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p4 tribune march 29 1995 election call will be soon st the election of david marquis this past weekend by the local liberals rounds out the field for the upcoming provincial elec tion mpp larry oconnor will face both marquis and pc candidate julia munro in the race to rep resent this riding that election call will we pre dict be mere days away pre mier bob rae was all winks and nudges when asked the ques tion at the recent hockey match between the legiskaters and the doctors in uxbridge but his presence in this riding twice in two weeks he will be in mt our view albert this week signals both his understanding of the impor tance of this area to his reelec tion chances and his imminent calling of an election for ontario in helping to launch oconnors bid for reelection rae is putting in place the com mon political practice of making the riding rounds just before the election call he will want to capitalize on his appearances while they are fresh in the minds of the con stituents give it a couple of weeks and we will almost cer tainly see the call coming to go to the polls and now that the candidates are in place in durhamyork we will soon begin to see the drive by all parties it is important to listen to all sides on the provincial spectrum to make an educated and well- thought out voting decision ontario is facing some of its biggest crises in its history and this riding is on a fulcrum of change we all must ensure that we are informed voters and make the best choice when the time comes stouffville tribune 6244 main st stouffville ont l4a 1e2 905 6402100 905 6492292 fax 905 6405477 publisher patricia pappas general managereditor andrew mair editorinchief jo ann stevenson director of advertising debra weller retail manager mike rogerson distribution manager barry j goodyear administration vivian oneil operations manager pamela nichols questions news andrew mair editor joan ransberry mike ruta roger belgrave reporters sjoerd witteveen steve somerville photographry retail advertising joan marshman doreen deacon classified doreen deacon real estate joan marshman distribution arlene maddock the stoultville tribune published every wednesday and saturday is one of the metroland printing publishing and distri bution group of community newspapers which includes ajax pickering news advertiser auroranewmarket era ban ner barrie advance brampton guardian burlington post cityparent cotlingwood connection etobicoke guardian george town independentacton free press kingston this week lindsay thia week markham economist and sun milton canadian champion mississauga news north york mirror oakville beaver orillia today oshawawhitbyclarington this week northumberland news peterbor ough this week richmond hillthorn- hillvaughan liberal scarborough mirror todays seniors uxbridge tribune contents cannot be reprinted without written permission from the publisher j important lessons learned when i was a kid i hid mine in the family bible actually my cigarettes were quite safe tucked away in the good book nobody stole them yes my sweat caps got a little hat what to heck god and i didnt mind after all god was god and i was a kid last week in the name of research for a story i accom panied two teens to 25 stores the mission was to see if the kids could buy cigarettes the teenagers managed to score smokes in a total of 10 stores in uxbridge and stouf fville that means about 40 per cent of the local merchants willingly sold cigarettes to the minors in direct contraven tion of the law known as the tobacco control act the legislation making it illegal to sell or give tobacco products to anyone under 19 years went into effect in november doing the research was an eyeopener as a bonus i got an ear full when the retailers found out theyd been set up i was charged with being sneaky i stand before you guilty as charged actually ive dedicated much of my time to sneaking around while im at it i might as well confess im nosey you might as well know the rest im a snitch after i watched 10 stores break the law i told the world i cany no guilt im a jour nalist i have a funny way of looking at things i think peo ple have a right to know if the tobacco control act is work ing in their community this little survey simply gives the community yet another peek at itself it just lets you look at reality i ask you does it hurt to look at the truth once in a while when it comes to teenagers getting hold of cigarettes stouffville and uxbridge is average according to david mair associate director of the cana dian council on smoking and health stouffville and uxbridge are no better and no worse than any community in canada a 40per cent failure rate is about what officials expect said mair the tobacco control act has been on the books for six off the record joan ransberry months teaching 23000 tobacco retailers about the law is quite a job few of us would disagree its a job worth doing teen smoking is on the rise the jury on smoking is no longer out smoking kills if this little survey helps even one retailer be more mindful when it comes to selling ciga rettes to kids its worth it if a retailer sells cigarettes to a minor and then calls me and yells foul i cant take it too serious