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"Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" CHRIS HALL/PORT PERRY STAR JOAN GRAHAM of Blackstock has been named a recipient of the Heritage Community Recognition Award for her efforts to keep Scugog Township green. Mrs. Graham was recognized by the Ontario Heritage Foundation for her efforts in a program which provides trees at low cost to residents, who are encouraged to plant them along township road allowances. Hundreds of trees have been planted in the years she's undertaken the effort, which is designed to ensure the future of Scugog's stately, tree-lined country roads. Community policing Residents, cops must work together, By John B. McClelland Port Perry Star An exchange of information between the public and the police 1s crucial in controlling community crime, says the senior Durham officer for Scugog Township. Inspector Chuck Mercier told members of Scugog council last week that coopera- tion among police and citizens is the first line of defense in the fight against crime. "Information is the key," he said, urg- ing councillors to tell their constituents to notify police any time they see criminal or suspicious activity, no matter how trivial it may seem. "You will not be wasting our time (by calling police). An officer may not get there immediately if it is not a serious matter, but we will respond and attend," he said. Inspector Mercier is the senior officer for Durham Police's 26 Division, which covers Scugog, Uxbridge and Brock Townships. He's a resident of the Port Perry area. He was invited to appear before council for an "informal" and general discussion about crime and policing in the commu- nity. There have been some recent problem areas in Scugog and a couple of weeks ago, Ward 2 (Port Perry) councillor Ken Carruthers said publicly that some of his constituents have told him they fear walking in the lakefront parks and in the downtown area after dark. Councillor Carruthers said at Monday's meeting that some of his con- stituents tell him they feel intimidated in their own homes by what he described as strangers peering through their win- dows at night, attempted home invasions, broken windows and other damage to homes and property. He said many of these kinds of inci- dents do not get reported to the police, especially if no crime has been committed. Inspector Mercier responded by noting that downtown Port Perry is safe for says Mercier pedestrians. There have been no recent reports of assaults, and the level of crime -- including thefts and serious vandalism -- 1s declining, he said. As for vandalism in the lakefront parks, he strongly suggested the town- ship lock up the ublic washrooms Chuck Mercier each night, as they serve as a "magnet for vandals" after dark. Earlier this summer, the main street through Blackstock was the scene of ongoing problems between groups of young people and residents. Problems there have been cleaned up as police adopted a "zero tolerance" stance which included banning known trouble makers from that community, imposing curfews and notifying parents of those getting into trouble, said Inspector Mercier. Officers worked plain clothes duty to counter the problems in Blackstock over the summer, and would enforce curfews by showing up at a person's residence to make sure they were not out on the streets. "We know who they (trouble makers) are," said the Inspector. "They are being monitored constantly. If there are isolated incidents we will deal with them." Ward 4 Councillor David Dietlein said there were incidents reported to him last weekend and he has a meeting sched- uled later this week with some of the residents who encountered the most recent problems. During his hour-long appearance before council, Inspector Mercier contin- ued to stress the need for communications between police and the public. He also noted that while Scugog has its share of "bad actors," the young people who stay out of trouble and are not a concern for police far outnumber those committing crimes and vandalism. By John B. McClelland Port Perry Star Scugog Township Mayor Doug Moffatt wants Durham Region council to press the provincial government to delay the Greater Toronto Services Board (GTSB) for another two years, at least. The mayor introduced a motion at last Wednesday's meeting of regional council after former Metro chair Alan Tonks had spent nearly two hours field- ing hostile questions and comments about the proposed GTSB, which the Harris government wants up and run- ning this coming Jan. 1. Mayor Moffatt wants the GTSB put on hold until the term of current munic- ipal councils expires two years from this November. Judging from the strong opposition expressed against the GTSB by regional councillors, the mayor's motion will cer- tainly pass. But whether Premier Mike Harris and municipal affairs minister Al Leach pay any attention is another issue entirely. Mr. Tonks, appointed by Queen's Park last spring to listen to the public and political concerns about the GTSB from the 29 municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area, told regional council that Mr. Leach has set Jan.1 as the date he wants the new board officially in place. The legislation to set up the GTSB received first reading in June. It is expected to get second reading in October, and then go to a Queen's Park committee for fine-tuning. The commit- tee will hold public hearings before the bill gets its third and final read- ing. Mr. Tonks is to hand his report over to the municipal affairs minister after the bill gets sec- ond reading. The GTSB as proposed in the Doug Moffatt legislation would have 40 members from the municipali- ties and regions within the GTA. However, the city of Toronto would have 10 members. And that's why members of Durham council and politicians from small rural townships like Scugog are so adamantly opposed to it: They fear it will be dominated by Toronto politicians, and that the interests of others will be neglected or ignored completely. Mayor Moffatt told Mr. Tonks on Wednesday he fears the GTSB will become yet another layer of government that will end up costing the taxpayers money. He asked Mr. Tonks for a guarantee that when the GTSB does get off the ground, as expected, the number of staff be limited to 10. "That's fine by me," Mr. Tonks replied. But he then said that the number of staff should be up to the politicians who will be on the board. Mr. Tonks said that in addition to himself, there is currently a staff of three working for the GTSB; the cost so Tonks gets lukewarm welcome from Durham council far this year has been about $400,000. His job, he said, is to find the "comfort level" among the politicians from the 29 municipalities, from Clarington to Oakville, that would fall under the jurisdiction of the board. Several times during his two-hour appearance in front of the regional councillors, Mr. Tonks said the GTSB will not be a "provider of municipal ser- vices" except for matters relating to GO Transit. It will set strategies across the Greater Toronto Area on matters such as economic development, new roads, sewers and water lines, all with the aim of reducing conflict and duplication among municipalities, and to lower the overall costs of government so that busi- ness and industry can better compete in the global market well into the next century. Durham Region council is already on record as being officially opposed to the GTSB, and judging by the tone of most of the comments and questions Wednesday, councillors have not changed their minds. Mayor Moffatt noted that in the draft legislation, agriculture gets hardly a mention, yet farm revenues in the GTA total more than $600 million annually, or 35 per cent of Ontario's total. Mr. Tonks replied that one of the mandates of the GTSB will be to control urban sprawl and protect farmland. That's something which is not being done effectively now by the councils of the GTA, he contends. "The GTSB will have a better chance of enhancing the role of agriculture," he said. "We have differing views of that," Mayor Moffatt sharply replied. Oshawa councillor Brian Nicholson accused Mr. Tonks and municipal affairs minister Leach of "ignoring the wishes of the people" by pushing ahead with the plans in the face of objections from most of the municipalities in the GTA. "We have no impact on you or the minister -- that we don't want this GTSB," said councillor Nicholson. He went on to say membership in the GTSB should be voluntary, and subject to plebiscites in all 29 municipalities. The way it 1s being pushed through is "undemocratic and prone to immediate failure," he told Mr. Tonks. Mr. Tonks said he will not recommend that membership be voluntary. Members can't have the option of opting in and opting out. And he stressed several times that individual municipalities "have nothing to fear about the future," as the GTSB "is not going to neglect the rural areas of the GTA." He suggested that rural issues could be addressed with the for- mation of a specific GTSB committee to deal with rural items. In response to a question about how operating costs of the new GTSB will be paid, Mr. Tonks said, "hopefully not (by) the property taxpayers." There were suggestions that operating costs come from provincial taxes on gasoline, vehi- cles or even tires. SE SA Ee SO