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"Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" Member Canadian Community { Newspaper * CNA Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Company Limited, 188 Mary Street - Port Perry, Ontario - L9L 1B7 FAX (905) 985-3708 SUBSCRIPTION RATES E-MAIL: port.perry.star@sympatico.ca 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 Letters must be signed and the telephone number (which will not be published) included.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 1s a compelling reason to do so. Errors will be corrected if brought to the editor's attention. Wi 6 reserve the night to edit or refuse publication of any material submitted. ADVERTISING POLICY: The publisher is not kable for sight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher 1s 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 publicaton, and, if not made, will not be considered. No claim will be allowed for more than one inserton 6- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, December 7, 1999 PUBLISHER - J. Peter Hvidsten GENERAL MGR. - Don MacLeod MANAGING EDITOR - Jeff Mitchell REPORTER - Chris Hall OFFICE MANAGER - Gayle Stapley ADVERTISING MGR. - Deb McEachern BUSINESS OFFICE: Judy Ashby, Kathy Dudley, Janet Rankin, Lesley West. ADVERTISING: Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, Gail Morse, Heather Mack, Linda Clarke, Janet Archer, Malcolm Lennox PRODUCTION: Trudy Empringham, Pam Hickey, Daryle Wright, Robert Taylor, Richard Drew, Scott Ashby, Member Ontario Community Newspaper Assoc. PHONE (905) 985-7383 Editorial comment Another institution IS replaced Another month, another announcement of the cancellation of grassroots government services. It is with sadness we note plans to close the local Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) office. Like so many things, it is an institution in this and other rural communities that has been with us for years. And like so many of those other institutions, it is being remade, in the pursuit of cost savings, efficiency, and preparation for the future. That's what the government says. And we hope, if such a sacrifice is to be made locally, that the savings are indeed effectively applied toward the research and distribution of information that will be necessary to keep Ontario farmers competitive and up-to-date in the ever-changing agri-food industry. What we don't want to see is the simple elimi- nation of bricks, mortar and staff, for the purpose of reducing costs to facilitate tax cuts and balance the government's books. : It could be, at a time when thinking and busi- ness are becoming more global, that local ag offices are becoming irrelevant. That's really up to the farming community to decide. What is clear is that we inhabit a political cli- mate in which nothing is sacred. The Tories have taken aim at schools and hospitals in the past; that's why the argument can be made that ag offices, such as the one in Port Perry, were operating on borrowed time, anyway. But it's a shame to think that the dedicated staff, who have among them so much knowledge and expertise pertaining to this area, may not be part of the government's plans for the future. Technology is technology, but we can't lose sight of the fact that people are our most valuable and irreplaceable resource. YOU REALIZE OF COURSE RALPH (Ric!) I'M GOING TO HAVE. TO SUE YoU NOW FOR LETTING ME LEAVEYOUR LIE SE Ln AE AL +» AR EAE SRA TN DE IE I LEE EE LI RL EE TR et ee Te, «Ce To the Editor: Developers often say communities should allow unrestricted development in order to keep municipal taxes low. In the real world, exactly the opposite happens -- the taxes of existing taxpayers go up to provide services for those new developments. Consultant Eben Fodor writes his book "Better, not Bigger," that each house in a new subdivision costs municipalities an average of $35,00 for policing, fire, schools, roads, sewers, parks, libraries and other infrastructure. Taxes these new residents pay might cover ongoing services and main- tenance, but that $35,000 comes out of the pockets of municipalities and the developer. a a Ca Gs Bs 5 A 2 Se 27 CE Gi vo GR ost of developm i ent to cover some of these costs, but only around $10,000 to $15,000 per house. That leaves $20,000 in costs per house for existing tax- payers to pick up. However, the current provincial govern- ment has put limits on what developers can be charged; and the development industry continues to lobby for still further reduc- tions. Fodor points out that it's often far cheaper for communities to buy the land and rent it to farmers or turn it into open space. Land trusts are yet another low-cost option being explored in Pickering. There are better ways. Stephen Leahy, Brooklin i A a 2 FE Developers do pay development charges Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten CHRISTMAS COMES TO PORT PERRY 7, A Congratulations to the mer- 7 fll chants of downtown Port Perry, i 3 . who have gone all out this Christmas season with decorating the street and their ~ storefronts. Every year seems to get better in the downtown, and this year extra lighting, garland and decorations have turned the street into a Christmas wonderland. Port Perry is indeed lucky to have so many busi- ness people willing to shell out the necessary funds to make the downtown one of the most attractive small community shopping areas in the region. It's no won- der people come from all over southern Ontario to enjoy the atmosphere our town has to offer. Last weekend alone there were at least two bus : L ISTRY RE vy dh ii dd ii tours visiting, one from Mississauga and another from Peterborough, to wander our streets, browse and do their Christmas shopping. On Saturday they were treated to wandering car- ollers, who entertained in front of many of the down- town stores, Santa handing out candy canes and greeting young and old alike at his house set up in front of the post office, and numerous in-store promo- tions by our energetic retailers. I's definitely beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas in Port Perry. All we need now is a light covering of snow to make the scene picture perfect. ON THE HOME FRONT While on the Christmas theme, the season got a quicker than normal kick-start at our home this past weekend. For the past couple of weeks, our 10-year-old twins have been coaxing me to put up the Christmas tree, to which | always answered, "It isn't even December yet, it's too early." Tradition in my family while growing up was never to put the Christmas tree up and decorate it until at least a week before the big day. | suppose one of the main reasons at that time was because the natural tree would dry out and start dropping its needles, if it was brought in out of the cold much before that. Well, that old tradition stuck with me for most of my life, and until the past couple of years, it was almost always a week to 10 days prior to Christmas before the tree was raised in the living room. But the kids got the best of me this year. When | arrived home from work last Friday, there was a note taped to the door which read "Hi Dad, please don't get mad at us." They greeted me at the door with big hugs and smiles and led me to the living room, where our naked Christmas tree stood waiting to be decorated. Opened boxes were strewn about the room, with garland, tin- sel, bulbs and decorations scattered about. There was no way | could get angry at the excited, smiling faces that looked up at me and asked if | would put the lights on so they could decorate it. I held them off until the next moming, when we all got together and put the finishing touches on the last Christmas tree we'll enjoy this century. The stockings are hung, decorations are up, and the wait is on for a visit from that jolly old elf, Santa. Only 18 days until Christmas... "Are you ready?"