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september 1s james thomas editorinchief established 1888 charles a nolan publisher barrebeacock advertising manager eoctofualoeptedschnmwjlahoh display advernsma dept lois wkfaman hart emmarsoa buscesscfflcfejoapllttiaan flora a dia pubuahad avary thursday at s4 main st stoufmva onl tal s402101 toronto phona 3611680 slngia copiac 20 c subscriptions 1000 par yaar in canada 12600 afeawfcara ilarabar o canadian community navspapars association and ontario waauy nawspapars association saeood class mah ragltralionnumbar0896 2 tha trlbuna is ona ot tha inland publishing co umitad group of suburban nawspapars which in- dudaa tha ajazwhubyplckaring naws advsrtlaar brampton guardian burlinglon post etobleova oaxatta harkham economist and sun mawmarkat aurora era oatariuo baavar oshawa thu waak mltsli naws oshawa this waakand acton fraa press milton canadian champion and tha georgetown independent 6402100 3611680 hey what about us chickens editorials too few apartments apartment accommodation in stouffville is less than adequate the demand for living space of this kind far exceeds the supply in fact at one complex in town theres a lengthy waiting list it must be terribly frustrating for couples particularly young couples to maintain a continuous search for living quarters knowing all the while that only through sheer luck or a close friend will they find something they can afford the seriousness of the situation is known to this newspaper were continually receiving calls from apartmenthunters wishing to find out whats available before the papers published its an attempt to get the jump on the other guy to be the first in line naturally we cant divulge such in formation in advance it wouldnt be fair but wed like to realizing how desperate some folks are while weve no way of knowing we would estimate that half our newspaper sales wednesday night are to people seeking a place to live any place one advertiser told us he received twentyfive calls in a single hour not to mention the numbers who tried but couldnt get through while the problem probably does not apply only to stouffville we would suggest that for our size apartment buildup is less than the ontario average regardless an attempt should be made to correct the situation there are downtown areas here that would make excellent apartment sites construction of same should be encouraged the service would be twofold provide much- needed accommodation and give a shot in the arm to main street business we need both patwheelep toc tr5uve good luck to plowmen when lloyd grove of bailieboro and formerly of stouffville and herb jarvis sheppard avenue agincourt go into the canadian plowing championships near fredericton new brunswick this month theyll enter as distinct underdogs not that theyre misfits at this level of competition theyre not both are seasoned veterans however those closest to the ganie say a threefurrowed plow doesnt or shouldnt stand a chance against a two some will even claim that to win the ontariotitle as both these men did at wingham last year must have been some kind of fluke as a iaymanwe shouldnt comment but we will say that you have to be good to be lucky and these men are good make no mistake about that whether they and their plows are good enough to make a creditable showing in the canadian remains to be seen regardless hundreds of ontarians will be watchingand hoping the fact that messrs grove and jarvis are not expected to turn championship calibre furrows down new brunswick way should relieve some of the pressure and thats just when upsets can occur they did it at wingham when the experts said itcouldnt be done maybe just maybe theyll repeat at fredericton one thing sure theyll give it their best roaming around happiest and saddest day y i ii pj black tuesday sept 4 was black tuesday at stouff ville dist secondary school despite an announced agreement following several days of serious mediation the teachers elected to stage a worktorule stunt a caper degrading to themselves and the profession they represent so now the boards locked them out trustees had no alternative they- gave the teachers suf ficient rope and they hung themselves she promised she wouldnt cry why should i she asked shes old enough mature enough shes ready in fact when i think back to some of the others and compare id say she could have gone last year cry no ill be happy happy shes happy shes so prepared so excited shell do well i just know shell do well so went theonesided conversation around the dinner table monday my wife trying desperately to convince herself and the rest of us that tuesday morning would be just another ordinary- day but she wasnt fooling anyone least of all me for it would not be just another ordinary day it would be the end of the line the end of a family era marylynn would be skipping off to school to a lesser extent wed been through this sort of thing for the last eighteen years first susan then barry then- paul then cathy then neil each exodus tinged with a little bit of sadness however there was always the reassuring feeling thai there was still another one left now come tuesday the one that was left would leave and a little bit of both of us would leave with her how time flies seems like only yesterday i was vaulting the stairs two steps at a time by jim thomas en route to the maternity ward of newmarket hospital wondering if it might be twins or triplets luckily it was neither five plus one was about all our budget could stand marylynn wasnt exactly planned she just arrived one of those abbakadabra kind of deals and while i wasnt exactly elated by the guess what announcement shes been a joy to us all ever since in this day and age twhen any thing over two is a communityscandalweve taken an awful kidding about our clan here comes the thomas bunch is a familiar greeting with the bunch sometimes replaced by other comparable synonyms open house at orchard park always gave wellmeaning folk an opportunity to pass comment like how many more to come or it takes time when you must visit every room now were down to two neil and marylynn marched s off handinhand tuesday my wife of course will notice the change the most shes always been used to having someone round the house now all shes got is the dog overworked and underappreciated for- sugar and spice polities is goofy business fectrof voncigjism prompts action bycemetery board fesxof vandalism has prompted the stoaffvflle cemetery commission to place restrictions oa hoars in which visitors may cater