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) Shovel, or Else? . Scugog Township council is getting ready to discuss a by-law which, if passed, would force property owners to clear the snow off municipal sidewalks in front of their homes and places of business. While we have to agree totally that the condition of snow-clogged sidewalks is unaccpetable, especially in heavy traffic areas where pedestrians have no choice but to use the sidewalk, we also agree with some members of council who feel such a by-law could create a lot of problems when it comes to enforcement. Essentially the concern is this: a property owner may take the position that sidewalks are municipal property and therefore the responsibility of the Township to keep it passable for pedestrians. Taking someone to court who refuses to comply with the by-law would be costly and messy, not to mention a public relations nightmare. The suggestion by one councillor that the Township hire students to do the work (when necessary) and then tack the cost on the property tax bill is more reasonable than court action. But what about vacant lots, and what about property owners who are on a two week vacation when the worst snow storm of the winter hits. The question of liability is also of concern. If John Q. Public is legally responsible to clear the sidewalk in front of his home, is he also liable if someone slips and breaks a leg? There are many "but what's' involved in this kind of a by-law. The intent is good, and most would agree that a municipality like Scugog does not have the economic resources to hire men and machinery to clear all the sidewalks in the Township. " There is also the potential problem of people, who, for medical or health reasons, are simply unable to - physically remove the snow. Should they be forced to pay someone to do the job? | We suspect that the by-law is going to be approved as there appears to be a majority of members on coun- cil who favour it. : . it may work. But careful attention will have to be given to crossing all the t's and dotting all the i's. Likwise with enforcement. Discretion is needed. Meanwhile, we wonder about the civic-minded citizens who happens to live on a large corner lot. After the next major storm, he may have to take a day off work just to clean the sidewalk that runs in front and beside his property. ET And what will be the definition of a clean sidewalk? Certainly, a young person in fine physical condition ~ would have no trouble on a sidewalk that presents all kinds of difficulty to a senior citizen. Will property owners be forced to remove the snow and ice right down to the concrete? tike we said, there are a lot of 'but what's" with this issue. The Dome So, it's finally official. Just two weeks before he steps down as premier of Ontario, William Davis an- nounced that the new dome stadium for sports and other special events will be built in the shadows of the CN Tower in downtown Toronto. For months, the centre of speculation has been that the dome might be built on the CNE grounds, at Downsview or even the Woodbine Race Track. But there really wasn't much doubt that the final site would be the CN Tower grounds with its proximity to downtown Toronto and the new Metio Convention Centre. While it's true that the stadium will not be just ex- clusively for sporting events like Blue Jay and Argo games, the obvious question that has been raised is whether there is ample parking and public transit to han- die a 65,000 seat facility smack in the heart of Canada's busiest city. The planners and politicians who count in the mat- "ter say yes, there is enough parking and so on, but get- ting there by car in the height of a mid-week rush hour will no doubt tax the patience of even the most ardent Blue Jay fan. The cost will be $130 million, split between the pro- vince, Metro Toronto, and a group of blue chip corpora- tions. Already, politicians in Metro are balking at the $30 million the municipality is supposed to contribute. No doubt it will all get cleared away over the next (Turn to page 5) 'editorial comments 2 FARA: C 7 \| WHEN (Ts NOT ow " ll a fy eX SEEING AS OUR. BUDGET : TT WE ARE ABOUT TODROP 5 GOING TO MAKE US QUITE UNPOPULAR , TELL THE FOLKS Up MYRTLE WAY THAT THEY CAN HAVE VIA BACK | IT (N JUNE WHEN LOTSA FOLKS ARE ON i WE CAN DROP THE SERVICE chatterbox by Cathy Robb I LOVE SCUGOG TOWNSHIP Don't get me wrong. Just because there's a mushy statement-above this paragraph doesn't mean I'm laun- ching into an entire mushball column. And just because I say I love Scugog Township, doesn't mean I love the Township of Scugog per se. In fact, every time I think of the Township of Scugog, I pic- ture a bunch of councillors sitting around a square table yapping about square things. Which