i enjoyed being a self- appointed cop also my part ners did a fine job while i often accuse todays teenagers of being dull this does not apply to these two theyve got spunk and theyre smart smart enough not to smoke the experience reminded me that at times human nature can be silly one law send us your letters to the editor the tribune welcomes your letters to the editor letters should be no more than 500 words in length and can be typed or neatly hand written your letters can be on any topic but the tribune reserves the right to edit for length libel grammar and spelling and good taste letters will not be returned unless requested of the editor due to space constraints not all letters may be published however we endeavor to print as many as possible within a time frame that maintains news value and topicality please send your letters to the editor 6244 main st stouffville ont l4a1e2 or you can fax your letters to 905 6405477 breaker suggested i give him a break and not include the store name in the story i was nt impressed one merchant sold the smokes to a minor and then accused me of making him look bad in the eyes of the public while he was hopping mad he didnt say anything i havent heard before it only goes to prove that the game of shoot the messenger is still played however generally speak ing the retailers who did sell the cigarettes to the minor reacted in a mature and responsible manner when called for comment most were sincere in their regrets that minors were sold cigarettes in their stores one merchant in particular is taking extra measures to make sure cigarettes are not sold to minors in the future i have no doubt the manager of the iga store in uxbridge will keep his eyes and ears open this store manager impressed me i had a chuckle or two while doing this story at a stouf fville store i wasnt the only one watching as the teenager bought cigarettes a york regional police offi cer also witnessed the pur chase at another store two clerks bent over backwards to serve the minor they searched the store to find the the right brand at one spot a lady from the old school didnt mince words in refusing to hand over any cigarettes the teen was reminded of the importance of telling the truth you can fool cops but you cannot fool the lady who works in the igg station on hwy47 apologies for any incompetence while fourfifths of the gilderdale household vari ously skied swam read partied and slept in new hampshire our lonely feline spent his march break at the vets being divested of his masculinity of late it was clear that qmoknl had been looking for someone to love his desire for female compan ionship was particularly acute at around 3 am when he would awaken the entire household with a mournful caterwaul no doubt his equivalent of a nine inch nails ditty of deprivation i felt guilty leaving him to face the unkindest cut of all on his own no familiar visitors to his bedside after the chop no upholstery on which to exact his revenge i neednt have worried he was back with us more cuddly but happily less vocal than ever the fol lowing monday my own return to the fold after two decadent holidays in three weeks was a less positive experi ence in my frenzied last- minute attempts to orga nize packing unpacking and food for the troops dur ing my absence i neglected to reschedule my sons guitar lessons to accommo date his drivers ed pro gram then the orthodontists office phoned to advise us that my daughter had missed her appointment in light of such overwhelm ing evidence i was forced to admit to myself that the only reason i am indis pensable to my nearest and dearest is that i am disorganized to the point of chaos although i know when things are meant to hap pen i keep the inventory in my head instead of writ ing it on the calendar if i died tomorrow the secrets of my families next six months activities and appointments would go with me to the grave when youre a famous writer its perfectly accept able to enjoy a rich intellec tual existence while ignor ing the annoying obliga tions of everyday life thats because you can afford to reimburse people for the inconvenience you have occasioned them when youre me you spend a lot of time apolo gizing for your incompe- tence and such wasted time as the legion of experts which runs the world in the 1990s is only too eager to point out could be far more gainfully employed- in making more money for myself thus providing the wherewithal for the neces sary selfimprovement pro gram there are those who are willing to be improved but its hot something i would seriously consider deep down inside i like myself in spite of my glaring faults and we all know nothing is guaranteed to make an expert gush more effusively than a well- developed selfesteem true my life expectancy may be somewhat reduced by a lack of focus exercise and oat bran converselya healthy selfimage and a realistic view of my limita tions could save me from the stress which is the lot of the type a personality and which can lead to other equally lethal dis eases if my line of reasoning is faulty i wont be around to argue the point meanwhile i shall con tinue to enjoy life in my own inappropriate way providing a perfect exam ple of wrongheadedness for the virtuous and sensi ble