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

"Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" 6 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, August 21, 2001 PUBLISHER, GEN MGR =. Don Macleod SENIOR REPORTER Chnis Hall oCchna OFFICE MANAGER Gayle Stapley ADVERTISING MGR .Deb McEachern Member Oriana: Community CREATIVE MGR Pam Hickey Newspaper Assoc REPORTER === Rik Davie PHONE 905-985-7383 FAX 905-985-3708 E-MAIL: editonal@portperrystar.com advertising@portperrystar.com / Publications Mail Registration No. 07881 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) towards our mailing costs. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: 1 Year - $37 45 (includes GST) Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Company Limited, 188 Mary Street - Port Perry, Ontario - LL 1B7 Six Months - $19.79 (includes GST) EDITORIAL POLICY: Opinions expressed by columnists, contributors and letter wiiters are not necessanly those of The Port Perry Star. Letters must be signed and the telephone number (which wall not be published) included. Requests that a name be withheld will be honoured only if there 1s a compelling reason to do so. Eriors will be corrected if brought to the editor's attention. We reserve the nght to edit or refuse publication of any matenal submitted. ADVERTISING POLICY: The publisher 1s not lable for shght changes or t aphical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher 1s not kable for other errors or omissions n connection with any advertisement in any subsequent issue or the refund of any monies paid for the advertisement. All dams of error in publication must be made by Wednesday, noon, prior 10 the next week's publication, pol made, will not be considered No dam wall be allowed for more than one insertion Member Canadian Community Fe Sony CNA Association Foreign 1 Year - $96.30 (includes GST) BUSINESS OFFICE: Judy Ashby, Kathy Dudley, Janet Rankin, Lesley West ADVERTISING: Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, Gail Morse, Linda Clarke, Lisa Monk, Janet Archer, Lon Bradbury PRODUCTION: Trudy Empringham, Daryle Wnght, Arlene Cheel freelance Wniters Heather McCrae, John B McClelland Editorial Comment Rain showers most welcome As the end of August nears, the temperature has dropped to more comfortable levels and, just over the past few days, the rain has made a return appearance. Po While summertime may hopefully still remain for some time yet, allow us to be thankful for this arrival of cooler tem- peratures and constant rainfall. It may be almost two months late, but the rainfall may be the one saviour for the many local farmers who wish to harvest at least something from their fields. Warm and dry drought-like conditions have left farmers watching as their crops die before their eyes. One local farmer has come just short of calling the 2001 season a disaster, while another has wistfully recalled seeing "dead acres" of crops just laying in the field. The recent rainfall may have come too late for everyone, but hopefully there are some out there who will be able to watch as the much-needed moisture provides some life to their crops. The weekend's showers have also helped lift the water levels in Lake Scugog, where they had sunk to dangerously low levels in the recent past. Officials with the Trent-Severn waterway weren't setting off any alarms, but did make an effort last week to alert the local press about the potential | _ dangers that boaters on Lake Scugog could have faced. Once again, the drought conditions led to water levels dropping so substantially that they had come to the point £) AG Gy --- --_-- ad \\Zyme Z NRG Sy ------ M-- HF lS Bh r-------- where they had dropped below safe navigational depths. It wasn't a crisis situation, but the chance for trouble was still = Rf Sees woe there. However, thanks to the showers, lake levels have crept higher, and you could hear the encouragement in -- T= Trent-Severn officials' voices when they reported yesterday KAVA Por T PERRY STAR morning that the water was on the rise. Most of the time, rain showers are met with complaints; during this summer of dry times, they're something prayed Low lake water levels are becoming a hazard for boaters... po -h mS 35 for by most and most welcomed on their arrival. Remember When? Historical photo feature by J. Peter Hvidsten » Pay oro Spades -- Eo oT -- a ---" = a. ~ k B= = This interesting picture was taken from a 1925 post card and shows a view of the Port Perry railway station from the lake. A train with passenger cars can be seen in front of the station building, about where the Rotary Gazebo is now in Palmer Park. The small building at right was the office of Reesors Lumber business. wien A a sss LETTERS Teens don't deserve a bad rep To the Editor: I have been reading and listen- ing to the complaints and multi- tude of slurs aimed at our teenagers, uttered by shop owners, teacher, police officers and even parents speaking of their own chil- dren. And | have had it. | cannot remember being this disgusted and disappointed with a fraction of the human race (and | use this term very loosely). Specifically, my frustration is with several indi- viduals and business owners locat- ed in our supposedly fair town. I am a long-timer resident of Port Perry. | work locally and hand over my hard earned cash to the local shops in this town. lam a mother of three, including a teenager and my home is lucky enough to be frequented by numerous teenagers, and | love them. | treat them with respect and receive it back tenfold. I listen to them when they want to speak. | offer help when they ask. | feed them when they're hungry and most of all, I don't judge them as a group. Are they perfect - certainly not. But, these kids are good and they need to hear it. In town, we watch as they are constantly instructed to "move it along" and told "you can't sit here," by merchants, their employees or the police (understandably doing as they are asked). Could someone please explain, where exactly it is you would like them to go? With my own eyes, | have watched while some visit the park, and are treated to complaints and dirty looks. While others go into restaurants, where in return for their money are subjected to poor service and rudeness. In some shops, they are watched closely by employees. Why? - 'youth' crime, 'youth' van- dalism and 'youth' problems. At the very least, one should realize, it is these 'youths' who are spend- ing money in your stores. It is these 'youths' who are participating in community service. It is these same 'youths' who are babysitting for us and helping out around the house. And it is these 'youths' who are our sons and daughters. Turn to Page 7