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Viewpoint by John B. McClelland WHAT ABOUT GARBAGE? There is some heavy political arm twisting going on at the Durham Region council level these days over where the Region should locate its new headquarters building. On the one side is Oshawa Mayor Al Pilkey pushing very hard to have the building in the downtown area of - his city, while Whitby Mayor Bob Attersley is working to convince the Regional council the best spot in his town is right across from the present HQ on Rossland Road. It's a high stakes game and both Pilkey and At- tersley are playing hardball. If the Regional council finally gets around to making a final decision on a new location, then the councillors must figure out a way to pay for construction. The cost estimates are in the millions. Some people are beginning to wonder why the Regional council is devoting so much time and effort over this issue, when there is a bigger crisis looming on the horizon: What to do with the garbage? Durham now dumps the bulk of its garbage at a landfill site in Pickering which is owned and operated by Metro Toronto. This site, however, is rapidly filling 'up. There are other smaller dumps around, like the one in Scugog Township, but it too has a limited lif expectancy. Co The potential crisis is this: opening a major land- fill site in southern Ontario is a ten year process what with all the environmental hearings required, not to mention Municipal Board hearings and even court cases launched by irate citizens who don't want tonnes of gar- bage dumped in their backyard. The site where Durham is now dumping its garbage could be filled in five to seven years, yet the Region has not yet even identified a potential site for a new dump. And then there is the cost. Most estimates peg the cost of a major new dump site at better than $10 million. Whilé Regional council is busy looking at fancy reports on where to build a new headquarters and how to pay for it, the garbage crisis looms closer every day. Remember a few weeks ago when that scow full of garbage from a town in New York State was being tow- ed around the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico in search of a place to dump it? It was a slightly amusing story. The hard fact of the matter is that garbage is nothing to be laughed at. "Incredible as it may seem, Durham Region is fac- ing the same problem. Unless the Region finds a place to put its trash, we may end up having to stew in on barges in Lake Ontario. Durham Region may very well need a new head- quarters building to centralize all its departments and bring its 500 employees under one roof: Byt the Region ~ also needs to find a place to put its garbage. I. wonder KEEP IT BEAUTIFUL Speaking of garbage, I've had a couple of people comment recently about the trash and garbage along the causeway just east of the Port Perry town limits. The causeway is a favourite fishing spot all sum- mer long. It never ceases to amaze me how many peo- ple can abuse public property by throwing their trash wherever they please. Take a walk through Palmer Park or Birdseye Park on a Sunday evening in the sum- mer and you'll see exactly what I mean. There are a lot of people who are too lazy or indif- ferent to walk ten feet to put their trash in a container. As far as the causeway is concerned, there are not trash containers there now, but there might be in the future, according to the MTC people. The causeway is MTC property. Last year, whe there were containers out, the Highway crews found the garbage was often dumped out, thrown in the lake or on the highway. And like the parks, a lot of people didn't bother to use the containers. ; oT The MTC people say they might put some trash cans out, but failing that, work crews will be trying to clean up along there once a week or so. ~ It is incredible the way people throw trash around. I wonder if they do the same thing in their own homes? I wish some of the people would take a look at the licence plate on the cars. Last time I looked there was a say- ing "Ontario Keep It Beautiful." Ontario doesn't look too beautiful when people use the sides of the roads and highways for a trash bin. Maybe if we hiked the littering fine to $1,000 or more and sent some enforcers out to press charges, a few of these numbskulls would get the message. Anyway, between garbage at the Regional level and - where to put it, and junk along the roads and in the parks, this has been a pretty trashy column. (Tum to page 6) PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, June 2, 1987 -- § what is more important? A new building or a new dump. Memories 70 YEARS AGO : Wednesday, May 30, 1917 ° The Public School celebrated-Empire Day. The recessional reading was given by Helen Mellow and the address by Rev. W.P. At the Council meeting recently it was decided to make the stan- dard width of roadway in Port Perry. 24 feet, ditches to be three feet wide. : Co. in Oshawa. , Mr. and Mrs. James Mowat and family, Peterborough, motored to town and spent Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. Charles Mowat. Proceeds at the Presbyterian Anniversary at Greenbank were $150.00 . rm 45 YEARS AGO | Thursday, June 3, 1942 Flight Sergeant Wm. Russell Parr who was reported missing some time ago, is now a prisoner in Germany. Mrs. Masterson, Toronto, is spending a few days with Mrs. Donald Crosier. Mrs. Hilda Grace Vickery was united in marriage with Mr. Ralph Leslie Beacock of Nestleton, in a quiet ceremony in the United Church vestry, Oshawa. o Miss. Willa Edgerton, Toronto, spent the weekend with her parents in Prospect. 