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m the tribune wednesday october 13 1982 editors mail thankyou f vr v jear editor f v t on behalf of the board bf directors of the markham and east york agricultu- ral society i wish to express my thanks iio the community for its generous sup- fporl a fall fair requires assistance from many people many people in whiten- urchstouffville nave made it their busi- ness over the years to be strong suppor- ters of markham fair these include civic officials businessmen private indi- f viduals as well as service club members exhibitors and fairgoers alike i to each a very warm thankyou your support means more than words can convey william f walker president markham and east york agricultural society dear mr thomas linda townend is quoted in the sept 22 edition of the tribune as stating that a j local club for dirtbike owners is required and that she had approached town offi cials in an effort to find a suitable club site jf surely this lady does not expect the tax- payers of whitchurchstouffville to pay for such a property what about the pa rents who allow their children to have these monstrosities i agree the york regional forest is no place for these bikes as an employee at j the forest lam aware of the many com- 5 plaints from forest users about the abuse i meted out by these bikers when they are reminded that motorized vehicles are not 2 allowed in the area as a property owner in the district since 1955 i am also aware that these bikeowners have no respect for private property they race around our premises 24 hoursaday seven daysaweek not one has ever had the common decency to ask permission this week when i told two young lads oh an unlicenced bike to get it off our property they promptly cal led me an old the people in this area worked very hard to buy property and build homes without government grants etc which todays young couples obtain we raised our children without allowing them to destroy property belonging to other peo ple we should not now have to put up with the noise and erosion caused by these bik ers night and day would suggest to mrs townend that j parents of bikeowners get together and j buy 100 acres so their children can des- troy their own property not other peo- jples mrs w t mcadam rr 3 newmarket farwrleejtf vx tmeiwbone dont tell mom im donating all this stuff mrs sainsbury -v- but every time i get all this stuff on im too tired to play hogkey j l established 1888 andrew p cook advertising manager ga james thomas barry w wallace i edilorlnchiel publisher editorial oept jim holt jim irving display advertising dept rod spicer bryan armstrong classified advertisingcirculation joan marshman office manager doreen oeacon business office eileen glover national sales representative metroland corporate sales 4931300 published every wednesday at 54 main st stouffville ont tel 6402101 single copies 25f subscriptions 1300 per year in canada s3500 elsewhere member of canadian community newspapers associaion ontario weekly newspapers assocation ontario press councl and suburban newspaper of america second class mail registration number 0896 the stouffville tribune is one of the metroland printing publishing ltd group of suburban newspapers which includes ajaxwhitbypickering news advertiser aurora bannernewmarket era the bolton enterpise brampton guardian the burlington post the burlington weekend post the etobicoke advertiser guardian the georgetown indpendentacton free press markham thornhill economist milton champion the mississauga news the mississauga news weekend edition the north york mirror oakville beaver oakville friday beaver oshawa this week oshawa this weekend the richmond hillthornhill liberal the scarborough mirror the woodbridge vaughan news 6402100 rahroaaaing around i hazef called 28 year s ago wv by jim thomas politics requires time wouldbe candidates arent exactly break ing down the doors of the municipal office in a mass stampede to file nomination papers as of this date oct 11 an election is a certainty in only two wards plus board of education this situation could well change before the 5 pm deadline oct- 18 if for no other reason than to stirup added interest we hope it does while mumblings and grumblings common tojcanadians are heard up and down the con cession roads as well as main street we still must assume the reason so few are standing for office is the fact most are satisfied with councils performance such was not the case in the fall of 1980 when lets face it the town was going nowhere v yes theres room for new blood within the present regime and yes were hoping others will still step forward butdont count on it the main drawback however to political involvement is time a lackof it most would- be political aspirants cant spare the hours theyve told us so we can think of a dozen persons who in our opinion would make excel lent candidates and councillors buttheres just no time attending meetings and re sponding to complaints is a commitment few can make regardless of what the position pays so lets say thanks to those who can in whitchurchstouffville their numbers are few where were you whenthe lights went out thats become a common expression ever since the blackout of several years ago that totally darkened much of southern ontario and a large portion of new york state the thing of it is most of us can remember exactly where we were and what we were doing during momentous occasions in history for example the shooting of us president john f kennedy the winning goal by paul henderson in the 72 canadarussian series the attempted assassinations of president ronald reagan and pope john paul and so on then there are more personal events that while not news to the world have left an indeli- ble mark on your life your wedding the- purchase of a new home your first new car the first baby all important happenings that recall in a flash exactly what you were doing that day my wife for example relates almost every thing to thearrival of each child she knows the year the month the day the weather even the kind of car we were driving at the time perhaps this ability is common to most mothers for after all what occurrence could be more important than the birth of a son or daughter especially if they arrive together for me because of the nature of my work i tend to attach more significance to current events one such day that stands out in my mind is thursday oct 14 1954 where were you and what were you doing on that date twentyeight years ago before you start leafing through that dog eared diary ill refresh your memory it was the onslaught of hurricane hazel that giant of a storm that dumped 322 million tons of water on the area caused property damage esti mated at25 million dollars and was responsi ble for the deaths of 81 people okay so