the grounds at sundown the gates are closed damage to grave markers and theft of flowers from grave sites has prompted the board to take action i jljotnomas you have never been involved in municipal politics you should have a go run for anything from dogcatcher to mayor if you lose it will be good for your ego if you win it will be good for your humility i speak as always from personal ex perience for two years i served on a town council it was illuminating if not verv enlightening i was elected of course by acclamation as was everybody else so keen were the citizens to serve that some years on nomination eve we had to go down to the pub drag a couple of characters out and guide their hands while they signed up when i was ejected i was present as a reporter there were only five other people in the council chambers so it was decided that i would be elected as the necessary sixth since i had already served on the executives of various moribund organizations which had died forthwith i agreed it didnt die as id hoped the next year we were all reelected by acclamation it was pretty heady stuff at first as a partner in a printing plant and a newspaperman i was immediately appointed chairman of the printing advertising and public relations committee of council this meant that our firm automatically received the contract for the towns printing and ad vertising which we already had the public relations part meant that i had to stop suggesting in the paper that the town council was made up of nitwits nincompoops and nerds j another chap with a pretty good heating and plumbing business was named chairman of the interior municipal modification committee heating and plumbing a third who had a tractor a backhoe and a snowplow was appointed chairman of the public works department he immediately introduced a bylaw raising the rates per hour of such equipment it passed four to two the opposition was from another councillor a retired farmer who also had a tractor and a threshingmachine which he thought could be conveted to plowing snow his brotherinlaw voted with him v but these moments of power and glory soon faded the conflict of interest became apparent and there was no way out for a man of honour except to resign it took me only two years to reach that conclusion you may think that a fair time but its not easy to walk away from a 7500 a year stipend the mayor made 15000 as a reporter i had been more interested in the conflicts than the interests i had delightedly heard and printed one councillor call another councillor a gibbering old baboon and watched the victim of the pejorative a stripling of 78 invite the name- caller outside stripping off his jacket during the exchange cooler heads prevailed it was thirtyfour below well as you can see as a member of that august body the town council i couldnt print that sort of thing i had to report that the two councillors had a difference of opinion all of this is a preamble to a thickish document i got in the mail the other day it is a new bylaw printed and dispersed at what enormous cost i shudder by our local town council there are 39 numbered pages of legal inanities and about an equal number of pages of maps of the town equally unintelligible as i said the mailman delivered it by bill smiley editors mail please explain dear mr thomas you wont believe this but i went to high school tuesday and sat at my desk for over two hours doing nothing i had no timetable and no books it was a little better in the afternoon but not much i wish someone would tell me whats going on my parents are as confused as i am signed student in grade t regardless of expense a dozen kids could have covered the town in two hours or stuffed them in the sewer despite my wide experience as a municipal councillor or perhaps because of it this bylaw completely baffles me the first thirteen pages are definitions they tell us what is a lot a yard front and a yard rear a garage a building they also inform the ignorant citizenry what a school is a person a restaurant a motel a boarding- house all alphabetically there was no mention of brothel under the bs the bylaw tells us how high our fences or hedges can be it tells us how nigh our houses can be how many square metres of floor space we must have if we decide to ask auntie mable crippled with arthritis to share our dwelling how many parking places we need for each establishment again no mention of either brothels or bootleggers for most of the document the bylaw dwells in metres squared and decimated i know very few people over thirty who would know a metre from a maskinonge somebody oh council must have cornered the market on metre sticks then this baffling bylaw moves into hectares what the heck is a hectare to me its an ancient french canadian piece of land about as accurate as an acre which nobody understands either i heres an example rm2 uses are permitted as specified to a maximum of 550 persons per hectare is it a square mile is it a hlacre wit an accent this is crazy when i was a councillor we could knock off three or four bylaws in a meeting and everybody understood them moved and seconded that there shall be no loitering in the cemetery except by those who are among the dead not the quick that sort of thing v this big fat bylaw is for the birds or the lawyers not for us old municipal politicians remember what i suggested at the beginning of this column forget it other wise you might end up in a detached dwelling which allows 32 persons not two not four exactly 32 l years shes now wondering what shell do with all her spare time she knows and i know she cant just sit around drinking coffee and watching soap operas all day thats what drives suburban housewives insane so she may do more visiting particularly at park view home or she may ignore my separation threat and seek a parttime job regardless shell need to keep busyor boredom will set in the adjustment from six to zero is great too great to be ignored but thats in the future tuesdays hurdle was a current concern and marylynn as might be expected was up at the crack of dawn all excited and anxious to get going for her kindergarten debut she selected her prettiest dress green and yellow with matching bows on the shoulders and yellow socks her hair washed combed and brushed the night before shone in the september sunlight gone was the jam from her face the sand from her hands and the grass stains from her knees gone too were the walkworn shoes dog- shredded shorts and limbtorn shirt and in their place a reincarnated angel her mother cried o hsjkssv-