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2 the tribune thvbsoay july 24 un i wxi wihum barrebeacock advertising manager established 1 888 jamesthoiias charles h nolan edhohnchjef publisher edftomalocpt jtaihou jtohvag display advomsino dept leto wldaman rod splcar ctassneo aovertismacncutatioh joan hantaan office manager doraaaoaacon busmess office ebmoqvmw pumahad avaiy thunday i m main st stouffvula ont tal 6402101 toronto pbona m11ss0 slngta e 25 aubacriptiona ft 1x0 par yaar in canada 3000 auawhara mambar of canadian co h aawdation and ontario waauy nawapapara aiaodatton sacond daaa mall ragtetrattoa master 0896 thn tribuoa la ona of tba inland pubvshlng co umhad group of auburban nawapapara which in- dudaa tna ajaxwhilbyplcfcaring htm aduartiaar brampton guardian burlington port etomcoaa gaxatla markham economist and sun naaiuarkatf aurora era oamba bum oahava thto waafc mhaltaa nam osrumra thta waakand a fra prats mhton canadian champion and tha oaorgatoam indapandant 02e 3611680 6402100 editorials project offers a challenge its impressive the 531home develop ment proposed for two golf course areas between woodbine and warden avenues is the most positive project to come before whitchurchstouffville planning board in two years this satellite community envisioned by the toronto firefighters club when they first purchased the property represents a challenge to local planners we trust the town will accept it as such and deal with it in an affirmative manner it was obvious from last weeks presentation proponents of this plan had done their homework theirs is a vision that with the cooperation of the municipality can become a reality and why not in our opinion a brand new village in a country setting is ideal particularly this one where most of the requirements will be self- contained with whitchurchhighlands school less than 60 per cent capacity theres ac commodation for at least 200 students there if necessary a new school site can be made available within the development one of the speakers explained fire protection the firemen will establish their own station provide their own truck and operate it as a volunteer unit recreation facilities already there will be retained and expanded as needed services a communal water system is planned with individual septic tanks warden avenue woodbine avenue and hwy 404 as well as the stouffvillegormley road will provide excellent exits and entrances to the site shopping service stores fronting on woodbine avenue or established in the hamlet of bethesda could provide day to day requirements vandorf general store is only a mile to the north and for other needs stouff- ville is just six miles to the east while it is agreed that whitchurch- stouffville should be a slow growth municipality little or no growth is what were experiencing at the present time dulverton developers appear content to play the waiting game but the town can wait no longer the firefighters club should be encouraged to proceed its an opportunity for them and for us that warrants a positive approach comeback for lawnbo wlers it was indeed heartening to visit the stouffville lawn bowling club saturday and see the greens filled to capacity the event was the annual crossen tournament first organized in 1966 but dropped last year due to inadequate facilities both have made a come back and saturdays hosts fred and eleanor crossen are as much responsible for the improved appearance of the grounds as anyone they however would be the first to admit that re organization of the club was a co operative effort a few key people putting their heads together in a determined bid to keep the activity going the result is amazing aided by a 4100 federal government- sponsored new horizons grant the club has put these funds to good use returning the site to an immaculate state that each member can point to with pride as far back as most folks can remember lawn bowling has been an important part of the towns recreation program on at least a halfdozen occasions stouffvilles name appears in the record book at both provincial 3 and national levels of competition these accomplishments have been duly earned and should not be forgotten but clubs all clubs experience peaks and valleys the unfortunate thing is its easier to drop down and out that it is to climb back stouffvilles lawn bowlers appear determined to keep a good thing going here and if saturdays success is any indication the sport is back in business to stay v m petunia tree blooms at farmer jacks carolyn pritchard the manager of farmer jacks vegetable and flower stand or kennedy road waters their petunia tree farmer jack borrows designed a special metal stand which holds about 20 pots of petunias the stand and flowers cost about i40ow edschroeter your energy conservation policy is fine councillor sanders sir bu i find it difficult cleaning the municipal office after dark i roaming around- hippo poo sure helps petunias by jim thomas i like to think we have the greenest grass in stouffville in the front yard anyway no its not that weve installed an un derground irrigation system the truth is weve used the sprinkler less this summer than any other three or four times at the most the secret if i may call it that is based i think on three things first a heavy ap plication of fertilizer around the 24th of may i really poured it on too much in some places leaving tiny burned out brown patches however apart from this it worked wonders growth like ive never seen before while the flat part of our lawn has never proved a problem a hill just in front of the house usually looks more like the sahara desert come midjuly but not this year its every bit as thick and green as the rest due in part to the 777 feeding i gave it back in may the second thing im doing differently is not cutting the grass too short ive raised the mower two full notches so it merely trims the top in this way the lawns not fighting for survival during prolonged hot spells mind you were cutting it twice as often but with five able bodies including my wife willing to share this chore no ones overworked not to be overlooked is the residue from neil and marylynns ducks the wash water is so richly polluted by donald and rdaffyit would grow hair on a billiard ball neil distributes it generously wherever he thinks its needed then jumps