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A ff £ EB Volume 135 Number 47 rt goss Newspaper of Choy, COPY 75¢ (70¢ + 5¢ GST 28 Pages Second ice pad effort to begin in New Year By Rik Davie Port Perry Star The effort to raise funds for the second ice pad at the Scugog Arena appears to be well on its way. Following last Thursday evening's public meeting on raising funds for a new ice, Ward 5 Councillor Paul Michel walked away from the session with plenty of opti- mism. In total, the second ice pad will require -- even before its comple- tion -- funds reaching around the $3 million mark. The township hopes to receive $1 million from the province's " 'Super Build' fund, while the munic- ipality has pledged to come up with another $1 million from develop- ment charges. Another $500,000 will be added from the township's Community Enhancement Funds, which is comprised of the town- ship's share of casino revenue. The remaining $500,000 will come from the public, including user groups such as minor and adult hockey and other community orga- nizations. "When council passed the reso- lution on the ice pad many groups didn't waste time and got started then," Mr. Michel told The Star "There is over $90,000 in the public fund now and the reaction I got from the 25-or-so user reps at the meet- ing tells me the community will rise to this occasion." Mr. Michel said that some com- munity groups are already pledging funds and a committee to steer the direction of fund raising efforts will be in place soon. "I am interim chair but a commit- tee will be formed to see this to its Please turn to Page 9 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2001 Staying sharp Bl Sr ALLS EER a SORg ar: a Br Tied Felis CHRIS HALL/PORT PERRY STAR Henry Smits has been putting an edge on the blades of Scugog"s hockey players for many years now, and he estimates that he still does as many 300 pairs a week in the little sports room under the stands at the Scugog Arena. Markham-Stouffville backs away _ Hospital merger talks put on hold By Chris Hall Port Perry Star Plans to merge the Uxbridge hospital with the Markham-Stouffville facility were put on hold indefinitely last week. Garth Johns, Chief Operating Officer for the Lakeridge Health Uxbridge site, con- firmed late last Friday afternoon that talks regarding the realignment of the two hospital systems have stopped due to costs. "We hit a roadblock," said Mr. Johns. "There are transitional costs associated with the transfer, and at the present time we are unsure of how we are going to cover them. At this time, the project is on hold." The decision to cut off talks on the merger was made last Thursday night by members of the Markham-Stouffville board, said Mr. Johns. The main concern with the proposed plan is licensing issues and the cost of setting up computer systems and making sure that systems from both sites are compatible. It is estimated that the entire cost of the transfer could reach the $2 million mark. "No further discussions on the volun- tary transfer have been planned at this time," said Mr. Johns. "Right now it has come down to a matter of costs, and until we find someone to pay those costs then we are not going any further." The Uxbridge COO confirmed that the two health care providers would be turn- ing to the Ontario Ministry of Health in the near future to look for financial help. He also stressed that the Lakeridge Health Corporation's current financial mess -- the health care provider is look- ing at a considerable budget deficit -- had no impact on the decision made by Markham-Stouffville to back away from talks. In an Email to all hospital staff, Mr. Johns informed his employees that, "Markham Stouffville Hospital has decid- Please turn to Page 10 CHRYSLER ¢ CARS ¢ TRUCKS 2 SALES ® SERVICE ® PARTS ® BODY SHOP ® PAINT & COLLISION Located at the corner of Hwy. 12 & Hwy. 7A in Manchester 905-985-7354 ¢ 905-404-8220