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6- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, December 15, 1998 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" UB Bn Shs dv PHONE (805) 985-7383 FAX (905) 985-3708 E-Mail: port.perry.star@sympatico.ca Publications Mail Registrations No. 07881 Publications Mail Agreement No. 1389068 Subscription Rates: 1 Year - $32.10 6 Months - $17.65 Foreign - $90.95 Includes $2.10 GST Includes $1.15 GST Includes $5.95 GST General Manager ....Don Macl.eod Managing Editor .....Jeff Mitchell News Reporters .....Chris Hall Freelance - Heather McCrae, John B. McClelland Trudy Empringham, Pam Hickey, Rhonda Mulcahy, Robert Taylor, Barb Ginnj Todd, Laurie Thompson, Cindy Jobin, Bell, Richard Drew, Daryle Wright -- BUSINESS OFFICE Cardio Monby hd the Office Mgr. .....cccccoveevennnnnnne Gayle Stapley wepaper Assoc. Accounting.......Judy Ashby, Janet Rankin J CNA OCIld Raised ous Losi Fide Retall Sales......Kathy Dudley, Heather Callan 188 Mary Street - Port Perry, Ont. EDITORIAL: ADVERTISING Publisher................. J. Peter Hvidsten PRODUCTION Advertising Mgr. .......... Don MacLeod Advertising Sales: Deb McEachem, Gail Morse A tawdry little mess for Tories All of us -- supporters of the Tory, Liberal and New Democratic parties -- ought to be infuriated by the McLean affair, which is winding its way to a sordid end in Queen's Park. As everyone knows by now, a Conservative- controlled committee has recommended that we pay $250,000 for a settlement with the woman who was suing former Speaker Al McLean and the government. They're also taking care of their old friend Mr. McLean, whose $130,000 in legal costs are taken care of. And there are sundry other items that all add up to a bill of around $600,000. That, the Tories apparently think, is a rea- sonable price to pay to make a messy little situ- ation go away. See, Mr. McLean got caught with his pants down when he was accused by former employee Sandi Thompson of sexual harassment. She says she was fired when she refused to continue having sex with the boss. Mr. McLean denied everything, but quit as speaker and opted for the relative anonymity of ~ the back benches. He left the handling of Ms Thompson's $830,000 suit to his superiors, and they have come up with a whole bunch of our money in an effort to make everything go away. Nasty, nasty... and expensive, too. This tactic -- of throwing money here and there to shut everyone up and make the unpleasantness dis- appear -- smacks of the times which brought about the very sorts of laws invoked by Ms Thompson when she charged sexual harass- ment. It's an outrage. Mr. McLean should have resigned from the legislature or, if he wished to fight it out, paid his own way. The handling of the whole affair has been cynical and tawdry. It stinks.. °° --T. mes are fouap for the bork industry... ov", , [3 PY « o * « - . ." . - ee v RpDDA STAR To the Editor: PPHS needs library addition population was then approximately 800 I am a Grade 12 student at Port Perry High School. It is essential that I express our school's need for renovations to its library system. Plans were made to build an addition to Port Perry High School, but the project has been cancelled because the Durham District School Board will no longer pro- vide funding for the much-needed improvements to our school. The money that was going to fund the system wide accommodation plan is currently granted to schools in Oshawa and Whitby. Port Perry High School has not had any renovations since 1967. The school students, now it is almost 1,200. If the residents of Port Perry do not take the time to demonstrate their concern over this matter, Port Perry High School may never see the improvements that it is entitled to. Please write a letter expressing your "concern to the director of education at the following address: Grant Yeo, Director of Education, Durham District School Board, 400 Taunton Road, Whitby, ON, L1R 2K6; Fax: (905) 666-6318. Tatiana Lazdins, Port Perry High School Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten Yuletide Spirit Alive And Well In Port Perry With only about 10 days left until Santa arrives, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas throughout Scugog Township... aside from the lack of snow. than two weeks. Area residents have gone all out this year, sands of lights and decorations. It's one of the In fact, it's been looking like Christmas for more : decking out their houses and properties with thou- Ontario. In fact, the entire stock of these attractive outside lights was depleted more than two Weeks ago. Downtown Port Perry sparkles with the lights of Christmas, starting at the huge tree beside the old library, which received a new set of lights this year, right through the downtown and onto Water St. Light standards are decked out with large brightly lit wreaths, and store owners have decorated their windows and storefronts with care for the festive season, Not only are our local residents enjoying the ambiance that our community provides, last week- end the street was abuzz with activity as shoppers on to enjoy the festivi- . ties. Carolers can be found along the streets, 'Santa is busy in his little house by the post office greeting the tykes and handing out candy canes to anyone who's a kid at heart, and shoppers are treated to goodies and hot mulled cider in many. of la s of Christmas decorating we 've seen vo i Hi y | 9 ~~ thestores. arrived from: all over th blank faced sh - long time before it's safe for ice fishermen to ven- oo : ements Phd [5 hat, oro ded malls and shop- i adise. It's no wonder the streets have been so busy over the past couple of weeks, and most merchants are pleased with business this festive season. Congratulations to the Port Perry downtown 'B.ILA. and the Scugog Chamber of Commerce for their efforts in making this a Christmas season to remember in Port Perry. ~~ CAREFUL OF THE LAKE You may noticed in last week's Star, next year's Pickerel Ice Fishing Derby is scheduled to get under way starting January 1, 1999. Registrants must enter before Dec. 31 at JD Fishing and Archery to take part. But if this mild spell continues, it could be a ture out on the lake, let alone put out a hut. We know all to well, from last year's tragic deaths on the lake, that unsafe ice can have deadly Sonssquences for those who challenge the Let's m ; SET it's yo Ww 4 ¥ ~ 3 AF DER, A Se Sa Aa CER RS Re as RA HE NY NEARS Co