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6- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, January 26, 1999 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice BUSINESS OFFICE Member of the @heiP url PrrepiSiar: & Office Mgr. ......coooererrene Gayle Stapley Corgi 8 Oniale Nowopape sso Accounting.......Judy Ashby, Janet Rankin Retail Sales...... Kathy Dudley, Heather Callan EDITORIAL: Port Perry Star Co. Lud. - 188 Mary Street - Port Perry, Ont. @w oa 188 MARY STREET - PORT PERRY, ONT. - LOL 1B7 PHONE (905) 985-7383 FAX (905) 985-3708 E-Mail: part.perry.star@sympatico. LL Publications Mall Registrations No. 07861 Publisher............... J. Peter Hvidsten ~~ PRODUCTION ADVERTISING Publications Mail Agreement No. 1389068 General Manager....Don Macleod Trudy Empringham, Pam Hickey, Advertising Mgr. .......... Don Macleod Managing Editor ..... Jeff Mitchell News Reporters .....Chris Hall Freelance - Heather McCrae, John B. McClelland Rhonda Mulcahy, Robert Taylor, Barb Advertising Sales: Deb McEachern, Subscription Rates: Bell, Richard Drew, Daryle Wright Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, Gail Morse 1 Year - $32.10 6 Months - $17.65 Foreign - $90.95 Includes $2.10 GST Includes $1.16 GST Includes $5.95 GST od Editorial comment KCA is worthy of our support An important vote will be held Feb. 11, when members of the board of the Kawartha Conservation Authority gather for a meeting that will decide the future of the organization. The 21 people representing 19 municipalities that form the KCA will be asked to vote on a resolution, put forth by three member munici- palities, that the authority be dissolved. According to KCA general manager lan Macnab it's unlikely that resolution will be passed by the full authority, but it does raise concerns about the future of such bodies. In this time of deepening cutbacks and increased municipal responsibilities, councillors are looking for ways in which to save money. It's their responsibility to do so; they must watch the bottom line in order to keep your taxes from spiralling out of control. But they also have a responsibility, as our representatives, to serve as legislative stewards of the environment. That involves viewing pro- posals for development from an environmental perspective. And that's an involved and highly specialized task. That, in turn, is where the conservation authority comes in. They have the expertise, in the form of staff and knowledge, to make deci- sions on the environmental viability of develop- ments and proposals that would be hard for municipalities to provide on their own. So politicians should take a long, hard look at such cuts, to be sure they're not eliminating a vital service, and at the same time assuming more expenses for their municipalities. Scugog councillors think our $50,000 support for KCA Is money well spent. We agree. 1 [V NIA A \ gy 4 X % dal le ell 3 SN DD 2s CT-- 4 _ a / == Il) ™, 2 yy 4) RpoDA PoRT PERRY STAR To the Editor: To those of you who have been lulled * into believing that it is business as usual in our Durham secondary schools had better give yourselves a shake. Our board, in its infinite wisdom, reduced exam days in an effort to put students back in the classroom. Did anyone give any thought to the consequences of this action? Senior students are now writing two and sometimes three exams in a day. What is worse, exam conflicts are putting some stu- dents into situations where they are writing for up to five hours straight. I realize that days in the classroom need to be accounted for - but at the expense of the students? The board is guilty as well as this gov- ernment that placed schools in the situation. On the same note: what is going on with this board? How is it that the largest board in the province, Toronto, can settle a contract with its secondary school teachers without so much as one day lost, and our Durham - board can not? This is outrageous. Our students are missing the benefits of many co-curricular activities. Is this not part of their quality education? It's time for the Durham public to wake up. Things will only continue to decline unless parents demand changes, not only from this board, but from this government. Anne Ingram, Nestleton Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten SAYING GOODBYE TO A "TOP COP" Scugog says goodbye to one of it's 'top cops' this week, as Sgt. Ken Hudson hangs up his badge more than three decades with Durham Regional Police. | Throughout his career, he was once name Policeman of the Year, and his policing jobs have varied, but for newspaper, radio and television reporters, he will be remembered most for his work as media officer for 26 Division. J Over the five years we've worked with Ken, he has always handled himself professionally, and always found time to dig out the information requested by the Star's reporters. He was in a class of his own when it came to dealing with media requests, as no question seemed too trivial or too much trouble to answer. This is not the case with many officers in other jurisdictions who hold the same position. Although Ken has moved out of his office at 26 Division, it's gratifying to know that he's not far away. As a resident of Scugog Township, Ken will now have time relax a little, and to put some of his energies to work in different aspects of this community. And Scugog is indeed fortunate for that. Enjoy your retirement Ken, you've earned it! END OF THE CENTURY, BUT NOT THE MILLENNIUM By the time this year is over, we're all going to be sick of hearing the word 'millennium', but unfortunately, we may have to live with the word for another couple of years. Already parties are being planned for Dec. 31, 1999 around the world to celebrate the end of the millennium, but unfortunately promoters are striking up the band about a year too soon. It will be a great occasion for a party to celebrate the end of the century, but not the end of the millennium. How's that, you ask? Quite simply put, the new millennium begins the first day of the year 2001, not the first day of the year 2000 as many think. Suggesting the millennium begins January 1, 2000, is paramount to suggesting that a baby is one year old when it's born. We all know that milestone doesn't take effect until a year later. Using the above example, a person born on Jan. 1, 1900 would have celebrated his first birthday on Jan. 1, 1901. One hundred years later, he would be celebrating his 100th birthday on Jan. 1, 2001. So if you've made preparations to bring in the new millennium next year, put your plans on hold. There are more than 700 days left until that special celebra- tion. But that doesn't mean you can't start planning for a great big party to celebrate the end of this century. That's only 340 days away and it only happens once in a lifetime, unless you're really lucky. WEIRD WEATHER During the first two weeks of January we received snowfalls of more than two feet in many areas of the township and plenty of cold weather. But all that was short lived, as this past week we've experienced mild temperatures, rain and so much melting of snow the local ski hills were forced to shut down, and put the brakes on what appeared to be a great snowmobiling season. to Makes you kinda' wonder... what's next?