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Pt ah Vol. 133 Number 02 S99 hd 28 Pages PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - TUESDAY, DEC. 1, 1998 COPY 65¢ (61¢+ 4¢ GST) Durham scores low on testing By Rik Davie Special to the Star The results of province-wide testing in Grade 3 reading, writing and math are in, and Durham students seem to be behind many of their provincial peers in results. However, the Durham District School Board is telling parents that the meth- ods of testing and the time frames involved are different from previous test results, and the need for concern is minimal. The results of math testing for Grade 3 most closely reflect the provincial average. In Durham, 39 schools test above the provincial average, while 50 schools are below it. Durham showed math as a weak area in earlier test years. The board cites the improvement this year as a direct result of improvements to cur- riculum, based on previous test results. In the areas of reading, 36 schools tested at or above the average and 53 tested below, while writing tests had 36 schools testing at or above average and 53 testing below. Ann Lloyd of the Durham District School Board's programs department Continued on page 17 | Help us help | the hungry The Port Perry Star will begin accepting donations for this year's corporate food drive challenge tomor- 2 E GUESS WHO? ...That's right! Santa Claus and' a whole bunch of his friends came to Port Perry Saturday, delighting kids and adults alike. There was wonderful weather for the annual parade, staged by the Scugog Chamber of Commerce, and crowds cd, ln i AY JEFF MITCHELL / PORT PERRY STAR RAI i ANNAN id Ro OBRINT son 3 x rd w, Bist lined the long route. \ Waiting patiéfitly: forthe-Big Guy's arrival. Organizers are calling the parade, which featured a revised route, a success. We've got more pictures from the weekend's festivities on page 4 of today's Star. Emergency aid package coming Hog farmers in trouble row-in an effort to feed Scugog's hungry and to keep the hair on our heads during this Christmas season. Challenged by the township and other media outlets to collect as much non-perishable food items as possible over the next two weeks, The Star is once again asking that its readership pitch in and lend us, and Scugog's hungry, a hand. The challenge, brought together by the students in Dave Robinson's OAC Business Administration class at Port Perry High School, will see Continued on page 11 Gomes NN LiL By Jeff Mitchell Port Perry Star Local hog farmers are anxiously awaiting details on emergency govern- ment funding aimed at helping them endure plummeting prices. They're watching closely as Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief hud- dles with Liberal cabinet members in Ottawa, hammering out details of an aid package for farmers across the coun- try. Emergency funding has been deemed necessary for hog farmers and prairie grain operations; both sectors have seen the bottom drop out of their markets as prices plunge. 3042 | { L Farmers want details now so they can plan for the immediate future, said Dennis Zekveld, a Janetville-area hog farmer who's a director with the Ontario Pork Producers Marketing Board. "I think there has to be an announce- ment before Christmas so people know how it will work," he said. "...so it's something that's bankable." Farmers are seeing hogs fetch in the neighbourhood of 60 cents a kilogram on the market, said Mr. Zekveld. They had anticipated a cyclical downturn in prices, but expected their hogs to be going for about 19% 05 a kilogram this fall. Mr. Zekveld said the market is in the worst shape he's ever seen it: "I think this is about the lowest it's been in 40 to 50 years." A number of factors are contributing to the downturn, including the collapse of Asian markets, said Mr. Zekveld. There's a glut of hogs on the market, sent there by farmers who have been responding to an increasing demand for pork. It has become a crisis for farmers, some of whom are facing bankruptcy. Already stories of farmers in some parts of Ontario destroying piglets are circulat- ing. Continued on page 13 EE EN TA IY I SECT SIR SR Sr 909°° gC 399 Fe) e 399 C Ye BL 99-7009 (Te Bi FA Re 1 BE VS 010 1) reg. $269.99 58-9176 1/2PRICE 58-0882 reg. 119.99 i) CC SC Bc DT his I Bh hI CRO - ce Aci Dc Dc R-< wX---