident, say police. Armed with a long gun -- police are unsure if the weapon was a shotgun or rifle -- the youths told the two children they would not be harmed. said Sgt. Hudson. The group then went upstairs and ransacked a bedroom. The suspects left without taking Please turn to Page 10 Durham Regional Police are investigating a home invasion at a Scugog Island residence by four armed suspects. Sgt. Ken Hudson of Port's 26 Division said four young males entered the home shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday (March 5). Wearing balaclavas, they entered the home through a downstairs door. Making their way upstairs to the family area, the youths encountered a 13-year-old female YOUR LOCAL USED CAR RETE, BD CHOOSE YOUR MODEL - CHOOSE YOUR PRICE! 1991 CAVALIERS 1992 SUNBIRDS, CAVALIERS, HYUNDAIS $5995 $6995 1993 SUNBIRDS, 1994 SUNBIRDS, CAVALIERS CAVALIERS, CORSICAS $7995 8995 OVER 65 MORE MODELS TO CHOOSE FROM! We ne always wonth the drivel! PONTIAC BUICK LIMITED 10 Vanedward Drive, Port Perry 985-8474