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lusrtatt ttearta saificondmonm systems 1s1weinaonsleuit7 4711748 craftsmanship j fiiirjiuililitli tribune community nba pgopbit w emuuiih i uuiaiutt rlmax imperial realty ltd serving whitchurchstouffville uxbridge and area a metroland c newspaper a weedless weekend for preston lake wednesday july 20 1988 t r mliw by bruce stapley they came to preston lake on saturday with paddle boats canoes and motor boats more than 150 people mostly families set out to bag their limit when all was said and done they had taken more than 20 tons of weeds out of the water in the second annual pride and preston lake papl weed harvest the project is a grass roots response to a weed problem that threatened to turn the 60aere vandorf area lake into a marsh swimmers in the lake were also in danger of becoming tangled in the growth our approach is different from the tactics used by many ratepayers associations says papl president jim mcveigh a resident of the lake area rather than rant and rave about it we decided to just get out there and do it ourselves and thats just what they did on saturday twenty six boats of varying descriptions and capaci ties were brought to the lake which is usually restricted to wind surfers and canoes using four weedharvesting rigs attached to motor boats weeds were cut and brought to the surface for other boats to collect and take to shore there a large disposal bin was filled to capacity the harvesters were the hand iwork of association members johan aaltink and bruno pig- natelli we spent a few nights welding them together said aal tink they troll along until there is so much resistance we cant go any further then the support boat comes along and unloads them association vice president sam passarello a contractor who lives on the lakes north shore claims its a longterm project- we decided last year some thing had to be done we called the ministry of the environment to find out how to go about it he said what followed was eight months of research involving the ministries of the environment and natural resources and the metro and toronto region con servation authority they gave us information and advice and told us where to take the weeds from and how many to take out said mcveigh but he knows the importance of leaving some weeds in the lake intact to preserve a balance for its gilled inhabitants thats why we use strict controls he says association expenses have been limited to the cost of renting the dump bin and the price of the material for the harvesting rigs stouffville and aurora area businesses have contributed to make the project a success the cost to have mechanical harvestors come in over three years would be around 75- 80000 claims mcveigh so successful has the project been that other citizens groups experiencing similar problems have approached papl for advice a group from paradise lake near kitchenerwaterloo is starting to do the identical thing as we are says mcveigh we gave them our research while the harvesting is serious business the large turnout meant no one was overworked there was a barbecue from 1 pm until 3 pm and plenty of fun and enter tainment for the kids its a family event said mcveigh we want it to be fun as well as work included among the laborers were mayor fran sainsbury and councillor ron robb who headed out into the lake in a small motor- boat returning with a sizable catch of weeds they told us this boat could hold 800 pounds laughed mayor sainsbury surveying the green cargo ron kept saying we needed to load on more weeds i asked him if he intended to swim back to shore she chuckled pointing to a portly councillor robb area mpp bill ballinger was also in attendance viewing the operation from the sidelines mcveigh is proud of his associa tions organizational capacity we have made good use of the talents of the people who live in the area its well organized and effective he says the lake and surrounding area is estimated to have a value of approximately 150 million according to real estate sources and the water quality is impress ive mcveigh claims some resi dents draw their drinking water directly from the lake there are about 50 houses on the northside of the lake with another 100 or so on the south side and its a great place to live concluded mcveigh gazing out at the enthusiastic work force preston lake residents know the value of team work several gathered on the weekend for the second annual weed harvest of the lake clearing away about 20 tons from the bottom here pride and preston lake vice president sam passarello front left bruno pg- natelli and johan aaltink continue dredging weeds while supporters carl myers background left and peter hall carry it away in their boat for disposal bruce stapley getting into the spirit ofthe cleanup event was no problem for brenda rca seen here happily dumping a handful of weeds into the disposal bin she and several other residents pitched in to clear the lake ofthe unwanted weeds bruce stapley preston lake children were put to work as well during the sweep as christine uchida left and anne maria korpikeski will attest every one enjoyed a barbeque with games and entertainment