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4 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, March 28, 2000 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" CHS principal wins small-school students eligibility for award By Rik Davie Special to the Star It is not often that a citizen gets to plead his case before the Governor General these days, but Cartwright High School Principal Tim Taylor has done it - - with success. Mr. Taylor won the privilege of having his students partici- pate in the Governor General's Medal for Canadian History. The medal is a one-time millennium award, to be presented to the students at each of Canada's secondary schools who achieve the highest academic marks in Canadian history. But there was a hitch. Under the current curriculum in Ontario, not all students take Canadian history during their first two years of high school. The curriculum changes institut- ed over the past year would have left Cartwright High with no students eligible for the Governor General's prize. A phone call to the GG"s office resulted in a request that Mr. Taylor detail his concerns in writ- ing. Mr. Taylor wrote Adrienne Clarkson to point out the exclu- sion of his students, and possi- bly many other kids attending small schools across the province. Mr. Taylor was answered five months later with the news that his argument had merit, and that changes had been made to allow all students to be eligible for the award. Is he pleased? You bet. "I was pleased that | could point this out to them, and somewhat surprised at the inter- est in it," Mr. Taylor said. "I just felt that I should try to do some- thing to allow our students a chance to participate in the awards process." Grant Yeo, Director of MEAGHAN KYTE/PORT PERRY STAR Cartwright High School principal Tim Taylor wrote to Governor General Adrienne Clarkson about problems with a high school award program. Education for the Durham District School Board, said that he is not surprised that the request came from the smallest high school in the Region. "The little school that makes a difference has certainly proved true in this case for Cartwright," said Mr. Yeo. "We at the board are very proud of what (Mr. Taylor) has done, not just for his own school, but small schools across the province by making sure all Ontario students have the chance to participate in this spe- cial award process." The medals will be awarded at school graduations across the province this year. Members of the roads com- mittee feel Scugog could be setting a costly precedent by agreeing to pay the full cost of replacing a sign that was allegedly damaged this winter by a municipal snow plow. The sign, on Scugog Ninth Line, is owned by the Bethesda Reach' Womens Institute. Permission was given several years ago for the sign to be placed on the road allowance. Scugog allows signs and other objects like mail boxes to be placed on municipal property for convenience if the owner requests, but policy clearly states that if an object is damaged for any reason, the municipality accepts no liabil- ity. When the Bethesda sign was damaged, a township staff member agreed on a compro- mise with the institute, where- by Scugog would pay half the estimated $1,100 to replace it. But recent correspondence from the Institute suggests very strongly that Scugog must come up with the entire replacement cost. That raised alarms with Regional rep and finance com- WI wants township to pay for sign smashed by plow mittee chair Ken Gadsden at Monday's meeting of the works committee. He said to pay all the cost would set "a dangerous precedent". While he noted that Bethesda Reach is a volunteer organization deserving of sup- port, Councillor Gadsden said that for the township to cover even half the cost could spell problems in the future, given the number of mail boxes on road allowances that are dam- aged from one cause or anoth- er. In fact, in the case of the Bethesda sign, the roads department has no knowledge or report of it being damaged by a snow plow. The issue was left with the roads department. They are to find out if the sign can by repaired for less than the $1,100 replacement cost. Scugog may pay a maximum $500 of the cost to repair or replace the sign. A letter from a citizen in mid-February says the sign was hit "with a mega-thrust of snow like from the wing of the snow plow and blew the sign out from between the posts." Group's for young writers Kidwriters, for kids who love to write, is now accepting regis- tration for its April/May program for children aged eight to 11. The program will run for four Saturday mornings, from 10 a.m. to noon, from April 15 to May 6 at Simcoe Hall Settlement House, 387 Simcoe St. South, in Oshawa. The cost for the four-session series is $40. Kidwriters provides an oppor- tunity for children to meet with other young writers and share their own writing, while learning : 4 from adult writers in a fun, men- toring environment. Facilitator, Marjorie Green, is a freelance journalist, editor and business writer who has trained and moti- vated hundreds of aspiring writ- ers. The author of Spywriter: Licensed to Write, she is also cur- rent Writer in Residence for the Canadian Authors Association, Toronto and Central Ontario Branch. To register, or to learn more about Kidwriters, call Marjorie Green (905) 579-3229. as spring arrives A dow of reports written at the ft. time. reveals that March 11, . determined to be the official date the ice went out, making it the earliest date for the ice 0 le ve Lake Scugog | in | the . Draw," 1983 was Village. the two. dates is an astounding seven full weeks. . Once again this spring, The Port Perry Star held its annual "Ice Out 50/50 from which the proceeds are donated to Scugog Shores Museum This years winner of the contest is Jim Musselman of Little Britain, who will rece ve $117.50. An e qual amount. will i