3 YEARS AGO Thursday, May 38, 1957 oo Troop Leader James Hunter of the 1st Port Perry Scout Troop has been accepted by Scout Headquarters as a member of the Cana- dian Contingent to the World Jamboree being held in England. i Manchester School. grades 4 to 8, with their teacher, Mrs. Samells, 'enjoyed a bus trip to Toronto. oo Port Perry Lions Club attended the International Convention in Peterborough. They took with them the Port Perry High School Cadet " Band to march with them. : Miss Beryl Palmer became the bride of Mr. Robert Ross Miller i P United Church! oo " Darlene Michie, 10. was the winner of the Carp Derby. She landed the 10 Ib. fish off the causeway. ~ 20 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 1, 1967 Father and son, Fred and Mervin DeNure, can look back on 25 years of successful operation of a family bus line serving the Port Pe a ee lain to Miss Eunice Roach, Manchester, who will receive her Bachelor of Arts Degree at Spring Convocation of York University, Toronto, on Friday, June 2nd, 1967. tulations to Mr. Bruce Martyn, R.R. 2, Port Perry, who received his Bachelor of Mathematics. at the University of Waterloo, pring Convocation, May 26, 1967. * g may take as long as two years before the first phase of sewers i i operation in Port Perry. A change in the first phase of con- refer has been proposéd to include the new hospital. (Turn to page 6) Yesterday's 'Mr. Clem Crosier has taken a position with the Chevrolet Motor : is EE TI TT I I --" [ - - Letters Teen drinking a serious problem + To The Editor: . Picture yourself in this position: "you return home from a weekend away late in the evening having left your teenagers alone overnight. The house is dark and silent. As you enter you notice a peculiar odour prevaling the rooms. At first you fail to understand the significance of the odour or the lone empty beer bottle on the dining room table. Further investigation reveals the facts -- your hoyse has been devasted by an unknown number of drunken teenagers. Teenagers bet- ween the ages of 13 and 17 have in- vaded your home, some invited and many who were not. The evidence is there in every corner of the house -- you identify the odour as that of - 3 : - vomit and in each room there is ~ minor but permanent damage to furniture and household articles. You are lucky the house is still there. oo Stunned, you ask.yourself many questions. How did these children obtain the huge quantities of alcohol they consumed? Why did they choose to betray their parents and ignore the basic rules of morality in such a damaging and dangerous way? Why were so many young peo- ple allowed to go to an unsupervis- ed house on a Saturday night? How many of the parents of those children actually knew where their children were that evening? How many parents recognized the symp- toms of alcohol abuse and of those Scugog's flower power " To The Editor: Once again we all have had an op- 'portunity to enjoy the beautiful spring showing of tulips at the cor- ner of Lilla, Ontario, Scugog and Union Streets. Summer is around . - the corner and yellow, gold, multi- coloured marigolds and red geraniums have replaced the tulips. Hopefully, these bright colours will bloom attractively; well into the fall season for visitors and residents alike to admire. Mr. Orde, while walking his dog, stopped to talk to me one morning and commented how much he had enjoyed the tulips. Thank you Mr. Orde, your contribution made the red geraniums possible. It occurs to me that possibly there are others who would like to assist in someway, - financially, time or plant donations and if so, you may contact the Beautification Committee, c/o Box 286, Port Perry, Ontario LOB 1NO. I enjoy the work involved in look- ing after these flower beds and feel that it is my personal contribution to Port Perry, a town that I am pro- ud to call my home. I ask the children using these areas to.take- advantage of the garbage con- tainers provided by the Township, your assistance would be most ap- preciated. Wishing you all a good summer and lots of sun and rain to make our gardens grow. Yours truly, Jan Johnson Port Perry | concerned who did how many cared? What role do the police play in a situation such as this? Bn : There is a group of concerned "parents who do want to know where their teenagers are; who recognize this situation as evidence of an in- creasing problem with alcohol among the young people of our town and who wish to do something about it. ! We are asking questions and fin- ding frightening answers. Our children's very lives are at stake. We need the interest and support of other parents in town who care. . There are many steps which can be taken and the more people who are involved the more successful we will , be. There will be a general meeting of parents on June 18 at 8:00 PM at the Anglican Church Hall on North Street in Port Perry. Guest speakers will be from the Police Youth Bureau, the schools and the Church. Please come and discover with us how we can all help prevent the "dangerous abuse of alcohol among our children. Yours truly, A group of concerned parents from Port Perry and area. ter to the editor Letters to the Editor ... our policy It has always been the policy of this newpspaper to encourage our readers to make use of the letters to the editor column. Our readers have a right to freely express their opinions and view- points on just about any subject, and we feel that a lively letters col- umn 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 let- While we enjoy receiving letters from our readers, we must con- tinue to insist on knowing the identity of the writer.