September - Focus on Scugog

FOCUS
S
on
cugog
SEPTEMBER 2008
PRESIDENT
JIM IS GOLD
...see page 25
Volume 3 Number 6
September 2008
FOCUS
on Scugog
Created & Published by Observer Publishing of Port Perry
188 Mary Street - Unit 201 Port Perry, Ontario - L9L 1A2
PUBLISHER/EDITOR............................................ J.P. Hvidsten
OFFICE/ADV. MGR....................................... MaryAnn Fleming
ADVERTISING............... Tracy Souch, Julie Anne Gatto-Gibbons
PRODUCTION................................................... Arlene Walker
FREELANCE WRITERS............. Paul Arculus, Christina Coughlin,
Marjorie Fleming, Jonathan Van bilsen
ACCOUNTING .............................................. Nancy Hvidsten
PHONE 905-985-8585
email: [email protected]
Focus On The Web: www.focusonscugog.com
EDITORIAL POLICY: Opinions expressed by columnists, contributors and letter writers are not necessarily those of Focus On Scugog. Letters must be
signed and the telephone number (which will not be published) included. Requests that a name be withheld will be honoured only if there is a compelling
reason to do so. Errors will be corrected if brought to the editor’s attention.
We reserve the right to edit or refuse publication of any material submitted.
ADVERTISING POLICY: The publisher is not liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The
publisher is not liable for other errors or omissions in connection with any
advertisement in any subsequent issue or the refund of any monies paid for
the advertisement. All claims of error in publication must be made within one
week of each month’s publication, and if not made, will not be considered. No
claim will be allowed for more than one insertion.
Cover Picture
The CNE is celebrating its
130th Anniversary this year
and Canada’s largest show
has a Scugog connection.
Local resident and regional
councillor Jim McMillen is
president of “The Ex” and our
cover shows Jim standing in
front of some banners at the
Princess Gates, Toronto. See
story on page 25.
Photo J. Peter Hvidsten
32
AQUARAMA
MAKES A
SPLASH
Features & Stories
EASTWOOD - local author writes Clint Eastwood biography ..............3
CHANGING FACES - what’s new and who’s who................................. 5
50 YEAR REUNION - Tassell kids back together again.........................9
BEST BUSINESS- Compton Cable wins award . ................................14
THUMBS - rating events and decisions in the community.................. 16
FOR THE RECORD - featuring Mike Steele........................................18
LIFE ON THE LAKE - a look at Lake Scugog issues...........................19
DID YOU KNOW? - tidbits of useless information............................... 24
EDUCATING SCUGOG - PPHS celebrates 140 years........................29
SCUGOG EXPOSED - a murder in Prince Albert................................31
WHAT’S UP SCUGOG - upcoming events around town......................40
FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2008
“EcoSafe®” 100% compostable
food waste liner bags are accepted in
Durham Region’s Green Bin program
Mailbox
Dear Focus...
Reader gives his ‘Thumbs Down’
These new kitchen food waste liner
bags are tough, robust and do not
leak. Certified as 100% compostable,
each regular compact box contains
25 liner bags and are competitively
priced. Try them.
Ask your grocer or retailer to stock
them for you.
Dear Focus
I’d like to give a big “Thumbs Down’ to the horrible, slow service
at the beer store. Long line ups are a constant reminder of how
not to run a business. As a resident of Port Perry for nine years I
have watched our beer store become a place not to shop.
What ever happened? The service is not acceptable. Maybe
the monopoly that owns and controls the beer store deems this
customer service.
There is always a line up, and attitude to go with the lack of
service. The slow service has forced me to shop out of town.
Mark Stone
Port Perry
P.S. On the ‘Thumbs Up’ side, did you know that the local MacDonalds has an employee pick up all the litter along their lot and
the boulevard on Simcoe Street every day? It’s great to see.
Enjoyed article about Deb Burton
Dear Editor
I just finished reading Marjorie Fleming’s article about the
fabulous Deb Burton! What a great subject choice. Deb is truly
someone you look forward to seeing.
She has been taking care of the “theatre crowd” after our
performances for years, and she usually has our drinks in
front of us as we sit down. She must have memorized the
usual drinks for everyone in this town!
I hope Deb remains a fixture for many years to come.
Joanne Norman
Port Perry
P.S. I love your magazine.
Disagrees with pesticides remarks
Dear Editor
I read the remarks about the use of pesticides with some
interest, although I do not agree. In my opinion,used properly,
these items have a place.
