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the tribune thursday september 28 178 lte brihmxt james thomas editorinchief established 1m8 charles h nolan publisher barre seacock advertising manager eoit08ial oept ed tcbtettw klm betendtr oisflav aovcktisinc oept ls widtoim art otioo business office juaminlunu oormk oticon eilmo glow pumiwlm tnirmir jt j4 main si stoulllt on i th miioi toronto pfton itt uk suifl cpt me tvfetcrlptlom j 00 pr rr in cauda su 00 oluwlmr mmmr el climllo community mtwspaoan aisodatfen and oourlo waaxly ntwsoaptrt allocution second cliu mill registration nambor mm tne tribwio it ont of tut inund pubiisjuiig co limit ad group of luburoan nowspoptrs which includes the ami wmtt picktruig moot advortitcr brampton guardian burlington pott etooicoka outfit marknam economist and sun ntaimarktt aurora era oakmlla btavtr oihawa tmt wttk and mmuuuga next 6402100 3611680 editorials deep wounds heal slowly the locks been turned on the committee room door this newspapers been discreetly told its no longer welcome to sit in on in formal discussion of this kind we dont agree with the decision but well respect it by way of explanation this privatekeep out order pertains to only one meeting each month the third monday when members let down their hair and speak their minds on issues of a sometimes personal nature the ban has nothing to do with public sessions of planning board and council every tuesday while we doubt very much if council has the legal right to make such prohibition tactics stick we do not intend to argue the point for thanks to an explanation by the mayor weve learned the decision is not a personal affront but rather a deepseated emotion dating back to an earlier con frontation bad memories die hard this newspaper appreciates the need for council privacy within committee on certain matters that arise from time to time we have always considered it a privilege not a right to sit in on such discussions its a trust thats earned and protected through tactful use of the reporters pen once lost the damage has been done damage thats difficult to repair but were trying gravel- an election issue the environment ministry at queens park must surely be looking out uxbridge way and wondering at the makeup of that municipal council in recent years the province has taken a verbal pasting over its kidglove treatment of gravel companies and rightly so for their laws were lax and enforcement slow however after a hardnosed councillor named clarke muirhead appeared on the scene attitudes changed he bared the atrocities that were going on and supported a claim by this newspaper that greedy gravel concerns were in fact digging the very guts out of the township providing little or nothing in return it was through councillor muirheads persistence that regulations were tightened jnot enough to strangle the industry but at least to bring it under some form of control its been a long hard road now just at a time when relief is in sight the municipality appears to be buckling under a renewed assault an application to rezone 500 acres for future gravel extraction the majority of members have said yes we say definitely no while the reasons for councils cow- towing attitude isnt exactly clear it would seem that there are those who would go so far as to make an area of the township a sacrificial lamb to appease for the time- being those business interests that would destroy it while uxbridge no longer has a clarke muirhead to fight for its survival a couple of elected representatives and a host of fedup ratepayers are angry enough to make this wouldbe carnage an election issue if so theyre guaranteed -this- newspapers unyielding support the ravaging of uxbridge township must stop bus service to markham fair the 123rd annual markham fair starts to day with any kind of cooperation from the weatherman attendance should surpass all records set in previous years we hope so while the fair is still located in markham and bears that name the new location puts it within a stonesthrow of whitchurch- stouffville making it all the more convenient for residents here still unless youre the energetic kind who doesnt mind a fivemile walk the sites still a bit far to reach on foot with this thought in mind the board has set up a shuttle bus service that will operate from stouffville and return both saturday and sunday a similar schedule has been arranged for unionville from the former village of markham the service also includes thursday today and friday this convenience will be appreciated particularly by senior citizens who could find it a hardship to get to the fair otherwise the pickup point in stouffville is the corner of stouffer street and main success square the times saturday are 10 a m 1 p m 4 pm and 630 pm the times sunday are 12 noon and 130 pm buses will leave the grounds saturday at 1230 pm 330 pm 6 pm and 1130 pm and sunday at 430 and 630 pm the fare is very reasonable fifty cents ages 6 to 15 years twentyfive cents over 65 children 5 and under free so its markham fair the place to be this week with a program to please all ages youll have the time of your life roaming around our pet show entry may lay an egg a markham fair opens today and im exhausted before it starts its not that ive been personally in volved strictly an onlooker but even thats driven me to the brink of insanity for the past week our place has resembled a mad house funny how despite the fact the 1978 prize lists been out almost two months things have been left off to the lastjninute its no ones fault really its just that the fair kind of snuck up on us when we werent looking so we suddenly became panicky susans the most involved she sees it as a last opportunity to enter the eighteen and younger class and she wants to bow out in a flurry of ribbons unfortunately she too started late and has