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Honestly, is there anything cuter than newborn pigs 1? There's just something about their little snouts, big ears and curly tails that make you want to say "Awwwww." Above, Craig Larmer hoists a couple of pink piggies in the air for all to see. For more babies, see page 14. Stakes go up for The second Annual Lake Scugog Bass Derby will be held on June 30 this year and the grand prize for Some lucky fisherman could be as high as $30,000. Details of the Cham- ber of Commerce spon- sored Derby are being fact, the on Friday, March 11. No records as the ice goes out Unlike last year, there were no new records set this year as the ice left Lake Scugog. In ice was over a month later disappearing this year than in 1983 when it left The official date for this year is Saturday, April 14, when all but a few isolated patches of ice along the shoreline had disappeared. According to records compiled by the Star, the earliest the ice has left the lake was last years record of March 11, and the latest date recorded was on April 29, 1965. Prior to the March 11 date, the earliest date recorded was March 20, way back in 1878. So for the record books, or anyone who may have wagered a bet on when the ice went out, officially it is April 14, 1984. Scugog bass derby finalized this week, but Chamber president Bill Barr said Monday morning the organizing committee has agreed to tag one fish with a grand prize of "$20,000 minimum and possibly $30,000'. In addition, he said there will be numerous other fish tagged for prizes worth from $25 to $500. Organizers have set June 30 as the date for the Derby this year, which is the opening day for the bass season on Lake Scugog. Last year the Bass Derby proved immense- ly popular with fishing enthusiasts as 1181 entries were sold, and the committee is hoping to increase this number substantially this year. All the bass for the derby this year will be (Turn to page 3) Bike catches on fire after hitting auto Two young Scugog Township men had a narrow brush with death last Thursday evening when their motorcycle burst into flames after hitting the side of a car on Highway 7A, just east of the Port Perry town limits. A spokesman for the Whitby OPP detach- ment said Gary Ashton, 24, was a passenger on a Honda motorcycle driven by Dave Cast- eels, also 24. The driver pulled out to pass an eastbound grader and struck a westbound car driven by Gerald Miller of Oshawa. Both men were thrown free of the motorcycle which then burst into flames which could be seen as far away as Queen Street. The grader was driven by Scott Milton of Lind- say. Traffic along the high- way was held up for over an hour as members of the Scugog Fire department hosed down the roadway. Mr. Casteels was taken to Port Perry Hospital and released after overnight obser- vation. Mr. Ashton was transferred to Oshawa General Hospital with back injuries. Whitby OPP have charged the driver of the motorcycle with careless driving in connection with the accident. Vol. 118 No. 20 Tuesday, April 17, 1984 40 pages Committee to study Scugog water levels In spite of warnings from employees of Parks Canada, a comm- ittee will be formed to investigate the possibil- ity of raising the water level in Lake Scugog. At an intensely em- otional public meeting in the Latcham Centre last Sunday, more than 100 local home and cottage owners gather- ed to express their views and to hear the facts and opinions offer- ed by a group of politicians and water level experts. The session had initi- ally been termed an information meeting, but angry citizens de- manding the water level be raised soon turned the proceedings into a protest, with politicians leading the way. By the time the meet- ing was over, Scugog Township Mayor Jerry Taylor announced that a committee would be formed at the municipal level, with represent- atives from all levels of government and all con- cerned agencies. "Together, jointly, we will try to initiate some movement to investi- gate what should be done," he said, as the audience erupted into cheers and applause. "It won't happen over- night but at least it's a start." At the center of Sun- day's controversy were two employees of Parks Canada, the administ- rator of the Trent- Severn Waterway and a network of heritage re- sources across the country. Doug Stewart, central area manager, and Bruce Kitchen, water control engineer, répeatedly came under audience fire by saying the lake level could not be permanently raised without risking flood damage. Since the lake's opt- imum level was decided via study in 1912, people like Mr. Stewart and Mr. Kitchen have attempted to keep all 200 miles of the water- way at a reasonable navigational level throughout the recrea- tional season. Traditionally, this means removing all logs from the Lindsay dams in the spring, when melted ice, run-off and rain bring the. water level up. When the level returns to normal, the logs are put back in place, so that the level can = be regulated throughout the summer. But unlike other lakes in the waterway system that are fed by a variety of rivers and water bodies, Lake Scugog is "spring-fed" and limit- ed to the amount of water filling it. Which is why evapor- ation affects the lake so much. Last summer's extreme temperatures. and long dryspells com- bined to evaporate large quantities of water from the lake, bringing the (Turn to page 11) New school is a possibility There is a possibility that a new elementary school may be built in Port Perry within the next few years. The new school for Kindergarten to grade six students, is one of 11 in the Region identified in a long range study tabled at the April 9 meeting of the Durham Board of Education. Commenting on the study last week, Scugog Trustee Rev. Stuart Mc- Entyre stressed that there are a lot of steps to be completed before final approval for con- struction is received. «3 "This tentative at this time," said Rev. McEntyre, adding that in his opinion, the earliest possible construction start would be in the fall of 1986. He said if final app- rovals are eventually given for the new school, the site would likely be in the new subdivision on the north side of Durham Road 8 on the west side of Lilla Street. The Board has land there ear-marked for construction of a new (Turn to page 3) AN 8 . Two Scugog Township men were injured Honda bike struck the side of a car and then in a motorcycle accident Thursday evening burst into flames after the two were thrown on Highway 7A at the first causeway. The clear. (See story) is all very ™ ee wet Na