back to watch the result the response is amazing putting jacks beanstock to shame so all in all things are going and growing quite well this summer except in one very important area our flowers are or were a disaster first off we were late getting them in and second we used all the fertilizer on the lawn with little left over for the pots and planters the petunias marigolds and geraniums were growing nowhere barely alive in fact my wife tried everything even quiet words of encouragement every night and morning without success being the impatient type i was for rip ping the whole works out and starting again from scratch but that all seemed kind of cruel where theres life theres hope she pleaded then three sundays ago we paid our onceayear visit to the metro zoo following a threehour tour of the place the kids insisted on spending the last of their weekly allowances in the souvenir shop i gladly agreed being a trifle footsore and weary after the trek while slumped in a semi conscious state ona nearby bench i saw them rows and rows of neatly packaged little bags that read zoopoo zoopoo i muttered to myself what in heavens name is that with my curiosity overcoming my drowsiness i dragged myself closer to the display donned my glasses and started checking out the ingredients the description was simple just plain old animal excrement or manure as we used to call it down on the farm but this stuff wasnt old exceedingly fresh as a matter of fact so fresh the kids refused to give it space on the seat nor was it plain there was zebra elephant rhinoceros lion tiger antelope mountain goat polar bear you name it the zoopoo i selected was hippopotamus a bagful for one dollar with one hand holding her nose and the other grasping the bag my wife sprinkled the contents inside each container then stood back lucky one whiff and the petunias did an aboutface the marigolds spread their leaves and the geraniums turned a crimson red in the three weeks since theyve literally exploded into bloom instant success for a dollar certainly cheaper than buying a hippo and a whole lot safer window on wildlife- bitterils usually earner a shy the half gray light of early morning gradually brightened giving some promise of later sunshine from an unseen perch a noisy kingfisher launched himself in a direct flight across the still waters of the pond to take up a fishing position on top of an old post along the bank in a nearby flooded willow a red- winged blackbird stretched his gold and scarlet epaulets as he called to his secreted mate in the neighbourhood shrubbery but apart from these sights and sounds and the occasional twaaaang of a bullfrog the morning marshland was still an hour passed and then another it seemed my quest would have to wait for some future date we had set up this blind several days beforehand after watching our winged subject periodically return to the same area the hide itself was a rustic affair of old burlap sacking fastened to three light cedar poles forming a small teepee the tripodbased camera poked out through an opening in the one side while the photographer sat on an inverted pail scanning the surroundings from such cramped quarters we had decided was our best chance of getting a picture of this elusive bog haunter who had foiled all our previous attempts the first indication an american bittern was on our property was the pumperlunk sounds emitting from the marshy area last spring yet for us to slosh around in these wetlands would serve no useful purpose and would in all likelihood cause this unique wader to leave the place so we scanned the marshgrass from a distant highland cat ching only an occasional glimpse of the pumping vocalist and the mystery of a successful nesting continued into late summer when only one bird was ever sighted this spring the activity in the marsh resembled last years episode but then several weeks ago we noticed a bittern fly up from the pond near the house when these sightings continued almost editors mail neglected dear mr thomas since no one else has written the newspaper on this matter ive taken it on myself to do so i was most heartened to see the tribunes coverage of the whitchurchhighlands grade 8graduation the pictures and accompanying story were excellent because of its location highlands school doesnt always receive the publicity i feel it deserves im not blaming your newspaper being situated in the middle of nowhere theres no real community attachment the school is ignored by everyone except the parents while we have no children attending right now im looking forward to the day when we do we think its a good school having lived down the reputation it once had once again thanks for your coverage you made a lot of friends mrs jane meredith rr 1 gormley by art briggsjudej daily and sometimes involved more than one bittern at a time we decided to walk around the waterway and possibly obtain a picture however the big birds retired to the thickest parts and remained inconspicuous only once did we have any hope of catching one on film my wife spotted this striped brown individual standing statuelike just inside the alder tangles so i eased forward to get an unob structed view but the skitterish bird would have none of this and left hurriedly with a spectacle of thrashing wings and dangling legs inside the blind i reached up to undo the side curtain in preparation to leave my hand however never released the burlap for at that instant the bittern arrived he dropped into the shallows about thirty feet away and for the next little while i was treated to all the antics these big bog haunters perform while foraging for food mostly his movements were very slow and deliberate the exceptions being when he made a lightning fast jab with his javelinlike beak and all the while the shutter clicked the longlegged wader moved non chalantly closer and closer suddenly a chilling thought crossed my mind what if the bittern now only several yards away decided my sparkling eye in the burlap hole was a dragonfly or some other food source and as such directed that unerring spear at my head fortunately the bird reasoned there was something more than food on the other side of that flimsy curtain and took off somewhat relieved i realized i had met the old bog haunter at close quarters yes almost too close for comfort 0 4 it ft t v m o