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stouffvilk suntribune thursday feb 2 2006 5 keep on truckin f m if you dare ive always been a truck lover since i was a kid ive wanted to drive one even own one not the small half- ton variety but the monster kind boasting huge diesel engines under elongated hoods juggernauts blowing black smoke from chrome- plated pipes tandemdrive tractors hauling 50foot trail ers when our boys were small my idea of a holiday was sitting in a small restau rant at highland creek in scarborough watching huge rigs arrive and leave via hwy 401 some were bound for halifax some for vancouver some for california others for new york the operators most burly like the trucks they drove wished only a quick cup of coffee to break the routine conversations with waitresses on the other side of the counter also helped brighten the dreariest of days even before these drivers could affix their heavy- haulers into tightknit park ing spots the kids had iden tified every make and model thats a kenworth theyti say theres a peter- bilt a mack an internation al a freightliner back then theyd some times spot a ford a dia mond t a reo or a gm they knew them all but that was yesterday this is today my driver dreams are over realism set in many moons ago you couldnt coax me into the passenger seat let alone put me behind the wheel the responsibilities oftodays truckers are as enormous as the vehicles they drive this truth hit home last week while watching the 6 pm news on ctv i couldnt believe my eyes the newscaster with photos for support told how a transport driver en route to sarnia from sudbury had been hijacked on hwy 400 his western star hauling twintrailers loaded with 40 tons of nickel pellets had been commandeered south of major mackenzie drive f quick come look i urged my wife we both sat mesmerized what made the story even moreintriguing was the fact the truck opera- tor was later identified as a nephew of ron elliott of stouffville heres what happened the driver southbound on hwy 400 pulled off at a service centre for a takebut coffee as he was about to climb back into the cab a stranger sneaked up behind and wrapped his arms around his neck with the help of an accomplice he roaming with jim thomas tethered the drivers wrists and ankles then pushed him facedown inside the trucks sleeper compart ment placing a blanket over his head the victim after loosen ing his bounds pulled a par ing knife from his lunchbox holding it against his assailants throat he ordered the man to stop then jumped from the cab the transport with ban dits inside continued east on hwy 401 although the driver attempted to flag down motorists for help no one would stop fortunately he saw a sign that read montreal this allowed him to establish his bearings he made his way to a seniors community known as wilmott creek where he called police with the aid of heli copters and a ground posi tioning system the opp found the abandoned trans port on vacant properly the hijackers werent around but the load was still intact even the truckers cell phone and wallet were recovered from the cab according to mr elliott police have described his nephews escape as very lucky its common they said for shipments of such value to be loaded onto freighters and shipped all over the world mr elliott feels his nephew would undoubtedly have been killed and his body never found on learning of the hi jack mr elliott left immedi ately for his nephews home a threehour drive he was waiting for me he said he requested a min ister visit the family hes still having night mares mr elliott said the more i think of it the more frightening it becomes police believe the hijack ing was the work of highly- trained professionals with possible terrorist links the drivers response someone above was watching over me jim thomas has written for area newspapers for more than 50 years whats for dinner from our frozen entree section well have our chicken parmesan its made with thin slices of boneless chicken breasts lightly breaded in herbseasoned crumbs fried till a golden brown layered with a light tomato sauce with garlic onions oregano and basil mozzarella cheese and i topped with parmesan cheese g ft y serves 34 w off reg 1495 dbbjryns sage onion ausage these are a milder sausage that are probably better baked than fried or bbqd we use pork and its one of the few sausages that doesnt have garlic if thats a h ggrf q consideration with ja h q reg 399 wli g freme rulee almon from our little fish counter well be featuring our teriyaki salmon its made with totally boneless jail island salmon fillets our homemade teriyaki sauce with sherry and lots of doting further we make this with orange an ginger as well as ail naturel reg 1495 lb off this week v pile o jbones on sale as well will be one of our more neanderthal items our prime rib bones there aint no dainty way of eating these just gotta pick em up and gnaw we marinate them in our teriyaki or m is theyre available au m jpjp naturel 11 ipfeij reg 349 lb jil lb whats s ground hlloin the first clue from our meat counter that its super bowl weekend is the disproportionate amount of extra lean ground beef that we sell a football game of this stature couldnt be watched without chili happenin in the stands however remote they might be in order to make a super bowl- class chili well be featuring our ground sirloin for mmxtf pf the occasion ijj r itll work j t real good i week weve received a shipment of new products from italy some of which cathy and i saw being made on a trip to italy more than 20 years ago there are some marmalades pasta sauces and jams the one to try is the amarena a cherry which is fairly unique to the modena area of italy as well weve got a few valentine chocolate treats when jaana asked me about a feature for this week i said creme brulee as i usually do because its myfave dessert to my surprise and to the dismay of all the bakery folk she agreed this is the picture well need about 1500 of those white china ramekins and well need to sterilize them then well need about 100 vanilla beans ever notice the black dust on the bottom of the original ones theyre beans 150 litres of whipping cream about 2500 eggs most of which have to be separated by hand for the yolks well then need to send the van to the liquor store because all the grand marnier kahlua etc wont fit in my jeep well need a few extra torches with refills to caramelize the tops a box of bandaids for all the burned fingers and the ovens going 24 hours a day these are the flavours that well be making but not every flavour will be available all the time so have a plan b flavour in mind vanilla bean grand marnier grand marnier with chocolate raspberry white chocolate white dark chocolate cappuccino margarita blueberrylemon amaretto rosemary maple baileys and others that occur to them as the saga unfolds the regular price of these is 399 each which includes a 50 deposit for the ramekin our feature this week will be s evtlle oranges many of you have been patiently waiting for these the crop this year has been small but we agx have some js ml lb jl iotjbjle ghocoicare nice ones now what makes these double is that theyre drizzled with white chocolate what makes them great is the loaf itself which is made with our rich chocolate cake batter buy 2 so youll be left alone to eat yours reg 499 ea s mushroom for the last long while weve always made our mushroom soup with brandy and we still do but forthose who can do without the brandy weve made a more traditional mushroom soup with lots of mushrooms 8w ol its a great soup 4 tn reg 599 ea oep this week planning be watching for a whole bunch of something valentine glkes cookies and other wytfysn creations for next week its a great ai mi mi i kg nst and alas ive run out of ww jo jo jl room nere suffice ft to sa that if v want something sweet for for next week valentines day were it village grocer quality foods specials in effect until closing sundaf februart 5 hours mon 1100700 tuesthurs 900700 fri 900800 sat 900600 sun 1000500 548 carlton road unionville 9401770