doesn't turn my crank at all. The things I love about Scugog are the little things that add up and give me an overall rosy picture of the area. : Things like the Handstand soap dispenser in the women's washroom at Dixie Lee (there might be one in the men's but I wouldn't know), The Handstand is a nifty little contraption that squirts pink soap into your palms with no mess, no fuss. | The first time I encountered the Handstand, I was so enthralled I washed my hands twice. You should real- ly check this thing out, even if you don't like fried chicken. Something else I like a lot about Scugog is the famous High School Hill. Fantastic place. It's got to be just about the best toboganning hill in Port Perry. was out there the other night trying to get a little exercise, soaking up the sounds of families scooting down the em- bankment, the crunch of snow under my boots and the roller-coaster thrill of a sleigh ride. You're never too old for toboganning. And speaking of snow, I just love the Palmer statue in Palmer Park. Until I saw it in a snowstorm, I thought it was just about the ugliest statue I'd ever seen, but now I know it's true value. Mr. Palmer is a super weather vane. If the snow sticks to his face, you know the wind is blowing from the north. If it sticks to the back of his head, you know it's coming from Oshawa. It it sticks to his east ear, you know it's coming from the weeds in Lake Scugog and it if sticks to his west ear ---- well you know there's a lot of windbags gathered in the coun- cil chambers. . Something else I really love is ordering tea at the Pioneer service station snack bar at the Ridges. Every "Tuesday, John B. and yours truly deliver newspapers to stores around town ---- our last stop being the Ridges snack bar. And every Tuesday (well, almost every Tues- day) we stop in for a coffee or a cup of tea. That snack bar is the greatest. Partly because walk- "ing into it is like pulling into a snack bar on Route 66, complete with coffee cups that don't match, a dingey coffee counter, bottles of Heinz Ketchup and a snarky but kind-hearted waitress. At the Ridges, it's the waitress that makes our day. Her name is Bev Silverman, and she'll kill me when she reads this, but she's the only reason I enjoy delivering papers. . Mainly because she's the only person I know who consistently likes my Chatterbox, no matter what I write about, and consistently dislikes John B.'s Chatterbox, especially the ones about hockey. But I also like Bev because of her earthy sense of humour, and the way she insults every customer in the joint, regardless of sex, race or creed. Doesn't matter who you are or what you order, she'll insult you. So next time you're flying down Durham Road 2 on your way to Oshawa, take a moment to drop in and see Bev (she only works between noon and four, I think, on weekdays). And make sure you order tea instead of cof- fee. She hates making tea, and if you order it, you'll guarantee yourself extra insults. But seriously folks, one of the things I like most about Scugog Township is the way people pull together to help others in need. They say small towns always stick together in the crunch, but I've worked in a lot of small towns and I don't agree with that. People within Scugog Township seem to have a closer bond, an extra eagerness to help their neighbours. My first clue of this warm-heartedness came when I wrote a story about an MS victim named Larry Cooke, who needed approximately $3,000 for treatment. The response to Larry's plight was overwhelming and the money was raised within weeks. But even more striking was the response of the com- munity to the condition of Matthew Geer, a small Prince Albert boy with a type of tumour called neuroblastoma, -a condition usually found in children under the age of six. It was at the Hospital for Sick Children that doc- tors discovered the tumour had developed around his adrenal gland and was quickly spreading throughout his wee body. } With the cancer so advanced, his only hope for a complete cure was a bone marrow transplant, not per- formed anywhere in Canada. However, Matthew was accepted at the cancer clinic in a Boston Hospital, and his sister was okayed as a compatible donor. With so many other concerns weighing heavily on®'| their minds, the Geer family hardly needed to worry about the heavy financial burden that would be thrust upon them. And thanks to the incredible kindness of their neighbours and friends in Scugog, Uxbridge and elsewhere, the Geer family doesn't have to worry about money for Matthew's treatment. ~The money streamed in from groups and in- dividuals, some in chunks of a thousand dollars or more. Dances, raffles and all manner of benefits were organiz- ed to raise money for young Matthew and although I'm (Turn to page 5)