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4 the tribune thursday november it 1978 wht wtihwxt james thomas editorlnchlef established 1888 charles hnolan publisher barre seacock advertising manager editorial dept ed schroatar kwi botondar display advertising dept lots wkfaraan art ouon business office joan marahman doraan daacon ehaan glorar pubuahad avary thursday at 54 wain st stoulmtta ont tal 6402101 toronto phona 3611680 stoflla coplas 20 e aubacrlptlona 1000 par yaa in canada s2600 alsawhara mambar of canadian community nawspapars association and ontario waauy nawspapars association saeond data mall raglatratlon numbar 0896 tha trlbuna la ona ol tha inland publlahlng co umhad group ol auburban nawspapars which in- dudaa tha ajax whitby plckarlng naws advartisar brampton guardian burlington post etobfcoka gazatta markham economist and sun nawmarkat aurora era oamlla baarar oshawa this waak uisslasauga naws othawa thu waakand acton fraa prass milton canadun champion and tha gaorgatown indapandanl 6402100 3611680 editorials pride in the class of 78 just over 200 students received graduation and honor graduation diplomas at stouffville dist secondary schools com mencement exercises friday night parents of these young people must have been proud they had every reason to be not only of their sons and daughters academic accomplishments but of their appearance immaculate for girls to attend such functions ap propriately dressed is taken for granted for boys however teachers have come to expect the unexpected theyve been known to sit with fingers crossed hoping for the best but anticipating the worst not so for the class of 78 boys as well as girls were groomed and dressed for the oc casion a compliment to their school their community and to themselves even persons with no association whatsoever with the students on stage were loud in their praise the pendulum of self- respect that had swung so far out a few years back has returned to normal at least in stouffville hopefully elsewhere too young people even today many not look on this as important but it is as they themselves will learn when they round the next bend in the road first impressions are important we were impressed on friday night police under surveillance we were seated alone in a stouffville restaurant one evening last week when a york regional police constable entered he ordered a cup of coffee to take out to the cruiser however when he put his thirty cents down on the counter the waitress shoved it back twice more he offered to pay and twice more she refused finally he placed the money back on the counter and left the waitress meant well it was her way of saying thanks the police are always dropping by here she said i appreciate it its a nice feeling to know theyre around so whats a cup of coffee plenty police officers whether they realize it or not are under constant pressure theyre watched continuously most ob servers are friends some are not one wrong move minor though it may be can lead to trouble the sheldrake accusations point this out law for the rich arid you theres a law for the rich and a law for the poor a law for the influential and a law for the subordinate were convinced of this fact after a provincial judge handed down a one year suspended sentence to rock guitarist keith richards of the rolling stones richards was found in possession of a quantity of heroin and subsequently charged judge lloyd grabums decision makes a mockery of the legal system for youcan bet your bottom dollar any ordinary person would not have got off so easily in fact there are likely many in jail today for crimes of less severity mind you one of the conditions is that the rock group must sponsor a benefit concert for the blind in torontos maple leaf gardens sure maybe after the leafs beat out the canadiens for the stanley cup friendly gas service is gone after 19 years continuous service the gas pumps are gone from giles chevoids main street west stouffville gone too u ambrose pollen the genial attendant who became everybodys friend however ambrose hasnt gone far hes still an important member of the giles company staff reposted to another position x edschrortt roaming around pre 9 graduations a blank by jim thomas i occupied a vip seat at stouffville dist secondary schools commencement exer cises friday not because i consider myself a very important person far from it but only because i carry a camera its easier taking pictures from the front of the auditorium than from the back ive been attending graduations at sdss over twenty years still ive never been able to overcome the apprehensions that accompany such occasions what ifv the very thought of all the terrible things that can occur keeps me in a state of nervous tension throughout the event what if i trip over the bandstand and land in the piccolo players lap what if- while bending over for a lowangle shot i split the seat of my pants what if my camera should suddenly die or worse still explode the entire audience would stagger home in a state of shock these are major concerns then there are the minor problems like the mother who asks for a particular picture of her daughter when youre running short of film the student who walks past the point where you had ex pected her to stop or the graduate who sud denly turns her back just as youre ready to shoot youd like to do a rrun but cant theres no tomorrow fridays program was handled with such precision my head was in a whirl all night every time i looked up there was someone new on the receiving end of a diploma or an award if my camera had been a machine gun i couldnt have kept pace let alone switclfsholders change films and cockjhe shutter v so i missed a few some important ones too as you should know by now rmjnly human v how long have commencements been on the go in stouffville a few folks were asking but unfortunately i dont have the answer the tribune of 1954 tells of the schools official openingrthe date was nov 26 board members at that time included don chad- wick chairman ernie bray ted