$ or TERETE. PIR ARERR EN. "8 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, July 18, 1989 Wilson wants to develop property Developer Doug Wilson says he is prepared to hand over up to $350,000 to Scugog Town- ship if the local council will en- dorse his proposal for houses on a piece of land he owns south of Port Perry. Wilson, a former council- lors for the city of Oshawa, has been trying for years to develop houses on part of a 100 acre par- cel on the west side of the Oshawa Road, just south of the Concession Road 8. He has been turned down on numerous occasions by local councils and Regional planning committees. He told the Star he is pre- pared to take the case to the On- tario Municipal Board, but he would rather avoid that pro- cess. He now has a two-pronged proposal for houses on about 60 acres, if the local council will get behind the project, something councillors again expressed re- Justance to do at a meeting July Mr. Wilson told that meet- ing he would put 35 building lots on the market at about $40,000 less than current mar- ket prices.. That would put them in the $60-60,000 range for what he called modestly priced homes on lots slightly over an acre in size. If the local council won't support that concept, he told the Star he will apply for about 30 estate style lots, sell them at market price and turn $350,000 over to the Township to be used for any municipal purpose the council wants. "Either way, the citizens of the area will benefit," he told the Star. He said he would prefer to develop the lower priced lots for more modestly priced homes. He said lot prices are so high in Scugog right now be- cause thereis a severe shortage. "This council (Scugog) is in the position to put lower priced FESTIVAL DAYS Port Perry's annual summer festival, Great Britain Festival Days is over for another year, but there is no doubt it will be remembered. Thousands of people converged on this lit- tle community over the four days to take part in some of the many events. Whether it was attending one of the many kiddies shows, the water ski show, dances, pan- cake breakfast, or any of the other many activi- ties, there is no doubt it was once again a suc- cess. Just what next years theme will be at this time is unknown for sure, | have heard a couple of suggestions, one of which was Mardi Gras. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The many people that have spent countless hours bringing us the 1989 Festival Days, will want a few days to rest before they begin to think about next year. Our hearty congratulations to Debbie Jones, Bill Barr, Fred Churchill and the other di- rectors and members who have given so much of their time to please to many. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed or un- appreciated. Thanks for a great weekend! WILL BE MISSED The job of reporting the news, even in a small community like Scugog Township, is a dif- ficult one as you can never satisfy everyone. In fact, if you even attempt to satisfy every- one, chances are your futile efforts will drive you crazy. Everyone has a right to their opinion, includ- ing the writers of this newspaper. The only dif- ference is, when one of our columnists put their feelings down on paper. it's there for the scruti- ny of about 30,000 readers. With that many people looking over ones shoulder, you can be sure they. are not all going to agree with the writers views, or for that matter enjoy the contents of the column for any number of reasons. Over the past six years, the Star's most controversial columnist has been Cathy Olliffe . Her columns on more than one occasion has raised the ire of readers. Random Jottings by ]. Peter Hvidsten priors in the darkroom to slugging mail bags and Cathy is one of those people who says what she thinks and believes. She doesn't hold back, even knowing she will be criticized by those who will either be offended or angry (in some cases damn mad) about her thoughts and comments. I'm going to miss Cathy's columns, but more to the point, I'm going to miss Cathy, as she is leaving to Susie a career with a larger newspa- per. (see Chatterbox) Cathy has been a member of the Star for the past six years, and | can still remember receiving er resume, when we were looking for a reporter. Hers was just one of over 130 applications for the job, but her scribbling on a piece of paper ripped out of a steno pad was something I'll nev- er forget. | think | started liking Cathy at that very moment. Although | can't find that "resume" at the mo- ment (I think its in a file somewhere in my office), | can still remember her short message. Basicall it said "So you're losin) for a news reporter eh Is that a camera on my face or is that my nose?" And then indicated in few words that she was ex- uberant and willing to work. Well, when we stacked that hand scrawled letter up against all the properly typed, prepared - and packaged resumes, we couldn't help but wonder who this girl was, so we called her in to find out more about her. To make this a short story, we hired Cathy after a short interview, and have enjoyed her presence around the Star for the past six years. We've had lots of good times and some not- so-good times over those six years, but the good far out-weighs the bad. Personally, I'm going to miss Cathy's spunk, her infectious laugh, her boundless energy, her good natured manner (most of the time) and her ability to get people involved. She's a talented writer and photographer, a great interviewer, and can handle most any job a small newspaper demands, from processing undles of newspaper to our many outlets. Will | miss Cathy.....you're darn right | willl But at the same time | understand the need to expand her potential, and wish her the best of success in her new position. Good Luck Cathy, please drop by and see us here at the Star.......anytime! homes on the market without spending a penny of tax-payers money," he stated. Local councils over the years have expressed concerns about the drainage capabilities of the land, and also the general concern of developing houses away from hamlets. Mr. Wilson said he would be prepared to service the lots via a communal well system, and he will appear in front of council this fall, once he has an engineer's report on the perco- lation quality of the soils. He has owned the land for the past 19 years, and in recent years, has presented at least four development proposals to local council, all of which have been turned down. Drug bust in Oshawa A combined Durham Re- gion/RCMP investigation led to the arrest of one person on sev- eral drug related charges last week and the seizure of about $20,000 in high grade hash. An RCMP spokesman said the arrests came early in the morning of July 12 when Police raided a home at 754 Lauren- tian Ave. in Oshawa. They seized about three pounds of the hash and $9,000 in cash. Facing charges of posses- sion of a narcotic for the pur- pose of trafficking plus posses- sion of a narcotic is 38 year old Stephen Craig McGowan of the same address. He was released a day later on $10,000 surety and is to have an initial court appearance on the charges this Thursday. The Police spokesman said the arrest followed a lengthy undercover operation by the combined Durham/RCMP drug squad. It resulted in one of the largest single seizures of hash in Durham Region. Editorial Comment (from page 6) should be discussed behind closed doors to protect the in- terests of the Region, and hence the ratepayers. But this headquarters building is an issue that will stay with the people of the Region long after the current group of councillors has left the scene. We are all for political compromise, but not at any cost, and certainly not when there may be more cost effi- cient alternatives. Before passing final judgement on this one, we will wait and see what the price tag is. But so far, it looks like the Region is opting for a course that will cost present and future tax-payers a good deal of money, just for political ex- pediency and to smooth a few ruffled feathers. The issue, as we said, is still in the conceptual stage, a long way from being even in the blueprint form. It will bear close scrutiny each step along the way. The bottom line has to be, can Durham afford it. Are the tax-payers of this Region going to get a fair value for their tax dollars that will be spent on this project? Time will tell. For Better or For Worse? 'by Lynn Johnston ter 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 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. CHECK IT OUT, GUYS! ASAIN Just TRIS IS LIKE. A 8CENE. 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