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4 the tribune thursday september 21 1s7s tte stifiune james thomas editorinchief established ism charles h nolan publisher bar re beacock advertising manager editorial dept ed scbroeter klin beiesder outlay aovetisime dept loo widimin an dion usiness office jouminlaiu 0mioiicmeiii doner pudliufd eery tlturidev 1 14 mam st sioumvalle oki tel mmioi toroflta pfiene itl lett sute cepiei wc lvsscrlptlom sim pr year is cenede sum ettewhere member el cenedua community ww amocumm aad ontario weekly newipepen asesclatfea second cuu mail ragutratiea number tut tribuni it one el me l mend pudliuiine co limited f roup o suburban newipeperi mn include ine aieiwiwby pickcnnt ei advertiser tremptea ouardiaa aurlmeon pott efebkoke ceiette merkham ecenemitt end sun htomerket aurore ere oekville beeer ouiexe tnj week end mitussouf a neat 6402100 3611680 town mayor retires a winner following eight rewarding years on whitchurchstouffville council including six years as mayor gordon ratcliff is calling it quits he will not seek reelection in november many will look on this as the mayors only mistake that he should have defended the position hes served so well however comment of this kind comes too late mayor ratcliff s already made up his mind and we doubt if persuasion by any ratepayer or this newspaper will change it its common practice at such times for the media within a municipality to cite the accomplishments of an individual nearing the end of his or her political career we find this difficult however for it is not what gordon ratcliff did that will be remembered here but what he was not a politician but a friend despite the pressing problems of the towns highest office mayor ratcliffs personality never changed he would make decisions but he would make no enemies something that can be said of few people in politics gordon ratcliffs decision to step down at the end of the current year is his own not prompted out of fear of being beaten but rather a desire to see someone else have a chance it was mayor ratcliff himself who put it well when he said i gave it the best i had no one could ask more hes a takecharge guy every wail of the town fire alarm doesnt denote the real thing on many occasions theres no fire at all but this doesnt lessen the urgency of each call motor vehicle collisions drownings heart attacks a multitude of emergencies demand instant response for a fire department that depends 100 per cent on volunteers the whitchurch- stouffville unit stands second to none we know this better than anyone weve been chasing the red truck around town more than 25 years while reacting to emergency situations in the shortest possible time is important ac complishing something upon arrival is more important still this separates the ex perienced from the inexperienced the men from the boys v early thursday morning we attended a multivehicle collision at the intersection of woodbine avenue and the stouffvillegormley road all the injured except one had been admitted to hospital one driver was still trapped in his car thats when we observed the proficiency of a whitchurchstouffville fireman george wilson while hed be the last to proclaim his own importance more likely downplay it its an accepted fact that on calls of this kind george is a takecharge guy we say so because weve watched him react to lifeanddeaih situations in a manner that only comes with years on the job wit nesses to thursdays tragedy will know what we mean vj 7 govt to be commended the davis government is to be com mended for its prompt action in dealing with the transportation strike in metro despite the footdragging of the ndp something which certainly did not enhance their image the government of premier davis acted with correctness and despatch supported by the liberals this strike against the public could have dragged on for weeks bringing chaos in convenience and hardship to thousands once upon a time strikes involved only capital and labor now a large percentage are a direct measure taken by labor against the public such action cannot be tolerated these walkouts slowdowns workings to rule and the currently popular rotating strikes cause inconvenience and even danger to or dinary people they are a move directed against publiclyowned enterprises that is against the public collectively there is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody anywhere anytime metros populace in general will certainly say amen to the governments action however unions will continue to get away with these outbreaks until we bring our thinking up to date on the subject of union power and peoples rights a champion last week this newspaper gave front page publicity to a story of courage and dedication on the part of a stouffville juvenile fastball player the news item revealed how brad steel a 1st baseman with the club played one game and part of another impeded by two broken bones in one foot the information attracted the attention of many people the important thing here is the fact that to win an ontario title regardless of the sport requires something extra that extra ingredient was borne out in this 18 year olds refusal to quit even when medically speaking he should have been in hospital thats the ingredient of a true champion please lord roaming around 0 strange things happen in church by jim thomas church sanctuaries are sacred and for the most part are treated with utmost respect this is the way it should be however too solemn a type service can have its drawbacks folks tend to be easily distracted when something out of the ordinary occurs youve seen it and so have i for example a childcries and alltheads turn a loud sneeze the same reaction a deep snore everybody hears why do people react in this manner do they think the minute a person steps inside a chapel all human frailties are forgiven would that they were t there are ministers i know who can tell some of the most hairraising stories ex ceptional happenings one would never dream possible over the years ive made mental notes of a few it was an evening harvesthome service and the pulpit was banked with every kind of fruit and vegetable imaginable the congregation unusually large was full of thankfulness for the blessings provided during the prayer of thanksgiving a little boy possibly bored by the proceedings slipped out of his seat and toddled up to the front after checking the array of produce he selected one to his liking and gave it a pull suddenly an avalanche of pumpkins like huge yellow boulders began rolling down both aisles thumping and bumping until they reached the