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i j the tribune thursday november 15 119 james thomas edhortn-chlef- stablished 1888 charles h nolan publisher barrebeacock advertising manager edttofual dept joann tbompion jim hom display advertising dept lois wldaman maria emnmrton business office joan mirahnun ooraan tc e gtam pubtuhad awry thursday at 54 main st stoutmu onl tal 602101 toronto phona 3811680 slngla eoplaa 20 e wibscrtptloni s1000 par yur in canada 2600 auawhara mamoar oi canadian community nawspapars association aid ontario waauy newspapers association sacond dass mall registration number 08961 the tribuna is ona of tha inland publishing co umltad group ol suburban newspapers which in- dudes tha ajax whitby picturing news advertiser brampton guardian burlington post etobfcoke gazette msritham economist and sun newmarket aurora era oakville beaver oshawa this week mususauga naws oshawa this weekend acton fraa press milton canadian champion and tha caorgatown independent 6402100 3611680 fire scene ahiise disturbing just being a fireman is tough enough especially a volunteer fireman who at the first beep of his portable signal pack must drop everything and run i when the blaze occurs at an early- moming hour and six miles from the station its tougher still time and distance are not acceptable excuses when property and lives are at stake however these are difficulties a well- trained brigade can handle but when the problem is people thats another matter spectator interference at any fire scene cannot be tolerated this from what we can learn is what happened nov 3 during the blaze at the vacant shalimar restaurant near musselmans lake while brigade members are hesitant to discuss it the fact is they had to absorb verbal abuse beyond description its conduct of this kind that makes us realize what police too must endure insults from sideline slobs against those who are attempting to protect us all being only human retaliation can occur in most cases its warranted with respect to the fire at shalimar its too bad the volunteers hadnt turned their attention to the troublemakers and flushed the lot of them into the lake need searchrescue unit whitchurchstouffville needs a search iand rescue unit the recent tragedy at the i conservation dam bears this out not that a life would have been saved because of it not this time but under different circumstances this could be the result the town has a nucleus on which to establish such an organization in the county breakers a local cb group thats been active here we feel most members would be willing to utilize their knowledge and i equipment for such a use the town of markham has had a search and rescue unit for several years its fully chartered and recognized by the fire department and york regional police the memberships been involved in several missions most of which have come to swift and satisfying conclusions because of their fast action up to now organized searches here have been left to the police rescue falls- on the shoulders of firemen but this need not necessarily be or if it must continue both could use a little help that help could come from the county breakers and knowing some of the personnel theyre ready and willing to take it on govt land not sterile farm land in north pickering will be sterile no longer said ontario riding mp scott fennell in a prepared statement it came as a followup to an an nouncement by transport minister don mazaskowski that a second airport in the metro area wouldnt be required for ten years and perhaps longer mr fennell is of the opinion government owned agricultural land should be sold back to farmers and returned to full scale food production however the recommendation makes no men and machines improve midtown stream construction crews are heading into v the home stretch of- a 700000 re- r channelisation project in stouffville if the weather holds all work with the exception k of sodding should be completed by christmas this view of the new stream bed is looking northwest towards the bridge on market street with the baptist church in the background jim thomas twc trlfcuuft if youd stick to your diet like you promised i wouldnt have to keep sewing on the same buttons roaming around an extra special graduation by jim thomqs sense for two reasons- o first no farmer could afford to buy it back not for what ottawa or queenspark paid for it and certainly not for what its worth today second the entire area for the most part is producing as much or more in food than it ever did why because good farmers are farming it be they original land owners or tenants from outside before mr fennell talks about sterile land hed be wise to tourthe district and see the results for himself high school commencements are special ive always felt this even though on many occasions- the ceremonies have held no at tachment in a personal sense ive attended graduations at uxbridge pickering markham thornhill thornlea langstaff and of course stouffville over the past twenty- eight years and with the ex ception of one that ill not identify at this time have always comeaway with an inner feeling of pride and satisfaction why you ask whats so intriguing about a program where the participants are strangers the question makes sense and maybe my answer doesnt however the truth is at each event i relive a milestone thats missing from my life for as strangeas it may seem i never attended my own graduation and for that omission have been doing penance ever since i had no excuse except for the fact all the brains in my fifth form class completed the course in one year i didnt because i was afraid i couldnt so rather than flunk the works in a desparate bid to keep pace i split the subjects up taking five one year and four the next that was fine except all my friends passed me by i felt like a misfit in a class of fresh faces so when the big night arrived i failed to show but the show went on just the same and i was a loser thats why when i see young guys striding confidently across the stage to receive their diplomas and awards i see myself there but for a stupid self distrusting decision go i however such self abasement came to an end friday when i along with dozens of other proud parents saw sons and daughters rise to the pinnacle of academic ac- complishment it was commencement at sdss an evening of rapture after eighteen years of waiting our susan a grade 13 graduate it seemed like only yesterday i took herpicture a seven- pound bundle of joy wrapped in a pink woolen blanket now was doing it again only this time the portrait of maturity a dream come true i had long looked forward to this night it wasnt just special like previous com mencements it was extra special from herfirst day in kindergarten to her last day in grade 6- from her first day at high school to her last day in grade 13 and then nov 9 a red letter day for