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CS :s\ H TR Rp SS la dada. TE tem PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, April 10, 1990 -- 7 | ATLA PRIN, (LIPS EOA S n a WE gl Viewpoint IT WAS JUST A SPOOF, REALLY. Did we "gotcha" with the "story" in last week's P.P. Star about Scugog going bilingual? More than a few readers fell for the gag, and that's what it was, an April Fool's spoof, though the paper unfortunately was printed a couple of days past April 1. | should perhaps explain a bit about the Star's April Fool's spoof stories. It has become something of a tradition over the last few years on or about April 1 to write a story that is pure and simple not true, all in good fun, of course. The intent is to take a fairly topical issue, one that has people talking, then incorporate this issue into a "story" with local content. A few years ago. when our beautiful Lake Scu- gog was being choked with milfoil, we ran a "story" about some eccentric and secretive scientist living on the Island who had come up with a method of raising amoeba-like creatures that could dig your post-holes. A great new industry for Scugog Township as these post-hill diggers were in great demand by farm- ers (who dig a few post-holes) Ontario Hydro, for dig- qr the holes for transmission towers and even the rabs, who wanted to know if they could be used to drill for oil. What's more the "story" went on to say that these creatures lived on milfoil from the lake. Presto: a new industry that would put Scugog on the map and clean up the mess of weeds in the lake. Sound fantastic? Well, it was. One year, we ran a story about the federal gov- ernment wanting to take the P.P. Fairgrounds as the text that year in which the Township, the Board of Ed- ucation and the Fair Board were involved in a squab- ble over the Fairgrounds as the site for a new public school (a real issue) And on to 1990, when we dreamed up the soy, of Scugog being designated officially bilingual, all in tha name of pulling the legs of our readers as an April Fool's gag. We try to make the "story" believable, but at the same time so far-fetched and outrageous enough to trigger a warning signal in the reader that something is just not right here. Wall, let me tell you a bit about the reaction. One friend called me at home late on Tuesday night. His first words were "lI hope | gotcha outta bed with this call, 'cause that story got me." Until, of course, he got *to the final paragraph. : Also had a call from the newsroom at CFTO TV. Apparently one of our readers delivered a copy of the Star to the station and the person who called me said "we think this is a spoof, but we're checking it ou and want to hear it from you. It is a spoof, isn't i LJ For one instant, | was tempted to carry the spoof further and spoof the TV station, but immediately put that mischief out of mind and replied "yes, rest as- sured, it's an April Fool gag." Still, | wonder if CFTO was thinking of sending a TV news crew out to Scugog to get public reaction. Another person called to say that while she ap- preciates a good spoof as much as anybody, the is- sue of bilingualism is too serious and sensitive in the country these days, and by selecting this topic for the and chuckle at ourselves. In doing these spoofs over the last few years, I've discovered that the people who seem to get most upset are those who don't read the entire story, espe- _clally down to the last paragraph where we make it very clear itis just a gag. What gets these ple mad is that they swal- lowed the gag hook, line and sinker. They fret and fume for a while, then phone the paper to register a complaint, and usually hang up in a huff when told it was all an April Fool's joke. : Will we keep doing this each April 1? You bet. If we can't have a bit of fun once a year, poke some fun at ourselves and out institutions, then what's it all coming to in this country. ; Still on the topic of newspapers pulling April 1 jokes on their readers, one weekly a couple of years ago really did a gag up in a big way. The r, on the front page, no less with a huge heading, told its readers that the entire main street of the community had just been purchased by a group of Middle East oil billionaires. Running alongside the story was a photo of sev- eral characters on the main drag, dressed in Mid-east costume. Talk about a joke, and talk about reader reaction. We won't carry the gag quite that far, but on or about April 1, 1991, when you pick up your copy of the Star, watch out. Don't say we haven't warned you. In closing...... Don't forget the Easter Ego Hunt this Sunday on Queen Street for kids 3 to 6. The hunt gets underway about 1:00 PM. Last year, the first site for a new maximum security prison for Canada's toughest, meanest and most dangerous criminals. That caused a bit of a stir, especially in the con- Canada these days. spoof, we were being insensitive. Perhaps. But maybe that's part of the problem in e've lost the ability to poke fun such hunt, was a big success, Judging by the expres- sions on the faces. As far as I' nothing more important than a smile on a young m concerned there is Remember When? 45 YEARS AGO Thursday, April 12, 1945 Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Roach have returned to their home at Manchester after spending the winter in Oshawa. A special service was conducted at Burns Church on Sun- day, April 8, when the Honour Roll was dedicated to the church. 