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| Price of prosperi _ Christmas retails sales were brisk in Port Perry, according to most merchants in a random sur- vey by the Star Tuesday morning. Virtually all the retailers con- tacted reported an increase in sales over the previous year, and a few said this Christmas was their best ever. And while December 24, as might be expected, was a very busy day for shopping in Port Perry, many retailers told the Star that sales through the entire month were steady, and there did not appear to be the usual "last minute panic buying." Some suggested this may have been due to the fact there were four "shopping Saturdays" in December prior to Christmas. And almost without excep- tion, retailers, especially on Queen Street, noticed a lot of out- of-town shoppers. "They like the atmosphere here. They were relaxed and they didn't feel pushed or pressured," said Tina Gerber of Ted E. Bear's in reference to what out of town Merchants happy with sales shoppers told her. Ms. Gerber said people were being very selective in choosing toys for children this year, look- ing for quality and "back to basic" items that would challenge young- sters as well as entertain them. = And she said dolls were a very popular item this Christmas. Parents were not shopping for "gimmick toys" this year, she noted. And she was very pleased with overall sales this Christmas. "It was better than I had anticipated." At Stedmans in the Port Perry Plaza, Bill Barr said sales were up "slightly" over last year. The best selling item this (Turn to page 5) Volume 123 Number 5 PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1988 Copy 50¢ 36 Pages The price of prosperity may soon catch up to tax payers in Durham Region. To meet the demand for what is expected to be continued power- ful growth trends in Durham over the next decade, Regional officials suggest that $485 million will have to spent for such things as new roads and water and sewer systems. And to pay for these costs over the next decade, Durham will have to start borrowing money, according to a report tabled at last week's meeting of Regional coun- cil. In fact, according to the re- port, Durham could be faced with debentures of $85 million over the next decade which would mean an abandonment of the Region's "pay as you go policy" for new roads, sewer-water systems. "The Region does not have the financial resources to fund ex- penditures ($48 million) of this nature from current funds and will be forced to incur debenture debt financing," states the report pre- pared by the works, planning and finance departments. The report, which was offered as an "information item only" to the council last week, is not poli- cy at this time. But several councillors said the implications for tax payers in Durham are serious enough to warrant a hard look at where the Man charged after near collision with Durham Police car A 24 year old Scarbrough man is facing two charges following an Incident December 23 near Sunder- Regional Police that just after 10:00 PM a Durham Police cruis- er was forced onto the shoulder of Highway 12 by an on-coming ve- hicle. The Police officer pursued a *1984 Pontiac briefly at speeds of up to 115 KM/Hr. before an arrest was made. ed with impaired driving and foaistering over .08 on a breath test is David Perk. He is scheduled to appear in Ajax Pro- vincial court January 25 Meanwhile, Durham Police report three impaired driving charges and two 12-hour suspen- sions were issued in the Port Per- ry area on December 23. The charges were laid by regu- lar patrol officers and under the RIDE spot check program. Police also seized a radar de- tector from a vehicle in Port Perry on that day. Durham Police in the Scugog area were also kept busy with sev- eral minor accidents during Christ- mas week, though they report no serious injuries. And police say the number of accidents involving vehicles and deer appears to have increased sig- nificantly over the past month of SO. There have been at least half a (Turn to page 2) Region is going over the next dec- ade when it comes to new devel- opment. Regional policy in the past has been to finance capital pro- jects through development lot le- vies. Even with a substantial in- crease in the levy charged for each new lot, it won't be enough to meet the financial needs, the re- port states. And the report says that user rates for water and sewer custom- will cost more ers will have to increase from five to ten per cent annually to help pay for new projects and up-grade existing systems. Last week, the Region ap- proved a 7.1 per cent increase in (Turn to page 2) Driver escapes serious injury A Scugog Township woman was fortunate to escape serious injury in this ac- LL i Re A By oy 4 hi WY - 5 % an Cir brag A [He Og ; Uy as i 1 3 4 "i Los rk ks cident just after 9:00 AM last Friday morning on the Highway 7A causeway, just east of Port Perry. Firefighters from the Port Perry Hall were called to the scene to help free Christine Wagner from the wreckage of the 1980 VW Rabbitt. She was taken to Port Perry Hospital with cuts and bruises and released the follow- ing day. The driver of the van, Randy Jarratt of Oshawa, was not seriously hurt. Whitby OPP officers say the mishap took place under very icy road conditions. The eastbound van went out of control, bounced off guard rails and into the path of the car driven by Ms. Wagner. Police said no charges will be laid. Cm