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page 2 the tribune thursday june 18 1970 tilt wht utrtfmne established 1888 wna nolan publisher noel edey advertising c h jim thomas editor published every thursday by inland publishing co limited at 51 main st stouffville ont tel 6102101 single copies 15c subscriptions 500 per year in canada 750 elsewhere member of audit bureau of circulation canadian weekly newspapers association and ontario weekly newspapers association second class mail registration number 0896 editorial not again the new intersection at ringwood is now taking shape while the project itself is indeed new the reconstruction of this corner is not nor in our opinion is its design while it is true a median has been built in two areas of hwy 48 that will tend to speed up the traffic flow this was not the real problem in the past nor the major cause of truck- car collisions the trouble as we saw it was the traffic lanes turning right and left off hwy 48 were too narrow par ticularly for the many large trucks with double trailers while it first appeared the department would utilize land on the northeast southeast and north west to rectify this problem the present location of new curbs would indicate the old route is little changed while sidewalk superintendents cannot qualify as professional engineers there seems little doubt at this point that someone has pulled another blooper use at the users risk ever since the milnes pond area in markham has been developed and improved there have been com plaints of persons swimming there illegally the site is not supervised by the conservation authority the location cannot be con tinuously patrolled by local police warning signs have been posted newspaper notices have been published so why worry if children or parents of children wish to run the risk of a drowning there then let them their misfortune will be of their own making wherever there is water of any significant size or depth you will find people it can be a small stream a pond or a lake but just because individuals are tempted to use it does not mean that a municipality is obliged to protect it or even patrol it its high time some responsibility was shifted onto the shoulders of those who would break the law and then complain should a tragedy occur let the municipal board decide a new funeral home in a residential area on clarke street stouffville we say yes and we hope residents in that area will say the same however we feel it should not be necessary for the applicant to conduct his own personal survey among property owners in an effort to win approval of this project objections if any can be voiced at meetings of planning board and council or better still at a hearing of the omb after each resident has been properly notified thii in our opinion is the way it should be handled from the discussion so far on the issue there is an obvious division of opinion among planning board members if a vote had been taken thursday a deadlock would likely have occurred since one representative lives in the area and requested permission to withhold his decision a similar split could also occur within council we feel this matter is far too important a request to be turned down on a personal opinion poll where all aspects might not be understood or on decisions of boards where personalities could be a determining factor it is our opinion that this lot is a perfect location for this particular project and we feel adjacent properties would benefit by it being there edito rs jna iilj dear editor re editorial article the tail wagging the dog june 4 1970 being a resident of preston lake and a member and past secretary for the preston lake south shore property owners association i have read your article with resulting amusement as well as deep concern thus i have felt moved to write as follows yes the property owners around preston lake have come to realize in very recent days that they are indeed very lucky people to have a home as well as summercottage all under the same roof all within commuter distance of their em ployment in metro better known as the asphalt jungle i believe they would also agree with me when i would agree with you in that we regard our lake as holy water was not this body of water god created and god given for the use and enjoyment of each and every person god has seen fit to create it is true that this is a privately owned lake however there is a public beach area for those who care to use its facilities which i might add have been greatly improved for everyones enjoyment the general public may not be aware that this body of water is know as a land locked lake which means that it is spring fed having neither inlet nor outlet when the local residents voiced objections to a proposed boat regatta it was with this knowledge in mind the build up of gas and oil from such con centrated use would certainly add to the risks of possible pollution if we allow this to happen then no one will be able to dabble their feet in our drink also the size of this lake being just over 50 acres is not suf ficient to accommodate such an affair how do i know my husband in his younger years raced in boat regattas and at such an affair on fairy lake at huntsville ontario he witnessed a fatal accident because of unfavourable conditions yes we the residents did descend on council in force because as i have pointed out earlier this lake is privately owned and other property owners have been granted access to and the use of the lake it is therefore our moral obligation or responsibility to take care of that which we have been given other wise by our lack of concern which should prompt action we will lose that which has been given by our lack of action the council in making its original decision should have made certain that the pepper pot lodge management and the oakville hydroplane club had the approval of each person concerned granted the electorate of whitchurch or any township have placed people in office to conduct their affairs to the best of their ability do you know why im not secretary this year i cant spell regatta regata this is an executive joke and the laughs posjal oulejje sugar and spice the good life theres something basically piggish about man he wants to get his snout into that trough and devil take the runt who cant wiggle his bum in there because the landscape in front of him is one of solid bums harder to break through than a cement wall when you look at the size of canada and then at the population figures its difficult to believe that canadians feel they cant get at the trough that many of them feel like the runt of the litter yet thousands do many of them feel as the old rural expression has it that theyre sucking the hind tit tit is a short but perfectly decent synonym for teat the hind one is the one the runt gets if he gets any this is rather a longwinded prelude to my major proposition that thousands of citydwellers are desperate to get away from it all out of the smog and the concrete canyons into the wild green yonder for practical reasons they must in most cases live in the city or exist there thats where they make