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Befell Why Oh Why What constitutes fun and a prank and what is downright vandalism Around Christmas some youngsters ripped Yule decorations from Aurora and Newmarket homes and smashed them to the pavement These acts were downright vandalism On Halloween some youths went around opening fire hydrants A month or so later a group of youths taking advantage of a situation when Newmarket was in blackness and the population in a state of near panic copied the actions of their Halloween predecessors and again turned on fire hydrants Turning on fire hydrants at a time when people were frightened when police were busy protecting life and property was not only an act of downright vandalism it was downright dangerous Did these youths ever stop to consider what could have happened if there had been a serious fire and the water pressure insufficient to fight it Bid they consider that they would ever have to face a possible 14- year prison term for their actions One must be charitable and they did not consider the danger others that black night the same as they did not consider the danger to their future now But what on in the minds of todays youth when they think It is smart to turn on fire hydrants when most others are in the state of near panic Why did they have to go out of their homes that night Couldnt they have stayed home and comforted a worried parent or a frightened younger brother or sister Only the parents of a few youths are directly affected by this act of senseless vandalism But all of us are indirectly affected because some day we may at home in our living rooms faced with the spectre of one of our loved ones facing a prison term for some senseless act that could have been avoided The Era will not suggest what punishment the magistrate should mete out to these youth But The Era will suggest that every parent should spend a little more time with his children so that the energy and ingenuity of youth will be channeled to worthwhile acts sot vandalism Too Many Rules Some form of direction and supervision is essential in present day community planning but somehow we are getting bogged down by rules and bylaws It is difficult today to build or renovate without finding that some where during the various stages of construction we have infringed some ruling or failed to get permission for this or that action The Newmarket Veterans Association has found this out the hard way It has invested money time and a lot of effort to purchase the former Free Methodist Church on Millard Ave It was rather a jolt to find that due to omitting plans for parking chased so with great enthusiasm the veterans started right in to rip the building apart They assumed perhaps without reading the many building bylaws and committee plans that a building permit was a routine matter It was rather a jolt to find that due to a omitting plans for parking council could wit hold a building permit until satisfied the problem is a Committee of Adjustment council must obtain permission from the Department of Municipal Affairs before it can issue a building permit It looks as though someone is going to have to turn a blind eye either toward the Building Code or the unfinished building One thing is sure if the provincial officials give an affirmative decision even at their usual speed some of the veterans could be past enjoying the fruits of their Survey For Aged The Town of Newmarket is presently conducting a survey to deter mine whether or not a senior citizens housing project is needed The survey is being conducted at the request of the Provincial and Federal Governments Everyone over the age of is asked to answer a The Era joins Mayor Albert Kent in urging everyone over the age of 60 to answer the questionnaire Only by answering the questionnaire will the two senior levels of government be able to determine if such housing is needed Mayor Kent feels such a project is needed in Newmarket He points out that the cost of the project is borne entirely by the two governments Rents are geared to income and start at a month for a fully- equipped apartment This project appears to be a good bargain for the town and for its citizens The Era urges all those eligible for the housing to fill out a ques tionnaire target should AND SPICE BUS Smiley How The Days Go i off I That old English folk saying pretty well sums up my attitude toward life this week It isnt the work thats killing me its the afterhours stuff in a typical week Last Monday after work I wrote my column then spent five hours studying an essay by Lewis concisely called Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe Try selling that one to a girl whose chief worry is her hairdo or to boy who can hardly wait for the last hell to ring so Tuesday night I went curling wilderness Talked about four- letter words their origin and their fascination We agree they were ugly but powerful Not the dirt They a lim ing I felt crawled out of lb worked only Next morn- old when I sack My fits and starts itcd vocabulary But such epithets as slop drab slob clot punk jerk fink have a certain horrible charm Friday night is relax night the week over I curled again and later got into a session one of those Kids dont know how lucky they are today sessions with some other creaky relics of the Depres sion I also got hell when I got home Hut not to worry Tomorrow 1 could sleep in Tomorrow arrived about winks Mm- and the Old Girl still a bit informed that she wasnt up to driving the kid to the city for music lesson was thrust into the snow and ice She slept Hugh I ill- mi in I In matinee to see movie of Macbeth Sal with female English teacher Later told my daughter Id held hands with her through out the show Daughter furious Wednesday night a twohour meet ing of our staffs General Futility Committee Thursday afternoon a twohour drive to the city through a swirl ing snowstorm with Kim tier last visit to the ortho dontist Five years