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Volume 135 Number 18 TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2001 COPY 75¢ (10¢ + 5¢ Gs) 28 Pages a¥E aa Wis! By Chris Hall Port Perry Star A grant of $75,000 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation will go a long way when work begins on Cartwright Fields this summer. Members of Cartwright ' Sports and Recteation Inc. were informed on March 30 by Trillium officials that they had been approved for the gtant, which will provide a sig- nificant chunk of money needed to get the project rolling, says Colin Kemp. "- The group plans to spend about $300, 000 this summer constructing a ball diamond and soccer pitches at the Nestleton park. A lot of work was involved in applying for the grant, but it was worth it in the end, said Mr. Kemp, a member of the By Lisa McClure Port Perry Star -ers, residents and local businesses. resounding yes. 57 5 000 orant f r Nestleton f board. " "It was quite onerous; there. was a lot of criteria and we needed to do.a lot of research on the project and show them our budget, where the other funds are coming from," he said last week. Resumes and references were also included, Mr. Kemp added. The township purchased a piece of land just west of the Nestleton Community Hall on Hwy. 7A almost two years ago for the organization, which plans for create a multi-purpose sports and recreation park. With the help of the grant money, the group hopes to begin grading, cutting and filling the ball diamonds and' soccer fields, and start preliminary work on walking trails. 'Please turn to page 17 It's been years since the idea of a skate- boarding park was first proposed for Port Perry. Years of battling among politicians, skateboard Finally a plan has been approved to build a park at the arena, but after so much time has' _ passed, is there still a strong demand for it? The answer, when skaters and non-skaters at Port Perry High School were asked, was a Students: who skate replied without hesita- tion that they would use the park anywhere from 3 se times. a week to three times a day. Te : Who wants a skateboard park? only hint of uncertainty among them was evi- dent when discussing the fact that the park will not be located downtown. : That was the desired location of skaters and the adults who have been working for years for a park, holding fundraisers and lobbying local politicians. But a proposed park on a lot off Queen St. downtown met with staunch opposi- tion from merchants. : The park is to be built on land at the arena, on Reach St. northwest of town. The township supports the skateboarding park, even though it could cost up to $80,000 to construct. Please turn to page 1 18 Trdsteas are 'says source By Rik Davie Port Perry Star A source at the Durham District School Board says some senior board staff and trustees are being intimidated with threats of legal action, accusations that one trustee calls "completely untruthful." The source, who asked not to be identified, said efforts by some trustees are thwarted by senior staff at the board, and that trustees are on occasion threatened with legal action. Information provided to The Star was based on closed-door meetings of trustees and staff. "The trustees do not run this board, the staff do," the source said. "It is almost as if they (board staff) have put a gag order on us." The source also said that proposed motions by some trustees get an instant reaction from senior board staff. "Every time (a trustee) from a particular group brings up a motion, the director brings in a lawyer to threaten (the trustees)," said the source. In a recent interview the source, who is a board insider, said a recent motion by Scugog trustee Martin Demmers was just the tip of the iceberg. Mr. Demmers accused fellow trustees of violating their own bylaws-and the Education Act when an ad hoc commit- tee was formed to hedr an expulsion matter two weeks ago. - Please turn to page 18 ert at a ma yo, --