The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

CE le ba an or EL sce RAR Sl hE Ss Eh RRR SE dh le EASED GB I 2 RE Ch i ge dr ce i i ge nw 6 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, June 5, 1990 The Port Perry Star 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO PHONE 985-7383 FAX 985-3708 The Port Perry Star Is authorized as second class mail by the _ Post Office Department, Ottawa, for cash payment of postage. PRODUCTION ADVERTISING Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Annabell Harrison Advertising Co-ordinator - Valerie Ellis Subscription Rate: In Canada $20.00 per year ~ Trudy Empringham Advertising Sales Representative - Anna Gouldburn Elsewhere $60.00 per year. Single Copy 50¢ EDITORIAL Publisher - J. Peter Hvidsten Editor - John B. McClelland News/Features - Julia Ashton News/Features - Kelly Storry Darlene Hlozan BUSINESS OFFICE Office Manager - Gayle Stapley Accounting - Judy Ashby Billing Department - Louise Hope 2 (@ (== | Member of the . Canadian Community Newspaper Association Ontario Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Ltd. Port Perry, Ontario Retail Sales - Kathy Dudley, Linda Ruhl, Tracy O'Neil Ra Blah bas Editorial Comment TAKE A BIG BOW We are going to use this space to hand out some bou- quets for a job well done. Organizers of the first ever Scugog Triathalon deserve a pat on the back for the work they did in preparing for the race eld last Saturday. We would not be too far off the mark in saying that almost as much energy was expended by the organizing committee, as the nearly 60 competitors used in paddling, cycling and run- ning over 18 KM course on Saturday. The event went off with hardly a snag. Sure, since this was the first ever triathalon, there are some bugs to be ironed out for next year, but that's expected. This triathalon, which proved very interesting for specta- tors and competitors alike, should become a very popular an- nual event in Scugog, held of course on the first Saturday in June, the traditional date for Canoe the Nonquon, now in its 21st year. And we would should extend our congrats to all who com- peted in this gruelling event. Even for those who take physical conditioning seriously, it is no easy feat to race a canoe four K; jump on a bicycle for 10 K, and then finish up with a dash of another four K through the streets of Port Perry. It was nice to see local residents perform so well in this first ever Scugog triathalon, taking first place in the various classes. Top overall finisher Robert Baird deserves a tip of the hat for getting his name on the trophy in the first event, and Mike Freeman was just 20 seconds off the time set by Baird. It was quite a race to the finish line. We suspect, however, that things will get tougher in the years to come, as no doubt more and more triatheletes from all over are going to "discover Scugog." Several hours after the last triathelete had crossed the fin- ish line, a couple of other hardy (foolhardy?) souls touched land after completing the Canoe the Nonquon Course. So what, you say. A lot of people completed the Nonquon course on Saturday. : But local residents Doreen Kendall and Bill Brock were not in the Nonquon to finish first. They were in it to raise funds for the Scugog Museum, and perhaps to serve as an inspira- tion for others to "re-discover" this Scugog tradition next year. And finish they did, in the true spirit of Canoe the Non- quon, raising close to $3,000 in the process. Both Doreen and - Bill are at an age where canoeing 20 miles is not something one does every Saturday, so it was a feat when the "Ducky" arrived home safe.and sound. Our hats are off to you both, for your spunk and your dis- play of community spirit. And speaking of things physical, it was no contest on Participaction Day last week as Scugog Township soundly de- feated our neighbours to the west. Again, it took a lot of work by a group of dedicated people to organize Participaction Challenge, and the results were sat- isfying. Sure, winning the challenge is nice, but the real ac- complishment is the way people young and old, from all walks of life, became involved, and "did their part" in a community event. - Community spirit? Well, it might dead in some places, but it is sure as heck alive and kicking in Scugog, thank you very much. OK, enough bouquets. Now for the downside. So many of our community events in summer months take place along the waterfront. But Palmer and Birdseye Parks are fast becoming a mine-field of goosa-droppings. In fact, there are so many geese wandering through the parks these days, that Birdseye could be re-named Birdspoop Park. Seriously, .the Canada Geese are creating a hygiene problem for people who like to stroll and and picnic in the wa- terfront parks. The Township is going to have to address this problem, perhaps with a goose air-lift of some kind, before the geese and their droppings drive people out of the parks com- pletely. 