I am sure most people are aware that agricultural land,
golf courses, parks etc. are exempted from usage restrictions.
Perhaps not so commonly understood is that provincial
and municipal governments have no authority to restrict the
sale and distribution of these items.
The sale and distribution of approved pesticides is under
federal jurisdiction and lower levels of government may not
legislate in federal areas of jurisdiction.
A superior court has ruled that municipal governments
can probably restrict their usage but even that has not been
yet tested.
W.Hanna
Port Perry
LETTERS CONTINUED ON PAGE 23
FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2008
EASTWOOD
Local movie critic John Foote
publishes book on directing
career of Clint Eastwood
John Foote could have never
dreamed, when he was a young
lad sitting on a couch watching late-night movies with his
father, that one day he would
not only meet, but interview,
write and publish books about
some of the best actors of the
past 30 years.
But despite his brushing shoulders
with the likes of Clint Eastwood, Meryl
Streep and Robert Duval over the past
few years, he has retained his roots here
in Scugog where he lives with his family.
John is probably best known locally
for his movie reviews in the Port Perry
Star, John’s articles are a regular and popular feature of the newspaper.
He also oversees the operations of the
Toronto Film School where he teaches film
history to some 450 students. In addition,
as a director of the college he develops
curriculum. The college’s affiliation with
the Career Education Corporation in Chicago gives John a wide exposure for his
expertise.
He
credits
his
father
with generating an enthusiasm for movies. In his child-
hood, he would be sent to bed early,
usually around 7 p.m., in order to be
woken up for the late night movies
starring the greats of the era; Humphrey Bogart, Charlton Heston,
Clint Eastwood in the epic movies
such as Ten Commandments, Ben
Hur, African Queen, Third Man,
and the great Hitchcock movies.
John became hooked on film.
His enthusiasm for film broadened to
drama studies at Port Perry High School
with Dianne Lackie. He then went on to
study theatre and film at Humber College.
During and following his college days
he directed plays here in Port Perry as a
member of the Borelians.
John’s reviews of movies at the Toronto International Film Festival receive
worldwide interest through his website
www.footeonfilm.com. He is also a regular contributor to www.InContention.
com an internationally recognized entertainment review website.
In addition to these and his film reviews for local newspaper readers, he is
a regular contributor to Toronto Life and
Fashion magazine.
As part of his work, John sees about
350 films annually, “the majority, probably as many as 300, are not very good,”
he says.
Over the years he has developed a
‘favourites list’ which includes; Godfather 2, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,
Schindler’s List, The Searchers, Wizard of
Oz and Lawrence of Arabia.
“These are all films of substance,” he
says. “On the opposite end of the scale,
one of the worst films of all time is Exor-
cist 2, an atrocious film,” he claims.
“One of the great pleasures of my career is that I get to interview many of the
stars of the silver screen. I have met and
interviewed some incredible people, people like Robert Duval, Meryl Streep and
Clint Eastwood. They are the finest stars
I have met.”
He hastens to add; “I dislike interviewing the young movie stars. They
tend to be so immature and spoiled.”
These interviews have led John into
developing a much closer relationship
with his favourite stars. He has just announced the release of his latest book,
a biography of Clint Eastwood entitled
Clint Eastwood, The Evolution of a Filmmaker.
In preparing the text, John talked
with Eastwood via telephone more than
a dozen times. “Unfortunately with Clint
shooting a new film and taking it to
Cannes there was no time for a a personal
interview with the busy actor/director,”
says John.
But during his research, he was able
to arrange personally interview with numerous big screen stars who have worked
with Clint Eastwood – including Hillary
Swank, Morgan Freeman, Sean Penn and
Kevin Costner.
Swank and Freeman worked with
Eastwood in the movie Million Dollar
Baby and Freeman is noted for his work
with the director in Unforgiven.
“Eastwood is one of the most important directors working in film today,” according to John.
The book focuses on Eastwood’s career as a director and will be released
this December. John estimates the time
spent on research, interviews and writing
would be between 18 and 20 months.
Please turn to page 4
FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2008
Eastwood from page 3
Advanced sales are available through www.Amazon.
com. It will be available internationally, initially as a hardback, and a year or so later in
paperback.
Eastwood’s biography is
John’s first in a series of biographies about some of Hollywood greatest directors. He is
presently contracted to write
a story about the amazing Steven Spielberg which he started researching about a year
ago.
