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PORT PERRY STAR -- Wednesday, October 14, 1987 -- 5 iewpoint by John B. McClelland A WATERSHED WEEK Two events took place in Port Perry last week, events which will have a profound impact on the make- up and character of this community for many years to come. The first was the announcement by Culinar Inc., that by mid-December of this year, the Flamingo- Vachon plant in Port Perry will be shut down with the loss of over 100 jobs. The company will be moving its production lines of pastries to a plant in Aurora, to a plant the company bought this summer from the Weston Corporation, a plant that is just about double the size of the Flamingo plant on Simcoe Street in Port Perry. Culinar officials from Quebec, including vice presi- dent Camillien (Cam) Bolduc were in Port Perry on Oc- tober 6 to break the unhappy news to the Flamingo employees. The same officials met later that evening with the Mayor of Scugog, the president of the local Chamber of Commerce and reps from the Port Perry Star, to in- form them of the shut-down plans. It was, they stressed time and again, a tough business decision, rooted strictly in the economic realities that it is not possible to run two plants within 40 miles of each other when the job can be done under one roof. The production lines will cease as of December 3 and 18, the equipment will be moved to Aurora, and the doors on the Flamingo plant will be locked for good, some time in January. The land and buildings are up for sale, by the way, and it's hoped that a buyer can be found who is interested in setting up business there. As might be expected when a group of people are told that as of December 18, they will be out of a job, there was anger, bitterness, disappointment and sadness. A lot of families are going to miss those pay- cheques. There are people who have worked at Flam- ingo since Ken Jackson opened the plant way back in 1967. They have never worked anywhere else. "Though it's no secret that rumours have been pre- sent about the future of the plant for months, it must have come as a sad shock for all the employees when the news was officially handed down last week. Aside from the personal trauma that a lot of the employees are going to feel over the next few weeks and months as they test the market for new jobs, a little bit of the history of the community is coming to an end. For years, Port Perry had the reputation as the "butter tart capital of Ontario." Flamingo was the "home of the but- ter tart." The jobs that were generated over the years at that plant paid for a lot of mortgages in this community, put a lot of groceries on the table, helped send kids to col- lege and university. The announcement that the lines would shut down in December, right before Christmas, makes it especial- ly tough. But as a Culinar official told me last week, there is no easy time to do this. It would have been just as tough in April or January. To Culinar's credit, they did send top level officials to make the announcement face to face with the employees. They did not merely "pink-slip" them on a Friday afternoon. The company has also agreed to put three people on a special committee to do what it can to find new jobs, assist people with re-training, and try to work out an across-the-board severance package for all who lose their jobs, no matter how many years they have worked there. But it's still a bitter blow, a grim Tuesday for the people who work at Flamingo and the community in general. The other event which took place last week also may have an enormous impact on this community. This was the meeting between Township council and reps of Ot- ter Financial Corporation to examine in detail the massive retail-housing development proposed for land on Highway 7A where the Conway, the Bayshore Take- Out and the Car Wash are now located. Local councillors had heard of the plans back in January, when they were presented at a council meeting in concept only. This summer, the Port Perry Star car- ried an article which provided more detail, but the meeting last week was the first time that the real details of the proposed development were laid out. : A small army of experts, consultants, designers, ar- chitects, and so on, filled the council chambers. They came equipped with diagrams, drawings, artists ren- ditions (in full colour) and a lengthy information book prepared by the consulting firm of Marshall Macklin Monoghan Ltd., of Toronto. If anyone thought the developer was less than (Turn to page 8) Yesterday's | Memories 70 YEARS AGO Thursday, October 11, 1917 Mr. Norman Bradley of the T. Eaton Co., Winnipeg, called on his parents Mr. and Mrs. J. Bradley on Thanksgiving Day. He was on his way to New York. Championship winners at Port Perry High School Field Day were Senior Boys: Edward Jackson and Winnett Nesbitt, both obtained the same number of points; Junior Boys: Armstrong McFarlane; Senior Girls; Ethelwyn Switzer; Junior Girls: Aleta (Scotty): Ferguson. ~ } Mr. Gordon Howard has joined the staff of the Standard Bank of Canada, Port Perry. Mr. Ralph Fitchett is erecting a new barn on his property in Man- chester. Mr. Josiah Smith, Utica, is doing the work. 45 YEARS AGO Thursday, October 8, 1942 Rev. Kingley Joblin of Weston will be the speaker at Scugog on Sunday. Miss Bessie Crozier has received her commission with the "Wrens" and is stationed at Kingsmell House, Ottawa. 