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WINTER RECOLLECTIONS Cold enough for 'ya? . How many times have you heard that line in the the last few weeks around Scugog? Just about everybody is talking about the weather--more specifically the bone chilling cold Old Man Winter has given us since Christmas. I'm not sure why, but for the first time in my life I can feel the cold in my bones. It gets into my knee joints and grinds away. My wife says I should expect this at my age. Maybe she's right. The years are creeping by, and I'm beginning to understand why a lot of people, when they reach a certain age, can't wait to get away to more temperate climes at the first sign of snow. Winter has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Growing up in a small town in the Ottawa Valley, one had no choice but to make the best of winter. It comes early and hard in that part of Ontario. Autumn is painfully short, maybe a few days of "Indian Summer" in early October and by the middle of that . month the first snow would be on the ground. By mid-November, the snow would be there to stay, the frost in the ground and the majestic Ottawa River would start to freeze over. By mid December the deep freeze had set in. Winter had arrived bringing with it deep snow and temperatures often at -30, and that's on the old F. scale. My first game of organized hockey was played on an open air natural ice rink built on the crest of a hill. The team with the "wind at its back" had a real advantage in the third period, and often the players would shovel the ice before each game. By mid-winter, the snow banks around the rink would be higher than the boards, and to this day I can still see spectators standing on those banks looking down on the game. The lighting was provided by two or three strings of naked bulbs and the only warmth was a balky old wood stove in the "dressing room," a thin-walled shack with a bench inside. I am not kidding when I say more than one player left the ice with frostbite to the ears or nose. And once the skates came off and the feet started to warm up, the pain would be almost unbearable. After a season or two playing on this rink, the town built a new "covered arena." It was a barn-like structure typical of the mid-50's with soll walls and roof that attracted the cold like a magnet. There was no seating so spectators stood along the boards, no more than a couple of feet from those frosty steel walls. Bundled up in heavy coats, scarves, hats and mitts, the dads who came out to watch looked more like members of a polar exploration than spectators at a kids Saturday morning hockey game. My childhood winters were taken up with hockey, school (it was a long walk at -30 F.) shinny.on any one of dozens of back yard rinks in our neighbourhood, shovelling the walk What's coming next in Ontario, a bathroom tax? To the Editor: It seems hardly a day goes by where we don't hear of another plant closing or major lay-offs. A Canadian Press report says the 1994 future is "scary." High unemployment, slow growth, fat incomes with price increases, big government deficits and food banks. Polls suggest 41 per cent of Canadians who have a job worry about losing it. The chief egpnomist at the Bank of Montreal and the driveway, downhill sledding By the end of February the snow banks were higher than the cars on the road and I would start to hear my folks saying they'd had just about enough of winter. My childhood memories of winte in the "valley" are varmpend R pleasant. Of course, ag™8 child, I didn't have to pay, oil bills or worry about fréfen water pipes. Likewise I néver fought with a balky old carifhat refused to start. And I .used to wonder why Dad would soak his feet in hot water after my hockey games. ring arrived late in the "valley," hough by mid March there was actually warmth in the noon hour sun. Tiny trickles of water started to run in the streets, the first sign that spring was not too distant. Another harbringer of spring was the first appearance of a smoking, foul-smelling contraption used by the town works department to free the culverts and ditches of five months ice and snow. Even though there were a few signs of spring by mid-March, they could be fleeting as Old Man Winter never gave up without one last bitterly cold snap or a howling blizzard (or both). Winter was a fact of life in the "Valley." There was no such thing as a "mild" winter or a "green" Christmas. It was unrelenting but not unfriendly. Perhaps it was my childhood i in that part of the country which prepared me for winters in later years. They were not to be "endured," but enjoyed as a fact of life for anyone born north of the 49th. But as I said at the top, this year the cold has driven into my bones and joints, and for the first winter ever I find myself sneaking a glance in a southerly direction. says the "economic environment is frightening." With 1.6 million Canadians out of work and over 300,000 bankruptcies since 1988 we face a dim future. CP says Canada is undergoing a change as drastic as Britain's Industrial ti 1 down to the pre-recession level "of 7.5 per cent by the end of this decade, we will need to generate about 2.4 million jobs. The Canadian Manufacturers Assoc. issued one of the strongest warnings yet on the escalating national debt--a shocking cash crisis that the debt will reach almost $1 trillion by the