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"Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" Question of the Week... Do you think Members of No ldont, The Parliament Bivesd poids to deserve a20 per SepEREN, cent pay raise? hosphils oro Maureen Larsen Donna Bressette No, definitely not. Yogangio, Alot They get enough for a long time they pay for what they deserve one. 0. i & Ra 2 Michelle Aldridge Mary Boate Yes they deserve it. ~~ Anincrease yes, but Obviously our not 20 per cent. There's not too many businesses out there that give a 20 per cent increase. news is so boring that they need to magnify the issue. Letter to the Editor Standing in the way of progress To the Editor: | wrote a letter to this paper a few weeks ago where | asked Councillor Marilyn Pearce and the rest of the town's council to account for their public agenda. Unfortunately, to no response. Well, I guess | have to go further. I will begin this rather lengthy gripe by focusing on the ongoing stupidity standing in the way of progress and a better standard of living for this community. Let me help the councillors and the mayor stay focused. a If we were so concerned about the environment then why would we want a plaza built right beside a farm that produces food that we humans consume at the western boundary of the town? 'a Why do we worry about run-off from a parking lot when we pump tertiary-treated human and other hygienic waste from a pond at the north end of the community directly into the Nonquon River? 0 How is it that an existing gasoline filling station is allowed to operate on the shoreline of Lake Scugog in the north end of Port Perry? What safeguards are in place if the fuel storage tanks rupture? And, what about the mari- nas that have fuel storage tanks even at closer proximity to the lake? a When did the citizens of Port Perry insist that all new commercial or industrial buildings look like the 100 year old structures on Queen Street, and if this is the case, then how is it that none of the buildings erected in the last few years have had to conform to this rule? a Why are the taxpayers funding Mr. Beaton's plan to turn Palmer Park's shoreline into a swamp? Why has this Turn to Page 16 Ki ator, of oppose She "because remember about y ause reme revamped it to a brief ditty, and was just plan repetitive. d everywhere, and we sure w | | feel comfortable with it. ...Um, does standing on guard imply that the country is not fully accessible? ing a woman, of course, she is not a r a daughter. That point is not in tt bate Is if we ought to he anthem again - er about 15 years or so ago we et rid of a few of those stand on 'guard for thees? Which was not a bad idea, because the line occurs several times in what is, essentially, (Let me digress and.suggest that the whole song could use a little more, what do you call it, oomph. Standing on guard and the True North Strong and Free and whatnot are all fine, but, where's the rock- et's red glare, you know? Why can't we fight o'er ramparts? That's the problem with waiting until the late 1800's to write an anthem; all the good imagery has been appropriated.) ~ But the times, as they advise us ad nauseum, are a-changin', and so it is that perhaps we should 'remain open to a little revision, since inclusiveness is the one true shining ideal to which we all ought to ~ AKINDER,DOPIERANTHEM So Vivierine Poy, who is a sen- the political variety as d to the hockey variety, enough of gender-spe- ,. lyrics tional anthem, - because not everyone was born here, of course, 't and you know that God's g by Jeff Mitchell | aspire, even if it is a pain in the bottom, occasionally. Therefore, if we're going to revamp the anthem, it ought to have expunged other potentially offensive lyrics. No more references to home and native land, etting the cold shoulder ant Svend Robinson to "Jeez, this is tougher than | thought. How about: ".. 0 Canada, Tim Horton's and Blue Light, True patriot love, and hockey every night. © With glowing hearts, we thee rise ~The true north strong and free "With Don McLean and the CFL _ And Mansbridge on teevee. Winter and snow, beavers and geese O Canada, we're known for being nice, O Canada, we keep our sticks on the ice. I'll be the first to admit it needs some work, but it's catchy. And there are absolutely no lyrics that are exclusive... | think. Going over it here and now it strikes me that there are many other Canadian icons and emblems that could be included to make the anthem really snappy and popular, but that would require more verses, and you know, how long do you really want to wait before they drop the puck? So we'll send this version, rough a¥'it is, off to the good senator, to see how she likes it. | can't wait for her reply. The Council Table by Chris Hall A little common sense? Perhaps the best thing to con- sider when looking at the options "for a new home for the Port Perry Canadian Tire store is just some simple common sense. Much has been said, written, promised and read about the pros and cons for the two potential sites, but when it comes to making a final decision on where to put the massive new plaza proposed for the area, .one might just want to look at the facts, and the reality of the situation. Before going any further, it must be pointed that we are in fact in favour of a new, and much larger, Canadian Tire store. Anyone who has ever been in the current store and tried to make their way around and through the cramped aisles would be most definitely hoping and praying for the construction of a new store. But, a new store is not the question here. Rather, the big problem is finding a new home for such a pro- posal, which also includes a much larger and improved IGA (Sobey's) store, as well as two free-standing drive-through restaurants. On one side of town, just south of Port Perry off of Simcoe St., you have the developer's current fancy, a large chunk of property located on a busy highway with high visibility. The other site being considered is on the other side of town, just west of Port Perry on Hwy. 7A, which is also a rather large piece of property located just off one of Scugog's busiest roadways with high visibility. Both sites would probably be well suited for such a plaza, but if Canadian Tire (the main player in proposal) is really serious about opening up a new store, and quickly, in an effort to stop local shoppers from heading to other stores in Uxbridge, Oshawa and wherever else, they'd just sign on the dotted line with Quorum Development, who hold the rights to the Hwy. 7A site. The property there has already been rezoned by local council for such a elaborate proposal; it has been designated for such a large commercial plaza; there is now sufficient land available for such a plan; and, it's pretty much ready to go. More than likely, the shovel could go in the ground this summer. Yes, we know there is more to it than that, but the same things cannot be said for the Simcoe Rd. site. Rezoning applications still have to be approved by both Scugog Township and Durham Region officials for that site, and then the commercial plaza designation has to be removed from the Hwy. 7A site and tagged on the Simcoe Rd. site. As well, one cannot forget the environmental con- cerns, with the plans calling for the Simcoe St. plaza to be constructed so close to the Scugog Marsh. However, even if all these things were to happen and the plan were approved, the whole matter would most certainly be dragged to the Ontario Municipal Board by those opposed to the plan. An appeal hearing would tie the issue up for what could be a year or more. Which brings us to say, that if Canadian Tire and their partners were really concerned with serving the residents of Port Perry -- their customers -- the best way possible, they'd grab onto the Hwy. 7A proposal and get building as soon as possible. That's what everyone wants, right? Not many people are all that concerned about where such a store would go in town, they just want it built. No doubt there will be much more said and written about the proposal, but folks it looks pretty simple to me. All that is needed is a little common sense.