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Te 6 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, February 22, 2000 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" PUBLISHER................. J. Peter Hvidsten GENERAL MGR........... Don Macleod MANAGING EDITOR... Jeft Mitchell OFFICE MANAGER..... Gayle Stapley ADVERTISING MGR.... Deb McEachem REPORTER.................. Chris Hall Freelance Writers- Heather McCrae, John B. McClelland PHONE (905) 985-7383 FAX (905) 985-3708 E-MAIL: port.perry.star@sympatico.ca Member Ontario Community Newspaper Assoc. 1 Year - $37.45 (includes GST) Six Months - $19.79 (includes GST) { N eon} ( Publications Mail Registration No. 07881 Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Company Limited, 188 Mary Street - Port Perry, Ontario - LOL 187 SUBSCRIPTION RATES DAT Ao oT) 0 VAR Cn uN ¢ Jocna [NEESER Foreign 1 Year - $96.30 (includes GST) EDITORIAL POLICY: Opinions expressed by columnists, contributors and letter writers are not necessarily those of The Port Perry Star. Letters must be signed and the telephone number (which will not be published) included. Requests that a name be withheld will be honoured only if there is a compeling reason to do so. Errors will be corrected i brought to the editor's attention. We reserve the right to edit or refuse publication of any material submitted. ADVERTISING POLICY: The publisher is not lable for sight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher is not able for other errors or omissions in connection with any advertisement in any subsequent issue of the refund of any monies paid for the advertisement. All claims of error in publication must be made by Wednesday, noon, prior to the next week's publication, and, if not made, will not be considered. No claim will be allowed for more than one insertion. BUSINESS OFFICE: Judy Ashby, Kathy Dudley, Janet Rankin, Lesley West ADVERTISING: Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, Gail Morse, Heather Mack, Linda Clarke, Janet Archer, Malcolm Lennox PRODUCTION: Trudy Empringham, 'Pam Hickey, Daryle Wright, Arlene Cheel, Robert Taylor, Richard Drew, Scott Ashby, Editorial Comment About time for tax break Although we'll have to wait until next Monday to learn all the details, early indications hint that federal Finance Minister Paul Martin will be announcing a program of tax cuts in his Feb. 28 budget. That's welcome news, especially as reports indicate the middle class will benefit to a large degree. A report published last week says the feds are set to lower the middle-income tax rate from 26 per cent to 23 per cent over the next three years. In addition, it will change guidelines defining high- income earners, essentially broadening the middle class to reflect the real circumstances of most Canadians these days. The tax cuts will come at a cost. But Mr. Martin is nothing if not cautious, so you can bet any changes will be financed by the surplus the government's running at right now. And even then he'll be careful not to drain that resource. There are also breaks in the works for lower wage earners, and some realistic adjustments at the high income end. The general reaction, we'd expect, will be it's about time. And it is. Canadians have spent years paying for past extravagance. The majority of us don't mind paying the taxes that help to make Canada the progressive, humanitarian society that it is, and will continue to see the value in sustaining medicare, the social safety net, and, yes, payments on the federal debt. But we're weary of paying our way out of the hole dug by previous administrations, and have swallowed our share of the bitter medicine that was required to deal with that legacy. Tax cuts, with spending for universal health care and social programs; it can be done. It's about time. MISS WHIMPLE MISINTERPRETS THE DURHAM SCHOOL BOARD'S PROPOSED "ZERO TOLERANCE PouLiCY".. "eo . . ® . v. * ee. . - . a. . oe 'tere ea, ® a . Se 4 0 0» | NOW THEN JIMMY, PERHAPS YOU'D LIKE TO EXPLAIN TO MY NEW ASSISTANT WHY You'RE ALWAYS TALKING IN CLASS! Rh a) eh Port PERRY STAR Port Perry Star Letter of the Week Committed to school community To the Editor: Comments attributed to me in a Port Perry Star article of Feb. 15, 2000 were quoted out of context, thereby creating a false impres- sion. Both as a parent and as chair of the School Community Council of Port Perry High School, | wish to assert my support of the excellent group of professional teachers at the school. The SCC is not a political lobby group. We are committed to work- ing for the betterment of the entire school community, and are fully supportive of the staff's endeav- ours to create an atmosphere of cooperation and harmony in which students are encouraged to expect a standard of excellence to meet the challenge of learning with con- fidence and to feé€l just pride in their achievements. Parents are concerned that the current lack of extra-curricular activities in secondary schools is hurting our students. These activities are often "the locomotive that pulls the train" for many of our sons and daugh- ters. Consequently we urge the Durham District School Board and the teachers to work together to solve this problem for the benefit of all. Any parents who share our com- mitment to school improvement are invited to our next meeting on March 2 at 7 p.m. in Room 160 at the school. Your constructive comments and ideas are most welcome. Martin Demmers, Chair, School Community Council, Port Perry High School