To the Editor,

Thank you, to the sponsors who helped sustain the Fair and to the volunteers who made it happen.

Thank you also, to those of you who attended and enjoyed the mostly good weather, which has been lacking the past three years.

A special thank you, to our teen and young adult folks, who shared and endured the disappointment of an unacceptably and unexpectedly limited Midway. The reason for dishonouring our Contract is best known to the Midway provider. Be assured that the Fair Executive is already engaged in negotiations to remedy this for next year’s Fair.

Congratulations, to Fair Ambassador, Sarah Barry and her Associate Jaiden Irven, and thanks for your help as well.

In addition to Uxbridge Council, the Fair has been greatly assisted and supported by our local media. In particular, 105.5 Hits, The Cosmos, the Times-Journal and The Standard. Thank you all.

Finally, a reminder to sponsors and volunteers. You are invited to a thank you reception at the Legion, October 15th at 7:00 p,m.      

Uxbridge Fair Board

It was not the best weekend in the sports world as several notable members have recently died.

Probably the biggest name to pass away this weekend was, 87 year-old golf legend, Arnold Palmer. Mr. Palmer helped put golf on the map. It was his personality and personal success in golf that has inspired many of the legends we see in the sport today.

To look at his stats alone, it just blows you away. He won 62 PGA tour titles, seven majors, four Masters and a total of 95 wins.  

He was also the one that fearlessly started the 24 hour golf channel when many didn’t believe it could be a success. There is no wonder he was nicknamed the ‘King of Golf.’

However, Mr. Palmers was not the only one to pass away this week.

Major League Baseball lost 24 year-old Miami Marlins pitcher, Jose Fernandez, to a boating accident on Sunday. According to reports, the boat was travelling at top speed when there was a collision and the boat capsized. The impact could be felt across the sports world, as teams like the Toronto Blue Jays recognized the loss of the player.

Lastly, yesterday, the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) confirmed that player Mylan Hicks had been shot and killed in a nightclub. Hicks was the Stampeders defensive back.

It is truly sad to learn of the deaths of these individuals. In their own ways, they brought a lot to their respective communities, to their teams and to the sports world as a whole, via their actions as individuals.

The last two were cut down before they could finish their careers. Let’s hope we don’t have another weekend like this anytime soon.

Letter to the Editor:

Dear Editor

On behalf of Community Care Durham (CCD), I would like to thank the Durham Region Tim Hortons for selecting our organization as this year's recipient of the proceeds from the Smile Cookie campaign, as well as 'everyone' in Durham who supported us by purchasing a Smile Cookie!

For every Smile Cookie purchased, 'the full $1' was donated to CCD. Your generosity helps us continue to serve clients with services that support their independence, health and quality of life, and helps them to remain in their own homes and communities. By helping people stay healthy at home, hospital admissions can be avoided and emergency visits are reduced. CCD also provides mental health group support throughout Durham Region, as well as caregiver relief services, such as in-home respite and adult day programs.

Your support, and that of the participating Durham Region Tim Hortons, has made a difference in peoples' lives. Thank you so much for helping us put a 'big smile' on our clients' faces!

Brent Farr, Executive Director,
Community Care Durham
www.communitycaredurham.on.ca

Once again, this weekend, The Standard reporters had the privilege of being in attendance at some of the many Terry Fox Run festivities that were happening in our coverage area.

It is inspiring to see people are still coming out every year in waves to keep Terry Fox’s dream alive. From cancer survivors to friends or family members, who have known someone who was diagnosed, people were once again willing to help fund raise for cancer research.

People like Uxbridge’s Jeff Fahrer, who has been involved with the Terry Fox Run since he was 10 years old, and has collected over $2,000 this year. He is just one of the many fundraisers willing to make a difference. When The Standard spoke to Port Perry run organizer Elizabeth McArthur, last week, she mentioned there are volunteers involved who have been working every run since it came to Port Perry in 1993. That dedication is truly special. Before this year’s numbers came in, the Port Perry run had already raised over $1 million since its inception and the Lindsay run had raised over $425,000 without this year’s numbers.

This time of year, it was also great to hear inspirational survivor stories. As many have likely read in this week’s edition, Terry Fox Run poster girl, Tessa Smith, recently regaled R.H. Cornish Public School students with an inspirational and entertaining talk.

Cancer can be beaten. People only have to look at the examples, such as Ms. Smith or young Scugog resident Olivia Worr, to know that. Not only that, but Terry Fox’s story itself should be enough to prove one person can make a difference in this world.

The research is truly helping. We now know so much more about the terrible disease, that has in some way or form touched everyone’s lives, now than when Terry started his run. There are so many new treatments available, that could not have been created without the research.

This is what a community is all about, people coming together to make a difference, and this weekend, the whole country seemed like one big community.

Terry, your dream is still alive, and will continue to be for years to come.

Access to high-speed internet has been a major issue in rural communities all over Canada.

To this day, rural communities such as Scugog, and Kawartha Lakes, just a few dozen kilometers away from major urban hubs, still struggle to provide accessible internet access to its residents. Though work is being done to accommodate residents, the recent failed purchase of Internet Service Provider, Communicate Freely, by the Township of Scugog has seemed to slow down the process further.

Accessible high-speed Internet is vital for a small community to stay sustainable and maintain a healthy population. In fact, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a non-binding resolution which condemns countries that intentionally take away or disrupt its citizens’ internet access, essentially making the internet a basic human right.