been trying to make up for lost time ever since most of her exhibits i havent even seen shes toiled away on her own sometimes to two and three oclock in the morning always in the privacy of her room however in recent days and nights shes taken over the kitchen a part of the house so small theres scarcely room to swing a cat so its chaos because all the kids want to be where the action is sampling a bit of this and a bit of that me too in fact im the worst offender while fraudulently posing as a judge i gorge myself on chocolate chip cookies apple pie rhubarb and strawberry jam bean pickle and banana loaf delicious since all others follow dads terrible example its meant susan has had to make a double batch of everything i sure hope she wins something anything shes earned it not to be outdone by her older sister cathys been up to her elbows in projects too not to the same extent but enough to keep the pot boiling theyll have fun comparing notes by jim thomas for the boys however neil in particular this years fair is tinged with sadness they lived for the pet show for one reason to show off rolfie and show off he did winning two ribbons in 76 and another in 77 but rolfies no more killed by a car last april were not over it yet yes we have a replacement but its still not the same itll never be the same replacements never are for one thing prince is but a pup twelve weeks old and still in the silly stage of life hed go crazy in the ring with so many side attractions but the boys v must enter something theyre insistent and so jam i so were busy training a successor of sorts quackers no dog a fact youll quickly recognize friday were not sure shell even lead well know better come showtime at 5 pm more than likely shell lay an egg council capers- my press pass didnt help a bit being rejected is a very traumatic ex perience for anyone but its especially tough on a young reporter it happens to him often and its always unexpected when i chose to make a career of jour nalism i naively assumed reporters were loved and respected the world over after all i reasoned keeping the world informed is an important job i never dreamed id be lumped with the dregs of society muggers tax men and dog catchers an outcast almost you can imagine how disheartening it was to learn i couldnt attend town councils monday planning committee sessions id been brushed off before but never like this i felt unwanted and unloved the last time i received such a setback was 14 years ago when as a child my older brother and his friends threw me out of their treefort now council has done the same thing i cant play with them at least it seems that way there i was the budding young reporter with a new toy monday planning com mittee i was eager and enthusiastic to provide the public with information about their municipality then council kicked me out of their treehouse ouch the publics probably wondering by now what it is that councils trying to hide its unfortunate for the politicians that election- time is so near however the electorate shouldnt jump to conclusions or confusions as the case may be council certainly has valid reasons for their decision that allday monday marathon is by ed schroeter used to thresh out policies most of whats debated there does eventually turn up in open council meetings tuesday nights anyway the average citizen would probably find much of what is discussed in committee boring the routine reports the departmental correspondence but to reporters these discussions are a valuable source of background material its im possible to write a story on something you know nothing about although i do know some journalists who try i sense council is suspicious of me this adds to my growing paranoia nobody trusts me not even politicians its a shadow that must haunt every newsman in the country i asked my seven year old nephew how he liked his new baby sister he replied is this on or off the record someone should explain were not undercover agents for the rcmp council distrusts me because im a reporter perhaps they are justified some time ago they had an unfortunate encounter with the press now theyre being cautious i cant help but regret that i as a newcomer to the tribune have to suffer for what amounts to ancient history theres a lesson in all this somewhere editors mail two sides to police story dignitaries at markham fairs official opening- 971 tnete five gentlemen presided at the official opening of markham fair back in 1971 seven yean ago they are left to right marknam mayor tony roman fair president bert paisley the late jack dennett of cfrb dean hughes and the late th paisley president in 1958 jim thomas dear editor i was pleased to pick up your latest issue of the tribune and read comments by regional police chief bruce crawford con cerning the operation of the force personally im sick and tired of hearing the police department continually berated the very officers who are protecting you and me i will always uphold the side of law and order because without it thered be chaos ana mat i believe is what many of these agitators would prefer if all the police critics would take the time to look at themselves they might see an image that could stand some alterations too there are two sides to every story im glad you saw fit to print the chiefs side lloyd wismer markham rr 2 dear mr thomas a word of appreciation concerning your lead editorial in the sept 21 edition entitled town mayor retires a winner no one could have said it better in any discussions ive had with gordon ratcliff hes always been the perfect gen tleman willing to help in every possible way believe me when problems arise its nice to be treated in such a manner politicians of mr ratdiffs stature are few and far between regardless of what the future holds our town has benefited by his being here gladys reid rr 2 stouffville