back what happened to the boy the pastor couldnt remember but ap parently he survived then there was the operatype soloist whose voice fairly lifted the church rafters on a particular sunday morning she selected the wellknown hymn bless this house about halfway through the vibrations shook loose a sparrows nest tucked safely away in the ceiling straw feathers twigs and eggs plummeted straight down landing squarely on her head the solo and the service ended abruptly in some communities its still common for churches to close down for a few weeks during the summer this is fine as long as a thorough search of the sanctuary is completed before it reopens at one country location a 3skuiikmade its presence felt in the choir loft at another a wasps nest was discovered too late in the organ and at still another a pair of bats terrorized the congregation most churches keep their front doors closed during the service for good reason dogs have been known to come wandering in and one minister again in the country will never forget the sunday a pig ambled up the aisle just about every church has had at least one catastrophe during the taking of the of fering you know the kind where the plate suddenly tips and all the loose change falls through the register fate it seems deals more harshly with sundaygotomeetin men than women mostly i guess because the poor husbands continually harassed by his wife to get up get dressed and get to church on time mis matched socks shoes and even suits are common among males myself included the worst however was six sundays ago it was a joint summer service between the uniteds and the presbyterians in the presbyterian church as usual we squeaked in the back as the minister was arriving at the front hardly had i time to catch my breath when the usher requested i assist him with the offering i told him i would it was stifling that day so i took off my coat during the first hymn when the call came for the collection i was ready so i thought however i soon realized that in my haste i had pulled on my pants but neglected to put on my belt while pastor carder delivered the of fertory prayer i could feel them slipping inch by inch towards the floor what if the very thought raised great beads of per spiration on my brow once relieved of the plate i plunged both hands into the pockets so i wouldnt trip over the cuffs and reached my seat safely saints be praised the fourth quarter never too old to learn by leslie holbrook big bootees to fill for 78 baby champ at aaarkham fair a highlight of markham fair again this year will be the baby showsalf sept 30 beginning at 10 am on the left is the winner in 197 dean norman spang soo of dianne holding him and rick spang formerly of stouffville and now of oshawa on the right is melanie harman the champion in 1977 she is the daughter of hiram and darlene harman formerly of stouffville and now of campbellford with melanie is the 77 queen of the fair dianne rem i jiai thomas v in five years it is estimated that there will be 50000 teachers without jobs in canada writes fellow columnist bruce whitestone in the daily gleaner frederic- ton one of the possible alternatives is that people will use schools for adult training that older people will return to schools in later life for expanded education in all kinds of areas education which costs canadians 175 billion a year will have to be put to more practical use as our usual schoolage population con tinues to decline continuing education for older folk already is available in many universities colleges and schools each fall more and more educational institutions are recognizing this new market for employment of teachers and fuller use of costly buildings and facilities special recognition is given to seniors in many cases tuition fees either are waived completely or are greatly reduced in some cases covering only the schools added ex pense for supplies and transportation for example my wife and i are signed up for a university of guelph course on sym phonic music lectures are interspersed with trips to hear performances of four different symphony orchestras all we pay is that portion of fees required for concert tickets and transportation and that portion is modest and seems a bargain when we stop learning we stop living says dr bette stephenson ontarios new minister of education keep on really living by getting into a course to your taste likely being offered somewhere nearby you are almost certain to find something to suit you instruction runs all the way from antique furniture evaluation to welding not quite from a to z perhaps you should consider going back to school on a more extensive basis perhaps but not necessarily working towards a degree many oldsters are doing this in colleges across the land south of the border wellknown singer pearl bailey is fulfilling a lifelong ambition at the age of 60 she has gone back to school georgetown university the joy of learning is so wonderful she enthused when someone suggested she was starting late in life she laughed as did a number of listening younger students who have trouble keeping up with her and countered honey i say there aint no such thing as a senior citizen i dont use that word nohow pearl says she is going to write a book titled dont tell me youre too old honey r its tough but its fun in addition to her courses at georgetown philosophy french islamic religion and egyptian art she herself teaches drama at duke ellington high school nearby education should never end no matter what our age or circumstancessays writer kenneth bagnall if you live in a community wjiere college ty or school facilities are not readily available he suggests you organizegroup for study and discussion with members themselves leading the group on a rotating basis this has an advantage all its own bringing people together not only to listen to an instructor but to each other sharing ideas and exchanging viewpoints send comments and questions long stamped addressed envelope for reply to the tribune co po box 1506 guelph ont n1h 6n9 editors mail wonderful day dear editor thanks to the publicity provided by your paper i attended the mennonitesponsored festival at black creek pioneer village saturday and took along three of our children next to a day at markham fair it was the most satisfying and enjoyable outing any of us had ever experienced we came home loaded down with enough homemade bread pies and buns to last us til christmas apart from the buys however it was an education something the family will never forget we wont let them because were going back next year henry hall stonffer street stouffvffle