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

"A Family Tradition for 131 Years" Spr" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, May 6, 1997 -7 -- I ETTERS Committee ignores parents' wishes To the Editor: Sex Education for our young- sters at any cost. At the April FLEAC (Family | Life Education Advisory Com- mittee) meeting in Durham they tabled yet another docu- ment for educating our Grade 7- ~ 8 students in the finer art of teenage sex. FLEAC is the com- mittee within the Durham Board that suggests and sanc- tions what programs, texts, and resource materials are suitable for teaching our children about all the possible sexual activities available in the growing-up years and these committees take their responsibilities seri- ously. According to a letter to the ed- itor of a local paper last fall by Bev Freedman, Superintendent of Education/Programs of the Legion From Page 6 the shipping of the dona- tions to Toronto. We will ship donations to 'Project Warmth' in Toronto in con- Junction with Canadian Tire and CP Rail who will then ship the items to Manitoba. We would appreciate any assistance you could give us through the donations of relief items and especially boxes for packing. Items may be dropped off at the Legion during regular busi- ness hours at any time up until May 17 if you are unable to make it that day. If you require further information, please contact your branch at 985-8502. Thank you in advance for your help on behalf of the people of the Red River Valley. Sincerely, Carolyn Haugen, Ways & Means Committee Branch 419 Durham Board, the committee "contains parents, staff and community members and en- sures that the board receives a wide spectrum of parental in- put on issues related to family life education" (sex programs). However, here is the rub: the members of FLEAC are inter- viewed, vetted, and appointed by board administrators. Can- didates with agreeable points of view seem to be favored -- that ensures the smooth running of the committee. Just to make sure, the parents on the com- mittee are outnumbered by ad- ministrators, educators, and other allies of the sex-ed indus- try. Ms. Freedman's idea of "a wide spectrum of parental in- put" is mostly confined to par- ents on the committee. Ms. Volunteers To the Editor: Winter ice and arenas are far from our thoughts right now, but great family fun is how we will remember the winter of 1996/97, at the Port Perry Are- na. This was our first season in- volved with house league hock- ey and figure skating. Our chil- dren thoroughly enjoyed their positive experiences with these Freedman ""steamrollered" the last sex-ed document for senior students through FLEAC and the board last February, and it was adopted without due re- gard for public parental input. Even RPAC (the Regional Par- ent Council), did not have the opportunity to give their input on the final draft. Such cynical and high- handed tactics by our public ed- ucation employees should not be tolerated. It is high time par- ents and taxpayers joined forces and showed up at these meet- ings to demonstrate their dis- pleasure of the educators' arro- gant disregard for parental concerns and the democratic process. Jann Flury, Oshawa are great! organizations. Thank you to the many volun- teers involved who provided fig- ure skating and hockey oppor- tunities for our community. Our family sure appreciated it. Linda George and family, Raglan Thanks for remembering Roy To the Editor: On behalf of my family and myself would you please extend our heartfelt thanks to the fami- ly who honored Roy with their very generous donation to the "Light The Way Campaign" in his memory. What a wonderful way to be remembered. Roy would have been very proud. Sincerely, Doris Grierson You can fax your letters 985-3708 ee ar ll lt it iit i hE, -- Editor's Notepad by Jeff Mitchell FUNDRAISING ON HIGH SEAS A DAMN FINE SHOW: | should have got around to this last week, but with deadlines and everything, there just wasn't time. However: Here's to the brave souls who took to the waters of Lake Scugog April 27 for the first edition of the Scugog Challenge Cup sailing race. There wasn't a huge crowd on hand, but one hopes word gets 'round, and everybody shows up for the second running next ear. g The race was won by Dave Hillier and Theresa Bray of the Antrim House, who pulled ashore at Palmer Park after their sixth and final chilly lap and promptly quaffed a can of Guiness before accepting the Scugog Challenge Trophy from Mayor Howard Hall. Meanwhile their competitors, Ken Lavalette and Doug McGrath of Woodwind Yachts in Nestleton, were bailing out their boat at the marina. They capsized after taking on water around about the fourth lap, and got their mast mired in the muddy bottom of Lake Scugog. Tragedy was averted when the rescue boat putted out to tow them. In the end the real winners were the Scugog rowing club and the public libraries, beneficiaries of the fundraiser. Good show. : FLOOD RELIEF: If you've been waiting and wondering how you can help out the folks who've been battered by the Red River flood in Manitoba, here's your chance. This coming Saturday, from 10 until 2, they'll be collecting donations of pillows, linen, and blankets at the fire hall in Port Perry. Our area has been assigned the bedding detail as part of a regional effort, being coordinated by the Salvation Army. A similar effort is being undertaken by Legion 419. THEY PERSEVERE: It has been both heart-wrenching and tremendously uplifting, watching the people of the Prairies cope with the rotten hand they've been dealt. So tirelessly have they worked, in the face of overwhelming odds, and as of this writing Friday afternoon, their preparation has paid off; Winnipeg was secure as the river crested, and communities and farms south of the city were, for the most part, dry, as the dikes erected under a terrible deadline held. You just hope they can hang in there in the days to come. BUYER BEWARE: It seems we write this story every couple of months: Local people, usually seniors, are bilked of thousands of dollars by scam artists over the phone, despite police warnings. Please beware: If it sound too good to be true... rm -- 7) f 7 Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten Township. the next millennium. And while pollsters are giving a confident nod towards the return of Jean Chretien and his Liber- als, one should not forget that campaigns can be lost in mere days, let alone weeks. Tn So it appears this federal election is Chretien's to lose, as he is almost assured of a win at this point. And speaking of elections, Friday's announce- ment by John Wolters that he will be seeking the Mayor's seat in the November municipal election 1997 - THE YEAR OF ~ THE ELECTION Voters from across Canada will : | be heading to the polls in about ar four weeks to decided which leader and which party will lead them to the brink of behind. signals the early start to the political race in Scugog Mr. Wolters is no stranger to local politics, having served three terms behind the council table in the past as both a councillor and regional councillor. And this is not the first time Wolters has taken a run at the top political seat in the township. In fact it will be his third attempt. In 1985 he ran a distant second to incumbent Mayor Jerry Taylor and in 1988 he was back for another try. During the '88 election Wolters was one of four candidates to throw his hat into the political ring; the others being Harvey Graham, Stanley Taylor and Howard Hall. The four man race favoured Hall from the outset as Graham and Wolters, both farmers in Cartwright split the important Ward 4 votes, allowing Hall to slide up the middle with a decisive 500 vote victory. Harvey Graham came second with 2025 votes, while Wolters grabbed 1566 and Taylor was far Hall took over as the communities top politician from Jerry Taylor who was stepping down after 10 years as mayor and has held the post every since. So after nine years at the helm, he will attempt to be elected for a fourth consecutive term in office as mayor of Scugog Township. While scanning through the old files at the Star, | also noticed that 1988 was the first term in office as a ward councillor for Marilyn Pearce. It was a happy day for Mrs. Pearce and she indi- cated she could hardly wait to get started. This is in sharp contrast to this year, where she has all but ~ ruled out another shot at local politics. It's far too early to even speculate what kind of interest will be generated this fall as the municipal election nears, but one thing is for sure... when there's a race for mayor, interest is generally higher and the fight far more interesting. So on the eve of a federal election, local voters have already been teased with the announcement of John Wolters and Mayor Howard Hall as candi- dates for Scugog"s "top gun."