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"A Family Tradition for 132 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, September 1, 1998 - 7 LETTERS Community commitment built playground To the Editor: For the past year the Prince Albert Public School Playground Committee has been working very hard to raise $20,000 for a new playground structure as well as upgrading our existing out- door sports equipment. Thanks to the extreme generosity of Molson's Local Heroes Program, Prince Albert Public School received a cheque for $5,000 to be used toward refurbishing the baseball diamond, 2 new basketball half courts and upgrading the existing outdoor equipment. cated parents and staff members arrived to help out. A representative from Molsons arrived dur- ing the day with complimentary pizza, pop, t- shirts and hats for all. Molson's generosity contributed greatly to the success of the day as well as providing our community with many future hours of fun and games. Thanks to all who wielded a screwdriver, rake, shovel or paint brush. The Prince Albert On Saturday, Aug. 29, 1998 a group of dedi- Questions Innocence From page 6 Do you think this is memory loss, or just a check up from Mayor Arthurs and restaurant owner Jim Skentzos? To the Editor: The hated GST rears its ugly head in mysterious ways. Ontario Hydro charges resi- dential customers a monthly service charge on top of their hydro bill. My August bill lists $16.91 as GST and service charge on a bill for $18.45 -- Why is it that the inno- almost as much as for power cent person suffers, while consumed, in a one month peri- someone who believes he od. : is someone important get For decades I was only billed off? : every two months. Now it's every What goes around month, with an added service charge of $14.60, making a total comes around Mr. Hall. of $175.20 a year plus GST. At least three times during the election, Chretien said he'd abolish the GST on December 1992, again in August of 1993, and in May 1994 he said, we Jean Beare (Mrs. Bruce) Scarborough Driver of vehicle hit by Mr. Hall's car. S.C.C. GST rears its ugly head hate the GST and we will kill it. Empty promises to get re- elected. Is it any wonder people don't trust Ottawa politicians? By contrast, Ontario Premier Mike Harris said he'd cut income tax by 30 per cent, and he did it. Not only that, he cut some 30 other taxes levied by the NDP and Liberal governments. We face some of the highest taxes of the G7 Nations. Tax" relief is a must. Putting more dollars in con- sumers' pockets creates jobs. Harris has proved that here in Ontario, as have the United States, where unemployment is half that of Canada's. Dean J. Kelly, Port Perry Tag Day fundraiser a great success To the Editor: The Scugog Community Care Tag Days held last weekend throughout Port Perry were very successful. The co-operation from the merchants to allow our volunteers to stand outside their establishments made us very visible and acces- sible to many people. The support from so many volunteer taggers made the job so much easier for the organization to raise funds. We could not have done it without the gener- ous contributions made by so many people. The volunteer services we provide for seniors and those with special needs for the residents of Scugog Township is looking forward to another great year. We are community minded with neighbors helping neighbors. We care for you as yau have cared for Community Care. Thank you. Dorothy Imperial and Anne Wanninkhof. To the Editor: mid-November, 1984. I have been asked by a dis- I would greatly appreciate tant relative in Kent, England, whatever information you for information about Frank have. McGregor, of Utica, Ontario. Although I don't have an exact date, I learned of his death in Searching for info on former Utica resident Delza Longman, 9 - 60 Edmonton Street, Winnipeg R3C 1P7 Editor's Notepad by by Jeff Mitchell ON THE RUN FOR CANCER RESEARCH ON THE RUN: Another entry to the Certain Signs of Autumn file has got to be the Terry Fox Run. Yes, we received notice recently that the committee which orga- nizes the annual fundraiser in support of cancer research have, as usual, been toiling away, and are nearly ready to fire the starter's gun Sept. 20. The Fox Run is a poignant event for any of us who can remember that magical summer during which we were transfixed by the image of a young man, doggedly plodding across the country on something he called his Marathon of Hope. It's difficult not to feel a surge of emotion at the mere mention of Terry Fox's name, let alone to see once more his image and remember his optimism, determination, and, ultimately, his death. Now there's a whole generation of kids