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PORT PERRY STAR -- Wednesday, September 9, 1987 -- 5 Viewpoint by John B. McClelland By THE PRICE OF PROGRESS Seems everywhere you look in Scugog Township these days, somebody is building something. One long-time resident told me last week, he hard- ly recognizes the place, the way it's grown over the past three or four years. : The Township building permit report for the month of July confirms that Scugog is in the midst of an un- precedented construction boom. Permits for 32 new single family homes were taken out in the month of July. The total value of all permits issued topped $4.7 million. And that's just for a single month. It wasn't too many years ago when building per- mit values for an entire year didn't get much higher than $6 million. Granted, the cost of construction has gone up con- siderably in the past few years, but 32 new homes in a month is a lot. And there appears to be no end in sight as several large development proposals are likely to come on stream in the next year or two. There's no doubt about it. Scugog Township is changing rapidly, and I don't think I'm too far off base in stating here that a lot of people think the change has been too rapid. Personally, I have mixed feelings about the way Scugog is growing in leaps and bounds. On the one hand, progress can't be stopped and it certainly does wonders for the local business economy. Heck, from the point of view of the business for which I work, progress is great. More new homes means more new people moving to the area and that means more readers and subscribers to the local paper. And more stores and businesses mean more advertisers. And all this growth provides fodder for the news pages and columns in the local paper. I certainly would hate to see Scugog going through a recession where people were moving away, shops were closing and businesses going under. But on the flip side of all this growth, there are some drawbacks, to be sure. I've said it before and I'll say it again now that the boom puts a strain on the infra- structure of the Township, everything from parking spaces downtown to recreational facilities, schools, hospitals and so on. Highway 7A through Port Perry has become a major thoroughfare. And Lilla Street, where I live, is almost as bad. I know, because I can sit on the porch at any time and watch a steady stream of traffic in both directions. The local hospital has undergone a recent major renovation and expansion. Now, an even larger expan- sion is coming up in about two years with construction of a new wing for 22 chronic care beds. The school situation is another story altogether as just about everyone knows. The Board of Education has finally come up with a site for a new school, but it will be two years before the doors open for students. The planning period for building or expanding such things as hospitals and schools takes a painfully long time to the point where it lags behind the growth spurts in other sectors. Let's face it, Port Perry needed a new school four or five years ago. The one on the drawing boards to open in 1989 won't come close to eliminating all the portables we see on the grounds of Cornish and Prince Albert, especially if the present growth patterns continue. Same thing for recreation facilities. The "new" Scugog Arena is ten years old, built when the popula- tion of Scugog was 11,000. Today, the permanent popula- tion is over 15,000. Where do kids in Scugog swim? The beach in Port Perry has been polluted all summer, just like last year. Birdseye Pool is hardly adequate, in fact not much larger than a lot of backyard pools. It was built some 30 years ago for a village of 2,000 people. Baseball diamonds? The two regulation ones in Port Perry are deficient in terms of lighting, but they are used to the maximum in the summer months. Youngsters are forced to learn baseball on grass fields at Cornish School. There are waiting lists for recrea- tionallob ball. = ~~ ~~ reas Thankfully, some excellent baseball facilities have been completed in Greenbank, Seagrave and Nestleton, but Port Perry badly needs at least two new diamonds, especially for the younger children. What about other kinds of recreational facilities like racquet ball, fitness, weight training? You'll look high and low in Scugog Township and come up empty. Hordes of Township residents drive to Uxbridge, Oshawa, Whitby or Bowmanville because these facilities don't exist here. To my knowledge, there's not even a jogging or a bicycle trail in Scugog Township. (Turn to page 6) Yesterday's Miemories 70 YEARS AGO Thursday, September 6, 1917 . Port Perry High School started this year with an attendance of 71. Last year the attendance on opening day was 54. : Mr. Andrew Campbell has just returned from a trip to the west, where he went as far as Regina. Mr. Harold Emmerson has bought the first Fire Insurance business from Pearse and Ward. Mr. James Ward retains the piano and organ department of the business. 