The importance of the internet to a small community is huge. For a small business in a rural community, the internet allows them to market their business to a much wider audience then they may be exposed to in a rural market. A small business may not get nearly as much auto traffic in a rural community, then a small business can in an urban market. For a smaller, or rural municipality, this means more local jobs, and a thriving local economy.

Using the internet, a small business can provide customers with the option to pay for products and services using their bank and/or credit cards, no matter where they are, just by using a proprietary device, hooked up to their cell phone. This can mean hundreds of more customers a week, for a small business in a rural community. Especially since, many people just do not carry cash on them anymore. These points are important to keeping businesses and people in our rural communities. Without internet, many people feel forced to move in to major urban centres. With the internet, businesses can reach local, national, and international customers. Something that would never have been possible before.  

Having unlimited access to information helps people to better understand things, they may have never thought or cared about before. Communication has been revolutionized because of the internet. Being able to communicate with anyone around the world has resulted in a much better acceptance and understanding of its different cultures.

To the Editor,

You’d think that a quick trip to the grocery store in Port Perry, on Friday, September 9th, to pick up a few things, wouldn’t cost much.

Wrong; not the groceries they were only $28, the dent in the back door where a shopping cart hit, and the giant scratch across the front door where the cart continued on, that's the cost. Of course there was no one, or cart, to be seen, just the remnants of the damage.

Even though the vehicle wasn’t being driven, it’s still considered a collision, according to the insurance company, so no matter the cost, my grocery outing is going to cost $528.

I don’t consider myself perfect, but, I believe I would have stayed until the owner of the car I damaged showed up. I guess they didn’t consider this a hit and run.

Consider parking away from the store, I know I will be parking at the other end of the parking lot, from now on. You know the saying, “What goes around comes around”, need I say more?

Henrietta Berkers
henriettaberkers@gmail.com

To the Editor,

On behalf of the Port Perry Agricultural Society, I would like to thank the Port Perry community and visitors from beyond for making this year’s Port Perry Fair the best ever.

It is because of you that it was a success. Thank you for participating in our contests and attending our entertainment shows.

Our sponsors, vendors, exhibitors, volunteers, and our own board of directors all worked together to provide a fantastic fun weekend. Even the weather co-operated!

Special kudos to our new secretary-treasurer, who was learning on the job. We had a wonderful turn-out, and received compliments from all areas of the fair.

Thank you again, and anyone who would like to get involved for next year’s fair is encouraged to visit our website, www.portperryfair.com, and follow the contact links.

Margaret Taylor-Sevier
President,
Port Perry Agricultural Society

As many have likely read, in this week’s edition of The Standard, Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers have recently reached tentative agreements.

However, the catch is that these are only two year deals. After over nine months of negotiations, which needed to include a mediator at the end, the two sides only have a temporary fix. There was no long term commitment to this deal, because neither side made much headway on what they saw as the big issues in these negotiations.

Canada Post said it themselves, this “provides more time for thoughtful discussion and analysis.”

These deals can best be described as a 'two year ceasefire'. The war has not ended between the two sides, neither side is truly happy yet.

For a service that is, according to Canada Post, dealing with declining mail volumes, and in the eyes of some Canadians, losing relevance, you would think both sides would have the shared goal of a long term pact.

But instead, the other issues; of pensions, pay equity for rural and urban carriers, and the uncertainty of the results of the federal government’s review of the service; loomed too large over these negotiations, so both sides opted for only a short term solution.

Yes, these deals do create the short term certainty for business owners and customers that their products will be delivered, but when the collective agreements expire, both sides will be back at the table and the heated conversations on all the other issues will once again commence.

Unfortunately, despite the fact the two sides have agreed on a deal, there is not a lot to be optimistic about at Canada Post.

Not much has been achieved, and there is a lot more work to do.

To the Editor,

To become leader of the provincial PC Party, Mr. Brown guaranteed people that there would be no carbon tax; that he would be rid of the Green Energy Act by whatever legal means possible; that there would be a repeal of the sex ed curriculum, etc.

So let's look at Mr. Brown's record, so far. He says the carbon tax will be revenue neutral, (i) with a carbon tax, as the Liberals have stated, this tax is to be implemented on home heating. What constitutes home heating – oil, natural gas, fire-wood, electricity, etc., (ii) one cannot have a carbon tax without having Green Energy. So, with the agreements the Liberals have with the Korea Consortium, creating a monopoly, why hasn't Mr. Brown called [anyone] out? ... after all it violates the law? Could it be because Canada has already been hauled to the World Trade Organization Courts because Ontario is violating trade deals if we dictate that Green Energy agreements must supply Canadian jobs? That's right – we must pay for Ontario's bad deals.

But then what about the sex ed curriculum? Firstly, Mr. Brown, when running for leader, guaranteed people it would be "reading, writing and arithmetic." Secondly, what Mr. Brown does not understand is that there is to be NO government interference between the child and parent; that it is the parent who has the responsibility of teaching their child what is right from wrong; it is the parent who is to determine culture and religion, [however] they so choose - NOT GOVERNMENT. So many have forgotten this is merely history repeating itself all over again. The Roman Empire; Marx; Mao; and yes I will even use Hitler because I'm merely telling the truth.

Mr. Brown the question is – is there any guarantee you will not breach just to try and get elected? And who is the leader Bill Davies, the back-room boys or you?

 Elizabeth F. Marshall,
 Collingwood, ON