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p 4 tribune july 26 1995 leave education alone st four weeks into office and mike harris has started the process he said he would and surprisingly few people are complaining ontarians may have woken up to the notion that we are navigating some serious financial straits and tough measures are required to keep us on an even keel even with the almost2 billion in cuts made on friday by finance minister ernie eves the deficit for this province will still be more than 8 billion he has asked his fellow ministers this week to find an additional 500 million in cuts to maintain his projected deficit targets that means cuts in all depart ments our view we believe these cuts have been necessary for a long time not only is the government bureaucracy laden with personnel fat but many of the programs are obsolete and redundant we object however to one aspect of the minibudget handed down last week cuts in education subsi dies education above all else should be left alone it is the most impor tant resource and program that can be supplied by a government with cutbacks from the federal government the province must do all it can to maintain the high qual ity of education in elementary sec ondary and postsecondary institu tions at the postsecondary level tuition prices are now out of the reach of many students who are unable to find work to help pay for school costs aid programs have been slashed to the point where they are laughable by slashing further into the education subsi dies the harris tories have now put the goal of a higher education out of the reach of many residents on the elementary and secondary fronts any further cuts threaten our already fragile and overcrowd ed system tough times often demand tough measures but there are some things you have to leave alone ft yllutft hoosehs mw nevfc vtfov stbiifrliuji mn uses mjht tfcifee b urr p 2 stouffville tribune 6244 main st stouffville pnt l4a 1e2 05 6402100 9056492292 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 i sjoerd witteveen steve somerville photographry retail advertising joan marshman catherine dunkeld classified doreen deacon real estate joan marshman distribution arlene maddock the slouflville 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 collingwood connection etobicokc guardian george town independent acton free press kingston this week lindsay this week markham economist and sun milton canadian champion mississauga news north york mirror oakville beaver orillia today oshawawhitbyclannglon this week northumberland news peterbor ough this week richmond hilvthom hilwaughan liberal scarborough mirror todays seniors uxbridge tribune contents cannot be reprinted without written permission from the publisher summer vacation family style it was my sixyearold son stuart who had the idea to hold a family meet ing to plan the remaining two weeks of our summer vacation this year im not sure what inspired him to call his brother mother and me to the conference table but there we were armed with an impressive lot of maps brochures and ideas ready for our very first for mal session of vacation planning as a family since it was his idea to call the meeting in the first place and since it was he who had already decid ed that two days of torren tial downpours had effec tively brought an end to the romance of our camp ing week stuart appoint ed himself chair of the meeting the first order of busi ness was stuarts motion that we should immedi ately pack our saturated tent trailer sleeping bags and what was left of the bread and head for home this proposal led to pre cious little debate and with lightning speed we were on to the next item namely what we would do with ourselves once our possessions had been dried inventoried and re packed i have always taken some pride in the fact that the four members of my family have never been afraid to take a stand on an issue this spirit led to a lively discussion of item two on the agenda where should we vacation next trevor my fouryearold passionately stated that playing a round of mini- golf would be his number one vacation objective but it had to be at the mini- golf course he discovered last summer the one beside the ocean in cape cod my wife then assumed her role as the familys treasurervoice of reason she declared that because the canadian dollar had recently lost ground to the american greenback this would not be possible she proposed that a round on the minigolf course close to home might be just as pleasant his eyes wide with shock and dismay trevor coun tered that this just would nt be the same this was my moment to enter the debate i assured trevor that although cape cod does indeed have some excel lent minigolf courses i 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 was certain we could find some challenging seaside courses somewhere in canada as trevor contemplated this suggestion stuart decided it was time to move on to the next order of business pounding his gavel fork on the gavel pad bean can he declared that all he wanted to do was visit a toy store and spend his 20 a summertime gift from his grandparents on pogs and other cool toys as soon as possible this proposal was met with great enthusiasm from his brother also eager to spend his sum mer windfall the four of us decided that our meeting had been a success with a final thunk on the bean can stuart adjourned our planning session and the four of us departed feeling very pleased with ourselves knowing that we had con fronted some very chal lenging issues with a deft balance of cooperation and efficiency now a day later and con siderably drier we may not be certain of our next destination or what well do when we get there but were already looking for ward to our next family meeting stephen david is a six- year resident of uxbridge who teaches english at a high school in whitby no tears for bridges cast the bridges of madison county is a boomer flick which covers a pivotal four days in the lives of two starcrossed lovers and appears to last almost as long as the affair itself i know i spent four days at the movie theatre one friday night with a couple of friends and substantial wads of kleenex in antici pation of the heart- wrenching finale promised by critics we hadnt been in our seats five minutes before one of us started counting the men in atten dance in an audience of per haps 60 there were approximately three none of whom i was willing to bet had come on his own or with much enthusiasm this despite those who would insist on gender equity in all things was definitely a chicks flick from hardened gun- slinger to sensitive new age guy in one movie is a giant leap for real mankind and although clint did a creditable job you kept waiting for him to turn slowly around fix his rival with a steely stare and blast him into oblivion with both barrels instead you got clint waving light meters around a bridge clint helping ineptly of course but with touching willing ness to peel carrots clint dancing with meryl in the kitchen to a crackly love song on the radio and clint standing in the rain his hair plastered to his scalp tears coursing down his rugged yet sensitive cheeks was this the strong silent guy i fell in love with back when he was rowdy yates on rawhide in the days when men were men and women stayed home and made onedish casseroles for their return ing heroes by the time it all ended i was astonished to see it was still friday but in no particular need of cheering up all around us however there were sounds of sur reptitious sniffling eyes were being wiped and noses discreetly blown alone among the audi ence with the possible exception of the three cap tive guys we were dry- eyed i dont know anyone up there said one of my friends heartlessly refer ring to the endlessly rolling credits so lef s go we cant disturb these people in their grief i said shocked at our collec tive insensitivity and indi cating the clutch of mourn ers at either end of the aisle deep down inside i sup pose ive known i was emo tionally retarded ever since failed to succumb to the requisite floods of weeping at the end of steel magnolias yet i cry at weddings bawled my eyes out watch ing shadowlands and get a lump in my throat whenev er i attend a dance recital or graduation ifs not that madison county was a lousy movie if the pace was glacial it had some good moments and was perceptive about several aspects of human nature and no doubt it signals the beginning of a trend motivated by those tire some boomers which will eventually lead to a slew of romances in retirement vil lages and extramarital flings among consenting seniors on european tours sponsored by elderhostel pass me my reading glasses and pour me a gcr- itol i think 111 stay home with a good book