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oo A ™ 4- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, January 27, 1998 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" Nh Icehenge as it looked following completio The By J. Peter Hvidsten Icehenge, Bill Lishman's tribute to the magnificent Stonehenge in Great Britain, collapsed and became nothing more than a pile of rubble over the weekend. It was a disappointing turn of events for Bill Lishman and his crew of 20 or more who toiled all last week to erect the 40 metric tonne structure at the lakefront in Port Perry. ' But Icehenge began crumbling over the weekend. Sunday morning all that was left standing were 15 of the 40 slabs (bottom photo) which made up Icehenge, and by mid-afternoon the entire structure had collapsed. When the Star spoke with Mr. Lishman Sunday evening, although he was disappointed with the turn of events, he was pleased with the way the project came together. He said that the downfall of Icehenge was caused when someone drilled a hole in the ice near the perimeter. Water flooding onto the n of massive project last week. ISE Fall- ICEHENGE Raising a block of Icehenge. site caused a gradual deterioration of the ice where the heavy slabs stood. (see letter to editor) But when asked if he'd attempt to build it again he was quick to reply "yes, but probably not this year." He said most of the people who had helped him said they'd love to do it again. So, while Icehenge may be nothing but a memory for this year, quite likely Bill and his crew, will be back again next winter to reconstruct Icehenge. Icehenge sinks like Atlantis By Bill Lishman It was an amazing five days. A group of people previously unknown to each other amassed on the ice off the end of the Port Perry dock and reorganized, forty tonnes of lake Scugog winter water into a work of art. By coincidence this activity followed (it is probably safe to say) the period when the precarious ice cover of lake Scugog had claimed more lives in the shortest period of time in the lakes' history. Fortunately the ice directily off the dock was a solid 25 to 35 cm and ready for the project or so it would seem. On Tuesday afternoon The Ice Druids came to the call and in a spirited effort over the next two and a half days erected 40, three quarter tonne vertical members replicating the stones of Stonehenge, as it was originally constructed, only at a 60% scale. These verticals (called the Sarsens in Stonehenge) were put in place by sheer muscle power, cut by chain saw from the 30 cm thick ice, skidded out of the water onto a sled, hauled manually across the ice, and tilted up into place. By the end of day two, all but two of the verticals were in place. At that point the Ice Druids were stuck, there was no workable plan to raise and put in place the lintels, the thirty five pieces that span the verticals (the larger ones weighing upwards of four hundred kilos each). Bob Heron one of the Ice Druid elders and the unofficial Mayor of Brooklin found an electric lift truck, and brought it to the site. It would have worked but it would have been too slow, with bad weather predicted for Friday a quicker plan had to be formed. Arnold Kerry from Utica Farm Supply came to the rescue lending a tractor and front end loader that would speed up the process and make it possible to finish the project within the weather window. Just at sunset at the end of a glorious three days, a great cheer went up when the last 300 kilo lintel was gingerly lowered into place. The ice glinting, Jewel like, in the late afternoon sun was breath taking. Everyone stood with an elated feeling at their creation. We had not lugged forty tonne stones four hundred kilometers but we had created a reasonable semblance of the Druid landmark in record time and we felt somehow linked to the original creators of that ancient icon. The Ice Druids who created Icehenge are as follows: Chris Farrell, Ed Whitfield, Rick & Grant McCoshen, Peter Klinkenberg, Bev Whale, Glen Lehman, Tyler & Kasey Briley, Mac Ward, Kevin White, David Foster, Gerry Jillesen, Rob Parker, Terry Sheedy, Don Rogers, Bill Stevenson, Heather Ray, Fred Canning, Gordon Humphrey, Paul Roberts, Richard Vanheuvelen. A special thanks to: the Brown Couch (coffee), Arnold Kerry ( tractor), Scugog Rentals (pump), Rebates could cost board up to $10 million official says By Chris Hall Port Perry Star Early projections are putting the cost of rebates for last fall's teacher's strike at close to $10 mil- lion, says an official with the public school board. Ron Trbovich, superin- tendent of education and business for the Durham District School Board, said Friday that the board is on pace to issue close to $10 million in rebate cheques to families in Durham as a result of the 10-day strike by teachers last October. As of last week a total of 12,340 rebate forms had been processed, and cheques have been issued at a cost of just under $5 million. There are still 7,000 left to look at, and - one more week to go before the deadline for filing the forms expires on Feb. 6. "So far we've issued $4.9 million in cheques and we could go as high as $9 mil- lion, even $10 million," said Mr. Trbovich. "Given the kinds of numbers we've been get- ting from the families and the costs we've incurred from the strike... we could get up there." The provincial govern- ment passed a law that requires school boards to repay families for child care costs they paid out during the strike. Families are entitled to up to $400. Mr. Trbovich said the $10 million saved on teach- er's salaries during the strike will just about be disbursed through the rebate program. "Potentially we are look- ing at breaking even," he said. "The province has told us to pay back people with the money we have saved, so that should just about cover it." Any money left over will go into the board's 1998 budget. If the board spends more than it saved on wages during the work stoppage the province has promised to make compen- sation, said Mr. Trbovich. When the Board sent claim forms to more than 35,000 families before Christmas, Mr. Trbovich said he had no idea what to expect. "This whole program is unprecedented. This is the first time something like this has happened and look, we've got 20,000 returns. I don't know what the norm is, but we are doing the best we can." It takes up to eight weeks for a claim to be approved, said Mr. Trbovich. CHRIS HALL/PORT PERRY STAR REHEARSAL TIME: Organizers of That's Entertainment '98, a Town Hall 1873 production, Only 15 slabs of ice, of the 40 which made up Icehenge, were left standing as the sun peeked over the horizon Sunday morning. Lake Scugog Lumber (caution tape and stakes), Don Rogers (chain saw and cutting pattern), are getting set for this Friday's opening perfor- mance. The show runs Saturday as well, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 each. Here, Barbara Taylor-Bone, left, gets in some practice with Barb Dulette.