a living where their children will have the best schools where their friends are but they dont like it obvious solution buy a summer cottage many do but even there one does not escape from the throngs the cramped feeling cottages are mainly stuck cheek by jowl boats and motorcycles in summer snowmobiles in winter pollute the air with stink and noise added hazards in winter are the roof breaking in under snow and local hoodlums breaking in under booze also for many the cost of a waterfront lot and cottage are simply out of reach have you tried to pick up a nicelytreed sandbeach water lot lately figure on 50 a foot for anything decent add a cottage drill a well pay taxes and upkeep and you have to be pretty on me however councillors we all make mistakes dont we and as long as we learn from them were headed in the right direction i forgive you and i think the other residents will too guess id better include the reporter in this one as he somehow missed our point lorraine i hutchinson rri gormley editors note while we were well aware of a public beach at prestons we did not know the lake itself is privately owned village everglades the york county board of education will establish two school sites north of manitoba street on the former lehman farm now owned by delverton holdings limited on one condition that a swamp area to the east be made available as a school playground as it is now the trustees fear the kids might be eaten by the crocodiles commented chairman bui kamps at a recent meeting of stouffville planning board wellheeled even to consider it accordingly many city denizens of modest means are buying a chunk of land right in the country anything from 10 to 50 acres in some areas within a couple of hours drive one can still buy land for 50 an acre thus instead of socking 5000 into a 100foot water lot you can have your own tenacre empire for 500 european immigrants are par ticularly interested in such land because they didnt have a hope of buying an acre at home unless wealthy this land is usually submarginal or worse but there seems to be a basic instinct to own some land even though it wont grow anything but rocks and christmas trees just to be able to pace around and say this is mine nobody can take it away from me and the sheer delight of posting no trespassing signs around your domain a mans home used to be his castle now its his prison but he can have an estate in the country its an ideal setup for a man with a young family preferably he should be handy with tools he can buy his chunk of junk and spend a couple of years just going up on by bill smiley weekends and vacations tenting and clearing a hole in the scrub brush for his shack and if hes smart it will be at first just that a shack never mind the three bedrooms bang in some bunks never mind the big stone fireplace get a good wood stove over the years he can add to the place until eventually he will have a snug retirement home no traffic problems no pollution no punks no people small tax bills a place to putter to meditate sound silly maybe but with the new leisure age creeping upon us it makes more sense than taking on a huge mortgage at 10 percent which will be paid off eight years after you die ideally the property would have a small stream loaded with fat trout a deer run huge patches of wild berries realistically it will be impossible to get water when you drill your well the land will be in fested by rattlesnakes or rodents and smothered in nettles and poison oak but we cant have everything im tempted myself any chuckling gleamingeyed farmer want to get rid of 50 acres of rock and swamp for 10 an acre portraits from the past when edwin byer rr2 markham tells his grandchildren about the 300 pound bear be shot near peterborough be has proof to support his story this picture taken by the tribune in june of 1958 ja a thomas his name is tmm v by jim thomas three weeks ago during one of my more poetic moments i revealed or at least hinted that our immediate family circle could conceivably increase from five to six while not meaning to divulge any deep dark secrets for who can keep such things secret anyway my wife admittedly didnt take too klidly to the announcement that she said was a wee bit premature and she was right therefore as pennance for being too personal ive been consuming my daily ration of baked beans without complaint but strange isnt it how people take to such things a million babies are born around the world every- week but the one next door or even in the next block is something special and the questions some subtle like is it really true or why didnt you tell us to the more frank approach like gee are you going to have your hands full or what another theyll drive you crazy and i received a few myself like say i thought you were the kinda guy who worked every night ha-ha- ha or did you know they dont allow fourstorey homes in stouff ville although we both endeavored to deny the report emphatically and suggested to each person they read the poem again few seemed con vinced jean said she could fairly feel everyone staring at her like living in a goldfish bowl well now the truths out and theres no use trying to hide it any longer you know the way kids talk its a boy he arrived friday and a cute little gaffer he is too were calling him timmy timmy thomas its generally agreed the names go well together while our most recent arrival has been home less than a week its already obvious the children are crazy about him theyve set up a kind of shift system taking turns feeding and changing him we feel the practice is good giving the kids a new sense of responsibility but two problems have already arisen number 1 the little guy has a tremendous appetite so ravenous in fact hes eating us out of house and home not to mention money it all comes at a time when i thought this formula thing was at an end now its started all over again fortunately it comes already mixed you merely add one teaspoon to a pint of lukewarm water stir slightly and thats it hes got it downed in a matter of minutes problem two and even worse than the first is the matter of ac- oommodationr with our new ad dition already occupied and two sleeping down below there are no rooms left so as a temporary solution and dont tell the town building in spector ive constructed a special compartment out in the garage which should serve quite nicely during the summer season at least come fall with cool days and chilly nights ill have to do something different right now everyones happy and content who could ask for anything more my main fear however is that if timmys present rate of growth continues his room temporary as it may be will soon be too small for little tadpoles soon become big frogs and here my wife takes a stand she says a snore is one thing but a croak is something else airborn division with the success the markham township police department has enjoyed recently apprehending suspects with borrowed aircraft chief harvey cox must surely be thinking seriously of adding a helicopter unit to the force theres one problem however the pur chase price would consume onehalf the years total police budget