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

a EE ES UE SS ais CE MS SE iia aiden cai EEC Li -- badd we WW TE EI I. I ITZ ree Ee Eres cs = er "|e Tn -wns a. oo '6- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, November 16, 1999 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" PUBLISHER - J. Peter Hvidsten GENERAL MGR. - Don MacLeod MANAGING EDITOR - Jeff Mitchell REPORTER - Chris Hall OFFICE MANAGER - Gayle Stapley ADVERTISING MGR. - Deb McEachern Member Ontario Community Newspaper Assoc. PHONE (905) 985-7383 FAX (905) 985-3708 E-MAIL: port.perry.star@sympatico.ca A\ocna hd Publications Mail Registration No. 07881 Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Company Limited, 188 Mary Street - Port Perry, Ontario - LIL 1B7 SUBSCRIPTION RATES Janse ana lan Gommunity {vw CNA Association BUSINESS OFFICE: Judy Ashby, Kathy Dudley, Janet Rankin, Heather Callan. ADVERTISING: Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, Gail Morse, Heather Mack, Linda Clarke, Janet Archer PRODUCTION: Trudy Empringham, Pam Hickey, Daryle Wright, Robert Taylor, Richard Drew, Scott Ashby, 1 Year - $37.45 (includes GST) Six Months - $19.79 (includes GST) ~~ Foreign 1 Year - $96.30 (includes GST) EDITORIAL POLICY: Opinions expressed by columnists, contributors and letter writers are not necessarily those of The Port Perry Star. Letters must be signed and the telephone number (which will not be published) included. Requests that a name be withheld will be honoured only if there is a compelling reason to do so. Errors will be corrected if brought to the editor's attention. We reserve the right to edit or refuse publication of any material submitted. ADVERTISING POLICY: The publisher is not liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an adverbsement. The publisher is not liable for other errors or omissions in connection with any advertisement in any subsequent issue or the refund of any monies paid for the advertisement. All claims of error in publication must be made by Wednesday, noon, prior to the next week's publication, and, if not made, will not be considered. No claim will be allowed for more than one inserton. Editorial comment Toughen sentences for police chases There's likely to be a pretty standard reaction to news that the province intends to impose stiffer sentences on drivers found guilty of fleeing police: It's about time. In fact, the Tories -- as is their tendency -- are lowering the boom in a big way; they're looking at lifetime driving suspensions in extreme cases, such as when serious injury or death result from a pursuit that goes wrong. Something had to give; since January of 1997 there have been 10 deaths in police chases. Sometimes it's the drivers fleeing who are killed, and at other times -- most recently in Sudbury -- an officer has died. And then there are the innocent bystanders. Take, for instance, one John Michael Gibbons, 46, who instantly made the headlines Nov. 15, 1998. He was on his way home to Oshawa after a night at Casino Rama when his Cadillac entered the intersection at Highways 12 and 7A near Port Perry, and was broadsided by a speeding truck. The driver of the truck ran a red light in an attempt to outrun police, who were following some distance away. In addition to the two years less a day David Doerfler was sentenced to for criminal negligence causing death, he is prohibited from driving for three years after his release. That suspension seems light, doesn't it? We've been too quick to blame the cops for chasing suspects, and too reluctant to come up with sentences that may prove to be a deterrent -- or at least ensure that someone who willingly engages in a dangerous pursuit and hurts some- one won't ever do it again. When a problem becomes as apparent as this one has, tough measures are called for. The government's on the right track. The small merchants of Port Rrry are faced with a new menace... WARE 5 800! OHNO! IT's DARTH MALL! To the Editor: I would like to take a few minutes of your busy day to ask that you print a thank you to a very special lady. Her name is Pauline and she owns the Sunnyside Market in Caesarea. For a number of years she has had a Halloween costume judging contest for kids 12 and under. She also has an open house for the parents as well."Each year the contest gets larger and larger. This year 150 to 175 children arrived forthe contest and were welcomed with hot chocolate and homemade cookies as well as treats given out in her store. Whenever there is any type of function Thanks to a community booster in the community, Pauline is sure to offer what ever is needed. Since Pauline has been holding her contest I have noticed that there are not the problems as other areas have. She always greets you with a warm smile and makes you feel welcome. I have never seen a thank yau note, card or article, and just wanted to say a big thank you Pauline, you're the best. Keep up the great party, and I hope this makes your day. You deserve it. P.S. Tell Jack I said his white pumpkins were great. Sharon Smith, Caesarea . by J. Peter Hvidsten Random Jottings WE'LL MISS FESTIVAL DAYS DOWNTOWN Recognizing that nothing stays the same forever, | still find the Queen St., after almost three decades, hard to ~ believe and accept. As a former director of the Chamber of Commerce <= in fact a member of the board of directors at the ~ time the festival was conceived -- | believe the deci- sion to move it to the fairgrounds is wrong. tions in the summer of 1971 were the forerunner of the present summer celebration we've come to know ~ as Festival Days. Following that most successful event, directors of the Port Perry Chamber of Commerce, recognizing decision to move Festival Days off Just for the record, Port Perry's Centennial celebra- the valuable exposure the town received, decided to continue the summer festival... thus launching the first ever Western Weekend, in August 1972. The whole point of holding a summer festival in a mall-like setting along Queen St. was to attract people to the community and introduce them to the business- es of downtown Port Perry. ye The event proved to be a popular and anticipated event each summer for.a dozen years. As interest began to wane in the mid-80s, the directors decided a change was needed to revive the event. It next became known as Festival Days, with the directors introducing different themes each year, including a British Festival, Bahamian Festival and World Festival. Store fronts, windows and merchants dressed in the appropriate themes, creating a new and exciting event for both local residents and visitors to the town. Western Weekend and its predecessor Festival | Days provided not only enjoyment for the public, but a vehicle with which to.attract people to our town, to experience what Port Perry has to offer. Of course, there have always been those who dis- agreed with the event being held downtown, mainly because it caused disruption of their businesses. That argument may have some merit, if the only thing considered is actual sales over that particular weekend. But Festival Days should be looked at as a generator of business over the entire year. The festival was born out of desire to get people to the community to experience our town, not necessari- ly to generate sales on that particular weekend. But with that said, those merchants who participated prop- erly, by taking advantage of the thousands of people who made their way into the downtown, found the fes- tival quite profitable. In my opinion, moving Festival Days to the local fairgrounds is a terrible mistake. It now becomes just another event taking place on the edge of town. If it doesn't work at the fairgrounds, it's quite likely the end of Festival Days, as it will be much too difficult to have it reinstated in the downtown after it's been moved out. The Chamber has been extremely important to the business community for more than 40 years and the efforts of its directors are most appreciated. Despite my disappointment in the change of venue, we wish them good luck in their venture. .