45 YEARS AGO Thursday, September 3, 1942 The marriage was announced of Virginia Nasmith to Mr. Charles Clifford, R.C.A F. Kingston. L.A.C. George Mulligan has completed his two months course at a Flying School in Quebec and will be stationed at Dauphin. Dr. Lundy announces the installation of an up-to-date X-ray machine. Mr. Frank Sues, Toronto, will be the teacher at Prospect school this term. Mr. Maunsel Gerrow, Reg. Nurse, Whitby, Ontario County has joined the R.C.A.F. Medical Corps. 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, September 4, 1952 7,000 all time high was the attendance at Port Perry Fair. Mr. and Mrs. James Moffatt have returned to their western home to celebrate their Golden Anniversary with their family. 41 Port Perry Cub members from A and B packs had the first camp in the history of their group on Scugog Island. 30 YEARS AGO Thursday, September 5, 1957 Bruce Taylor, son of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Taylor, Greenbank, won the University of Toronto Mathematics and Science award on his completion of the grade thirteen examinations at Port Perry High School. Registrations at Port Perry Public School this year was 425 with 73 beginners. Mr. Clinton Short, Vancouver, was in town last week. 10 YEARS AGO Thursday, September 8, 1977 It was back to school Tuesday for some 3200 elementary and secondary school students and 156 teachers in Scugog Township. Peter Reck, a 16 year old high school student from Bavaria is spending four weeks with the family of Carol Wood on Scugog Island as part of a student exchange program. Carol recently returned from Bavaria, where she spent four weeks with the Reck family. Letters Phil says hi from Victoria, B.C. To The Editor: The following is a letter to the residents of Port Perry and area. For those of you who ever wonder "What ever happened to that goofy guy who ran the one hour photo "store!" Well, you can rest assured that I'm still alive and kicking or should I say, clicking, in Victoria, do BGC---- A. I I still receive my favourite paper (P.P. Star) every week and I have been reading with envy of all the goings-on in and about town. It sure ° sounds like you've had an exciting summer. I have sincerely missed all my friends and customers from the store. Are you all still snapping away. I sure hope so! It has been a busy year for me working on the Other side of a camera (for a change). In October I will be graduating NEED PHOTOCOPIES? We can do them for you! Letter, Legal & Ledger. Reduced & Enlarged. PORT PERRY STAR 235 Queen Street 985-7383 Looking for A Place to Advertise Your Business? LOOK HERE! Where consumers in need shop for the professionals in business! Call: 2985-7383 for more information. from the Western Pacific Academy of Photography as a professional freelance photographer. The thought of returning to Port Perry this fall is inviting, however, I've changed course and plan on heading south to Mexico for up to six months. For those of you who have written "to me with questions on photography or just tosay "hi" has helped keep me in touch with the community. Near miss To The Editor: On Wednesday, September 2nd around 6:15 p.m., our dog was hit by a car on Lilla Street. I was worried about the dog, but my biggest con- cern was that this could have caus- ed a horrible accident (the dog was bruised, but 0.K.). I sincerely apologize to whomever was in the first car and all the following vehicles that had to slam on their brakes so suddenly. We've always been quite careful with our pet and when not out in-the backyard with her, put her on a chain. However, on this evening -- even though I was out with her -- For those of you unable to obtain my address, it will be printed at the bottom of this letter. If planning to write, do so before I leave on Oc- tober 31st for Mexico. Look forward to hearing from you. 671 Marlisa Pl. Victoria, B.C. VIB 4Y8 for pet she spied a white dog on the street and took off like a shot after it. This is a fervent plea to dog (and cat) owners, to please keep their animals chained or contained in some way. A driver, especially on a busy street like Lilla, has a pretty tough time avoiding both animal and an accident. I know from now on, our dog will be chained at all times. Yours truly, Sue Barton Lilla Street, Port Perry 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. Phil Walmsley ~~ \