7' ; \Meecy Lake SUPPORT Random UP, UP AND AWAY | remember on many occasions as a young lad, lying back on the ground looking up at cloud formations. The bright blue sky was al- ways the perfect background for the puffy white clouds as | tried to imagine all sorts of strange animals, dragons and the likes as they floated effortlessly across the sky. Every so often, while lying face up in my make-believe world, the soothing tranquility of the marshmallow-like clouds would be interrupt- ed by a slender, while strip, as if a zipper were opening up the atmosphere. This white vapour strip was usually proceeded by a sparkling ob- - ject reflecting back the bright rays of the sun like a mirror. These early sightings were my first encoun- ter with jet airplanes. Since those early days, | have had the op- portunity to A on many occasions, and over the past couple of decades have been a pas- senger in many different sizes of aircraft. But | suppose the one flight which will re- main etched in my mind forever, was my first flight in a small, single engine aircraft. The ad- venture came shortly after arriving in Port Perry +o work for the Star some 20 plus years ago. It was about this time of the year, and my photo assignment was to get some shots for Canoe the Nonquon. | don't remember who made the arrangements, probably my Dad, but | was told to be at the dock behind Lake Scugog- Lumber at ten o'clock Saturday morning and a plane would be waiting to take me up for some aerial shots. . Was | excited? You bet | was. Imagine a cub reporter like myself getting an opportunity to fly over Port Perry and the Nonquon River and it wasn't going to cost me a cent. "Boy, this news- paper game is great", | thought to myself. When | arrived at the lakefront Saturday morning (Lake Scugog Lumber was then locat- . ed whére the library sits today) | encountered a ' rustic (that's a nice way of saying old) sea-plane tied to the ricketty dock, and a man, frinning ear to ear greeted me with an open hand. it was none other than Ted Griffen, owner of Lake Scugog Lumber, and he warmly wel- comed me and explained the procedure for tak- ing pictures from an airplane. The wide-open door to the darkened cock- pit ared to await me like a shark about to swallow its prey. As | gingerly climbed aboard and took my place, Ted told me to fasten my seat belt and get ready to take off. He climbed aboard beside me, closed the door, and then began to check out the dozens of gauges and switches on the control panel which stretched across the entire width of the plane. My heart was racing by now, excited, yet some- what apprehensive about my "first flight". With everything apparently ready, Ted e rop at the front - pushed the starter and big p of the aircraft started to kick and rotate slowly. It didn't catch the first time, so he tried again, and again, and again. Frustrated, Ted opened his door, jumped out of the aircraft and disappeared into a small shed at the foot of the dock. A few minutes later he appeared carrying a new battery. He placed the battery on the dock beside the plane, opened my door, pulled out some old battery cables, then hooked the plane up to the new battery. It was about this uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. He then jumped back in the plane, turned over the engine, which sputtered and shook un- controllably before finally starfing with a deafen- ing roar. | remember pu ling my seat belt tighter and looking over at Ted, who was beaming with that big, friendly grin of his, like a kid who had just been given a candy. To say | was somewhat taken back by the entire procedure is an understatement, but Ted assured me eve thing was OK as we taxied to the middie of the lake for takeoff. This plane must have been the noisiest air- craft ever built as the last verbal communication we had, (before jonding hol an hour later) was "hold on, here we go". And go we did. It was the most exciting ride | had ever en- countered and one that | will never forget. In my haste to get out of the aircraft, following the as- Sonny I'm not sure if | ever did thank Ted for @ ride. Just in case | didn't, Thanks, Ted. int | experienced an