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10 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, September 11, 2001 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" It's amazing what can happen with a little teamwork. Here are just three of the ways we've been busy serving the Durham area over the past little while. Soccer It's the world's most popular sport, and no wonder -- it helps to teach confidence and teamwork, all in a fun environment. That's why Tim Hortons was proud to put our name on the jerseys of 1466 kids that participated in the Timbits Soccer program in the Durham area this year. Thanks to everyone who helped our kids aim for their goals. Tim Hortons Summer Swim Tim Hortons Summer Swim added a splash of free fun all summer. Your local Tim Hortons provided a complimentary block of time each week at local public swimming pools. Your kids laughed. They made new friends. And you didn't have to dip into your wallet. Summer Sports Providing jerseys and medals for kids' minor league teams are just a few examples of how we cheer for our young local heroes. This year's Durham Timbits T-Ball, Football and Lacrosse programs were great ways to help kids learn fair play while having fun. b- - -Vre Together, Making Good Things Happen. Firefighters still able to do their job, says Chief From Page 1 public and therefore they should not be alarmed. "The fire department knows and responds accordingly," Ms. DeWit said. But who else was aware? Ward 4 Councillor Dave Dietlein, who represents residents in the Blackstock area, told The Star that he was aware of the matter and that it was not news to him. "I know that the pres- sure is too low on the hydrants and | know that the region is doing some- thing about it," Councillor Dietlein said. "There are tenders going out this fall to do with the pumping station upgrades and | am told that should fix the problem." Councillor Deitlien said that he "ran into the prob- lem just recently" while he was looking into drainage problems in the 20-plus- year-old subdivision in Blackstock. Exactly who has knowl- edge of the matter and who does not was difficult to tell. Questions asked at the Township of Scugog were directed to officials at the Durham Region Works Department. Gerry Harness, mainte- nance and operations manager for the region, said that hydrants in the Blackstock area have not functioned to firefighting capacity since the forma- tion of the Region of Durham in the mid-70s. "We have never had suf- ficient flow in those hydrants," Mr. Harness said. "A new reservoir and well that are in the design stages and hopefully will be in place in the fall of 2002 will solve that prob- lem for us." Ken Carruthers, Scugog Township's Regional Councillor, was shocked when told of the news. "I must confess | wasn't aware of this situation," Councillor Carruthers said. "I am sure that our staff is and | am aware that upgrades are planned in the near future," he said. "I will certainly look into this and I can tell you it will be brought up at council on Monday." Scugog Mayor Doug Moffatt said that he will use the information to solve the problem. "We will look into the specifics of this and test the hydrants in Blackstock... to see exactly what their pressure is," Mayor Moffatt pledged. "We will use this opportu- nity to fix this problem as quickly as we can." The mayor also noted that he could not recall the matter ever coming up at fire committee meetings. One other person The Star spoke to was local insurance broker Larry Emmerson. He, too, was concerned about the mat- ter. The question of fire hydrants is one asked on insurance forms for home- owners' policies. "We as a local broker would actually go out and look to see if there are fire hydrants," Mr. Emmerson told The Star. "Some com- panies that do business by phone do not do that. They simply take the word of the policy holder that hydrants are in place and function- al." Mr. Emmerson said that homeowners should not have to worry about their coverage if there was dam- age and the insurer found out later that hydrants did not work up to specifica- tions. "It would fall on the shoulders of the broker, he should check," Mr. Emmerson said. He added that as a local resident he was aware that some hydrants did not work to full capacity. "But I did not know that in some cases they could not support a pumper truck, no I didn't," Mr. Emmerson said. "They should lock off or mark hydrants that are not working."