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page 2 the tribune thursday june 4 1970 r s m mum tfwna zt established 1888 c h nolan publisher jim thomas editor noel edey advertising published every thursday by inland publishing co limited at 54 main st stouffville ont tel 6102101 single copies 15c subscriptions 500 per year in canada 750 elsewhere member of audit bureau of circulation canadian weekly newspapers association and ontario weekly newspapers association second class mail registration number 0s96 editorial the tail wagging the dog in many municipalities we often wonder on occasions who actually makes the decisions on con troversial issues the council selected by the electorate or the electorate themselves time and time again resolutions passed one week are rescinded the next due to public pressure this is an unhealthy situation placing the original applicant in an awkward and sometimes em barrassing position if a council or a committee of council takes the necessary time to thoroughly investigate such ap plications then there should be no need to backtrack once the result is revealed an example of this occurred recently at prestons lake in whitchurch township where a weekend regatta had been in the planning stage since late last fall the council gave the twoday competition its blessing and a date was set for later this month but ratepayers at this resort seem to regard their public pond as holy water and woe betide the visitor that dares to dip a toe in the drink without their personal authorization when wind of the council decision reached their ears they descended on the meeting in force the ap plication was then rejected and the licence fee returned whos governing who in whit church in this instance at least it looks very much like the tail wagging the dog cannot be ignored last week the tribune carried a front page story on a motorcycle gang establishing clubhouse quarters in a residence near goodwood several readers have been mildly critical suggesting that organizations of this kind should receive no publicity at all in part perhaps these readers are right but recognizing the cyclists presence is not likely to keep them here any more than ignoring them v will force them to leave we merely i tried to tell it the way it is but this does not mean we condone all they are supposed to stand for nor does it mean we paint each member with the same black brush during the past weekend we watched the activities of not one but several cyclist clans as they stopped here en route to and from a onenight rendezvous northeast of town some it is true upheld the reputation of their renegade group brash vulgar the scum of society others however did not in fact quite the opposite cleancut quiet polite the trouble is when theyre all together its difficult to sift the chaff from the straw conservation importance grows the importance of conservation is looming larger and larger and it is gratifying that the provincial government has recognized this fact in its recent proposals for green belt areas to the north of toronto the legislators have realized that there is a general feeling that life in the city has gone a bit sour to the small towns such as our own this trend has not been felt so deeply our closeness to nature helps here people still live with the seasons see each sun rise and the moon at night living so close to a rural area we are deeply aware of the seasons if theyre good the farmers have good crops and prosperity it theyre bad the town tightens its belt knowing what they know and seeing what they see the small towner is healthier ive been told by neighbors that theres no greater feeling than drawing a long sweet breath of country air when they get home from their city work as for the cities its a different story people in high rise apart ments small crowded homes walking paved streets jamming into large buildings of concrete and glass begin to lose the feelings of nature the seasons to them are snow tires antifreeze and long lines of jammed traffic then there are the dull heatladen days when they no more than exist with occasional relief from an airconditioned office or a cold shower these are some of the basic reasons why guarding our parkland areas is so important man has an instinct to try and get back to nature to rest and relax in this day and age his solaces are few and even this last retreat may slip away if we are not alert it is everybodys job to protect these free and open areas where nature is still king more and more people are coming to this realization and we are thankful for those who had the foresight to recognize this need years ago etojnrwjlj dear editor anyone who had the pleasure of attending the performance of the pirates of penzance presented by the students of grades 7 and 8 at stouffville dist secondary school must indeed have felt proud not only of the pupils themselves but of the teachers who devoted much time and patience in the preparation of the play at a time when there is so much unrest among young people it is indeed encouraging to see such a fine group utilizing their talents in this way the performance was excellent in every respect and the standing ovation was well deserved it is my hope that this kind of production can be continued it warrants the support of everyone margaret holder albert street north dear editor i was surprised and somewhat disappointed to read on the front page of last weeks tribune about a motorcycle gang taking up residence in uxbridge township while the information was un doubtedly correct i feel the less publicity given such groups the better it only tends to make heros out of individuals who should be totally ignored name withheld upon request a potfef loj 1 noja tfappy one sugar and spice lets have some service by bill smiley i have no sympathy for anyone except the public mail service in this country has gone backwards about 50 years in the past two or three years costs have steadily increased and service has steadily decreased until we have reached the point where many people would welcome the return of the pony express riders who used to carry the mail through dust and storm and hostile indians because it is a government monopoly it is huge sprawling and utterly inefficient in a modern society no enterprising private business would put up with the in credible sloppiness of the present postal system if it did the public would soon put it out of business its rather a paradox to note that the liquor stores which used to operate on a fiveday week are now open six days plus friday evenings while postal service has been cut to five days and post offices 5 close earlier apparently theres more profit in booze than public utilities for government and thats what the postal service is or should be a public utility wouldnt we be in a fine state if hydro power and the telephone service and police and fire protection were lopped off on friday to recommence monday or tuesday if there were a federal holiday the only people who have- benefited from mr kierans new efficient postal service are the telephone and telegraph companies theyre reaping a harvest because big business has practically stopped using the mails whats the point of posting an important letter on wednesday if you know it probably wont be delivered friday and therefore will be delivered the following