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, April 14, 1955 . The entire community of Utica turned out to assist the Port Perry Fire Brigade Saturday afternoon when fire threatened the whole hamlet of Utica as the Memorial Hall, a one-storey building which stood on the four corners of the village for more than half a century, burned down. 30 YEARS AGO Thursday, April 14, 1969 Mrs. Alice Woodcock, R.R. 1, Port Perry was the winner of the 50-50 Building Fund Draw for this month. She received $147.00. A pleasant evening was spent when about fifty relatives and neighbours gathered at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Ginn to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, April 15, 1965 - Four boys of the First Scugog Cub Pack were presented with awards: Roland Skinner received his Second Star; John Steer his Religion and Life Award and two Cubs went up into Scouts, Roger Holtby and Dennis Pugh. Achievement Day for 4-H Homemaking Clubs brought Pro- vincial Honours to Mrs. Janet McTaggart, Greenwood and Miss Sheila Disney, Mount Zion. Georgeen Burnett of Port Perry and Sharon Armstrong of Toronto, both students of Toronto Teachers' College, have been practice teaching at the Centre School, Scugog Island, and seem- ed to enjoy it heartily. On Saturday evening, April 10, at the Parish Hall, Mr. and Mrs. Wes Pearce were entertained by their relatives and friends on the occasion of their 25th wedding anniversary. 20 YEARS AGO Thursday, April 16, 1970 Compared to five-year-old Sandra Heayn's pretty little head, the grapefruit she is proudly displaying is almost as big as she is. It was given to her by the owner of a fruit store in Waverley, Florida, while she was on Easter vacation with her parents, Mr. (Tum to page 10) Lelters io the editor Future generations being sacrificed To the Editor: I write regarding the meeting between Regional Chairman Her- rema and area citizens at Blackstock, regarding the Official plan. The Official plan objective is to stop farmers from receiving severances and eventually pro- hibit retirement lots. Add to this shrinking farm income, shrinking subsidies and tax exemptions and even farm values will shrink. Is the plan to weed out the small " farmers to benefit large farm Corporations? The Official plan is intentionally ambiguous. Proof of this is shown by council's refusal to approve low priced lots, but similar lots at high costs are ap- proved. Obviously, no concern is being shown for our coming generations, who must absorb such high debts for a home. Let's examine Scugog: 115,000 acres and less than 4,000 can be used for homes. Apparently, 97 percent of all our land must be saved for farming. Not a speck of proof that we need all this land to produce food, but ample proof of wasted food production and a shortage of home sites. There is ample proof the average farm family will be squeezed harder each year. Will the rules suddenly change when our farms are owned by influen- tial foreign companies? Why is it influentials, including council members, can get their wants satisfied by our ambiguous laws but ordinary people are refused? The last council meeting I attend- ed there seemed to be a contest of how to stop farmers from getting lot severances. Government by influence is not acceptable and is damaging to our children's future and to the economy. Building lots in Scugog should cost less than $50,000 but our of- ficials state they should cost more than $200,000. This type of plann- ing is suspect. Most important, do we want our children to grow into their adult life with large false debts, for a small piece of land for a home? Halfway to To the Editor: On behalf of The Rotary Club of Port Perry, I would like to extend our sincere thanks to all the many individuals and businesses in Port Perry & Uxbridge who have con- tributed to this year's Easter Seal campaign. We, the electors, must remind ourselves of the needs of the com- ing generations, our children. They should be working to buy consumer goods, not sacrificed to the money lenders. Doug Wilson, Ontario Land & Tax Reform, Association, Oshawa arget At the mid-way mark in our campaign we are pleased to report that $3787.00 has been rais- ed. Our target is $7400.00 so we are hopeful that we can raise the balance. (Turn to page 8) ~~ d