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"A Family Tradition for 132 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, March 17, 1998 - 11 This year's bug packed a punch Region recovers from nasty flu By Chris Hall Port Perry Star 'While Durham has endured a tough encounter with the Influenza bug this year, we're faring just about as well as surrounding communities, says a health official. Alex Connor, manager of Environmental Health at the Durham Region Health Department, said that all of Southern Ontario has been hit hard by the bug this winter. "The stats look pretty much the same everywhere around us," said Mr. Connor Friday morning. " It came to Durham a little early this year -- say October -- but it hit Peterborough a month after us, and just as hard. All the areas around here, in the GTA, seem to be getting it." The problem is that once the virus is in one area, it spreads quickly and relentlessly. That means health officials can't really be on the alert until the flu has established itself. "The problem with Influenza is the testing process for it; we use a sentinel system," said Mr. Connor. "We look for cases or wait for calls and when one comes in we go and swab (take samples) them and wait for the result. If it is in a populated spot, it is then referred to as an outbreak." He said this has been a significant year in terms of the number of places that have been hit by the flu. There have been numerous outbreaks in insti- tutions; most long-term care facilities and hospitals have either experienced flu outbreaks, or are cur- rently enduring one. Hospitals in both Port Perry and Uxbridge have limited visitation to try and prevent the spread of flu this winter. While deaths directly attributable to the flu are rare, there are a number of people -- usually seniors in homes for the aged -- who die from Influenza-related complications each season, said Mr. Connor. "If there is an outbreak we put out all the control measures, and if someone dies, it is noted that Influenza was in the area," he said. "It's up to the coroner to state the cause of death. It has been a pretty active year though." College fund will aid students in need More than 80 Durham College students are fac- ing financial difficulty and are in jeopardy of finishing their school year. To ensure these stu- dents are able to conclude their studies, Durham College Student Services and Durham College Student Association decid- ed to allocate $80,000. "We are offering 80 non repayable bursaries val- ued at $1,000 each to full- time students in post-sec- ondary programs," said Richard Snowden, Director of Student Services, Durham College. "To be eligible, students must have a minimum team and overall 2.00 GPA as well as a minimum of $2,000 in unmet need 1n their OSAP assessment." "We stand behind our value, "Respect and Educational Justice for All," stated Gary Polonsky, Durham College President. "No student will be denied post-secondary education due to financial challenges." Kevin Jones, Student Association President 1s pleased with this decision. "We are thankful Durham College is committed to helping students with financial burdens. This offer reflects the real world understanding of the challenges students have to face in today's environment." Putting your money where it will work best for you Reducing personal, income tax is something most of us want to do. But how? One of the best ways that an individual can: reduce their current and future tax burden is by putting money into a reg- istered investment vehicle. There are several different investment vehicles, rang- ing from the Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) to the Retirement Savings Plan (RSP). Of all these options, the RSP is by far the most utilized tax planning tool. Retirement Savings Plans (RSPs) The RSP 1s easily the most effective means of reducing income tax for most people. How it works is simple: what you con- tribute to an RSP 1s deducted from your tax- able 1ncome, thereby reducing what you pay in taxes. There are limits, however, You can only con- tribute a maximum of 18 per cent of your previous year's earned income, up to $13,500 per year. Contribution limits are based on the previous year's earned income. A Double Tax Advantage Not only is the money that you put into an RSP tax deductible, it is also free to grow on a tax deferred basis while it remains in the plan. You don't pay tax on the money in the plan until it is with- drawn. That allows the investment to grow more quickly than it otherwise would. RSP Tax Planning Tips - If your income is unex- pectedly low in a given year, make a contribution but defer taking a deduc- tion until a future year when your income is high- er. That way, you get the tax break when you need it most. - Make RSP contribu- tions earlier in the year to maximize the tax-deferred growth of your investment. - You can "Carry Forward" any unused con- tribution room from one year to another if you are unable to contribute the full amount allowed in a given year. Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) Money put into an RESP is not tax deductible. However, the money gen- erated within the plan is L SHEPHERD & POWELL _ ---- CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS ---- ACCOUNTING, INCOME TAX. FINANCIAL and ESTATE PLANNING & CONSULTING SERVICES geared to INDIVIDUALS ~ SMALL BUSINESSES ~ FARMS TAX RETURNS PREPARED » 'E-Filing' At No Extra Charge Assistance In Fihing Government Forms & Returns New Business Planning & Startup Expenenced. Courteous Staff Evening & Weekend Appointments Available FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION * PERSONAL, CONFIDENTIAL SERVICE DAVID R. POWELL, B.COMM., M.BA.. CA. 250 Queen Street, Port Perry * 985-9791 (next to Shoppers Drug Mart) SCUGOG FINANCIAL _! N) OLA (0 IN) AYO GUARANTEED.INVESTMENTS. e Annual Rates e Rates subject to change without notice Serving Scugog For Over 15 Years" 250 Queen Street, Port Perry * 985-3832 (next to Shoppers Drug Mart) tax deferred, like in an RSP. For every beneficiary in the plan, a maximum of $4,000 per year can be con- tributed. Beneficiaries can include spouses, children, grandchildren, great- grandchildren, brothers, sisters and even the person setting up the plan. The 1998 federal budget introduced the Canada Education Savings Grant, which provides a 20 per cent annual grant on the first $2,000 contributed to an RESP for each child under the age of 18. This grant has an annual max- imum of $400 per benefi- ciary. Note: the above article 1s for information purposes only and should not be con- strued as offering tax advice. Individuals should consult with their personal tax advisors before taking any action based upon: information contained in this article. Courtesy of, Robert Gow, Investment Advisor Oshawa Branch of RBC Dominion Securities (905) 434-7156 Spiders and Diamonds are index-based investment trusts. Today, there are four such exchange-run trusts to choose from: TIPS 35™, based on the Toronto 35 Index®; TIPS 100™, based on the TSE 100 Index®; Spiders, based on the Standard & Poor's 500; and Diamonds, based on the Dow Jones industrial average. These Index Funds are set up as trusts, with the units trading lke stocks. For example, if you wanted to trade the Toronto 35 Index, you would buy TIPS 35. As for pricing, TIPS and Spiders trade at 10% of the value of their respective indices. Diamonds trade at 1%. All this and more 1s explained in our new Brochure on Index Participation Units. 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