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p 4 tribune january 29 1997 st comment email address stouffvilletribune pressnetnet know anyone whod make a good politician there may be a spring federal election the latest date in the rumor mill is june 16 who is running for nomination in your riding are they good quality people if so are you supporting your choice by helping sell memberships hosting drop- in socials or doing behind the scenes leg work or telephone research have you bought a membership to the party of your choice if your answer to these questions is no you might not be aware of how to get started call your local riding association and request to take part in the executive process but beware this trains future candidates volunteer work for a politi cal party can not only pave the way to fuller participation in politics but it expands ones network of business and personal friendships the period just prior to elections can be fun even elec tric and there is lots of work for new comers to share the real business of politics happens before the allparty election night its happening now good people are attract ing a grass roots movement and support builds up around them the momentum results in the best candidate being selected for each party starting soon if it hasnt already hap pened youll be getting house calls from potential candidates who want you to pay 10 to join their party but it isnt your money they want most its your com mitment without support here the process stops we need more young people and women as candidates perhaps by involvement they will not only become part of the system but rejuvenate it too do you know of someone who would make a good can didate its not too late to start collecting memberships and make it happen stouffville tribune 6244 main st stouffville ont l4a1e2 905 6402100 905 6492292 classified 905 6402874 fax 905 6405477 publisher patricia pappas general managereditor andrew mair editorinchief jo ann stevenson director of advertising debra weller retail manager mike rogerson classified manager stacey allen distribution manager barry j goodyear administration vivian oneil operations mgr pamela nichols questions news andrew mair editor joan raasberry kathleen griffin mike adler reporters sjoerd witteveen steve somerville photographers julie caspersen copy editor retail advertising joan marshman catherine dunkeld classified bonnie rondeau real estate joan marshman distribution arlene maddock reception ruth le blanc the stouffville tribune published every wednesday and saturday is one of the metroland printing publish ing and distribution group of community newspapers which includes ajax pickering news advertiser alliston heraldcourier barrie advance brampton guardian burlington post cityparent collingwoodwasaga con nection east york mirror etobicoke guardian george town independentacton free press kingston this week lindsay this week midlandpenetanguishene mirror markham economist and sun milton canadian champi on mississauga news newmarket aurora erabanner northumberland news north york mirror oakville beaver orillia today oshawawhitbyclarington this week peterborough this week richmond hillthom- hillaaughan liberal scarborough mirror todays seniors uxbridge tribune contents cannot be reprinted without written permission from the publisher flambmwbbbm bbsehjga cigarette cops in york and durham have differing targets yes im sneaky having said that youll want to know this a kid can buy a pack of smokes faster and easier in stouffville than in uxbridge last week in keeping with my nosey parker personality i con vinced the boss to let me send a kid from store to store in search of cigarettes the plan was to publish who was bad and who was good in regards to the tobacco laws in stouffville the bad won the teen bought cigarettes in nine out of 10 stouffville stores in uxbridge my 17yearold partnerincrime scored ciga rettes in four out of 10 stores to mark national nonsmok ing week i had a choice i could write a dreadfully dull dont smoke itll kill you story or i could try to find out what the refusaltoselltobaccotominors rate is in stouffville and uxbridge the question do local stores still peddle tobacco to the kids deserves an answer two years ago the tribune carried out a similar survey the story was well read as well it upset a few people at times upsetting people is a good thing it makes us all think last time out the manager of an uxbridge store was upset because the tribune exposed her for selling smokes to a minor the woman felt trapped she was trapped a while later the same store was caught red handed by the cigarette cops charges were laid and a convic tion was secured a while later off the record j o an r a n s the cigarette cops paid another visit to the store while under new management charges were laid it was a four c story caught charged court and con victed last week my teenage friend entered the same store and bought cigarettes guess what yesterday the owners of the very same store k y conve nience pleaded guilty to selling cigarettes to a minor it makes you think heres something else to think about canadawide were out of sync in stouffville and on the mark in uxbridge government figures from a 1996 survey show that 60 per cent of stores do not sell smokes to minors the cigarette cops in york seem to target the smoker while in durham they go after the stores too bad each doesnt have the manpower to snag both seeing an adult sell cigarettes to a child is a sad sight i wish the adult who sold me my first pack of cigarettes had landed in court i bought my first ciga rettes at age 10 when i quit six years ago at age 45 1 was close to three packs aday i was in the cheering section in 1995 when the government intro duced legislation making it ille gal to sell or to give tobacco products to anyone under 19 years and im thrilled to report that not only does durham lead ontario in the number of charges laid under the tobacco control act cigarette cops laid the provinces first charge in durham region six people came to dinner the same day as the gas person on the day id invited six peo ple to dinner my stove had a nervous breakdown i called consumers gas and they sent out a repairperson male to investigate relieved that i had actually cleaned my selfcleaning oven just a few days earlier i awaited his diag nosis with equanimity no one told me he might need to open the drawer underneath the oven he tugged manfully sorry its the only word i could come up with but the precarious arrangement of casserole dish es baking sheets and sundry other kitchen utensils had resulted in a logjam owing it turned out to a rogue frying pan handle and the drawer remained stuck firmly between open and closed flexing his muscles for the final assault gasman man aged to pry it open and win an unobstructed view of the hor rors that lurked beneath the stove i could hardly bear to watch as he regarded the assembled detritus of dust longlost pencils and a plethora of foil balls playthings of our cute psychopathic kitties poc and spasm so wellmannered was he however that he didnt so much as blanche but simply contin ued to investigate the mystery of the missing ignition what you need is a new burner he said eventually and a new burner was not an item which would be readily available on a saturday night i straightened my shoulders stiffened my upper lip and cob bled together a reasonable din ner on the stovetop and in the microwave whistling a merry version of pack up your trou bles as i worked mustnt grumble i thought stoically recalling my british heritage nevertheless i remain some what inept when it comes to dealing with repairpersons and kates corner rate g j id e r d a i e others whose mission it is to fix or improve the ambiance of chateau gilderdale because i work at home it is usually my lot to greet all man ner of home improvement experts and to make sure they are cognizant of things of which my own knowledge is hazy if not completely lacking things like where the main water switch is and which cir cuit breaker serves which area of the house then theres the thorny issue of refreshments if they accept the offer of a cup of coffee i have to search for the instructions provided with the coffee machine since mr wal- lethead is the only one who can make real coffee without a recipe we recently had a new kitchen floor installed halfway i through the day when my stomach had sent out for suste nance i went downstairs to find the floor covered in glue and the fridge at the far end of the room beyond my reach this was a good newad news scenario the good news was i was denied access to the coffee maker the bad news was i couldnt fix myself lunch and since i was down to my last 25 cents i couldnt even afford to buy a sandwich since my office is in my home i am grateful to robert frost for providing a passable excuse for my woeful ignorance of practical matters pertaining to le chateau the brain is a wonderful organ it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office