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

"Scugog"s Community Newspaper of Choice" PORT PERRY STAR - Wednesday, August 8, 2001 - 3 Support for Aug. 18 fundraiser needed Public urged to chip in towards Aquarama event By Chris Hall Port Perry Star Local residents and others are encouraged to dig deep in their pockets to support this year's upcoming Aquarama fundraiser. Set to be held on Aug. 18., the final details are now being taken care of for the wildly-popular event, which raises money for the Easter Seals Society and other childrens' charities. The most important item left, however, is the actual fundraising, says event chair Heather Haliburton-Smith. "It's important now to let people know that Aquarama participants will be out collecting pledges from the pub- lic," she said last week. "The response from the public has always been excellent; the event has grown each and every year it's been put on and that's because of the support we get." Local residents and businesses kicked in $15,000 towards the fundraiser in 2000, and Mrs. Haliburton-Smith is hoping to match that fig- ure this year. Over the fundraiser's short history, more than $50,000 has already been raised for various chil- drens' charities. Currently, there are 20 teams signed up for the event, which sees teams of five riders make their way around a triangular course off of Palmer Park on personal water craft. Each rider is timed, and awards are handed out for a variety of accomplishments, including fastest team and individual times, weirdest costume and wildest ride. Once again, all water craft, fuel, life jackets and staff will be provid- ed by Port Perry Marina owner John Mackey. For more information on the ride, or to help sponsor the event, please call Heather Haliburton-Smith at either 905-985-7870 or 905-985-2159, extension 8. Renovations should be done by.end of August, says Chief Renovations to the Port Perry fire hall will be completed on schedule, says Scugog Fire Chief Richard Miller. While he admitted last week that renovations to the former truck bay area are "a little behind sched- ule", Chief Miller stressed that the work will be finished by the end of August. "The roof is now closed in and shingled so now they can begin drywalling the ceiling and other places," said the Chief. "Work should progress a little quicker now and it will be done on time." Renovations to the Port Perry station, which was expected to cost close to $1 million, was split into two projects. Earlier this year, con- struction crews added a new struc- ture to the former station, which will now be used for offices, dis- patch and for council meetings. The second phase of the renova- Fire hall work close to completion tions included enlarging the truck bays. Construction moved along smoothly until an old oil tank was discovered underneath the former station. Other complications included the need to demolish an exterior wall and to lay a new con- crete foundation for the truck bay. "The work will be done by the end of August, which was what we were shooting for," said Chief Miller. Kinsmen Beach in Port Perry continues to remain unsafe for swim- ming. Durham Region Health Department offi- cials have once again posted the local beach as unsafe to swim in due to high bacteria counts. The local beach has been posted for most of the summer. Lakeside Beach on Scugog Island remains safe. Other area beaches posted as unsafe include Elgin Park in Uxbridge. Tests are conducted Port Perry's Kinsmen Beach remains posted each week at each of the 16 public beaches in Durham Region by the local health unit. Samples are then for- warded to a ministry lab in Peterborough. Anyone swimming in beaches posted as unsafe run the risk of eye, ear and throat infec- tions, as well as upset stomachs. For more information on beach postings, please visit the region's website at www.region.durham.on.c a. CORRECTION Information in a cutline beneath a photograph in the Aug. 3 edition of The Weekend Star was incor- rect. The cutline below the photo on Page 21 should have stated that registra- tion would be held for the Island Dance Studio. The Star regrets the error. www.portperrystar.com dU Es es 4 73 168 Queen Street, Port Perry 005-985-2521