Not bad for a small-town
guy who unknowingly started
his movie career on the couch
with his dad 30 years ago.
John lives in Seagrave with
his wife Sherry (Todd) and
their two children, Aurora
and Ariana. Sherry also shares
John’s love of movies and particularly the stage, where she
has also taken major roles in
Borelian productions.
In spite of John’s successes,
their lives have not been with-
FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2008
out challenges. John was in
a debilitating car accident in
2001 which left him crippled
and dependent on a cane for
walking.
In May this year, Sherry
discovered that she had a
brain tumour and is now undergoing treatment for the
cancer. In spite of these tragedies they are both optimistic
and looking forward to future
developments with a clearly
positive attitude.
By Paul Arculus
Focus on Scugog
Changing
Faces!
W
OW! What a surprise we received earlier this
month when we realized it’s been just over a year
since we began recording changes to the business community through this column.
Initial thoughts were that the “Changing Faces” feature
would dry up fairly quickly and we’d publish the column
sporadically as required. Little did we realize just how much
movement takes place in the business sector of this great
little community.
Since we started in August 2007, we’ve never reported
less than four changes in a single month. Astounding as it
may seem local business continue to open, close or move to
new locations. Some months it seems a little like ‘musical
chairs’ trying to keep up with the transformations.
So here we go again, reporting some of what’s happened
over the past four weeks...
As reported last month, The Genuine Article, retailers of
antiques, vintage and architectural items has closed its doors
and we’ve learned that “Petite Images,” who are retailers
of doll house, miniatures and collectables, are moving from
their cramped quarters at 233 Queen, just a few stores east to
this larger premise beginning October.
That gaping hole at 189 Queen St., which was formerly occupied by Perry Ann’s fashions finally appears to have a new tenant.
The new business is called “Turquoise” and will carry a line of
designer jeans, shoes, clothing and accessories. Word is the store
will open in early October... we’ll keep you posted!
The gremlins at the ‘Focus on Scugog’ office proclaimed
that Anchor Self Storage held their grand opening last month.
Well that information was absolutely wrong. Anchor Self
Storage is indeed open for business, but the Grand Opening
will not be held until Saturday, September 20th at their 24
Easy Street location. So, since you didn’t miss it after all, why
not drop by for a visit.
A mere nine months after Kenneth Bell ‘King of Glitz’ opened
his unique boutique at 151 Queen St., selling hand bags, jackets,
glitter jewellery and accessories, the proclaimed ‘King of Glitz’
closed his doors effective August 23. Nothing new to report for this
space as of yet.
To wrap up this month, we’ve learned that one of Port
Perry’s favourite restaurant/bars, “Crabby Joe’s,” has had a
change of ownership. The popular eatery has recently been
purchased by Rebecca Mountsteven, although ‘Crabby’s” former owner Rick Forbes will be staying on for a couple of
months during the transition.
FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2008
FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2008
FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2008
Scugog Experience booklet
will introduce you to nooks
and crannies of Scugog Twp.
Looking for a place to drive to this Sunday and learn a
little local history?
For less than the price of a couple of large “double doubles,” the Lake Scugog Historical Society has just the thing
for you. They have just released their booklet entitled “Scugog Experience,” A Tour of the Scugog Countryside with
Historical Anecdotes.
The booklet contains a detailed tour of many of the villages and hamlets throughout Scugog Township and provides a brief history of them with pictures.
You can find out about the settlements with such quaint
names as Jockey Hill, McKercher’s Corners and Lasherville
(present day Epsom, Manchester and Caesarea).
You can also read about the legend of the irregular concrete slabs in front of the Greenbank Church, the origin
of the name Prince Albert, or beginnings of the Hamlet of
Ambuay. Never heard of Ambuay? It’s called Cadmus today.
All the driving instructions to these delightful communities are contained in the booklet. It is on sale at Books
Galore on Perry Street in Port Perry for only $2.00.
10
FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2008
REUNITED
51
YEARS
LATER
Tassell kids separated
from their family during
World War II, were
unaware they had
another brother...
Brenda and Brian Tassell are seen here during a reunion with their brother Graham (rear)
who they did not know existed until an unexpected letter arrived three years ago.
“It still seems so strange to think that
I have a brother!” As Brian Tassell speaks
these words, it’s hard to ignore the look
of astonishment in his eyes. Indeed, the
past three years have been completely life
altering for Brian and his sister Brenda.