where were you and what were you doing anyone ten years or older at the time will probably remember indeed how could anyone forget i was single and still living at home on the farm i remember listening to the car radio as reports warned of approaching winds in access of 100 miles per hour but like most i didnt take it all that seriously until shortly after 6 pm when hazel hit with a furry and intensity the like of which id never seen and hopefully will never see again i recall standing out on the front verandah and seeing the wooden silo on the northeast corner of the barn collapse in a shower of sparks as supporting steel rods gave- way under the strain that loss while major to us was minimal compared to what happened to others i was working for both the tribune and the telegram at the time because most phone lines were down ours included neither could reach me and just as well the risk of ventur ing out was too great the next morning however i was on my way assigned by the telys harvey currell to cover the evacuation of the holland marsh area near bradford ill never forget the devastation there were peo ple clinging to rooftops hanging out upstairs windows and holding onto anything strong enough to withstand the raging current res cue parties employed everything from make shift rafts to helicopters while the morningafterthenightbefore was beautiful reaching the holland marsh dis trict was still a very real hazard with whole sections of yonge street undermined by the- flood oddly enoughthe only photo i had pubi lished was a halfpage picture of a sunken piece of pavement with a car marooned at the bottom closer to home charles nolan and i covered the countryside recording scenes of destruc- tion beyond belief a cn passenger train en- gine on its side north of markham bridges- washed out at unionville and cedar grove trees uprooted at every turn and only stone foundations where once barns had been however as the saying goes its an ill wind that doesnt blow someone some good- out of the chaos of 28 years ago was born the metropolitan toronto and region conserva tion authority the benefits ofwhich we know today through innumerable floodcontrol pro jects our town is one of the benefactors in my opinion theres no place like home byjimholti downtown is poorly lit we all resent criticism even constructive criticism puts most of us on the defensive we tend to retaliate 4 on occasions however it would be better to consider what is meant by certain remarks and whether theres something to be learned from them avso it is with critics of the community and of the town if you dont like it go back where you came from is a typical reply but again perhaps theres something to be learned like sunday evening v i 5- a couple from the united states the license g late read virginia stopped on stouffvilles lain street to ask directions in the brief con versation that followed the driver commented von the lopsi led illumination of the downtown cpre bright on the south side and dark on the north in all the places weve visited yours is the poorest lit yet he said as much as we hate to admit it the man was undoubtedly right any main street more poor ly illuminated than stouffvilles would have no lights at all its a disgrace initially when the new lights were installed at considerable expense it was agreed that improved fixtures would hopefully soon follow to properly balance the system unfortunate ly the council of that day didnt specify when in this century or the next business here shouldnt make council the scapegoat for all its economic woes but there are areas where the town could and should provide some assistance main street lighting is one lets mate it a priority project in 183 the old adage anticipation is sometimes better than realization is never truer than when one returns from vacation once the promise has been fulfilled and the euphoria of doing something different breaking the daily mold has passed a sense of anticlimax verg ing on despair sets in and getting into the swing of things becomes twice as difficult it was with this sense of foreboding that i recently returned from a trip to england and paris the trip itself was memorable renew ing aquaintances with people i had not seen for nearly forty years revisiting haunts of my childhood days and in general having a thor oughly vsentimental journey down memory lane arriving at gatwick airport wewere met with seventy plus temperatures and a clear blue sky that promised well for our weeks stay in england leaping into a rented volkswagen my wife immediately rocketed off into the traf fic as if she had never left her native shores within twenty minutes she was bemoaning the fact there wasnt a coffee house in sight id even settle for macdonalds she moaned as we swept through coffeeless beautiful en glish country lanes we eventually settled for a methodist church hall where saturday morn ing coffee sessions were being held apart from my making the social blunder of asking the resident minister what time the pubs open we were soon refreshed and on our way the week passed quickly too quickly what seemed like an endless stream of lunches and dinners punctuated with ocassional bouts of sleep swept us along on a wave of bonhommie and goodwill in between which wercovered nearly a thousand miles in our little rabbit before we knew it we were on the boat train to paris via london which was very dis appointing personally i found it tacky dirty and not at all like the elegant charming city i once knew it to be it was my first big letdown if london disappointed paris was every thing i expected despite a five year absence not only that she was very very inexpensive i even came back with money our hotel which was situated in the heart of paris slapbang in the middle of the seine could not have been more central one could make a daily choice of walking oh how we walked i thought we were in training for the boston marathon either the left or right banks of this beautiful city memorable moments were popping a champagne cork out of the window to celebrate our silver wedding anniversary threecourse dinners including wine at around 10 each singing with a traditional jazz band at a street corner on stgermain des pres at nearly mid night watching all those stunning parisicnne women who surely must be the best dressed ladies in the world and last but not least arriv ing home at around midnight and taking a deep deep breath it was pure nectar and the first time my nose had been clear in over two weeks next morning bouncing into the bedroom after her 7 am jog my wife stood by the win dow and remarked you know despite all those beautiful paintings and historic buildings we saw when it comes to getting it right mother nature has man beat all the way down the line i looked out she was right it was fall il