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5 PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, July 15, 1986 -- § Vi ew P Oo i mM - by John B. McClelland RECREATION STUDY Now that the hoopla of Festival Days is over for this year, it's time to get back to business: And some important business for Scugog Township is coming up this week in the form of two public meetings. They are the initial step in the preparation of a long-term recreational needs study for the Township which will be done by the consulting firm of Sesquaig Incorporated. so - The meetings will start at 8:00 p.m. this Thursday evening (July 17) in the Township office in Port Perry and at the Blackstock Recreation Centre. The recreation study is important, for there ha been much talk in recent months about whether facilities and programs in Scugog are lagging behind the rapid growth in population. Any group or individual with an interest in recrea- tion in Scugog should attend one of these meetings Thursday night. The people from Sesquaig will be there to explain just what the study is all about and how the public can have their say as the study progresses. Make plans to attend. That's 8:00 p.m., July 17, in Blackstock and Port Perry. TRAGEDY Uxbridge, our neighbour community to the west, ex- perienced a tragedy last week when a two-year old tod- dler drowned in his grandparents backyard pool. " The youngster was out of the grandparents sight for just a few minutes when they discovered him missing, and he was found in the pool. Attempts to revive him on the scene and at the Uxbridge Hospital failed. Stouffville, where local by-laws state a fence is not re- quired if the pool is on five acres of land. The toddlers grandparents live on a 25 acre coun- try lot, thus there was no fence around the pool. Obvious- ly, it is time for a review of that by-law. FEAR OF WATER Even though I am a fairly good swimmer and am slowly teaching my kids to swim, I have developed a deep fear of water and the dangers associated with it. It takes less than five minutes for water to kill so- meone. A child can disappear from sight in a flash and the results can be tragic. As far as I'm concerned, one can't be cautious enough when around water, especial- ly with young kids. While visiting in the Ottawa Valley last week, I heard two tragic stories of death of young people. The first involved a teen-ager who was to be hired by a lan- downer to clear logs from the Pettawawa River. The teen was asked to prove he could swim, before being hired. He jumped into the swift river and drown- ed before he could make it to shore. Needless to say, there are official inquiries underway. The second tragedy involved a young boy about 12 who was boating on the Ottawa River at night with his father and another man. Their small craft hit a dead- head and flipped the three of them into the frigid waters. They clung to the half-submerged boat all night long, and by morning were able to get it upright enough to make it to shore in a heavily wooded area of the river. The two adults survived. The boy died in his father's arms, a victim of hypothermia. I know the Upper Ottawa River very well. It's wide, deep and cold. Dead-heads (submerged logs just under the surface) are a menace to boaters. Often they are invisible, or at best, just a small tip of the log is poking out of the water. They can turn even a big boat upside down in a second. : As a kid, I used to go looking for these submerged logs. They were great for swimming and diving from. I didn't know then just how dangerous they can be. These dead-heads are not just small trees that have fallen naturally into the river in a windstcrm They are large logs that have broken away from the timber booms and when they get water-logged, they weigh a ton. They can tear a gaping hole in the side,of a boat and rip a motor off the back. ' It's strange how one's attitude towards water and water safety changes over the years. As a kid, I had no fear. I thought I could swim like a fish. Once, as a 14 year old, I swam the width of the Ottawa River, well over a mile, with a friend rowing an old boat in front of me. I don't think my parents would have been amus- ed to know that at the time. Now, as I said, there is a deep fear in me about the dangers of water. And the three incidents mentioned in this article enhance those fears. Experienced boaters and strong swimmers who have had a brush with tragedy on the water say things happen very quickly. One minute, everything is fine, the next minute, big trouble. A friend of mine who has spent many summers pad- dling and back-packing through the Northern Ontario bush related one experience he had in a canoe. He was shooting a mild rapids when the canoe hit a rock and flipped over, which really would not be a problem for (Turn to page 6) The tragedy actually occurred in Whitchurch- i Yesterday's Memories 60 YEARS AGO Thursday, July 15, 1926 Miss Marion Farmer was attending the Missionary Summer School at Whitby last week. Congratulations to Walter Asling and Elsie Gibson, Epsom, on passing their entrance examinations. Men's smartly tailored suits of serge, tweed or homespun are on sale nc w for $16.75 at F.W. McIntyre's Department store. Women's porch dresses are also clearing at $1.35. 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, July 12, 1951 Lo 'Congratulations to Miss Olive Wallace, Port Perry, who graduated in June from Cornell University, receiving her degree of Master of Science. Mr. Gilbert Weir, M.P., and Mrs. Weir, of Carmen and Manitoba visited the Weir home at Shirley last week. Mr. Weir is the son of Mrs. Weir and the late Will Weir. : Bryce Philp of Stirling visited in Nestleton last week. Robert Philp and his bride visited Mr. and Mrs. Thompson and Mr. and Mrs. H. Trewin of Blackstock recently. 