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Some Stores Want To Open Boxing Day opening in Scugog rejected Port Perry merchants who may have been thinking of staying open on Boxing Day probably will not be granted exemptions to the Retail Business Holidays Act. Durham Region council's management committee is recommending that exemp- tions not be granted to several retail businesses in Port Perry. Under - the Act, it is . Durham Region council, not Scugog Township council, which has the authority to grant exemptions to allow businesses to stay open on holidays like Boxing Day. However, the Act states that exemptions may be granted where 'it is essential for the mainten- ance and development of a tourist industry." The request to the Region came in a letter from Town- ship administrator Earl Cuddie who said "several retail business establish- ments" in Port Perry had expressed interest in the exemption to allow them to stay open Boxing Day. Althaugh the Regional council has allowed the exemptions in the past, the management committee is now recommending they be denied. The full Durham council will deal with the recommen- dation at its regular meeting today (Wednesday, Dec. 9th) Dogs missing, owners feel pets were stolen If you have a pet dog, it might be worth your while to keep a closer watch on him. There have been numerous cases of missing dogs report- ed in Scugog and Uxbridge Townships over the past cou- ple of months, and several of the owners contacted by the Star recently say they bel- ieve their pets were stolen. Although none said 'they had any conclusive proof of evidence the pets were indeed stolen, they all said they felt strongly that this was the case. And one woman who lives on Highway 12 north of Gre- enbank told the Star she witnessed two men trying to lure her dog into a car two weeks ago. Cathy Clark told the Star she looked out her window about 11:00 A.M. on Nov- ember 21 and saw the eight month old Doberman puppy at the end of the driveway where two men were trying Hospitals facing financial pinch Port Perry Hospital ad- ministrator David Brown says any revenue generating ventures the hospital under- takes probably won't be enough to dramatically imp- rove the financial picture unless there are sufficient increases in funding from the provincial government. Mr. Brown was comment- ing on statements made last week by Ontario Premier William Davis who told the Ontario Hospital Association Convention that starting in April, 1982, hospitals will be allowed to set their own rates for private and semi private beds and keep any increased revenues that may be gen- "erated from other sources. The hospital presently has three private beds and 14 . semi-private beds including eight in the obstetrics ward. Mr. Brown said that for small hospitals like Port Perry, the amount of in- creased revenues these could generate will not have much impact and the financial picture could be bleaker if the provincial health ministry does not con- tinue its funding of hospitals at the inflation rate at least. Mr. Brown said the Hosp- ital Board has not discussed the possibility of converting any ward beds to private or semi-private, and in any event doing this would be difficult at Port Perry Hospital. . The wards currently have four beds and one washroom, and converting to private or semi-private would mean the cost of adding wash-- rooms. From -a financial (Turnto page 2) to coax it towards a car. Mrs. Clarke said the incid- ent happened .so fast, she was not able to get a good description of the men or the car, but she is convinced they were trying to lure the puppy away. Ann Barrett, dog control officer for Scugog and Ux- bridge Townships, said last week she has received about 40 calls in November and October from people report- ing their dogs missing. She added, however, that this is not an unusually high number for a two month period. And she cautioned - that in many cases where a dog goes missing, the first reaction of the owners is to suspect that they have been stolen. However, she did not dis- count the possibility that dogs are being stolen. Judy Williams, who lives south of Port Perry, is one dog owner convinced her two pets were stolen. I'm positive the dogs were taken from the yard," she told the Star. She said that both dogs, one a spaniel and the other a lab, went missing September 14. One was tied at the front door, and both were dis- covered missing early in the morning. She said both dogs were about seven years old, and never strayed away very far from the house. Bruce Houghland, who lives north of Port Perry, lost his dog October 1. He said the two year part Collie and lab was in his usual spot .. (Turntopage7) Vol. 116 No.2 'Wed nesday, December 9, 1981 Constable Brian Curtis has more than just a word of warning for drinking drivers. As a qualified breathalyser operator with Durham Region Police, he will meet a few suspected drunk drivers over the Christmas holiday season. A conviction for registering over .08 in a breath test means automatic loss of licence for three months and a hefty fine which would be enough to ruin anybody's Christmas. If you don't want to meet Constable Curtis in the line of duty, don't mix your drinking and driving this Christmas, or any time, for that matter. Drinking drivers had better beware Constable Brian Curtis is actually a nice guy and the last thing he wants to do is spoil anybody's Christmas. But, as a qualified breath- | alyser - unit operator with Durham Regional Police, he has a job to do and will be busy during the coming festive season, If you don't want to meet Constable Curtis while he's doing his job, take a bit of advice and don't mix drinking and driving. Even though drinking rivers are a major concern year round for police forces, the situation becomes more acute during the Christmas season and police officers are on the look-out for the driver who's had "one too many." Officers with the Durham force have ALERT breath testing device which reg- isters a pass, fail, or warning reading when a driver blows into it. If that reading is fail or warning, the driver will be taken to the 26 Division office in Uxbridge where Constable Curtis will administer the breathalyser test. Even if he's off duty, drivers in the Scugog, Brock and Uxbridge areas can be taken to Oshawa or Pickering for a breath test, or a qualified officer will come to Uxbridge to admin- ister the test. The breath test itself takes only a few minutes to register the amount of alco- hol in the blood. The driver simply blows into a tube and two minutes later the breath- alyser unit provides the reading. If that reading is higher than .08 (80 milligrams alco- hol per 100 millilitres blood) the driver is facing a charge which on conviction in court means automatic loss of licence for three months and a fine that could be as high as $2000. A second conviction means 'a jail term of 14 days and loss of licence for six months. It's a stiff penalty to pay, but statistics show that in fatal accidents, the chances are good that alcohol was involved. Constable Curtis qualified as a breath test officer by completing a course at the Forensic Sciences Centre in Toronto five years ago. He worked with the Metro force for a year and joined: the Durham force in 1977. He estimates that in the past five years he has adminis- tered more than 800 breath- alyser tests, including 122 so far in 1981. He has seen a breath test as high as .380 which he says is close to serious alcohol poisoning and the person likely needs hospital treat- ment. (Turnto page 2)