The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, December s, 2000 - 7 Question of the Week... What do you think should be the first Rose McNally order of business we carn for the new Scugog kids, women and Council? adults who want to play. Hilda Piersma We need more hotels. We need a resort; we attract a lot of tourists here, but where do they go to spend the night? Allan Loyst A second ice pad. At the rate we're grow- ing here it's obvious we need more recre- ation facilities for the young people. Roger Houghton Karen Wilson An indoor swimming I'm pretty content pool. For the money with the way things they're going to spend are Now on an outdoor one for two or three months we should invest in an indoor facility. 'Angels' aided crash victims To the Editor: I am writing you because of something that recently took place locally that I believe there just may not be enough of: selflessness. Last Tuesday, Nov. 21, road conditions were at best treacherous, the snow was falling at a steady pace and the roads themselves were slick. There were several accidents throughout the area. In the area of Regional Rd. 57 and 7A there occurred a ter- rible accident involving two vehicles. After the initial accident two people, coincidentally from the same bus company, assisted the injured people without regard to their own safety. These two women entered the vehicles and helped the victims that could be moved reach safety. The passengers and driver of one vehicle were not so lucky, and could not exit the vehicle under their own power. The women comforted the one conscious victim until the Emergency Response Units could arrive. Vehicles still tra- versed the highway at this point and several, including a fuel tanker, lost control and nearly struck the vehicles that were involved in the accident. During all of this one of our brave angels was in the vehicle, knowing that her life was indeed in danger as well. After a difficult extrication the fire department removed the transportable victims. These people were transported to various hospitals for treatment and all of our thoughts and prayers go out to them and their families. The reason that this story means so much to me personally is that my wife Marnie was one of the angels who risked their lives to assist in this terrible catastrophe. The other angel's name is Susan. | am overwhelmed with love and pride at the way these ladies took control and comforted the victims with- out thought of their own safety. As a member of this community, and constant commuter | thank these ladies and hope that others can take courage from their example. Paul Whitaker, Township of Scugog Volunteer Firefighter Station #2 Caesarea | was still groggy, and definitely very grouchy, when | pushed through the door of the local milk store. The ringing phone had awakened me after just a few hours of fitful sleep. Sleep had proven elusive after a night of crashing around the region, gathering news on the election, and delivering it to the printing plant around 2 a.m. - too much coffee, too many news updates and late-night ranging on darkened roads - and the bozo who had called at nine, attempting to lighten his inventory ofwindows by selling me a few, had been quickly dispatched, but not without some gratuitous nastiness. | had come to get the daily papers, to read the details on what | had already learned myself during the long day before this: Another majority government for the Liberals - an increased, majority, even - created by a record low voter turn-out. Jean Chretien's face beamed on all four front pages. Muttering about crass political opportunism and power-hungry bastards, | shuffled sleepily to the counter. | lay the papers out to be scanned by the clerk, and began to dig in my jeans for some money. "She looks happy," said the clerk, his Middle Eastern accent breaking through the buzz of exhaustion and stress that thrummed in my brain. He was pointing to a picture of Aline Chretien. "That's because her husband still has a job," | grumbled. "He's a good guy," said the clerk. "What?" | snapped, turning from the papers to glare at him. "A good guy," the clerk repeated. "Good for me and Page Seven WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT by Jeff Mitchell my family." "You voted for him?" | asked, not accusingly, but because | am interested in what motivates people to vote the way they do. "Yes," he said eagerly, his smile breaking wide. | studied the clerk. I've actually spoken with him quite often, because he's always there. Go in early on a Sunday moming for the papers and a carton of milk, and he's there, smiling. Pop in after last call for a bottle of water and maybe some pre-emptive aspirin, and there he is, smiling. Show up mid-morning on a weekday in November, and there he is. Smiling. And working. Always working. "After the ceremony," the clerk continued. "The ceremony?" "The citizenship ceremony. | got my certificate, and then they said to me you know what? You can vote...." He paused, grinning widely. He seemed to be savouring the memory of the previous day, when he took a break from the counter at the milk store to become a Canadian. "So we did, my wife and |," he said then. "We drove there and voted. For Jean Chretien." Suddenly, there was a lump in my throat. All | could think to do was shake his hand. | emerged from the store, into the chill of a Canadian November, with something of a different perspective. | had viewed this election as a nuisance, a cheap power play. But this guy, this clerk, this new Canadian, saw it so much differently: His opportunity to take part, and be counted. To be included in Canada, to state his opinion that Jean Chretien's a good guy, as far as he's concemed. And that's what it's all about. Random Jottings by ]J. Peter Hvidsten FITTING SEND-OFF More than 300 friends and col- leagues of Scugog"s congenial former township administrator Earl Cuddie crowded the recre- ation centre in Port Perry last Thursday night to honour his years of service to the community. Like all "toast and roast" venues, it was a night filled with accolades and humour, often revealing lit- tle-known details of the life and times of this most public person. But it was also an opportunity for many to pay tribute to this man, who has injected so much of his life and spirit into Scugog Township, and a few other communities before arriving here 20 years ago. Gathered for this special occasion were former employees, politicians and staff members from Whitby, Lakefield, Scugog, and many other parts of Durham Region, as well as friends he's acquired from all walks of life. The accolades, roast and presentations, provided a fitting end to a stellar career in municipal manage- ment, and provides a springboard to whatever Earl may decide to do in the future. l, like so many others, am proud to have been able to include him as a good friend and sincerely wish him health, happiness and lots of enjoyable snowmobiling and fishing in the years to come. MERRY CHRISTMAS Last Tuesday evening more than 200 of Port Perry and area senior residents attended the annual Rotary Club Christmas dinner. What a thrill it was to be part of this heart-warm- ing event. The guests arrived dressed in their Christmas best, and were warmly greeted by Rotarians and other volunteers who escorted them to tables, beau- tifully decorated with white tablecloths, red and green napkins and a bright red poinsettia plant. Entertainment during the evening included selec- tions of Christmas songs by the Oshawa Salvation Army band and, following dinner, a puppet show courtesy of a group from Greenbank United Church. Behind the scenes, the kitchen was a beehive of activity as upwards of 50 volunteers prepared the food, put it on warm plates and served it to the wait- ing dinner guests. Plates were filled with steaming hot turkey, pota- toes and vegetables, and delivered to the tables of anxiously waiting guests. In all, 235 dinners were served with precision in only 13 minutes. While there's little doubt the seniors, who come to enjoy a warm meal, friendship and entertainment, were overwhelmed with the generosity and goodwill of this event... it was equally rewarding for all the volunteers. There's nothing so heart-warming as the smile on the face of an elderly person as they look up at you with a twinkle in their eye and offer their kindest and most sincere "Thank you, dear". Congratulations to the members of the Port Perry Rotary Club and the many enthusiastic volunteers who joined in to help make this an evening to re- member for the wonderful and appreciative seniors of this community.