monday or tuesday if mondays a holiday its bad enough to drive a in the public interest dear sir when honorable allan lawrence minister of mines for ontario ad dressed a gathering of ratepayers in uxbridge secondary school may 21 to explain the report of the mineral resources committee to the minister of mines absent were our two queens park representatives wm newman and dr dymond mr lawrence explained that these two gentlemen had heard the same speech at two other meetings and further that the house was in session that night what was being discussed at queens park it is hoped was of equal importance for many felt these men could not possibly stay away and still keep attune to the residents concern because both mr newman and dr dymond are our representatives they are better able to communicate with the minister of mines and ex press to him the feelings of their constituents every question has differing points of view the gravel question is no exception it was generally felt by those present that the committee preparing the report favored the industry for the majority came from the aggregate operators which sells gravel and from the mines department which promotes ex traction of the mineral it was pointed out that no one from the local municipal level had a voice in the reports preparation because the effects of this proposed legislation are felt primarily at a local level we rely heavily upon our representatives at queens park when the minister of mines from a toronto riding thinks in terms of the public interest we depend on our mpps from this area to interpret to the minister what public interest means to these areas mrs de mcnab uxbridge businessman to apoplexy but its just as frustrating on a more per sonal basis to the ordinary citizen our daughter lives in the city 90 miles away she doesnt have a phone if we write her on monday she gets the letter thursday or friday if theres something urgent and we write wednesday theres no guarantee shell get it that week so send her a wire suppose shes not at home she doesnt get the telegram until next day or the next if i were to drop dead she might find out about it a week after the funeral it wouldnt bother me in that con dition but it might upset her a bit today i checked at the local post office three mails a day go out if i send a letter to my fatherinlaw 120 miles due west heres the procedure it goes due east for 35 miles then southwest for 200 miles southwest then northwest for 120 miles the shortest distance bet ween two points is a triangle in post- office math there is a goodsized town three miles away a letter sent from there can and usually does take two days to get here you could walk it in 45 minutes paradoxically a colleague of mine writes his mother in england and she gets the letter within 36 hours if this is efficiency im all turned around somehow granted the postal workers were underpaid for years though ill witness that they were not over worked i was employed in a post office during the christmas rush and nobody was rushing that much pay them a decent wage give them decent working conditions but lets have some blasted service if the po runs at a loss pay it the cbc and cnr are heavily subsidized and there arent too many squawks millions and millions are thrown down the drain on such flourishes as the aircraft carrier bonaventure and shrugged off how about delivering the mail on time 1 mm i a snake in the grass by jim thomas this week in the mail i received a typewritten news release from professor ross irwin school of engineering university of guelph the subject matter confined to four paragraphs deals entirely with that comparatively new outdoor innovation the electric lawn mower its advantages and disadvantages while it is highly unlikely that professor irwin has anything to do with cutting the grass around the college it is obvious from his remarks he has enjoyed some practical experience with equip ment of this kind his points pro and con are well made however i feel in listing the problems with electric mower operation this learned educator has neglected to mention the mental anguish and physical hardships imposed on the operator due to one single but very necessary at tachment the x- x- x- cord professor irwin refers to it only as a nuisance certainly the under statement of the season for in my opinion this snakelike flower snapper is without doubt the most exasperating test imposed on mortal man since job and believe me i know im now on my third summer with this cursed con traption and growing more im patient with age it was just eleven years ago that we purchased our little halfacre it was then i invested something like 17 in a push mower it was a dandy i had the lawn looking like a putting green but to keep up with the joneses i switched over to gas a capable but highly temperamental machine to get it going was like spinning the crank on a fordson tractor as always happens four seasons later mr and mrs jones went all- electric and so did i ive been blowing fuses ever since in all fairness to firms who manufacture these units theyre really quite good excellent in fact at least mine is but that cord its got to go in this day and age its difficult to understand why something retractable cant be invented you know what i mean a line that ex tends for long cuts and retracts for short id buy one quick according to the calendar summer isnt supposed to start for another seventeen days but already that frustrating link bet ween plug and switch has lopped off seven petunias four marigolds two pansies and one geranium these have been completely decapitated others while less seriously mutilated may still not survive as strange as it may seem every electric mower owner has not ex perienced the same difficulties in fact several i have talked to are completely satisfied and fully intend to invest in ardther personal en dorsements like this dont help one little bit they sort of place the responsibility in the hands of the operator and make me feel like my licence came from a popcorn box i dont believe in reincarnation but in this particular instance id almost swear this mower cord of mine was once human and now returned to earth to haunt me we engage in some terrible backyard battles so fierce in fact that only the other day i cut the ruddy thing in two so dear friends if you should see the night light burning on church street north illuminating a little plaque that bears my name just pray that my passing by hanging or electrocution was completely painless portraits from the past the bethesda and stouffville telephone com pany was purchased by the bell in march 1960 one of the veteran switchboard operators of that day was miss mildred barkey main street east she was employed with the local firm over 40 years the premises was in the building next to greenwood tv main west jas thomas beg pardon sir the double murder in whitchurch and albion townships and the ft subsequent artists sketch of the killer published in all local and daily papers has resulted in hun dreds of calls to police all of which have been investigated on thur sday constable donald moxam of stouffville received a report of a a man meeting the description seen in the west end plaza he responded immediately but later identified the gentleman as none other than his department cohort offduty con stable harry davis