following the days task now organizers can prepare for next years spring cleaning bruce stapley avid cyclist carolyn davidson logged 1000 miles last month on a rip along the mississippi river with six fellow cyclists the stouffville resident also travelled on her bike to visit a friend in parry sound recently packing down 32 pounds of gear for the trip she would one day like to tour the south of france on her bicycle by bruce stapley carolyn davidson took a trip up the mississippi river last month but it wasnt by rivcrboat bus or automobile the 28yearold stouffville resi dent was part of a sevenperson bicycle caravan that made the 1000mile journey from mem phis tennessee to just short of st paul minnesota enduring temperatures that sometimes climbed above 100f the group followed a route set out in 1976 for the american bicenten nial one of five such trips de signed to crisscross the united states its something i had wanted to do for a long lime says the keen bicycle enthusiast it had the combination of travel plus it was a challenge my sisterinlaw had taken part in a fundraising bike trip across the united states in 1987 carolyn says that got me in terested the group consisted of four men and three women carolyn was the only canadian and her sister- inlaw cindy also took part carolyn drove to milwaukee where she picked up cindy the two then picked up the rest of the group while enroute to memphis where the seven set out june 13 we took turns driving the van once the trip started carolyn says that way we would each get a break every seventh day the cyclists averaged 80 miles a day following a route that took them into tennessee arkansas missouri illinois iowa wiscon sin and minnesota they reached their destination june 25 it was really quite hot carolyn recalls we tried to get up every morning at around 530 so we could be off by 6 or 630 they would usually be done for the day by midafternoon at which time they would set up tents stopover points were plan ned in advance although carolyn claims they modified the course towards the end of the journey to save a few miles we all suffered from the heat a little she says but we were constatnly drinking fluids and when you are moving there is a bit of a breeze none of the cyclists suffered any sort of injury but carolyn maintains there were a few close calls drivers she reports were usually considerate they were overcourteous in the south she says further north there was more traffic and motorists werent always quite so accommodating the group spent several hours each day exploring the surround ings and carolyn says there was some stunning scenery one of the most spectacular places we saw was pikes peak state park in iowa it was an incredible view she was unaware there were bluff s at the side of the m ississippi in some areas with caves and a delightful view the seven stayed in nauvoo illinois where joseph smith started the mormon church they also spent a night in st louis we wandered the river front carolyn says its all been res tored something like harbour- front in toronto another night was spent in han nibal missouri mark twains hometown we saw the setting of huck leberry finn carolyn recalls with delight the group met with co operation and friendliness every where they went and people were always approachable one man we talked with early in the trip drove up to visit us later on in the journey carolyn says after reaching their destina tion the cyclists drove back to milwaukee where they dispersed carolyn claims her interest in cycling started when she lived in quebec where she would take day trips she recently cycled to parry sound to stay at a friends cottage i was selfcontained on that trip she says i had 32 pounds of stuff including a tent and a sleeping bag she hopes to someday take a longer trip than the one she did in the us this summer id like to do one with no vehi cle with a small group of two or three people where we were self- contained she said elizabeth earns bronze thirteenyearold elizabeth da via debborah place stouffvil le continues to impress judges at figure skating competitions recently in lake placid new york elizabeth won a bronze medal in ladies juvenile com- pulsories she placed eighth in juvenile freestyle entries came from all across canada and the united states the stouffville figure skating club is proud of elizabeths out standing performance her coach is julia wilson of stouffville carolyn was employed in the language lab at the university of guelph but left that job in the spring she hopes to enrol at teachers college at simon fraser universty in burnaby bc carolyn believes a career as a teacher would ideally suit her one benefit would be that it allows for summer bicycle trips and as far as shes concerned the skys the limit in terms of where she would like to ride ive been told that the south of france is the best place in the world for cycling i hope ill get to find out someday inside walleye population en couraged by manmade techniques see art briggsjudes column c- 4 fourth line hews c5 students learn their les sons at summer school c5 the business improve ment association makes plans for stouffvilles min street c7 i i