However, as Brian prefers to look at
it, the past three years of his life have
been about self-discovery. His life has
taken him down a road unlike anything
he’d ever imagined and, as both he and
Brenda believe, they owe these past three
years to helping them achieve a sense of
closure they never thought possible.
Imagine learning after 51 years, that
you had an unknown sibling! This astounding discovery helped to spur the
beginning of what both describe as selfrevelation.
Three years ago, Brian received a letter from a man named Graham Tassell,
who claimed to be his younger brother.
While many family members were initially doubtful of the claim, Brian insists he was instantly intrigued. “It just
seemed right,” he says, still in awe of his
realization.
To this day he has a hard time explaining why he was immediately overcome with such firm belief.
Coincidently, this sudden pang of certainty was the same feeling Graham was
experiencing as he came across Brian’s
name while researching his family tree.
For Graham, his interest was immediately sparked when his father made a
comment to him right before his passing.
“He told me, ‘you need to find Brenda
and Brian,’” explains Graham, as he recalls the day in perfect memory.
Of course, at the time, as Graham
says, all he could do was stand in bewilderment. He didn’t have the slightest
clue who his father was referring to.
However, bit by bit the pieces to the
puzzle began to form. Graham recollects
a series of mysterious events at family
functions that led him to believe something significant was on the horizon.
As he mentions these events, he and
Please turn to page 10
FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2008
11
Continued from page 10
his wife, Dee, glance at each other and
recalled they were both spooked when
a family member mentioned the names
Brenda and Brian at a family wedding.
“I had no idea who this person was,”
says Graham, “but she came up to me
and said, ‘have you met Brenda and Brian
yet?’ When I gave a look of confusion she
added, ‘you will in two weeks.’”
The spooky part about this is that it
was exactly two weeks later that he contacted and began writing to Brenda. Since that time, the three siblings
have had the chance to build a relationship that might never have even been
given the chance to start.
Sitting with Brian and Graham on a
Friday morning, a day before Graham
and his wife returned home to England,
it’s near impossible not to notice the striking similarities in their appearance. Their
bright blue eyes and full-bodied smiles
are a straight give-away.
In fact, while Brian does insist that he
“knew from the beginning” that Graham
was his true brother, everyone was convinced when they saw the two together.
“Our interests are completely the
same,” explains Brian with excitement
as he lists off the various, and somewhat
ironic, ways that he and his brother are
alike.
“It’s so strange because Brian and
Graham both worked at the same place
for many years, but at different times and
under different management,” explains
Brenda.
So while it may be just a coincidence
that both brothers live for boating (but
don’t eat fish) or that they worked as auto
mechanics for many years and love “getting messy with grease and oil,” (as Graham puts it) there are certain similarities
that are somewhat mystifying.
One thing is for sure; it was certainly
no coincidence that Brian and Graham
12
FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2008
The Tassell familes had two weeks getting to know each other last month. From left, Brian and
Dee Tassell, John and Brenda Yates and long lost brother Graham with his wife Gwen Tassell.
still cherish the same specific characteristics of their father.
They recall his passion for relaxing by
the river in their hometown of Maidstone,
Kent (a town outside of London), and the
eagerness he had to spend his time with
his children there. They recall the problems he had with his knee and shared a
laugh when they discovered that they too
have both had to have their knee cartilage
removed.
The shared memories of their father
have only further solidified the bond
between the two brothers. As Brian says
with complete integrity, “I’m just so
proud to be his brother.”
Listening to the three siblings talking,
it seems like they’ve known each other all
their lives. It’s easy to feel a sense of awe
at the fact that they were separated for so
long. So how is it possible to go for 51
years not knowing you had a brother?
Brian explains, losing track of his family was really a due of the times. “Our
parents were separated and that was
considered taboo… no one talked about
it. Everything about our father was kept
behind closed doors.”
“We also didn’t want to upset our
mother who took such great care of us,”
adds Brenda. “And she never wanted to
talk about our father. I think it was too
hard for her.” They explained that during the war
they were both “literally picked up and
taken away” to new families in Wales.
Brian recalls, prior to leaving his home at
the age of four, actually watching the German bombs being set off just beyond his
backyard. “It just wasn’t safe for children
to be there,” he says.
After the war, as Brian explains, nothing was the same. He, his mother and his
sister packed up and went to live with
their grandmother. From that point on,
his father was seldom mentioned. Brenda
does recall the odd time she and Brian
Please turn to page 13