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

10 - PORT PERRY STAR - Wednesday, September §, 2001 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" Back to hs 4 school RIK DAVIE / PORT PERRY STAR Students of all ages across Scugog Township returned to the classroom yes- terday morning, including Neal Boyle, who attended his first class at Port Perry High School on Tuesday. Canterbury Common residents face big hike From Page 1 "We're all retired people. We've down- sized. We thought our taxes would be rea- sonable when we moved up here. Now, they're hitting us very hard," he told The Star. Residents there can't see the reason- ing behind the increases, which average roughly $1,000 a house, and suspect there is some "creative accounting" going on, Sadler said. Property owners are scheduled to meet with Scugog Mayor Doug Moffatt and other township officials on Thursday. Judging from their own tax bills, coun- cillors observed at their last meeting that the majority of the increases faced by some local homeowners appears to be due to re-assessment. The latest assessment updated prop- erty values from 1996 market values to reflect 1999 prices, resulting in an average property value increase of 11.3 per cent across Durham Region. Homes that rose in value by more than the average will see a corresponding hike in property taxes, according to an explanatory pamphlet on property taxes mailed to Scugog homes by Durham Region last week. Another factor straining the tax burden on homeowners is the provincially-man- dated Business Protection Program, which has capped taxes levied on busi- ness and industrial properties. Because of that, funding shortfalls must be made up primarily by homeowners. Late tax bills also compounded the tax increase squeeze. The traditional quar- terly bills are due in two consecutive months this fall, due to new last-minute billing protocols issued by the province. Citizens who believe their home's assessment is too high may request a review by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation before the deadline of Dec. 31, 2001. In Canterbury Common, home values have risen as much as 30 per cent since the mid-90s. SIU has completed seven probes in Durham over the past seven months From Page 1 police headquarters. A male suspect that police described as "agitated" confronted officers in the front lobby of the police building brandishing a knife, according to reports. Police sources say at least three officers then drew their service pistols and demanded the suspect drop the weapon. According to police sources, while the suspect continued to brandish the weapon at officers Insp. Ewles worked his way behind the suspect and then disarmed the man with a blow to the wrist from an asp baton, and subdued the suspect with no harm to officers or civilian workers in the immediate area. One police officer who asked not to be named told The Star that the incident with the canine dog is indicative of the Special Investigations Unit probes. "The dog may or may not have bitten the suspect in the course of the arrest," the officer said. "If he did and the SIU are involved then unless they can teach those dogs how to wrestle suspects to the ground we are going to have a lot of SIU investigations here. They better open a branch office." According to information received by The Star, Durham Chief Kevin McAlpine has let it be known amongst high-ranking officers in his service that the final deci- sion as to whether incidents fall under the mandate of the SIU is his to make. Chief McAlpine, an outspoken critic of how the SIU goes about its mandate, said he will retain final say on when, and how, SIU investigators are called in to the area. "They have done several investigations (in Durham) that we would not consider to be serious injuries," Chief McAlpine said. "These guys (SIU) read something in the nature of a newspaper story and decide to exercise their mandate." Mr. Bell said that the public is not being served by the current SIU practices. "This is supposed to be the public's police watchdog and we have always agreed that such a thing is necessary," Mr. Bell said. "But if they are not releasing to the press their current investigations or letting the public know what they are doing and why, then how are they being accountable?" Chief McAlpine said he will bring the mater of what constitutes a "serious injury" to his fellow chiefs at a meeting of the Durham Liberals to host barbecue Durham Liberals will be Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police on legal issues to be held in Durham Region in the next couple of weeks. "We continue to be very concerned about their (SIU) definition of serious injury," Chief McAlpine said. Rose Hong, media spokesperson for the SIU, said that only major incidents are dealt with by way of media releases. "Not all cases require media releases," Ms. Hong said. "We make a decision case- by-case on how each one is dealt with." In the past seven months the SIU have investigated 110 cases for police wrong- doing and have laid charges in only three instances. The DRPA wants clearer guidelines for when and how the SIU is called into mat- ters. "What is serious injury?" Mr. Bell asked. "When should they (SIU) be called and what just amounts to a waste of the pub- lic's tax dollar?" According to the SIU's own annual report, their budget last year topped $5.3 million, with almost 10 per cent of that going to the office of the director. Ms. Hong told The Star that Director Tinsley declines to speak to the press about the call for his resignation, and prefers to "speak with the parties involved directly and not through the media." However, in a media release dated Sept. 4, Mr. Tinsley said he has tried to meet with PAO members. "Unfortunately PAO leadership has not availed itself of that opportunity," Mr. Tinsley said. The DRPA has denied the statements. According to Ms. Hong, Insp. Ewles has been cleared in his case. There is no word from the DRPS if Insp. Ewles will be recognized by the service for his bravery. The officer involved in the motorcycle accident here in North Durham has been named a subject officer and six other offi- cers on his shift -- none of whom were pre- sent at the scene of the accident -- are named as witness officers. Seven officers have been designated as witness officers in the incident involving the alleged dog bite. No subject officer has yet been named. The Police Association of Ontario is in the midst of setting up meetings with the province to discuss the role of the SIU in police investigations. putting the heat on some- thing other than their political opponents on Sunday, Sept. 16 at their annual federal-provincial barbecue. The federal and provin- cial riding associations are combining for an afternoon of fun, food, music and . activities. The event runs from 3 to 7 p.m. at Orono Fairgrounds with guest speakers MP Alex Shepherd (Durham) and MPP George Smitherman (Toronto Centre- Rosedale). Tickets are S$l15/person (kias under 12 eat free) for the roast beef dinner and trimmings, plus lots of fun. For tickets or information, phone Carol Berney at 905- 623-2231 or Ferdinando Longo at 905-426-3389. Got a letter for the editor? Email: editorial@portperrystar.com a mS as Aaa sn ADS Ha DH SH Aa sees Aa