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, July 13, 1961 The first meeting of the New Party Club of Prince Albert got off to a good start on Tuesday with approximately 60 people in atten- dance. Tommy Thomas addressed the crowd with concerns of the day and Mrs. P. Stewart gave an address on the Party's organiza- tion and growth. Congratulations to Mr. James Kight of Port Perry who has ob- tained honour standings on the completion of the Televisioii and General Electronics Course at the Radio College of Canada. Jim is now employed in the Research Department of R.C.A. Victor factory at Prescott, Ont. About 25 people gathered at the home of Mr. and Mrs. T. Red- man last Friday, for a surprise Bon Voyage Party for Mrs. Arthur Leighton of Blackstock. Mrs. Leighton is planning a trip to her homeland of England after living in Canada for forty-eight years. 20 YEARS AGO Thursday, July 14, 1966 Welcome home to Dr. and Mrs. G. Harold Jackson who, after residing and practicing medicine for 35 years in Union, New Jersey, U.S.A. are returning to Port Perry to live in the Jackson family home, 234 Mary Street. Two stores in Port Perry have undergone face lifts and now sport new store fronts. Lawrence's Pharmacy and Master Feeds, new looks make our town a little more attractive. 10 YEARS AGO Wednesday, July 14, 1976 In an unanimous vote by Scugog Council, three women were ac- cepted as members of the Scugog Township Fire Department in Caesarea, ending a six-month effort by a group of women to over- come what they described as "sex descrimination' by fire chief Scott. A sign dedicated to the late Joe Fowler which hung at the ball park was stolen last week. Joe Fowler was a man who was part of the growing up years of most of the young boys of Port Perry and ball officials are very upset at this act of i ponsibility. Dear Sir: Parades, flamingos, palm trees, ballons, tickets, music and ham- burgers are only a few ingredients that brought forth the three days and 'three nights for the glorious Caribbean Festival. My husband Les and myself wish to extend hear- ty cheers to Peter Hvidsten, Presi- dent of the Chamber of Commerce, and his army of ardent workers who undoubtedly spent months of plan- ning, plus physical endeavours for this joyous celebration for we local folk and the multitude of visitors who attended from over the miles. We do trust your "fruits-of-labour"' - prove rewarding. Also a complimentary plug is due Chatterbox by Cathy Robb (continued) As Linda Grills points out, ego has a lot to do with all this. Many women don't even want to become involved with the contest because they might lose and aren't sure if their ego could stand it. "Their self-esteem is at stake," she says. 'For men, the Kidney Foundation contest is a big joke and they're not afraid to get out there and raise some money. Women have a whole different at- titude and are a little more shy about fundraising." Well, that's one thing I haven't been. Shy, that is. With only a week to do all my canvassing, there hasn't heen any room for shyness. Of course, if I lose, it's a whole new ball game. -- : ( Letters It was a great Caribbean weekend each of the merchants whose store entrance or windows were truly enhanced by the theme - a touch of tropical decoration. It was most noticable the gaily- clad individuals were 'people chat- ting with people' simply rippled through the air. : In conclusion, the entire event has left pleasant and lasting memories. . Yes, Port Perry is a town quite alive of which everyone should feel proud to be a part of. Congratulations for a job well Profit and greed Dear Sir: That you should congratulate Bar- bara McDougall for telling the Native Business Conference that business thrives on greed is surely flogging the obvious. Who more than North America's native people - needs less to be told about the ef- fects of greed? Ever since the white man came to. the western hemisphere they have suffered from greed, all in the name of develop- - ment even in the name of evangelism. Of course business must produce profits but how they are produced and how they are dispersed in- troduces the question of greed. Greed is the word to describe the spirit of the person seeking the pro- fit. Profit is an economic team. Granted there is a relationship bet- 'ween the two notions. This can be to the editor. Letters to the Editor ... our policy It has always been the policy of this newspaper to encourage our readers to make use of the letters to the editor column. Our readers have a right to freely express their points on just about any subject, and we feel that a lively letters column helps make a better community newspaper. We insist, however, that a letter writer sign his or her name. On rare occasions, we will agree to with-hold publication of a letter writer's name, if we feel there are very good reasons to do so. Under no circumstances will this paper print an anonymous letter While we enjoy receiving letters from our readers, we must continue to insist on knowing the identity of the writer. done. Sincerely, Grace Beacock, * Prince Albert. seen in the use of the word profiteer. But surely to imply that greed and profit are synonyms confounds the meaning of words. As a moulder of public opinion it would be more helpful I believe if you could take the time to look into some of the studies done by such bodies as the Science Council of Canada which deals with economics in to-day's world from a broader viewpoint. For instance do you have any comments in relation to greed about this - "North Americans com- prise about 6 percent of the world's population -and consume approx- imately 40 percent of the world's raw materials." (Consumer Socie- ty Notes Vol. 1. No. 2, 1975). Yours truly, Donald E. Tansley, Port Perry. opinions and view- EE