all of us there were forty six in the year 5 graduation class and 146 in year 4 quite a change from the first commencement i at tended at stouffville high back in november 1951 at that time there were six honor graduates from grade 13 these included shirley steckley ivy schneider willard moyer marean jamieson jessie harding and vera doust there were twenty one graduates from grade 12 marion atkinson ruth atkinson pauline barkey ernestine cooper john davis floyd doner lome emmerson gordon galbraith jim hewlett helen hisey donna keeping isobel keffer isobel mccreight doug mcwhirter clifton morris doreen ogden helen paisley murray pipher jean rae edna sanderson and marie stover undoubtedly a red letter day for those- parents too for our susan its the second of two stepping stones towards full academic- learning for mom and dad its one up arid five to come with the youngest still in kin dergarten and her parents approaching middle age heres hoping future com- mencements are all down hill 1 s sugar and spice time to retire this retread ry bill smiley- to be or not to be retired that is this is the question that many codgers of my age or near it grapple with in those lonely dark hours of the night when youve had too much coffee and cant get into the ravelled sleeve of care as shakespeare put it or get to bloody sleep as some of his less flowery countrymen would put it its a question that has also stirred a great deal of agitation among sociologists medical reporters and old guys who are healthy as trout and are about to be kicked out at the age of sixtyfive with a speech a copper watch and a pension that will have them eating dog food by the time they are sixtyeight it used to be a gold watch not no more not with gold hovering around the 4q0anounce mark in fact just the other day i dug out my fathers gold watch which was given me on his death by my mother because i was her favoritei have never worn it because i dont wear vests and its a big heavy brute that must be slipped into a vest pocket you cant wear it on your wrist or put it in your hip pocket its as big as an alarm clock i took a long look at it and if it hadnt been sunday might have hustled down to my friendly gold buyer but roots or con science or common sense took over and i sadly put it away again with such other memorabilia as my war medals my hip waders and a fading picture of my first real girlfriend in a box in the basement roots told me it was a precious symbol that should be passed on to my eldest son of which i have only one conscience told me it was a rotten thing to do and common sense told me that there was probably about one- eighth of an ounce of gold in it i am however holding in reserve a broken tooth with a gold inlay when i came back from overseas and was discharged- i was given a form to present to my own den tist listing the dental work to be done at government expense he was a typical wasp he looked at the list of work which was quite extensive after a term orr short rations in prison camp and laughed ho ho bill you dont want all that gold cluttering up your mouth this was signed by a frenchcanadian theyre great for gold in the teeth if that dentist is alive today i would be quite happy to strangle him 1 went along with him while noting his prejudice and insteadof having a mouthful of gold i got one little inlay if hed followed directions and counted the teeth that have been pulled or fallen out or broken my mouth would have been worth about 4000 today instead of maybe 600 well this hasnt much to do with retiring which we started on away back there but it does show what inflation can do to a man what about retiring i look around at colleagues who have chosen early retirement or who have been forced to retire because of that magic arbitrary number 65 some are happy as hummingbirds and swear they would not even put their noses back into the old shoe factory high school others are miserable plagued by illness and feeling of bein useless the latter drive their wives out of their respective nuts hanging around the house getting in the way edging into senility editors mail an insult dear jim i for one agree withyour tough editorial stand on the halloween problems in stouff ville the situation has reached an intolerable state one that no law abiding citizen should have to endure who are these punks anyway where do they come from how can they pull these kinds of stunts and get away with it in my opinion mayor king should have read the riot act and indicated in this manner that the town meant business here we have a council that weeps and wails over nude stage shows at ballantrae and takes no notice whatsoever of a halloween disaster right in the middle of a main urban area its time i feel they got their priorities straight and dealt with matters of major importance i didnt hear of any trouble at ballantrae did you gerald mackenzie stouffer street stouffville i- thus i waver i thought some years ago that i would soldier on until sixty surely forty years of work is enough then i am swayed by- my fatherinlaw who recently retired at eightysix and my wife who can barely stand me at home for a weekend if we lived in a decent climate id probably be retired and happy theres nothing i would like better than to saunter down to the square play a game of chess with- some other old turkey drink a little vino and watch the girls go by wjth cackling remarks try thatin the local square and theyd be carting you off to the last resting place frozen solid in a sitting position why dont we all give up we old gaffers you know why because we are not old gaffers at all in my chest beats the heart of 2 fifteenyearold maiden- who has been smoking since she was two in the old days wed be retired happily playing chess or shooting pool because our sons would be looking after us and our wives- would feed us well and know their place and our daughtersinlaw would be producing hordes of grandchildren to light us on our way these days we are still looking after our sons and our wives arc avaricious and spoiled and our daughtersinlaw are already separated from our sons and not keen on having more than one and a half children oh i keep my staff on its toes one day i announce firmly that im going to retire next june their faces light up and they say oh chief how can we get along without you another day i say well havent decided yet what with inflation and all yknow and their faces drop into feet and they say thats great chief how could we get along without you and i smile to myself ive finally figured out the solution retired men unless they have some insane hobby like making rose trellises drive their wives crazy if my wife will sign a written agreement duly witnessed that she will go out and get a job she once was a waitress shouldnt be any trouble the moment i retire ill do it i dont want her hanging around the house spoiling my retirement v l i a