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et "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, January 11, 2000 - / Question | of the Week... What do you think should be done to alle- viate the overcrowding problems in emergency rooms at hospitals across the GTA? Elpida Matheou More money, more money, more money into hospitals. That way if people get sick, they can be helped. Bill Lishman It needs to be fixed, absolutely. But, I'm not sure what the best method is. Patricia Stender More money needs to be put into health care. The (government) can't cut back anything else in our medical services. Eileen Farmer People have to make sure they are really sick before they go there, not just with a cold. Carey Nicholson | think our emergency rooms are misused by a lot of people who aren't actually in an emergency situation. They have to use it appropriately. Letter to the Editor Coverage of party appreciated To the Editor: On behalf of the Blackstock Recreational Complex Committee | would like to thank The Port Perry Star for your support of the Scugog Millennium Event. Rik Davies photos were superb. The event for the kids was attended by about 400 par- ents and kids. We were sold out for the adult party. | would like to thank my wife, the Blackstock O.N.O. ladies, the Blackstock Lions Club, Aileen Van Camp, Joan and Harvey Graham, Merrell and Jean Van Camp, Andrea Weir, Skip and Lilly Lockyer, Mayor Doug Moffatt, Councillor Dave Dietlein, Albert Putsey, Barb and Jim Byers, Sandra Hoskin, Wilma and Keith Van Camp, Mike and Sandra of Baker's Garage, Don and Ginny Masterson and staff of Country Convenience, Brad Goslin and the team, the ladies on North Street, those | have missed and all of the kids and parents who attended. This was truly a community event, and | hope that we can make it an annual thing. Fred Ford, : Blackstock Time Capsule supplement was great To the Editor: | want to thank you and the Port Perry Star for the Time Capsule 2000. What a great idea! I'm sure that all your readers appreciated the read. We have lived in this lovely town for only eight years but already we feel our roots are fairly deep. . Marjorie Wilson Port Perry I've just received another one of those urgent messages from the 'Ontario Lottery Corporation, inform- 'ing me that time is running out for ~ the winner of a huge sum of money to claim his prize. Fake fio This time it's $250,000, the jackpot for a Lotto 6/49 encore number (388046) that was bought a year. ago in Pickering. The person in possession of this ticket "has until Friday at 5 p.m. to claimthe cash. ~~ in Pickering -- or maybe even here {!) -- unaware of he fact he or she'is a quarter of-a million dollars richer. nd oc Misplacing $250,000 strikes me as a tough thing to do. When it's yours, | mean. It's not so difficult with other people's money. : A case in point, perhaps not surprisingly, is me. It was quite a while ago, in the mid-80s, during a time at which | was taking a break from the news business, and living in Toronto. | signed up with a temp agency, hoping to make enough to survive on until | sorted my life out. Well, surprise: | wound up working in a fancy- shmancy brokerage firm in First Canadian Place, delivering mail in the morning and in the afternoon handling, of all things, other people's money. Sometimes very large amounts of money, the dividends of the investments they'd made through the company. It was up to me to send cheques to individuals or their financial representatives across the country. or not | was doing the right thing, | fumbled my way through a bewildering thicket of figures and office . Imagine that: Some mook is out schfepping around | had no idea what | was doing. Never sure whether - Page Seven RELAX -- IT'S IN THE MAIL by Jeff Mitchell machinery, clueless. | was a danger to myself and oth- ers. But because everyone was so busy watching his own butt, my ineptitude went largely unnoticed. 'Until one day when a cheque for $1 million came across my desk. | admired it for a time (so many zeros!), and then put it in an envelope, and popped it intothe mail. ~~ a "Hi A day and a half later all hell broke loose when the concerned investor called the company to check on the progress of his dividend payment, was informed that everything had been processed according to our standards and procedures, and then had to audacity "to say, well, if that's the case, then just where is my money? Sl Straight away there was a convergence of company "muckity-mucks, most of whom | had never seen before, in my humble mailroom office, demanding to know what I'd done with Mr. Whatzit's money. My reply -- "Uh... It's in the mail?" -- was met with gasps of disbelief. The bosses of several departments huddled right there, in the mail room, to consider the doom that had been delivered so early upon them. Collecting themselves, the geniuses from the upper floor quickly hatched a plan that would see them cancel the cheque I'd entrusted to Canada Post, and issue another that would be delivered that day, clear across the province, at great cost to the company. After that my responsibilities were altered somewhat. It was suggested subtly by a co-worker that perhaps high finance was not the milieu in which | would achieve the greatest success. : Itwasn't long before | got back into newsmongering, which involves much less money and is safer -- and more satisfying -- by far. Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten JANUARY THAW COMES EARLY IN 2000 Although winter has settled into Scugog Township, aside from a not-so-thick layer of ice over Lake Scugog, there's not much for local winter enthusi- asts to celebrate. For snowmobilers, many who have coughed up $10,000 and more for new machines this winter, it must be a real frustration. There's been no signifi- cant accumulation of snow to date, so most, if not all of the snowmobile trails are not useable. And even Lake Scugog is less than attractive, as unusually mild temperatures and rain over the past couple of weeks have created slippery conditions, rather than it being covered with a thick layer of snow. Despite the lack of snow for snowmobilers, the conditions are being greeted with enthusiasm by kids and families who flocked to the lakefront with skates and hockey sticks over the Christmas holiday to use the lake as a giant ice skating rink. It's not uncommon to see mom and dad, with the kids in tow, skating for miles along the lakeshore on the weekend enjoying the lack of snow which allows for this not so common occurrence. Even ice fishing has been affected by the lack of snow and mild temperatures this January. In fact, last week there were reports of ice huts actually being blown down the lake on the wet, slippery sur- face, following a day of rain and high winds. Those who have taken out costly memberships at any of the local ski resorts are also finding them- selves shortchanged. Despite the efforts of the resort owners to produce man-made snow, many of the ski slopes are yet to be opened, and those that have opened are often icy and dangerous. As of writing this column on Sunday, the tempera- ture is heading towards 6° C and the lakefront is dot- ted with area residents out for a skate. There appears to be no change in the forecast for the next few days, with more rain and mild temperatures expected the first days of the week. It's hard to believe we're almost halfway through the first month of the new year. HISTORY IN PRINT Thanks to those who have commented on The Star's special section "Time Capsule 2000", pub- lished last month. It's been gratifying to hear the many positive comments regarding the section. The commemorative souvenir issue which out- lines the development of Port Perry over the past century has been a big hit, with many people pur- chasing additional copies for relatives and friends. Unfortunately, we didn't anticipate the immense popularity of the section, and the extra copies print- ed are almost gone. For those who enjoyed the history and would like to know more about your hometown, pick up a copy of Out Of The Ashes, The Merchants Of Old Port Perry, or Stitches In Time. These three local history books can provide hours of interesting reading and provide a wealth of knowledge about the area.