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Mistaken identity leads to police raid on home By Cathy Robb For members of the Austin family of Blackstock, Sunday, April 13th was a day they will never forget. "The sunny spring day started calmly enough, with June Austin, 55, and her husband Francis, 61, looking forward to a rare visit from their son and daughter, Richard and Linda, both in their 30's and both from the province of Quebec. Shortly after the pair arrived at their parents' home, however all hell broke loose. While the Austins were catching up with family news, Durham Regional Police SWAT team mem- bers were staking out the house, located on Regional Road 57 just south of Highway 7A. Six or seven men dressed in full SWAT regalia, including bulletproof Austin home. vests and semi-automatic weapons, hid themselves in strategic positions in the brush surrounding the None of the Austins 'was aware of any of this, or of the phone calls made to neighbours who were war- ned by police to stay in their houses while they at- tempted to detain a 'murder suspect', supposedly lodged in the Austin residence. In fact, the family was oblivious to the entire procedure until June Austin took a telephone call from a man who identified himself with Durham Police and ordered the entire family out of the house. (Turn to page 27) Vol. 120 No. 22 Tuesday, April 29, 1986 Copy 35° No new school next year if Fair site not approved The chairman of the Durham Board of Education says that a new school for Port Perry won't be built in 1987 if there are any further delays over the proposed site at the Fairgrounds. Ruth Lafarga told the Star last week that Board officials are already 'very anxious' that the proposed site is still the focus of what has become a bitter dispute among members of the Fair Board and other citizens in Scugog Township. Mrs. Lafarga told the Star that the Board has no alternative site for the school in Port Perry and unless the Fairgrounds dispute is solved very soon, construction will not get underway this fall as planned. Three weeks ago the Durham Board and Township council negotiated a deal for seven acres of land in the northwest corner of the Fairgrounds at Simcoe St. and Durham Road 8 for $102,500. The fairgrounds is owned by the municipality and Township council + negotiated the sale to the Board of Education on the understanding that the Fair Board was prepared to re- locate to a new site adjacent to the Scugog Arena after the 1886 Fair on Labour Day weekend. However, there has been a grow- ing stream of opposition to the move and the Fair Board has not sur- rendered the lease it has with the Township. After consulting with a lawyer, the Fair Board has decided to put the lease breaking to a vote on May 14. If the lease is not broken on May 14, Mrs. Lafarga said the Board will have little choice but to put off con- Draft report ready for weed task force Members of the Task Force stu- dying the problem of weeds in Lake Scugog will get a look May 15 at a draft report on the issue. The draft report contains infor- mation that was taken from nearly 900 questionaires that were return- ed to the Task Force from residents and businesses around Lake Scugog. According to Kawartha Conserva- tion Authority manager Ian Mac- nab, who has put the report together for the Task Force, property owners and businesses have indicated they are willing to spend up to $65,000 to deal with the weed problem. The Cl federal and provincial funds. The weed problem in Lake Scugog over the past three summers has hindered power boating and cut in- to the tourist dollars which are the life-blood of many local businesses during the summer months. Chemical spraying has been used with some cuccess last summer to keep the navigational channel free of weeds, but spraying on a wide- spread basis is not recommended because of the potential harm to fish and habitat. Mr. Macnab says a report on some recommended solutions to the problem kel willbe completed i the f struction of the new school. The Board of Education has already received approval from the provincial government for $2,100,000 for construction of the Port Perry School in 1987. Mrs. Lafarga said if the deal falls through, Port Perry will go back on the School Board's priority list for a new school. Meanwhile, the lease breaking vote will be held at an open general membership meeting of the Port Perry Agricultural Society on May 14. Fair Board secretary James Dun- can said last week that those eligi- ble to vote at this meeting will in- clude all current directors and all directors and committee chairper- sons who served the Board in 1984-85. He said this number will be about 35 people and all of them will be notified by registered mail that they are eligible to vote on May 14. On April 22, members of the Fair Board executive met with Township councillors at the Municipal Office. The executive wanted seven ques- tions answered about the re-location to a new site near the Arena. Despite assurances from Mayor Jerry Taylor and other councillors present that the Township would assist in re-locating the Fair to a new site, they would not put a dollar figure on it, other than the approx- imately $90,000 the Township has already pledged as the net proceeds from the sale of the land to the School Board. Ward 2 councillor Howard Hall asked specifically what it will cost to set up a new site for the Port Perry and Fair Board president, Jim Jamieson said it's not known at this time what the costs will be. Mayor Taylor told the meeting (Turn fo page 9) 'Family just wants an apology $ The Austin family of Blackstock, including June and her hus- - band Francis, were told to leave their home by gunpoint-and were forced to wait in the cold for nearly three hours when Durham Regional Police mistakenly raided their home looking for a murder suspect. Mrs. Austin, who suffers from acute arthritis and walks with a cane, is merely asking for an apology from the police -- something the department won't give. See story for details. Street lighting up to the Region Two of the most dangerous in- tersections in Scugog Township may get street lighting, if Durham Region agrees to foot half the cost. Scugog council told Mayor Jerry Taylor at the meeting Monday after- noon to ask Durham Region to pay half the costs for lighting at the in- tersections of Durham Road 57 and Highway 7A (Caesarea entrance) and at Highway 12 and Durham Road 8. Mayor Taylor agreed to make the request, but he said he's not sure if Durham Region will go along with it. He said if the Region agreed to pay part of the cost for street lighting in Scugog, there could be a deluge of similar requests from municipalities all over the Region. Many consider the two intersec- tions in question to Le very dangerous, especially after dark as there is no lighting in the immediate area. Both intersections have been the scene of several serious ac- cidents over the years. They are considered especially dangerous for drivers unfamiliar with the area. Township council is willing to pay 'half the costs for lighting even though none of the roads in question is under Scugog's jurisdiction. Requests to the provincial highways department for lighting there, have not been successful in the past. Council defers decision Township council will decide next week whether to support a bid by the Scugog Chamber of Commerce to have Port Perry declared a 'tourist area" so that certain stores can re- main open on Sundays. The request for official support came at the council meeting Mon- day afternoon when Chamber of Commerce president Peter Hvidsten told councillors that "if (Turn to page 11) ----