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\ letters Reply from store owners | Dear Sir: We regretted the appearance in your column last week of a letter from a dissatis- fied customer of ours exhorting all citizens of Scugog to shop in Oshawa where ""the customer is always right" and where the merchants will accept any merchandise in exchange cheerfully and without question. We have two purposes in submitting a reply for publication. Firstly, no store was named, and we feel it is unfair for all merchants in Port Perry to be labelled guilty because one of our customers is unhappy. Secondly, we want to assure the public that Brock's policy on ex- change of goods has always been a very liberal one. Any .defect- ive merchandise may be returned for exchange or cash refund as can any other merchandise as long as it is in saleable condition and the customer has a sales slip to prove it was purchased from us in the first place. In fair- ° ness to ourselves, we do reserve the right to decide whether the above conditions are met, and occasionally we will refuse to take an item back. We stand behind our merchandise and we suspect that there are very few of our customers who will agree with your corres- pondent. In closing, we would like to assure our cust- omers that the customer is still right mos¢; of the time at Brock's, as we suspect he is at all other establishments in Scugog. We would suggest to local citizens to shop in Oshawa if they must, but NOT for fear that reasonable exchanges and refunds cannot be made if necessary at local stores. Yours sincerely, William Brock, Port Perry. Lions say thanks Dear Sir: Last November the Lions Club of Port Perry launched a mail cam- paign to raise funds for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. I am pleased to report that the donations which we continued to receive until late December have now been tabulat- ed and we have reached over one thousand dollars. : May 1 take this opportunity to thank you, the Star, and the people of Port Perry and district for their generous, support of this very worthwhile cause. . Yours truly, Lion Bill Fortune, Chairman, Lions Club of Port Perry, C.N.1.B. Campaign Extend thanks to Durham Police Dear Sir: On Thursday evening, January 10, 1985, at 12 minutes to 7:00 P.M. Aldred"s Corner on Scugog Island was robbed by an armed gunman. I was notified of the robbery several minutes later and tele- phoned the Durham Regional Police from my farm. They were on the scene -before 7:00 p.m. and roadblocks were quickly set-up and a suspect was picked up within the hour on Scugog Island. I wish to commend the Durham Regional Police for their quick- ness and the thorough- ness of their investiga- tive procedures. Our part-time clerk, Mrs. Kathy Taylor, was able to give an accurate description of the balac- lave masked gunman to enable a suspect to be detained for question- ing. I feel very good about our Durham Regional Police Force and am grateful for the keen observations and cool- ness of Mrs. Taylor. Very sincerely, Joel W. Aldred, D.F.C., Scugog Island. PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, Jan. 15, 1985 -- § AY the Stor Editor > d A J.B. McCLELLAN CATHY ROBB News & Features PRADA COMMUNI J. PETER HVIDSTEN Publisher - Advertising Mana 133 QUEEN STREET PO 80X90 . PORT PERRY ONTARIO LO8 INO 418) 98% 38) -- ( i [5 ) a Cn, = | Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and Ontario Community Newspaper Association. Published every Tuesday by the. Port Perry Star Co. Ltd , Port Perry, Ontario Authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, and for cash payment of postage'in cash: © COPYRIGHT -- All layout and composition of advertisements produced by the advertising department of the Port Perry Star Company Limited are protected under copyright and may not be reproduced without the written permission of the publishers PORT PERRY STAR CO LWNTED Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Subscription Rate: In Canada $15.00 per year. Elsewhere $45.00 per year. Single copy 35* (C CNA Local merchants - Myster y no more friendly, helpful oo Dear Sir: In response to "an unhappy local custom- er' who wrote last "week, we would like to make known our support for Port Perry merchants. We have always found them to be friendly, courteous and helpful -- willing to go that extra mile to satisfy a customer. They often give free 'advice and service with a purchase - and some- times even without a purchase. Besides the fact that they make you feel wanted, our local mer- chants also support many community activities. You don't see '"'Loblaws" or "The 'Bay' on the back of any hockey, baseball or soccer shirts in Port Perry. They also donate to service clubs, schools, Welcome Wagon and benefit dances. a single . While we don't know all the details of this exchange, one shouldn't judge the whole town by isolated incident. We are happy local customers. Jim and Linda Dignem, Port Perry. Deserves Dear Sir: In response to the "Letter To The Editor," the week of January 8, 1985, from Shaaron Ren- sink. As a seven year employee of a well established business in Port Perry, I feel I must respond to this very unfair letter. I deal with the public five days of the week, and I must admit some people really test me, BUT, thank goodness there are many more nice customers than Last week, the Port Perry Star carried an interesting photo taken in 1912 in front of the Sebert House on Queen Street (the location of the present Bank of Commerce). The photo showed more than 20 motorcy- clists in front of the Sebert House, and we support nasty. Some