edwards andy williams ag thompson and albert king mr chadwick was the master of ceremonies rev douglas davis offered the dedicatory prayer and a girls choir of 40 voices was led by ron mercer however theres no mention of any awards presen tations or graduates the first we would find was dec 2 1955 a ten students four girls and six boys received honor graduation diplomas they were joyce white barbara hastings marie schell ann lintner jim coultice leroy heise arnold boyd allan stouffer wm mcmullen and george white the valedictorian was allan stouffer academic awards were presented to joyce whiteleroy heise bruce cake lome 1 avery and caroline ogilvy the student council- presidents plaque was received by barbara hewlett the school band was directed by mr hj waite a play concluded theprogram it was entitled shy charlie and directed by mrs hr button the principal 23 years ago was mr 0 e robbins v but what of the years previous to this were academic accomplishments not rewarded or even recognized apparently not in the newspaper two hours of searching j revealed nothing j past graduates who can enlighten us a little please call council capers- beckys chair is something special by ed schroeter becky wedley fought a tough battle during this years municipal election cam paign she could accurately claim hers was the most sought after seat on whitchurch- stouffville council not only did she have to cope with a challenge from political novice ron robb but she almost had to fend off at tacks from within her own camp while she grappled with grumpy con stituents who grumbled about everything from snow removal to regional roads everything over which the town has no control two incumbents eyed her seat i understand why its so much more comfortable than all the rest they have little interest in councillor wedleys political title you see its her furniture they want her chair during the last council meeting just before mondays election i thought i detected a gleam in the eyes of both councillors bill mcnalley and bill kamps they seemed to be hatching some kind of a plot or about to lay an egg becky absent from the session in order to wage war against her opponent would have been unable to defend the chair both mr mcnalley and mr kamps seemed envious if they did want it badly however they were able to contain themselves to see what all the fuss was about i snuck up to the council chambers early one mor ning and tested all the seats for myself this was legitimate research i told my editor sitting in beckys chair was an enriching experience after suffering several un comfortable minutes in the others id describe the feeling as being akin to that of slipping into a hot tub after a first try at roller skating its not hard to understand the two gen tlemens desire for the chair for two years theyve been suffering from pains and back aches contrary to popular opinion coun cillors dont normally die at the hands of an angry electorate they succumb sitting down on the job the two members probably realized theyd cut down on chiropractors bills and the cost of absorbeen if they could get their hands on this exquisitely crafted piece of furniture even if ron robb had won be wouldnt have claimed her chair councillors kamps and mcnalley had already been haggling over it like relatives over deceased aunts estate the chair itself is somewhat of a mystery no one not even mrs wedley knows where it came from becky came into possession of it four years ago when she first entered office her original was uncomfortable partly due to her limited height then like magic a new one i personally think its some kind of a political bribe after sitting in the regular chairs for more than one session a councillor would give his life for such luxury either that or the tooth fairys gone crazy j editors mail airport must wait dear jim the statement by mpp george ashe reported in the nov 2 issue of the tribune that there is a great possibility the pickering airport will be revived seems almost impossible in these hard economic times yet the prospect of another mirabel at likely double or triple the cost does not seem absurd when you take in account that a second airport was very dear to the hearts of the trudeau cabinet mr ashe was also reported as stating that if the current federalprovincial report on transportation shows proof the airport is in fact needed then lets get on with it executive reports and studies indicated the urgent need for mirabel and yet it is still only lightly used and loses 50 million dollars an nually which of course the taxpayers must pick up in view of the substantial cuts the federal government is making in social service grants to the province plus the 11 billion dollar deficit in federal spending 13 billion next year and the cutbacks made by ontario in education and health car a second airport is something that will just have to wait until we can afford it e brangers rr 2 markham weeks a procedure for requesting special legislation if successful it would authorize the council of the corporation to pay any judgement costs and legal expense against or incurred by any employee or member of council who gets into trouble during working hours this in essence means that anyone elected or employed by the town in the future may or may not be a responsible person the tax payer will pay for their performance either way bob lewi stouffville rr 2 66 99 well pay dear editor i am disturbed at the notice that has appeared in the tribune the past three fine program dear editor dont say im prejudiced i didnt have a son or daughter in the honor graduation class at the high schools commencement friday evening however even as a neutral ob server i was impressed with the appearance of the young people on stage to receive their diplomas and academic awards they were a fine looking group of kids my appreciation too to the wellspoken remarks delivered to the graduates by mrs stuart what i saw on friday she obviously observed all last year my congratulations on a fine program ethel middieton rr2 stouffville m