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, October 9, 1952 Port Perry Lions Club plan a car draw to raise $1200 for the Hospital Fund. Port Perry Legion Branch pledge $1,350 to the hospital. This an- nouncement was made by Mr. Reg. Moorehead. Mr. Patrick Hayes, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ernie Hayes, has join- ed the staff of the Canadian Bank of Commerce. Miss Edwards of Toronto and Newcastle started this week as hairdresser in charge of Pat Mulligan's Beauty Shop. 30 YEARS AGO Thursday, October 10, 1957 10 years ago this week, the late Mr. Samuel Farmer and his fami- ly celebrated the Golden Anniversary as publishers and printers of the Port Perry Star. On that occasion a special issue was printed. Assessment in Port Perry for 1958 increased by $84,541.00. Mr. Jack Griffen and Miss Barbara Hunter were married in Port Perry United Church. 20 YEARS AGO Thursday, October 12, 1967 About 2,000 persons visited the first "Autorama Display' held in Port Perry October 5, 6 and 7. Five local car dealers had their cars and trucks on display. The Port Perry Fire Department was called to Eden's Store on Scugog Island on Friday afternoon when gas from gas tanks which were leaking, began to seep into the basement of the store. Dr. and Mrs. D.C. Christie, Manchester, are having a months vacation in Spain. (Turn to page 6) Letters To The Editor: October 16 is World Food Day. It is celebrated yearly in commemora- tion of the founding, 42 years ago, of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (F.A.O.) in Quebec City. Over 147 countries around the world commemorate World Food Day by reflecting on the importance of global hunger and food problems. The Ontario World Food Day Co- Ordinating Committee is a coalition of voluntary and private sector organizations and government agencies, such as Unicef, Red Cross and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. This year the Ontario World Food Co-Ordinating Committee wishes to focus on the future of food produc- tion technology and the role of the small-scale food producers. Canadians have an efficient food- producing industry and enough money to import vast volumes and varieties of food which are not pro- duced in Canada. In contrast, many parts of the world suffers food shor- tages, black market prices and star- vation. Civil wars rage because poor men and women are fighting for land reform and the right to produce food on their own acre or two. There is no simple answer to these problems. Canada is a relatively young nation with a stable govern- ment. It is a rich nation blessed with resources which are the envy of most other countries. Canada is highly industrialized and new technology has been widely applied in farming. But many Canadian farmers today are in serious economic difficulty, an easy fact to overlook in relation to the world's other agricultural problems. Postal agreement to save Region cash An agreement between the region and Canada Post Corporation will save Durham over $76,000 a year while mailing water and sewer bills. At the last regular meeting of council, regional members authoriz- ed a recommendation from finance mmissioner Jack Gartley to allow regional chairman Gary Herrema and clerk Cec. Lundy to enter into an agreement with Canada Post in order to obtain a reduced postal rate for mailing the region's water/sewer bills and meter cards. At the present time, Canada Post follows a policy for permitting reduced mailing rates to customers who meet their volume and sorting criteria. For some time now, the water billing section of the finance department has met the Post Office criteria, and in turn has been receiv- ing reduced rates. But this arrangement with Canada Post and the region has been an informal one. Recently, however, Canada Post has insisted that past practises be formalized and has requested that the region (Turn to page 17) 'World Food Day October 16 Many Canadian farmers in 1987 are worse off than they were in 1983, caught in a vicious cost-price squeeze, the result of a damaging grain trade war between the U.S. and the countries of the European Economic Community. U.S. and E.E.C. farmers are highly subsidiz- ed. Ironically, it is our largest and most productive farmers who are suffering the most. The Canadian government has developed pro- grams to help keep them in produc- tion because it would be a major disaster if our main food production "base is seriously eroded. We are not in danger of experiencing food shor- tages today, but it's not impossible in the future. Through increased awareness and efforts to address the situation, it is still possible for the world to food itself and for our farmers to have a decent standard of living. World Food Day on October 16 brings these issues to the forefront; a solution to food production and world hunger must be found; our in- ternational survival depends on it. Sincerely yours, Marilyn J. Sanders, Chairman, Ontario World Food Day Coordinating Committee, Toronto. 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. Ba aaa