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6 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, April 24, 2001 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" - PUBLISHER, GEN. MGR .. Don Macleod \ ~ I Membal BUSINESS OFFICE: Judy pa Kihy Dudley, "MANAGING EDITOR . Jeff Mitchell oChna 1B ; [ 4 Ny } Canadian anet Rankin, Lesley Wes OFFICE MANAGER . .. Gayle Stapley i OR 1 I"ERRY O1AR ey Ww CNA ADVERTISING: Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobi ADVERTISING MGR . . .Deb McEachern PA866 aad Neer of ol ISN 2001 4 wit 11) DVERTISING: Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, Member Ontario Community ' Gail Morse, Sandra Spiers, Linda Clarke, PRODUCTION MGR . . .Pam Hickey Newspaper Assoc. Fs ol : Co REPORTER ... Chris Hall 1 Publications Mail Registration No. 07881 PHONE (905) 985-7383 FAX (905) 985-3708 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) towards our mailing costs. E-MAIL: editorial@portperrystar.com advertising@portperrystar.com Lisa Monk, Janet Archer, Malcolm Lennox PRODUCTION: i . i Trudy Empringham, Daryle Wright, Arlene Cheel, Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Company Limited, 188 Mary Street - Port Perry, Ontario - L9L 1B7 Robert Taylor, Richard Drew SUBSCRIPTION RATES: 1 Year - $37.45 (includes GST) Six Months - $19.79 (includes GST) ~~ Foreign 1 Year - $96.30 (includes GST) freelance Writers: Heather McCrae, John B McClelland, Rik Davie 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 Letters must be signed and the telephone number (which will not be published) included.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 compelling reason to do so. Errors wall be corrected brought to the editors attention. We reserve the right to edit or refuse publication of any material submitted. ADVERTISING POLICY: The publisher is not liable for slight 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 or the refund of ary mores paid for the advertisement. All daims 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 daim will be allowed for more than one insertion. Editorial Comment | Ag funding's no game At a meeting of local corn producers in Port Perry last week, our federal and provincial representatives squared off over government funding for agriculture. Durham MPP John O'Toole, whose Tory government has announced $90 million in farm funding, said the province's move was a "challenge" to the feds, to provoke an increase in spending by Ottawa. Durham MP Alex Shepherd replied that the province's upping the ante is part of a "game". Well, fellows, it's no game. : | Farmers continue to call for an increase in government funding. The seasons may change, governments may come and go, and the crops in the ground may vary; but one key element remains the same: U.S. and European farmers are 'being heavily subsidized by their governments, and that allows them to survive and thrive even as market prices for their commodities go in the tank. In Canada, the international trade "boy scout" according to one ag rep at last week's meeting, there has been a per- sistent refusal by the feds to address the plight of farmers, YOU RE NOT MIDDING! T THINK T JUST FOUND JIMMY HOFFA IT'S AMAZING WHAT TURNS UPWHEN THE SNOW MELTS! 48 NM wor iss ld. 7. se ad 7 NI % /, Gs | the recent $500 million package notwithstanding. It is to the government's advantage to cite international agreements on subsidies, but the conduct of other governments makes that argument moot. | 7 The farmers, we believe, are not exaggerating when they make claims of impending doom, in the absence of an even international playing field and assistance from the federal government. Witness the massive and heartfelt response to the day of demonstration mounted by farmers across the province earlier this month. Canada's agricultural sector is a distinct part of the nation's heritage, and full of potential. Its plight now mustn't be ignored. (8 ((l RADA Tort PERRY STAR LETTERS Bothered by newspapers? How about retaliating? To the Editor: | suspect that if twice a week you were to take your household garbage, place it in a plastic bag and throw it out of your vehicle onto someone else's driveway it wouldn't take long before legal action would be taken against you for littering . Yet the Port Perry This Week are under the impression that the contents of their yellow plastic bags left in my driveway to pick up and dispose of is somehow dif- ferent. Having discussed this with the offenders, | was assured that it would never happen again. They kept their word for two weeks. Returning home after being out of town for the Easter weekend | discover yet another yellow plastic bag sitting at the end of my drive- way, a beacon for any would-be - home invader to target my house. Needless to say, | was not a happy camper. What part of the message "stop throwing your paper in my drive- way," do you not understand? With the summer holiday season approaching, I shouldn't have to concern myself each time I leave my house unoccupied, that it could be the target of thieves because of the actions of a local business. For the final time, I'm asking the offenders to stop throwing their garbage in my driveway. Should | wish to read your paper | will simply pick one up at our local general store, I wonder what the outcome would be if | was to start dumping my weekly household garbage in their driveway? Say, .... there's an idea... Steven Edwards, Prince Albert