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PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, June 12, 2001 - 7 ts ihe Question of the Week... I... Do you agree with the | g Pat Sheahan Scott Whittemore Kathy Holroyd John VanVeen Riet Orde | transfer station charge io) tom care Yes, if it helps to ] don't think $0 I | don't think they No, | don't agree . . or It, but | guess ' ey want peopie 10 should e at . | increasing from two they have to make keep it open. do Yhat they should all. ae because we use it : money some- keep it at a reason- refuse to pay so so much. ; | dollars to five dollars? where. able price as an they dump it on the incentive to brin things there. J back roads. Pedestrian hazard in town To the Editor: I am writing to you as a con- cerned resident of Port Perry. As | am sure you are aware Port Perry is a very busy town, even busier now that summer is here. There are numerous visi- tors to our beautiful town. The waterfront park is especially busy and it is here where | have my concern. On the weekend | took my son to the park to play and then went across Water Street to purchase an ice cream. | am aware that there is a crosswalk across Water Street from the park area. Eight cars passed us before anyone would stop to allow my son and I cross. As | was leaving the parking lot in my car, two young girls were waiting to cross the street. Around 12 vehicles went passed them. One mini-van did stop to allow them to cross. However at this point the car behind it veered off to the right and went around the mini-van, the mini- van then proceeded. If the girls had been crossing, they might have been hit and injured seri- ously. I was almost prepared to get out of my vehicle to assist them across the road safely. When the traffic was tleared they started across and | made my left turn slowly, ensuring that traffic would stop to allow them to cross safely. The lines are worn off this crosswalk. I am asking that these lines be repainted and that council consider erecting signs that indicate that it is a crosswalk or a stoplight. As a parent, my fear is some child will be seriously hurt or killed there. Pedestrians can be impatient and all drivers need to be aware of them. | give credit to the two girls for waiting for a break in traffic, however not all children are willing to wait. I look forward to hearing from you further on this matter. Jean Harsell, Port Perry LETTERS A few questions for our councillors To the Editor: With due respect to the mayor and councillors of Port Perry. a What If - you were to rezone the industrial land to commercial and allowed the Canadian Tire and Sobeys project to move ahead. The entrance to this "Victorian" community should be more dignified. a What If - You put the envi- ronmental concerns to rest in both the Reid's Independent and Canadian Tire cases. The real problem is not a few open fertilizer bags or a small spill of gasoline at the pumps. a What If - A large tanker or (small for that matter) or any vehicle carrying toxic material were to go into the lake off the causeway or overturn on the hill on 7A (notwithstanding that 7A is a provincial matter). Is there a catch basin to contain a spill? The way traffic has been on this road, it is only a matter of time for the real disaster to hap- pen. Would you restrict what mate- rials can be moved on this section of roadway? . Just a few questions. George Festeryga, Port Perry Studio tour organizers say thanks To the Editor: The Lake Scugog Spring Studio Tour has just completed its post tour wrap-up. According to the feedback we've received from both visitors and partici- pating artists, the second Lake Scugog Spring Studio Tour was a great success. Our thanks and appreciation to the following: all of the gener- ous sponsors and advertisers of the tour brochure, the Port Perry BIA, Scugog Chamber of Commerce and the Township of Scugog for their support, local media for their coverage of the tour, Ocala Winery for hosting the artists exhibit and Reid's, . Nutty Chocolatier, Quality Butchers and Greenbank Restaurant for providing excel- lent refreshments for our pre- tour evening, and of course the approximately 1,000 visitors who made the tour happen. Congratulations to the visitor survey/draw winners - B. More of Uxbridge, R. Blaney of Brooklin and S. Connelley of Toronto. They will each receive a gift pack- age of artist work. We are now planning for the. 2002 studio tour, but before that, we hope everyone will join us for our first Snowflake Tour on the weekend of Dec. | and 2 of this year. Thanks again, Scugog, for your support, and for allowing us to share our talents with you. Carey Nicholson, Lake Scugog Spring Tour 2001 The Council Table By Chris Hall Market's time has come The time has come for a farm- ers' market here in Port Perry. Long overdue, a farmers' mar- ket for the Port Perry area makes good sense, as it would attract local shoppers as well as out-of-town tourists that this town relies upon so heavily. It would appear that such a market is indeed in demand from local residents, who have expressed a great interest in a market to their ward councillors. However, if there is such a great demand for a farmers' market, then why has it taken so long for renewed talks on the issue? Sure, a market was set up at the Port Perry fair- grounds a few years ago by the Port Perry Agricultural Society, and it did fairly well for a couple of years before interest waned. Whitney Cohoon, who spearheaded the initiative, has stated in the past that for any market to be successful, it has to have a downtown location. So, why did a great idea such as a market have to die and stay dead for five years before interest in it was renewed? Shouldn't it have just been picked up and moved? It seems strange that in a community such as Scugog Township, which prides itself on its agri- cultural sector, that we have no farmers' market here. It would seem to make perfect sense, given the number of farms here and the amount of tourism Port Perry generates, to have a local market where people could purchase fresh fruit and produce. While farmers from Scugog now travel great dis- tances to set up shop in larger urban areas, they too have shown some interest in a local market - as long as someone organizes it for them. They've mentioned that they would in fact sup- port a local market, as long as all they have to do is show up each week and sell their goods. Preliminary talks have now begun on starting up a new market, to be open each weekend at the municipal offices parking lot, which would seem to be a great choice for a location. The usual channels have to be gone through - first, the local BIA to see if they would support a downtown market, followed by council for their approval - but the idea seems to be favoured by all the major players involved. It was hoped last week by members of the town- ship's economic development committee that a market could be set up by September, just in time for the fall harvest. So, as it stands now, it would appear that a new and improved farmers' market is on the way for Port Perry. Finally. It just seems surprising that it took so long. How many people enjoy taking a leisurely stroll through the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto on a Saturday morning? Or how about through The Market in Ottawa? Which brings us to question why such large urban centres have great big farmers' markets, and Port Perry does not. Would it not make sense for a small rural community like Scugog Township to have its own market, where local farmers can sell their produce to local residents? Here's hoping that all goes well and that the local farmers, township and merchants can get together and agree that a farmers' market could be an important part of this community.