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PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, September 26, 2000 - 7 Question of the Week... fad aN N vi : h i R sy ££ 1 TE J. 3 ' wi Ba 3 ol -- v A 3 Sh 5 Re & too high. They're mak- ing it easier for the rich and harder for the poor. deal with rising What can the gov- Lda Shirley Tate emment do to Lower the taxes help Canadians because they are way Pi i a SN Ken Gadsden Put more money into the roads; the roads are deteriorating and they're not getting the share of money they're Bonnie Stone This is a very complex situation and Canadians are a small part of it. There's larger forces at work here fuel costs? than just our little gov- ernment. supposed to get from the (gas) taxes. Noreen Calderbank They should put more Carey Nicholson I-have trouble accept- money into alternative ing the fact that the fed- energy methods, such eral government isn't as solar and hydrogen doing anything to help to help break the hold the petro-chemical industry has on us. us. They're only inter- ested in some things when it suits them. -- ay a---- LETTERS Let's address:-housing needs To the Editor: This November we elect new members of council, at our local level, and at Durham Region. During the next term we will see the review and updating of the Durham Region Official Plan. We need a move away from the present corporate control of our land in Durham Region to a more democrat- ic land planning for the ben- efit and safety of our future citizens - our children. Over the past 20 years many small development companies have been forced out of business by the present system, and new consortiums subsidiz- ing with taxpayers' money took their place. With 85 per cent of our land being unused but for farming and gravel, why would we not allow the com- ing generations to live in this safe northern section? Why force our kids to live under the shadow of the two nuclear plants at Pickering and Darlington? These sections are all con- trolled corporate consor- tiums. And subsidized. Surely our planners will respond to top level gov- ernment and allow more development in the 85 per cent of Durham land which is away from the nuclear evacuation area. Let's start safe planning now. Doug Wilson, Oshawa Impressed with Scugog's parks To the Editor: As | drive by our beauti- ful lakefront park on Water Street, | think how hard our parks people work to keep it so perfect. Even after a long week- end when the tourists are all gone, the very next day its all cleaned up. I'm sure everyone in this area would agree with me. Keep up the good work. Bonnie Bell This an inalienable and unde- 'niable fact: Only a dork would invest the time, effort and money required in obtaining a device so foul, so offensive, and so utterly ~~ extraneous as a leaf blower. . And then turn it on and spend hours on a glorious Autumn Sunday morning, filling the vicinity with a ~ ceaseless, 'screaming noise. uld seem | am surrounded by such people, aatw for just now, as | attempt to settle in with a hot mug of strong coffee and set down some pleasant thoughts, | am interrupted by the jarring screech of what sounds like a flock of the damned things, oper- any simultaneously throughout the neighbourhood. You know the device of which | Sheak: An ugly, useless, plastic bit of rubbish, rather like a hair dryer for the lawn. | These fools follow their leaf blowers around the yard, up and down the driveway, for hours. The machine whines deafeningly. Being in the vicinity of one and being unable to turn it off is a torture akin to the old nails on the chalkboard scenario... No: Worse. Like being in a small room and listening to Cindy Lauper sing high notes for hours while being accompanied by a dentist's drill. | went out a short time ago to check on the rogress of my various neighbours. One was earnest- y blowing God knows what off his deck. The other - and | swear this is true - was leaf-blowing his hedge. His hedge. | have spoken before in this space of our fascina- tion with technology, and the dangers | see in this servitude. | have worried that computers and such are eroding our desire to get off our bums and do something so simple as shop for groceries, let alone Page Seven A PERFECT DAY RUINED by Jeff Mitchell get out in the world and meet people. But this... this is something different. We are dealing with another type of technology here. That is, machines that just make us look stupid. Take the leaf blower. Many years ago, a device that accomplishes the same task, using no electricity and resulting in no irritating noise, was invented. It's called the rake. It's the kind of thinking that led to the rise of the K-Tel empire in the 70's. Remember all those useless and ridiculous products, like the pattie maker that took away all the heartbreak and muscle strain of making hamburgers by hand? Or that . record-flipper thing that was supposed to make stor- ing and selecting your vinyl so much more easy, but in reality just tipped over once it was full, spraying your Dean Martin albums all over the rec room? It continues to this day, of course. There are cookers and fryers and sorters and storers, hair removers, hair growers, cleaners, confidence builders, waker-uppers, magic diet pills, adjustable beds, electric lights that turn on and off at the sound of hands clapping, and any number of items that are all billed as miraculous, but would in fact prove exceedingly embarrassing should your friends hap- pen to find them in your home. Do we have too much money? Too little time? Too much time, or too little inclination to exert even the slightest effort to feed, clean and generally care for ourselves? } Alas. The answer eludes me. Now if you'll excuse, I'm gonna hop on my riding lawnmower and drive down to the corner store for some instant mashed potatoes. by ]. Peter Hvidsten Random Jottings ELECTION VIBES Finally, it looks as if there is some interest in the upcoming municipal election. In the past week we've seen a few more candidates jump into the fray, making contests in at least two of the seven posi- tions up for grabs. Bobbie Drew threw her hat into the ring a little more than a week ago, challenging current councillor Ken Carruthers for the seat of regional councillor. Ken Gadsden, who had held the regional post for the past term, announced a few months back that he would not be seeking re-election this time around. This week, Jeff Brown announced his intentions to run for the Scugog Island (Ward 3) position on Scugog council. It's Jeff's third attempt at municipal election, and he's hoping his luck will be better this time around. He'll be up against incumbent Jim McMillen, who has held the Ward 3 seat for the past three years. Also vying for a position on council this term is new- comer Donald Kerr, who announced two weeks ago he will seek the Ward 2 seat, currently held by Ken Carruthers. With Mr. Carruthers looking to move up to regional council, this leaves only Mr. Kerr seeking the seat at this point in the campaign. Present members of Scugog council, including Mayor Doug Moffatt, Keith Bacon, (Ward 1), and David Dietlein (Ward 4), have all filed their papers with the township and are seeking re-election. Of the sitting members, only Ward 5 rep Gary Mahoney has yet to decide if he will seek re-election again... or not. So as it stands, it looks like a pretty dull election here in Scugog Township. The_ only contests to date are for the Ward 3 seat, and for regional council. This election is very important, as it could be the final council for Scugog Township as we have known it for the past 25 years. Changes to the municipal structure are inevitable over this next term, and it's entirely possi- ble, by the time we go to the polls in 2003, that Scugog could be electing only two representatives from the township to sit on a new "City of Durham" council. And don't think it won't happen The province forced the City of Toronto to amalga- mate with its suburban neighbours three years ago... and today the four or five former municipalities operate under a single council, led by their flamboyant mayor, Mel Lastman. This election is important to Scugog Township and all the communities which make up Durham Region. There will be many crucial decisions to make over the next term, and the township will need good representatives to plan and lead the township through amalgamation. So, where are the candidates? SWIMMING POOL You'll see an appeal elsewhere in this paper, from 12-year-old Alexandra Haagaard of Scugog Island to Scugog council, to build a new swimming pool for the residents of the township. She rightly points out that the township's been with- out a pool for two summers now, and she feels it's time to provide one for the public. She is appealing to the public for support, and asks anyone interested in helping the cause for a new swim- ming pool to write her at 440 Fralick's Beach Rd., Port Perry, LOL 1B6. Te