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i ---- -- I A _ 6 - "WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 2001 PUBLISHER.., GEN, MGR......Don MacLeod MANAGING EDITOR.. Jeff Mitchell OFFICE MANAGER.... Gayle Stapley ADVERTISING MGR... Deb McEachem REPORTER................. Chris Hall Freelance : Heather McCrae, John B. McClelland, Rik Davie PHONE (905) 985-7383 FAX (905) 985-3708 E-MAIL: editorial @portperrystar.com advertising @ portperrystar.com Aocna Member Ontario Community Newspaper Assoc. END STAR CEES ---- Published every Friday by the Port Perry Star Company Limited, 188 Mary Street - Port Perry, Ontario - L9L 1B7 Distributed free in the following communities: Port Perry - Uxbridge - Sunderland - Little Britain - RR Lindsay Janetville Oakwood - Manilla - Seagrave - Greenbank - Brooklin - Ashburn - Columbus - RR Oshawa Zephyr - Udora - Leaskdale - Sandford - Caesarea - Blackstock - Raglan - Nestleton - Yelverton - Prince Albert WEE} BUSINESS OFFICE: Judy Ashby, Kathy Dudley, Janet Rankin, Lesley West ADVERTISING: Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, Gail Morse, Sandra Spiers, Linda Clarke, Janet Archer, Malcolm Lennox, Lisa Monk PRODUCTION MANAGER: Pamela Hickey Production Staff: Trudy Empringham, Daryle Wright, Arlene Cheel, Richard Drew The MP pay raise farce Members of Parliament have been presented once again with the opportunity to vote themselves a substantial pay raise, while the rest of us look on and consider the absurdity of it. Some MPs might be grousing publicly about a 20 per cent hike, but really - who's gonna vote against it? You? Me? Ha: | MPs may well deserve a raise. Lord knows they work hard, spending lots of time travelling to and from Ottawa, being separated from family and their communities, and upon returning from Ottawa, having to run around the constituency on the - weekends, cutting ribbons and handing over plaques and such. But a 20 per cent pay raise? While the rest of us struggle to put food on the table and work overtime to keep the Oldsmobile gassed up? It is, as they like to say in the media these days, a case of bad optics. As with the MPs' pension debate, you have people com- plaining publicly about having to opt in to a scheme that's going to line their pockets, and we all know it's ridiculous. So here's a suggestion: Schedule pay hikes of a couple of per- centage points every two or three years for MPs. That's the kind of arrangement unions and employers haggle over and agree upon. It's a recognition of rising costs and changing workplace atmo- spheres, and in the end, the workers are rewarded without blowing the budget. It may be a little too simple for the folks in Ottawa, but it would end this ongoing farce of politicians supposedly having to swallow the bitter pill of a wage hike. DRAT! 1 FORGOT TOoPUT THE HAMMOCK AWAY! Po EASE MY WAY OH WELL, T'LL JUST" UNDER {T! oO | 8 OOF! I TRACTOR DRIVE BY ALL (BY ITSELF? | (Oka, EASY Doks IT) ( AM 1 LOSING MY MIND, OR I DID 1 JUST SEE THE LAWN Jennifer Gray, 18-months (left) and 27-month-old Aleasha Stiles seem to enjoy each other's company, along with the companionship of their two canine pals, in this photo sent in by Debbie Stiles. If you have an interesting picture we could use for Photo of the Week, please drop it by The Star office, or give us a call LETTERS at 985-7383. Bravo to our local young talent To the Editor: Bravo and a standing ovation to: Jamie Corneal and Donnie Bark. Once again | am thoroughly impressed with Port Perry teens. Rehearsals for "Paris Comes Alive" began at the Town Hall 1873 on Wednesday, May 16 and continued on to the 23rd, 25th, rapping up with two shows on the 26th. Jamie Corneal and Donnie Bark were ready and waiting at the Town Hall before the doors had been unlocked - punc- tuality, wow!. The two teens were the tech- nical sound and lighting team for our year end recital. With their hard work and dedi- cation the performances went off without a hitch. Donnie even worked around the At Home, rehearsing before the dance and then dashing off to pick up his girlfirends corsage. Jamie continued on and ran the show solo for dress rehearsal. Lights, sound, action - these boys are ready to go! Thank you Jamie and Donnie. Sincerly Richelle Kinley-Van Dyk Island Dance Studio MPs pay raise? You must be kidding To the Editor: Pay raise? No way, you must be kidding "Jean! With the Liberal dictatorship that you have instituted in Ottawa and those trained seals that you have so well trained at your every command. You should be ashamed of yourself. Let us have a say in the matter. In case you forgot, we the taxpayers pay all the wages for all M.P.'s and yes you Mr, Prime Minister. You are just as bad as former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney who institut- ed the dreaded G.S.T. tax under the Conservative government. You said you would get rid of his G.S.T. tax. Look what happened to former M.P. John Nunziata for reminding you what you said to scrap it just like you said you would, just to get elected. Hey Sheila? What a bunch of crap we have to swallow. I wish we had a choice... but we just keep on paying and paying till we drop. Herman van der Veen Oshawa