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8 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, August 17, 1999 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" ~~ LETTERS Too many cases of animal cruelty From page 7 of Waterloo. Imagine if Nikita had broken away from the pickup or the kittens had landed on the roadway in front of a following vehicle. A serial cat killer has vented his/her anger on five cats in five weeks in North York. Thirteen cats went missing in the Toronto Beaches area six months ago with no trace. Michael O'Sullivan, Executive Director of the Humane Society of Canada has expressed concern over the recent rash of cruelty. And so has Toronto Police Acting Staff-Sgt. Steven Sattz, who even went so far as to suggest that such actions, as a psychiatrist, will tell you, imply deeper problems. Currently cruelty to animals is a summary convic- tion under the Criminal Code with a maximum of $2,000 fine and six months in jail. Ontario's Solicitor General, David Tusubouchi would like to see stiffer penalties, including a lifetime ban on persons convicted of animal cruelty. John Shipton, West Hill Regatta organizers say thanks and sorry To the Editor: The Lake Scugog Regatta Association wishes to apol- ogize to Albert Putsey for inadvertently leaving his name off the list of past presidents in our 1999 pro- gram. We also apologize to Ralph McQuade as his adver- tisement was left off the program. This was a printer's error. Mistakes do happen. And, a big thank-you goes out to all the local busi- nesses and individuals who made this weekend event a huge success. Bruce Lawrie, Len Prout and Tom Sherwin NUTRiTiON PROS" Supplementing Good Nutrition by Bronwen Tuck RD Do you take a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement for health insurance or wonder if you should? This is practical as long as you're just supplementing healthy eating. Supplements cannot replace a well-balanced diet. Foods are made up of over 50 different nutrients of which only some are vitamins or minerals. Benefits of other phytochemicals or "plant chemicals" are currently being investigated but we know most nutrients are more effective when consumed as food rather than as supplements When choosing a supplement that is right for you, keep these tips in mind: - A multi-vitamin/mineral 1s preferable to large doses of single vitamins or minerals unless othenvise recommended by a health professional. - Choose reasonably priced brands. Generic brands are often more economical. - Check the expiry date. - Take supplements with a meal to maximize absorption. - Remember...more is not better. Some vitamins and minerals can be toxic in large doses. More on specific supplements in future columns. For more information consult your doctor, registered dietician. or pharmacist Send questions to "Ask the Dietician" Box 5283 Port Perry 'By Nutrition At Work. a group of Port Perry Dieticians providing individual and group counselling. This message sponsored by =<SHOPPERS KZ 1 ene XDRUG MART LEBER a3) 289 Queen Street, Port rbd * 905-985-8886 Q a Quit Film Pri uality Film Process [47 ee] Offs Expres Sit. 119 Developers outraged at hikes proposed for education fees ¥ By Rik Davie Special to the Star Developers and business people filled a joint meeting of Durham's public and separate school boards last week to challenge proposed hikes in education fees charged for new housing in the region. Some developers of residential housing, including the Durham Home Builders Association and the Urban Development Institute, Ontario (UDIO), expressed outrage at both the size of the hikes, and the methods used to calculate them. They are further frustrated by the fact that non-residential projects, such as factories and shopping malls, will not pay the fees. The fees are used by the school boards to help buy land and build new schools made necessary by new housing, and the new students it brings. Lynda J. Townsend, lawyer for the UDIO, told public and separate school trustees that a hike in fees by the public board -- from $1,389 to $1,560 per house -- cannot be justi- fied by looking at increases pro- posed by other school areas. The hike in fees by the separate school board would see fees skyrocket from $339 to $870 per unit, while both boards plan to eliminate develop- ment fees for non-residential pro- jects. ~ "We, the residential developer, would carry the entire burden of building new schools," said Ms Townsend. "We are, as an industry, going to take a hard line on this," she vowed. "We know that in York Region the cost of site development (for new school sites) is set at $22,000, yet Durham boards show a figure of $33,000 for the same preparation work, with no explanation on how the figure was reached," she said. But not all the developers in attendance were opposed to the fee proposal. Blair Taylor, representing builders of the new 24 screen Whitby Centrum entertainment complex, said his client is delighted at not being caught up in the expenses imposed by the changes to funding in education in the province. "My client began this project in 1996," Mr. Taylor said. "It has been carefully thought out, planned and financed, and there was no way he could have foreseen these changes." Mr. Taylor said that if developers of large non-residential projects were to be hit with development fees, they would think twice before developing in the region. "A home builder can pass on increases in the cost of his home to the (buyer)," said Mr. Taylor. "There is no way for the developer of indus- trial and commercial sites to regain those charges, because in many cases, it is he who is the end user." Ian Johncox, a lawyer and mem- ber of the Durham Region Chamber of Commerce, said that he too has concerns over the size of hikes in the fees. "lI just don't see any figures to back up the projected growth they (the boards) seem to see, and I don't see the backup material to justify estimated costs of land and site development," he said. . Mr. Johncox told the trustees to take a hard look at their figures and ask questions before passing such a fee hike. "They are not just questionable; All Weather Protection ... Always! WEATHER SHIELD WINDOWS & DOORS "THERE'S MORE TO SEE IN A WEATHER SHIELD WINDOW" * WINDOWS ¢ DOORS = AWNINGS » SUNROOMS * VINYL & ALUMINUM SIDING PRODUCTS CLASSIC ALUMINUM 985-0075 they stink," he said. Ms Townsend said developers and the boards must work together to reach a compromise if the fees are to remain in place. "We will work with the board to try and reach a fee that meets their needs and is fair to the industry," she said. But if the current fee structure remains in place, "we would be will- ing to take the matter to the Ontario Municipal Board for a hear- ing," Ms Townsend said. Trustees for both boards will now discuss the matter and vote on it in late August before the current fee bylaw runs out on Aug. 31. Real Estate market has a busy month The Durham Region residential Real Estate Market had another busy month in July with 700 sales being reported, beating July 1998's 626 figure by 11 per cent. "These statistics are an indication of how good our summer market is this year," commented Durham Region Real Estate Board President, Lucien Lambier. The average selling price has remained virtually the same at $170,114 down only slightly from $170,325 in June of this year and is a considerably higher 6.5 per cent than July, 1998s average of $159,769. Active listings declined 11 per cent to 1,700 from the 1897 record- ed in June, 1999. Homes in Durham Region spend 43 days on average on the market and hold a 97 per cent list to sale price ratio. 1999 GOLF TOURNAMENT honorary Chairman, Roger Anderson WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 1999 Kedron Dells Golf Club, Oshawa, Ontario SCRAMBLE FORMAT Registration, Putting Contest 8:30 a.m. Cocktails, Silent Auction 4:00 p.m. ~ Dinner 5:00 p.m. Appreciation Gifts, Silent Auction, Raffle Awards Golf, cart, lunch, dinner, pictures of foursomes CELEBRITY PLAYERS Terry Johnson, Magic 94.9 John Goodwin, Oshawa Generals' Coach Daryl Upton, Oshawa Generals Dave Gilbert, Oshawa Generals' Play-by-play announcer HOLE-IN-ONE PRIZE 1999 SUBARU courtesy of C & C Motor Sales Contact Jim Rushford at Canadian Diabetes Association or (905) 985-8197 CANADIAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION Durham Region Regional Chair Evening Program: $95.00 per player $25.00 dinner only Durham Region br Log (905) 436-6648 oo BLA PpR---- gy ag Te RITES, T=" ww.