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THE ERA Serving York County Since DA s srrsxrrsjj Phone Newmarket Chart Phone Aurora A fond farewell to Shrug Lucky Pierre Centralize dont decentralize school board Recommendations in the Ross Report on the need for greater centralization of York County school board functions were strongly criticized last week by some of the trustees and 30 or so citizens attending a public meeting on the report Some of these speakers recommended a decentralizing process and one trustee Donald Cameron of Vaughan actually suggested the board be split Into a north and a south half with each division meeting separately to deal with problems geographically Any such division or decentralization would defeat the prime purpose of amalgamating York legions many small school boards into a county board less than a decade ago That was to ensure equal educational opportunities to students all Aver the Region whether they attended a small rural school in East or a large Richmond HiU school The Ross Report a study of the management and administrative structure of the county school board certainly contains weaknesses but its stress on the boards need for centralization Is not one of them The report maintains that the present board practice of locating area offices throughout the Region has resulted in inconsistencies in the interpretation of policies and management practices and has acted as a barrier to effective communications between schools and senior administration In any event the location of area offices in each area can only be quasidecentralixation in view of the distances involved says the report and points out that many parents in the boards one must telephone long distance to reach area one office In Newmarket If we are to have a county school board with expensive new headquarters In Aurora it to us only practical to headquarter the parents to follow should be through their school principal or local trustee If the board is concerned about higher- echelon administrators becoming Isolated from individual communities one step It could take would be to eliminate the need for longdistance calls by providing direct dialing facilities Most contacts now arc made directly lo schools to trustees and to board officers in Aurora the results of the studies done for the Ross Report show NEWSROOM NOTES The perils of being a news photographer v John Wi tt my eyes and my blue Jeans bagging around the knees This was the result of what appeared to be a routine Thursday afternoon assignment Earlier that afternoon I received a phone call from a mysterious young lady with a beautiful voice saying Would you like to come to the Morton residence on the fifth concession to take some pictures Newmarket High Schools grade students are having a yearend party It didnt dangerous so I said that 1 would be over in aoout a half hour Even though the directions I had been given were precise missed the house the first time While looking for the party I found the clue that should have told me something was up An Animal Control van was stopped at the side of the road The men inside were obviously looking for arrived to a mixed reaction of Who sent for The Era and Take my picture but that only lasted for about thirty seconds The next thing I knew my cameras had been token away from me and I was surrounded by assorted male and female Newmarket High athletes I had met a few of them during sports events throughout the winter They grabbed my arms and legs and hoisted me into the air I struggled as the mob moved me towards the pond in the front of the Morton home It wasnt much of a struggle however because there isnt much a lb photographer i do against the likes of a huge football player then I gave up hope I pleaded for mercy but it seems that everyone at the party had to have their time in the pond As they gently lowered me into the water I thought Ive got another assignment at three What are they going to say I apologized for my appearance and went about my business But then went in The water was beautiful It had to be about degrees Fahrenheit about 21 degrees for the advanced readers I got up held my head high and tried to look dignified as I strutted from the pond I had to dodge a few beer bottles that were placed there to keep cool Who are they trying to kid There was one beautiful thing about this whole journey though It took mc back to my high school days in Who in Die world would have the audacity to throw a photographer in the pond but some jubilant graduating grade stole the flags from the thirteenth holes of golf courses in the area But we surprising a delivery man once by having one or the students sneak up behind him and lasso him Within half an hour he was released payed and loft kilting himself laughing One of the highlights of last weeks daylong party was a game of caps the Newmarket High School Championship game between Kurt Weiser and Bryan Heppell For those of you not familiar with the game I will explain the rules Caps is a game that requires stamina and perception It is a game two players play with bottle caps and glasses The object of the game is to throw a bottle cap into a glass placed on the ground between the opponents legs The player who sinks the most caps is the winner It is much like shooting foul shots in basketball For some reason or another this has caught on as a great game at high school parties Bryan Heppell became the Newmarket High Champion The grade yearend party has become a tradition in many York high schools and its no wonder By autumn many of the students will be attending universities across the province and they will not see their hometown friends until next Christmas The grade 13 party must be a gettogether to be remembered for a long time I am now a part of Newmarket High Schools history just because I would like to thank Shawn Herb Kurt Debbie Mona Paul Bryan Sheila Manors Nancy Cathy the other Cathy Pal you know who you are and all of the other Newmarket High Students that made the day that you will rcmemlier a day that I will remember as well But I would especially like to thank the person who took my wallet before I was thrown in the pond 1 can still write a cheque without