people really make my day with their pleasantness and understanding. As with the custom- ers, there are some owners-managers who are put here to test us, but surely we can't say ALL THE APPLES IN THE BARREL ARE BAD, JUST BECAUSE THERE'S ONE. Our beautiful town is something to be very sproud of and SUPPORT. Yours truly, Nancy Prentice, Port Perry. wondered what the occasion was on that "day so many years ago. Well, one of our faithful readers called the Star office last Friday and told us the following details. The ogcasion was the annual Sports Day held each year in Port Perry on June 3. There were baseball games, races of all kinds and other _ sporting events. In 1912, according to Harold Honey, there were motorcycle races held at the Fairgrounds, as a kind of added attraction for the June 3 Sports Day. Mr. Honey, who was a lad of 12 at the time, remembers them well. "It was a real exciting day for all the children to see those motor- cycle races." He believes the people in the picture were members of a motor- cycle club from either Toronto or St. Cather- ines. Mr. Honey also had more information about the old photo which shows a small single storey building as part of the Sebert House. That building, he said, was © known as a "Sample Room." Tra- velling salesmen would get off the train and bring their wares and samples there where town merchants would. inspect them and place orders. Our thanks to Mr. Honey for these details about Port Perry his- tory in 1912. PORT PERRY. STAR NOW OPEN SATURDAYS 10AM. 104 P.M. bill smiley WELFARE BUMS There are all sorts of people living in Canada these days. Most of us are reasonable, ordinary, human be- ings. not evil, not particularly good, just slogging away a day at a time. You and I, Jack. And then there are a lot of people just along for the ride. Welfare bums and politicians. Both species would deny it, wide-eyed with indignation. The welfare bums would insist that they 'are culturally deprived, victims of a non-caring society. which refused to give them a decent education. This, of course, is so much hogwash. Take a closer look at them, and they are bums, literally. They're not stupid. They know every angle of the welfare, unemployment insurance, social subsidies game, and they play it with finesse. They know to the last nickel exactly what they can skim off a pretty decent society which doesn't want anybody to be cold or hungry or homeless. Their favourite gimmick is to be photographed with their five or six children in front of their new television set. They like rubbing our noses in it. The man of the house invariably has a sore back or some other vague disability which prevents him from working. The woman of the house invariably suppor i> her man, because she knows he's a bum, and if she didn't, he'd pound her and the children, and they'd have nothing. The children will grow up in the family pattern, believing that society owes them a living, and be sullen, cranky. mean. if anyone suggests they get off their tails and do something. Poor kids. Maybe I sound like a middle-class, right-wing pun- dit who believes that nobody should get-any help from anybody. Lord forfend. I have a heart of gold, some might say brass, and I believe firmly in helping the helplesg. In. my time, I have been helped, and have helped others. Most of the people who helped me, I have hated. And most of the people I've helped have hated me. That's the way she goes. Better to do it anonymously. And now we come to the other welfare bums: the politicians. They are not corporate welfare bums, as David Lewis called them, becoming more and more bor- ing as he did. They are individual welfare bums. Most of them are small-town lawyers with a yen for the public eye. Hav- ing wheezled their way into the nomination, they defeat a lot of born also-rans™and take a back seat in Ottawa, Toronto, Victoria. At a drop of the hat, they vote themselves pay and pension increases, though their only desire is "to serve my constituency to the best of my ability." At the appearance of a camera, they whip out a che- que from the federal or provincial government, and a new five miles of road, or a dock extension, or a post office is born. : With a few exceptions, they steer clear of gun con- trol. or abortion, or anything else that might upset the "committee" back home. When it is time for re-election, regardless of their records, they fight like tigers to hang onto that in- finitesimal bit of power and prestige. Have you ever heard a politician stand up and say, "I'm a futz. I have not represented you, but only myself I will not be running for re-election because I don't deserve it?" - I am not saying that there are not people who go into politics with ideals, with a desire to serve their fellows. There are. But they are few and far between, and even the good ones seem to succumb to that in- sidious love of power, after a bit. It's little wonder that so many Canadians today are angry. They have worked, more or less faithfully for years, with an organization. Suddenly they are turfed out. : They go on unemployment payments. They don't feel good about it. They'd rather work. They look around and see all sorts of layabouts drawing the same money. They are too old to move. They have mortgages. They have children to educate. And they see their "leaders" playing games: arrogant Liberals, pugnacious Tories, wet Socialists. It's enough to make a grown man weep. Not to men- tion a grown woman. Welfare bums at both ends of the stick, hanging on grimly, happy in the knowledge that you and I will pick it up. A -- i -- tt --. to. oie. ts A A }