and dollars after it all began the kid baa straight teeth Two more hours home the trii to come home a weekends skiing show up at the rendezv ilinth oclock night before With some faint hope that hes either or been kidnapped Kim anil I struck nut for the lung dreary Momma is all informs mo that to spend tho eve new friends Gro larating but Ml dell Hi I wis Hut we had The doctor will examine you as soon as hes finished with his private patients in the evening dress rehearsal for an annual pageant in the church I am in charge of round ing up sufficient bodies of the right size and shape you ever tried to deliver reluctant to a church on a Sunday evening this day and age Dont SI Joseph bad sprained his ankle skiing and couldnt make it St Peter had the flu St An drew just didnt bother showing up St Thomas had to go out of town with the bantam hockey team St Paul thought the re hearsal was next week The shep herds have lost their crooks The three wise men arc two dopey kids who want to get home and watch I km in Judas is sore because hes just learned hes the villain in the And you grope off to work in the dark Monday morning And you have a rough day And you come home and look at the mail two whopping insurance premiums a fuel bill that makes you want to run for the nearest travel agen cy and a notice from the bank that your account is overdrawn Oh well its a great life If you dont die from sheer living In The Provinces In every provincial capital across the land this week the politicians were trying to stretch tax dollars to match the new demands of edu cation and medicare It was the legislative season in Canada and from Victoria to St Johns as well as Ottawa the lawmakers faced the same old problems too many needs not enough money In the provincial legislatures the issues and problems run the gamut from bridges and roads to law en forcement fluoridation and Sun day sports But topping all the issues In the current sessions of the 10 legisla tures are education and medicare On the first education there Is general agreement that budgets will have to rise for at least the next years until the current drop in the birth rate begins to be felt a decade hence On medicare despite the of the federal government it was beginning to look as if as many different schemes as there are provinces will be hammered into shape before the country be gins to assemble a national uni versal health care program The Ontario legislature was only a few days old when Premier after rejecting Ottawas offer on the grounds that the province would be left holding the financial bag unveiled his own medicare program It will be a governmentrun plan inde pendent of insurance companies and will cost million a year in subsidies to low income Alberta remains the only official holdout against medicare in prin ciple but observers believe Pre mier Manning will bow to the in evitable just as he has bowed on other issues he once staunchly fought These Include cocktail bars fluoridation and Sunday sports Alberta has had cocktail bars for several years now and in prepara tion for the current provincial leg islative session the premier said he would permit fluoridation and Sunday sports In any community voting for them by a simple ma jority well Because the it fei the and Alberta programs Of the three Albertas is the most limited in that it merely provides subsidies for low income persons who want to join a privately oper ated insurance program And rela tively few including those who most need help have bothered to join The only medicare plan meet ing federal standards is that run ning in Saskatchewan The scheme set up by the has been main tained by the Liberal government and costs have begun to drop after the first year of operation in Quebec and Prince Edward Island theres talk of a provincial election this year Premier Bennett has clung to power by knocking the props from under the by adopting their programs such as socializ ing the BC Electric whenever it looked as if his government was in danger Around the handsome I legi lative buildings this year theres talk that Mr Bennett will upgrade medicare while leaving automobile insurance another pet issue to a newly- appointed royal commission The Saskatchewan Alberta and Nova Scotia legislatures open next week and in Premier Thatcher faces the prospect of his threeseat majority being fur ther cut in a crucial byelection The Nova Scotia and Alberta gov ernments face no such danger but theres mounting controversy in Nova Scotia over a proposed Halt- fax hotel room tax New Brun swicks lawmakers meanwhile have been at work since before Christmas on Premier plan to take over most municipal responsibilities Taxes are also worrying Premier who faces the prospect of boost ing the islands sales tax to six per cent and would like to win another election first Ontario also has heard rumbles of an increase in Us three per cent sales tax Quebecs legislative without any central piece of Letters To The Editor The Editor The Newmarket Era Dear Sir To my knowledge the past week Jan 28th was observed as Minor Hockey Week across Can ada Unfortunately the people of Newmarket forgot that wellknown slogan Dont send your boy to the arenatake him Only the same patriotic hand ful turned up to watch their young- filer play while the majority of the players had noone except their coach to cheer them on The local arena may lack the warmth and Im hockey at its best find yourself root- ffould be worth the to watch your son cousin or neighbour in action So why not make up for the poor attendance of the past months especially Minor Hockey Week and resolve to patronize our local arena each week until the end of the Thank you A Newmarket Ont THE ERA Serving Northern York County Since 1852 Published every Wednesday market Era Weekly Limited Subscripts and the Audit Post Office Department Ottawa Publisher Editor irkei Ontario by the New- each Member of Canadian Phone Newmarket Circulations Authorized Phono Aurora