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a2 tribune july 29 1987 john mccague a staff sergeant with the york re gional police department holds a fulldress photo of himself taken prior to retirement the victoria square native began his career in police work with the twp of markham sept 1 1956 he retired june 30 1987 id do it all again he told the tribune jim thomas staff sgt john mccague retired police officer would do it all again by jim thomas victoria square it was sept 1 1956 that john mccague then 27 had his application approved as a probationary con stable with the markham twp police department on june 30 staff sgt john mccague retired the 31 years in between holds a host of positive memories hed do it all again the late clarence wideman was markhams chief of police at the time of his hiring the depart ment was located in the basement of the municipal building at but- tonville others on the force in cluded harvey cox bill shearn george clayton don dukes bob hood cliff cox evan kelley john mcghee and doug tribbling johns starting salary was 3000 a year we had only two cruisers john recalls both 1956 pontiacs one officer patrolled west of woodbine avenue and another handled the east there was no portable radio communication in those days in tough situations you either talked or fought your way out johns memory for detail is amazing he remembers his first call and his first arrest he recalls his first official duty delivering a stack of summonses to delinquent dogowners chief wideman considered it a good way for me to get to know the township he says with a smile it was before he was through constable mccague knew every square mile of the municipality while the practical side of police work was important to officer mccague he also took advantage of extracurricular courses to upgrade his police education one of these was pro vided at mcmaster university in hamilton and another at toronto teachers college he graduated from aylmer police college in 1968 with aboveaverage marks in this regard john mccague has high praise for donald hill ock york regions chief of police hes continually impro ving the efficiency of the force he says hes doing a fine job he also appreciates the total cooperation received during his work as liaison officer in the crown attorneys office at new market a position he held from jan 1985 to march 1987 john refuses to hide the some times frustrating experiences of police work but he never made a practise of bringing his problems home a selfestablished policy frivilous expense stouffville ontario municipal board hearings are costing the town money too much money says mayor fran sainsbury this year alone 80000 has been budgeted for this expense in an effort to reduce this fi gure mediation meetings arc being held with individuals and groups while omb hearings may still be necessary mayor sains bury is hopeful the lime spent in presenting points of view can be cut back that wife shirley appreciated he believes being a fifth generation markham native had its be nefits especially during his formative years on the force the larger population now makes policing less personal he explains its tougher being a police officer today now retired john has no con cerns about being busy im now able to do the jobs ive been put ting off fpr years he states in addition to catching up on work around the house john and shirley are able to spend more time at their cottage on lake temagami near north bay johns also an active member in the congregation of victoria square united church and a past- president and pastsecretary in the victoria square and district lions club but once a police officer always a police officer it was thirty years of his life so whenever feelings of nostal gia creep in john reaches for his timeworn scrapbook it tells the factual side of the story and hed do it all again village box meats mi mjm weekend mi oh oh namaimo bars per tray bc red coho salmon steaks 3 lb box fresh black forest style bacon bbs t cottage 5 lb box 199lb stuffed baked potatoes cheddar cheese sour cream gourmet blend with bacon i box of 10 bacon wrapped filet mignon 12x125 g approx 4oz 183 ea eg reg 25 ultimate gourmet burger big n juicyi 8x167 g 6 0z1 new york striploin steak i- sn- 12x6 oz offer expires augusttf87 i i or lastge 1555mccowanrdj markham t ieblwavstore- thpr behind redj