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

4- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, March 17, 1998 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" A mush through the slush Blackstock sled dog racer Bruce Langmaid overcame poor conditions to place third in 250-mile Can Am race in Maine By Jeff Mitchell Port Perry Star It was a gruelling, 40-hour mush through the slush, but local sled dog driver Bruce Langmaid raced to suc- cess recently in Maine. The Blackstock musher placed third in the Can Am Crown's Northland 250-mile race, which began Feb. 28 and ended 46 hours later in the pre-dawn hours of a Monday morning. The field of 14 mushers, who drove 12-dog teams to five checkpoints along the way, encountered conditions that were far less than ideal, said Mr. Langmaid in a recent interview. "It rained through the whole race," he said, which left trails "punchy and tough." "The temperature was over freezing. There was a dense fog at night, so you could hardly see the lead dog at times." Crossing rivers and other bodies of water was tough because of slush. And at one point, mushers had to drive their teams along a gravel road because the river they were to follow had a foot of running water on it. Although the driving itself was exhausting, there was little time for rest during the mandatory 12 hours mushers were required to take at checkpoints. The dogs came first. At the Maine race -- a qualifier for the fabled Ididarod 1,100 mile event in Alaska -- a third of a musher's score was based on the care given to the dogs. Veterinarians were on hand at each checkpoint to ensure the health and stamina of the sled dogs. "I got a grand total of one hour's sleep throughout the race," said Mr. Langmaid. "Any checkpoint time was dedicated to caring for the dogs, feeding them and looking after them." It was during the final leg of the event when, racing against time to finish in the money, the gruelling pace got to Mr. Langmaid's team. Exhausted, they came to a full stop 10 miles from the finish line. It was 2 a.m., and pouring rain. "I go soaked, and started to get hypothermic," said Mr. Langmaid. "(The dogs) all went to sleep, and I stood there shivering." He quickly fired up his cooker, and dried out his sod- den clothes. After two hours the dogs were rested, he was dry, and they made their dash for the finish line. Fortunately Mr. Langmaid had registered great times earlier in the race -- he led the field for a significant portion of the event -- and crossed the line in third place. In all, he collected $5,000 U.S. for his oo Scugog musher Bruce Langmaid is pleased with his third-place finish in the Can Am Crown's Northland 250-mile race, held at the end of February in Maine. He had to battle exhaustion and poor trail performance. He said it wasn't that surprising that his team tired during the 250-mile race. He specializes in 60-mile events, and has gone unbeaten in five appearances in those this season. "We pretty well anticipated they would burn out," he said. "But we knew we would be the fastest team in conditions during the course of the event, which a took more than 40 hours to complete. Mr. Langmaid has enjoyed significant success on the racing cir- cuit this season, his 15th. parts of the race, too." With his 15th season behind him Mr. Langmaid, 39, By James Campbell What was a little known program at Port Perry High School only a Business class gives back to community =z, Hilltop News "Ontario is looking at making community work mandatory for high school students, but we're is taking it easy at home in Blackstock, running teams on the remaining snow around his home. He added a note of appreciation to his many local sponsors, without whom he wouldn't be able to participate in the events he does. $260,000 earmarked for OGH Provincial funding will boost dialysis service few years ago has turned into one of the most popu- lar classes, and for good reason. Last semester's OAC Business class raised more than$30,000 for such caus- es as a new school library, ice storm relief, and char- ity. The students were given events to run com- pletely on their own; things like the Walk-a- Thon, which raised over $6,000 for the P.P.H.S. library project, or Operation SCOFF, which saw five students feed and clothe 250 homeless people in Toronto in one day. Dave Robinson, the teacher behind the course's success, believes it is so popular because it "gives the students self- confidence and satisfac- tion. It's a different way of doing things." This difference comes from the way the class is structured. Students are given the freedom to plan, organize, and run their own events, with a lot of the work done outside of the school in the commu- nity. The group responsible for the Haunted House at the Kinsmen Club at Halloween (carried out during the teachers' strike, on their own time), and the group which put together a dinner for senior citizens, were both able to raise more than $1,000 in advertising from the community. Community support is Happenings and opinions gathered by the students of Port Perry High School very important, and it shows how students are having a positive effect on the town. Local businesses have actually been requesting students from the school for things like volunteering, and even jobs. "The personal satisfac- tion that the kids get from doing these things is very important," says Mr. Robinson. "The more that the students are exposed to these types of projects, the more they will want to get involved." PPHS is the only pub- licly funded school in Ontario which has a pro- gram like this. already doing that," said Mr. Robinson. The students enjoy the course just as much, says student's council co-presi- dent Doug Short. "The course gives students the ability to branch off and learn things independent- ly. It also helps us to understand the particu- lars of the organizing of these types of events." This semester's class is going to be just as produc- tive, with such projects as cleaning up the garbage around town, hosting an [talian dinner for charity, and organizing a drama night at the school which will raise money for a play- ground in Prince Albert. With the success of this course so far, it stands to reason that you will be hearing more from this class as the school year progresses. MPP John R. O'Toole announced last week that Oshawa General Hospital will receive further fund- ing of approximately $260,095 for dialysis ser- vices. This is the second pay- ment for dialysis services that were announced in June, 1997. "Many of my con- stituents, who now must drive great distances to receive dialysis, will be very pleased with the announcement," said MPP O'Toole. "The additional funding for Oshawa General Hospital wiil improve access to a high-priority health service." The Ontario govern- ment made a commitment to fund dialysis services for more than $18 million. The additional funding will enable more than 450 patients to receive dialysis services. The announcement of funding for better access to dialysis services at the Oshawa General Hospital is part of the Ontario gov- ernment's long-term strat- egy for chronic kidney fail- ure. It includes prevention of the disease, early detec- tion, increasing the num- ber of organ transplants and managing the resources for dialysis ser- vices. "Having a family mem- ber on a life support system like dialysis, can put an additional burden on the family through a commit- ment of extra time and expense" said MPP O'Toole. "By having increased dialysis services in Durham, patients will have better access with less travelling time and expense."