who, though they weren't even born when that remarkable effort was undertaken, will hop on their bikes, strap up their roller blades, and, in some cases, lace up their running shoes like we old-fashioned pursuers of pain, and take part in the Pledge of Hope. Folks in Scugog have responded well to the Port Perry run since it was resurrected a few years ago, and it's always heartening to see participants young and old out to tackle a 1, 5 or 10 kilometre jaunt through the streets of town. Here's hoping there's a good response to this year's event. If you aren't inclined to run, walk, cycle, blade or whatever, please make a pledge to someone who is. We owe it to local organizers, and the legacy of Terry Fox, to do our best to make it a success. HOMER MADNESS: No, we're not trying to start a fan club for the head of the Simpson household (although, come January, we may be looking for ways to amuse ourselves)... we're referring to the home run derby that has so captivated baseball fans this year. As of this writing Monday morning, Mark McGwire has 55 dingers, and Slammin' Sammy Sosa has notched 54, as both continue their pursuit of Roger Maris' magic record of 61 home runs in a single season. Some may argue that personal stats and the pursuit thereof are a distraction from what is a team sport. You could counter, however, that the record being approached is among the most amazing for personal achievement in sport -- it's stood since 1961 -- and therefore deserves the hype. Whatever. It's fun, and the sight of McGwire pausing to watch another sail out of the park after that vicious, compact swing with those mighty arms will linger long after the summer and the season have expired. Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten GROWING RESENTMENT Driving by the overgrown lawn bowling green on Queen St. over the weekend, my mind wandered to a time some seven years ago, when the Business Improvement Area (B.l.A.) hired local landscape architect Daniel O'Brien to prepare a streetscape master plan for Port Perry's downtown. The objective was to improve the appearance of the business sector by making it an even more attractive place for residents to visit and shop. Two of the areas identified as key to the beautifi- cation plan were the old bowling green, which was envisioned as a possible Victorian Garden, and the area in front of the Post Office. The plan identified the 'Post Office Parkette' as first on the list of priorities, as it is central the down- town. Suggestions for the area included bumping out the curb and enlarging the area with interlocking brick or flagstone to give a parkette effect. The addi- tion of Victorian style benches, more plants and a large directory sign board identifying members, and on the two brick walls facing the post office murals depicting significant historical events. The second area of beautification identified was the old lawn bowling green across from the IGA, which has sat vacant and unkempt since the lawn bowlers moved out. Suggestions for this area included a landing at Queen St. level with steps to the parkette, which included interlocking brick walkways around the gar- dens, and benches for people to sit and relax. Granted, all of the plans were ambitious, and would cost a plenty to complete, but now, some seven years after the plan was devised, nothing has been done to further its cause. Plans at the time were to put aside $10-$15,000 per year for the beautification projects, and over a period of 5-10 years most of the work could have been completed. Instead, the plan was put away to gather dust, as so many plans are, and the $75,000 to $100,000 that could have been used to bring the plans to fruition is gone. Over the past year, I've had occasion to speak with a number of downtown business people who feel they get very little value from the BIA. They are mainly people in the service industry who benefit little from the commercial promotions which the BIA spends a great deal of their budget promoting. There is growing resentment by some business people who feel they are getting nothing for their BIA dollar, and it's leading to talk of having the BIA disbanded. The BIA executive should realize a large portion of their budget comes from businesses which do not benefit directly from retail promotions. Institutions like banks, insurance companies, lawyers, doctors, accountants and even grocery stores receive little benefit from sidewalk sales, midnight madness, Jazz Festivals or Christmas promotions. If the BIA got back on track with some of the original ideas, | suspect some of these people would be more supportive of its goals. . But without some change in direction, the BIA may soon be a thing of the past.