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10- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, June 10, 1997 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" Building permits soaring YOUR PONTIAC 77 4 PERFORMANCE DEALERS &15-399 (excludes freight sbk20) 2.4 litre SFI 150 HP twin cam engine electric sliding glass sunroof AM/FM stereo with CD player tilt steering/cruise control Despite a dip in April, the value of building permits issued so far this year in Scugog Township is well ahead of 1996. Figures from the municipal building department show that permits valued at $1.5 million were issued in Scugog in April. That's a drop of about $400,000 from the $1 9 million for April of last year. Almost the entire drop is in permits for single family homes, which fell from 18 to 11 for that month. However, the construction industry i in Scugog In 1997 is much stronger than the previous year. The value of permits up to the end of April this year is just over $4 million, compared with $2.7 million during the same period i in 1997. There have been 24 new home permits worth $3.3 million issued this year, up from 21 worth just over $2.2 million a year ago. Industrial/agricultural permits so far this year total $170,000, compared with $38,000 last year. And township residents are doing more renovating to their homes in 1997, according to the report. The value of home improvements up to the end of April was $308,000. For the same four months in 1996, it was $246,000. EL Two ways to look at performance. SE 16" aluminum wheels air conditioning remote keyless entry dual air bags standard Y-wheel ABS 5-speed transmission h | h 4 i FASTER . 197 sunfire cr F254 i f i 1 our GM Card Earnings x ont forget to use y V p F 4 SE NX) toward The Total Purchase Price or down ; yavment of your next ne w GN vehicle | i ¢ avielvly card done for you late ly. g You could get lower monthly payments hase Pric lease d on any GM car or truck, call 1-800-32 SMART FAST. '9? Sunfire Coupe th 209 (3b months/%1.500 down) 2.2 litre engine rear spoiler PASSLock"" theft deterrent system B-speed transmission standard 4Y-wheel ABS dual air bags AM/FM stereo tinted glass power steering easy entry front passenger seat (3b months/%1.500 down) Get what you aY/\ HE wd oi: FINANCING o]g RCT on selected vehicles Election numbers released By Chris Hall Port Perry Star When Liberal Alex Shepherd won his sec- ond consecutive term as Durham MP last Monday, he did so with fewer votes than in 1993. At the same time, his percentage of the popu- lar vote increased. In 1993 Mr. Shepherd picked up 22,334 ballots, which accounted for 37 per cent of the popular vote. Last week, 19,878 (43 per cent) voted to return the Liberal MP to office. Straggling behind the re-elected MP was Reform's Ian Smyth, who collected 13,059 or 28 per cent of the votes; Sam Cureatz of the Progressive Conservative Party with 8,995 votes (20 per cent); New Democrat Colin Argyle with 3,250 (7 per cent); and the Christian Heritage Party's Durk Bruinsma with 682 (1 per cent). Of the 46,052 votes cast, 188 (0.41 per cent) were rejected for being spoiled. According to the results from the recent election, the NDP was the only local party to actually increase their vote count since the last election; Mr. Argyle received 731 more votes in 1993 than 1993 can- didate Lucy Rybka- Becker. All the other candi- dates lost votes. The Tories led the way, with Mr. Cureatz receiving 6,000 fewer votes than incumbent Ross Stevenson in 1993. Ian Smyth received 5,500 fewer votes shorter than in '93, and Mr. Shepherd was cast 2,456 fewer than he did in his inaugural year as MP. Mr. Bruinsma lost 23 votes since his last attempt in 1993. Changes to the rid- ing through redistribu- tion -- Uxbridge was shifted to a new riding -- could be part of the explanation for a this year's numbers, and a decrease in voter turnout in Durham for the June 2 election. Numbers from the Durham riding election officer show that when the Grits swept to power almost four years ago, just over 60,000 people made it to the polls in the riding. That's a stark contrast to the 46,052 who marked a ballot this year.