year 2001. If it were not for the $40 billion worth of vehicles produced here, most of which are exported to the US, along with the brisk lumber sales to the Americans, we would be in dire straits. As large corporations lay off workers and down-size , small business accounts for about 85 per cent of all new jobs. Now business if flooded with more red tape and obstruction. The Ontario government is the only province in Canada to legislate hiring practices based on race, gender and the disabled. More than 17,000 companies and 75 per cent of all Ontario workers are now covered by the discriminatory job equity law. It covers all public organizations and most businesses. Why not hire on merit, regardless of vace or gender? The Rae government socialist policies are crippling business and individuals alike. So-called non profit housing is said to cost about $7 billion for some 20,000 units which is much higher than private sector costs. Vacancy rates in Toronto are two per cent and in other cities at ten per cent. Worse, it costs you and me a whopping $1 billion each year to subsidize each of these units. A builder told me that in Oshawa, units cost from $100,000 to $150,000 each--far above what they would cost if built by the private sector. Every time we turn around we face more tax increases from the Rae government to pay for its follies. The list goes on and on, and now includes a new filing fee for for complaints to assessment review boards. The fee is $20 for residential and $70 for commercial property assessment appeals. The latest cash cow is the radar photo camera which cost $80,000 each. fopp crash figures show that crashes involving non-speeders numbered £5,596, or almost 97 per cent of the total did not involved speeders. The cost of adding French signs on Highway 401 is almost $4 milliod. What next, a bathroom tax? Dean Kelly, Port Perry, Ont. Hats off to Physio people To the Editor; 1 have just recently completed three months of physiotherapy for a facial contortion called Bell's Palsy. 1 want to say "Hats Off" to the wonderful staff in this overcrowded department at Port Perry Community Hospital. They all work well together, are very patient, professional, compassionate and kind and | am most grateful they are there. We in Scugog are indeed fortunate! Elaine Gailey Blackstock Decathlon anybody? Teams are still needed for the "community détathlon" event this coming weekend as part of the Scugog Snow Flake Festival. The decathlon will be held on Saturday and Sunday (five events each day) and will include such fun things as cooking chili, skating, and human dog team races. For information on how to get your team signed up for the Community Decathlon, call 985-9804 right away. Community rallies to support Memorial Library To the Editor: 1 would like to begin this letter by thanking the Scugog Citizen, for the press coverage they gave to Scugog Public Library during 1993. We appreciate the attention given by the local newspapers to Library events throughout the year, as well as the articles re. the Library's financial needs for collection development. As a result, individuals, have come forward and d an subject areas that we presently need for the collection. Another difficulty is that often times these used books contain information that is outdated. It may also be a case where the Library already has a copy of the book. We also have to consider the condition of the books that are being donated. Often, we receive books that have not been stored and therefore are itable for the collection interest in helping the Library by offering to donate their used books. We appreciate these offers. However, in many cases the books being donated are not in because of their poor condition. Aguin, we thank these people for their interest in helping the Library. However, what the Library actually needs are additional funds to continue developing the collection. Financial donations assist the Library in purchasing the current resources in subject areas that patrons are requesting. 1 must also point out that wi did have several individuals, local and community groups make substantial financial contributions to the Library as a result of the September 28th article in the Secugog Citizen re. the Library's financial needs. We are grateful to the individuals whe have made financial donations towards the collection in the last few months. I would also lke to recognize local businesses, Create-a-Book and Port Perry Printing who responded because of the news articles, with financial The Rotary Club presented to shelving that was installed in November. The Best For Less, a local business dealing in antiques and collectable, has very generously offered to help raise funds for the Library's collection by taking in used books and reselling them. Anyone wishing to donate used books should bring them to The Best for Less store. Also, KPC and The Antrim House, after reading the news articles, have each contacted the Library and proposed plans to assist the Library in raising funds for the collection. We greatly appreciate their interest and look forward to working with them in 1904. Finally, | would like to thank all other community groups, local businesses and individuals who made contributions to the Library throughout 19903. Your in always appreciated pe Sincerely, Susanne White Chief Librarian,. Bcugog Memorial Library ?