the cashier complaining that the signature on my drivers licence is smeared My friends Shrug and Lucky Pierre are leaving beautiful downtown Newmarket They are moving away for different reasons but they are leaving anyway At the end of the month and Ill miss them Shrug whose real name is Jim Yardy Is being transferred by the company to and his wife and the kids Jim Jr Scott and Jeff are of course accompanying him Lucky Pierre Is really and he is fulfilling a dream that many of us have from time to time moving north to the woods and streams further from the maddening crowd Lucky s wife Usulla and his kids Craig are going with him even though he doesnt have job up there yet They are not worried nor Is Lucky I any that I am cither Lucky Is a clever fellow with his hands and can always make a good wage building or fixing things for people Still it must be strange feeling for a guy who has worked In the same job for so many years They will miss Newmarket but for different reasons they are leaving For Shrug its a promotion and a belter position within the company For Lucky its something he dreamed of doing for the longest time and now he has decided is the time He came from the north originally and like the characters in a Jack London novel the north is calling him back Its not the Yukon or anything like that Just northern Ontario but I understand that the winters in parts are unlike anything we have to contend with in this area Lots of luck Shrug is more than a friend He was also my boss and its hard sometimes to be friends with the boss Not with Shrug Oh sure we had a few differences of opinion from time to time It didnt affect our friendship though The first time I saw Shrug he was reading the news on Cablecast Channel 1 didnt know his name but phoned the office the next day to complain After being connected with the office manager I said that the guy who did the news was awful and that I could do better The office manager suggested I show up at the station that night and do that It was only when I appeared that evening that I discovered the newsreader and the office manager were one and the same person Even with that shaky start we remained friends Eventually he hired mc on a fulltime basis and left me alone to look after my end of things And with only a few exceptions I let him run the entire operation without the benefit of my It was a good idea Hes been promoted now and 1 dont want to take credit for the few suggestions that I made that probably helped him move up in the company By ROY GREEN The will missed by everyone who knew them So too will the Hurleys by all of their friends I Lucky Pierre was the name he was lagged with when he and I decided lo enter the great Rotary Club Canoe Race during the first Algonkian Festival few years back He was an experienced canoeist and I was the heavy end of the partnership Although Lucky Pierre tried his bent to win the race he was dragged down by the fact that I kept falling into the water paddled slowly Incorrectly and often not nil We came in second lo last The only people we bent were a pair of girls one of whom her foot while portaging and had to quit Such lousy finish And that came even though had taken a rowlxmt along the course at least once prior to the race On one of those lours we came across a York Region policeman who was trying to rescue a brown bag from the water In the bag was a pile of kittens Lucky Pierre and I with the cop holding a flashlight and shouting directions from a bridge managed to rescue a few of the frozen felines The cop also ignored the bottle of medicine that Lucky and I had brought along in case of Indian attack or other emergencies Lucky kept the kitties overnight and had one heck of time convincing the little that the kittens should not take up permanent abode in the Lucky residence Lucky and I spent many hours together doing things around my house He was deter mined that 1 should have an additional washroom in my basement and for a few cases of beer he built one I held the hammer sledge and his beer while he did all the work Thats the type of guy he is Besides he said I was one of the most in competent people hed ever seen with a hammer or any tool and hed rather do it himself Hes right of course even broke one of the bottles of beer when I tried to open it Opening bottles which I normally let my wifedo became another of Luckys tasks while he built my extra washroom Newmarket loses two good families at the end of this month They worked hard for minor hockey in their own areas and gave of them selves unselfishly to other causes as well It will be hard replace them Life Vigorous How for bathtub for granted Or vour flush toilet cashing minium and trie razor If you were a lliitisli soldier at lint Henry 1867 the ab sent luxuries like those would have made a rough life even rougher Each enlisted man had an iron cot and a few square inches floor to tall home in the barrack room he shared with Early very morning be would lathering up with Fort Henry men Henry daily baths were out of the question Since water had to be carried in by hand only were allowed the private luxurv of in a hot tub attended by stood and scrubbed crowded around a few basins of water in a dark damp room Not only bathtubs but toilets were divided by rank one each for men women and of ficers The privies were simply holes in a plank a stone trough but they featured a pretty called tor Dill whiskers but lies sideburns permitted Once a month the barrack room became barber shop when the hair eulter made his rounds mans hair was cropped off in identical fashion im to two imbes long on top effective flushing system Rainwater from the parade square was collected at one end of the to be clear of open privy trench and held back by a sluice gate whoosh Everything was swept down a drain into time to time the gate was opened and of Lake Ontario Today thanks to modern indoor plumbing Old Fort Henry has been restored as an historic and recreational site The St Lawrence Parks Commission also operates Upper Canada Village and weekkept camp- US grade 13 students dumped him into the kind soul took from his pocket before THE Readers ERA and I asked Did Minister to look into these other to the