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p14 tribune april 211993 t softball association faces huge obstacles bruce stapley correspondent high registration diamond shortages and user fees are the dominant issues as the whitchurchstouffville softball association wssa prepares for the 1993 season over 1300 players will take to the field when the wssa begins its season in late may that total includes players from the satellite towns of claremont and goodwood as well as the usual mix of stouffville ballantrae and vandorf youngsters with 87 houseleague teams and 10 rep level squads the wssa will once again be hard pressed to come up with diamond space the thicketwood tball diamond is still out of commission as the town continues to develop a park in the adjoining area the lossof this diamond has made it so the organization is unable to handle the high numbers of younger players wanting to sign up we dont know when the thicketwood diamond will be ready wssa president cathy bennett told the tribune friday weve got a waiting list in the younger divisions t bennett also voiced her concern over the towns decision to charge the wssa user fees for weekend use of the diamonds this will especially affect the organizations year end houseleague tournaments scheduled for the weekends before and after labor day the fees havent been charged in the past but with the town facing increased financial pressures local sports organizations are being forced to pay extra costs for facilities use well have to work at cost areas said bennett adding that registration fees were set long before the wssa learned it would be charged for weekend diamond use well have to see what the budget looks like after sweaters are bought it may mean no trophies for the kids in the houseleague tournament well just have to see whats left bennett who is also treasurer of the community ball association said the wssa has already paid out 50000 in user fees over the past eight years in addition to the 50000 donated by community ball for diamond improvements in recent years i dont think the kids should have to pay more she said bennett also said she felt it wasnt totally fair to hit up the wssa for user fees in light of the work done by association volunteers its all volunteers she said we had a lot of rain last year and it was the volunteers who were always out there working on the diamonds after the rain we do this for the kids its our contribution to the town bennett said she didnt want to see the day come when the town has to run minor ball because the volunteers dont want to get involved anymore due to the towns increasing financial demands if that happened it would be even more expensive because the town would have to hire extra staff to run the program benefit hockey game to be held on friday it will be the past and present uxbridge bruins versus a team of former ontario champion stouffville clippers in a benefit hockey game to be played at the stouffville recreation centre friday night the contest which begins at 7 pm is to be a fundraiser for the childrens wish foundation in the memory of the late dan mcneil jeff cowley who was injured in a car crash on oct 18 which claimed mcneils life will be on hand to drop the opening face off at the game there will be a raffle for team shirts worn by national hockey league players and former stouffville clippers brad may and keith acton as well as draws for various door prizes tickets are 4 for adults and 3 for students children under 10 are free and will be given tickets for junior prizes if they are wearing their minor hockey jerseys the liners the mens slopitch team for which mcneil played is to hold a dance in the rec centre lounge after the hockey game kicking up a storm members of the stouffville ladies soccer club took advantage of the nice weather to get in some practice prior to the start of their season here carolyn reesor left and caroline campbell get their kicks in a recent session at st marks catholic school timber creek is ready to open its door i i fjlt f v -1- stouffvilles newest playground is about to open its gates at last timber creek driving range and adventure golf which was stymied in its efforts to open last summer because of the terminally wet conditions will welcome its first paying customers this friday the ambitious outdoor complex located on ninth line n near the bethesda sideroad is offering a 650foot driving range facility along with a seven cage batting practice area softball and hardball the twoacre 18hole adventure golf minicourse the biggest of its kind in the area should be completed sometime in the first half of june timber creek officials report the mini golf spread will be the glitter piece of the three attractions being offered it will include two waterfalls with 1000 gallons of water per minute being pumped from the nearby pond to activate the effect theres also a water tower a water wheel and a miniature antique decorative sawmill through which one of the holes will be played the mini course runs along raised terrain along and over water the facility is to be served by an 1800square foot clubhouse complete with a 1 000square foot deck where patrons can sit out in the good weather and take in the view light lunches will be served initially and depending upon the demand the establishment may eventually apply for a licence so that players can enjoy a cold one after negotiating the miniature course driving a couple of buckets of balls or getting in their cuts in the batting cage ashmore reesor who for 12 years farmed the land on which timber creek sits says the project was to be a driving range alone when he and his three offspring originally came up with the idea back in 1987 but the thing evolved and when the work finally began in the fall of 1991 it had become a three pronged attraction one and a half years later its show time as curious passers by will finally get to come in and see the thing in full operation theres still a lot to do around the club house by way of cleaning up ashmore told me last week but its starting to come together well have it ready by friday timber creek will be managed by ashmores daughter lynn reesor who last year graduated from the university of guelph with a degree in hotel and food administration she will be assisted on weekends by her sister lois reesor who is a lab technologist at sunnybrook hospital in toronto and brother bob reesor who works with ontario hydro ashmore who is retired will help out where needed he told me advance interest in the operation has been tremendous said ashmore who bought the land from career farmers ernest and lillian abraham 20 years ago theres been people in here everyday he said this kind of thing has been popular for a while in the united states and its becoming more and more popular in this area too he added timber creek will be open from mid april through mid october each season said ashmore but will open only on weekends after labour day ashmore reported there has been great interest among local job seekers looking to become a part of the operation theyve been coming in every day for interviews sounds like a great addition to the recreational scene in whitchurchstouffville i i i i i i i i i i ii f u