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pvtribune april 21997- st 5ts comment email address thetribistarca small parties provide spice to political life theres an election in the air you can almost taste it this weekend we are supposed to find out the date we go to the polls prime minister jean chretien has alluded to june 2 and as unlikely a source as his wife aline have con firmed the date the various politi cal parties have been scrambling for weeks to get the candidates into place in time for the rush from the political gate once the writ has been handed down for a party with two sitting members you have to credit the conservatives with getting off the mark quickly the liberals as well seem to have the process down cold the other main parties reform and ndp have been slower to gather the troops in this area something is curiously missing from all the preelection call hustle and bustle where are the other parties where are the natural law green and national parties by this point in the last federal campaign newsrooms and water coolers across the country were abuzz with the rising tide of the small party whether the liberal juggernaut that swept the country blew them all into oblivion election life the socalled by the major parties will be seen shortly if they fringe parties provide we urge people from all have been obliterated it is lively debate and bring to political stripes to get unfortunate because vari- the fore many issues that involved in their democra- ety is indeed the spice of could be easily dismissed cy y7r stouffville tribune 6244 main st stouffville ont l4a1e2 905 6402100 905 6492292 classified 905 6402874 fax 905 6405477 publisher patricia pappas general managereditor andrew mair editorinchief jo ann stevenson director of advertising debra weller retail manager mike rogerson classified manager stacey allen distribution manager barry j goodyear administration vivian oneil operations mgr pamela nichols questions news andrew mair editor joan ransberry kathleen griffin mike adler reporters sjoerd witteveen steve somerville photographers julie caspersen copy editor retail advertising joan marshman catherine dunkeld classified bonnie rondeau real estate joan marshman distribution arlene maddock reception ruth le blanc the stouffville tribune published every wednesday and saturday is one of the metroland printing publish ing and distribution group of community newspapers which includes ajaxpickering news advertiser alliston heraldcourier barrie advance brampton guardian burlington post cityparent collingwoodavasaga con nection east york mirror etobicoke guardian george town independentacton free press kingston this week lindsay this week midlandpenetanguishene mirror markham economist and sun milton canadian champi on mississauga news newmarketaurora erabanner northumberland news north york mirror oakville beaver orillia tbday oshawawhitbyclaringtonport perry this week peterborough this week richmond hillthornhillvaughan liberal scarborough mirror todays seniors uxbridge tribune contents cannot be reprinted without written permission from thepublisher qjehh strength found in numbers when theres a problem it can happen anywhere and it does while strip plazas are conve nient they can attract special problems apparently incidents at the the success square plaza in stouffville are making life dif ficult for some it must be noted others are not bothered last week some plaza resi dents and business operators formed a citizens group the goal is to improve the quality of life at the plaza i commend the group instead of just complaining and running the risk of having a ghettotype environment set in some are working towards finding solu tions these people hope to work with management to nip the problem in the bud the group is wise strength in numbers usu ally works i was told point blank that acts of vandalism excessive noise garbage drugs and on occasion gang fights are making life unpleasant for some of the ten ants of the 17 apartments it must be noted plaza resi dent tanya arrowsmith is not a member of the citizens group in a letter to the editor arrow- smith stated that litter is only a minor problem teens hang out many places and when you live near a bar youll hear music ill note this wasnt the first time trouble linked to this plaza was brought to my attention a while ago a story carrying my byline was published in the tri bune the story outlined details of a sickening act of violence police reported that after spending time at the bar a man was found unconscious in the off the record oan ransberry parking lot hed been beaten with a baseball bat an arrest was made a young man had his day in court and an old reporter was told to be careful while i appreciate the concern for my personal safety i dont let fear dictate how i do my job my need for a pay cheque coupled with the publics right to know are far more important than fear also ill note punks and bullies in stouffville are no dif ferent than the punks and bul lies in other places stupid is stupid regardless of where it lives of course the trouble being reported from success square plaza is not unique it can and does happen anywhere i expect its brought on by greed neglect a lack of respect for oth ers and just plan ignorance since town officials and gov ernment gave the green light to strip plazas the town carries responsibility whitchurch- stouffville has a noise as well as a property standards bylaw cov ering such things as litter this group can appeal to the towns bylaw enforcement office for help meanwhile vandalism fights and certain noise fall under the umbrella of the york regional police in the past few weeks vandal ism has left its mark at this plaza a window in the laundro mat was smashed a few days ago a plaza resident had to write off her car after vandals laced its hood with fertilizer lets hope all parties involved work together residents every where deserve a clean and peaceful place to live foiled again in feline scavenger hunt poc and spasm the cats that keep on giving when we made the decision to render our monstrous moggies impotent we naively assumed that as genderfree felines they would automatically become sweeter calmer and less obnox ious as i type this line however spasm is sharpening his claws on my leg whilst poc is creating cat carvings on our priceless antique chest of drawers in other words i made a grave miscalculation nevertheless i cling to the notion that cats are smarter cuter and more lovable than dogs let no one tell you for instance that only dogs fetch today spasm whose men tal dexterity makes homer simpson look like einstein brought me a little gift which he dropped fetchingly at my feet a mangled stalk met my jaun diced eye since a visitor had kindly brought me a nice bunch of carnations the previous evening i figured that the prof fered trophy must have fallen off the counter when i was trim ming the flowers i praised my cerebrally challenged kitty warmly then gently removed the chewed remains of his present while his minute attention span was elsewhere engaged later in the afternoon i sur veyed the dining room and was greeted with a sad sight a bunch of stalks interspersed with the odd semidecapitated flower which was all that remained of my beautiful bou quet it was no use admonishing spasm who according to my guide to cats and kittens would have no idea why i was getting my knickers in a knot unless i pronounced and carried out sentence during the actual commission of the crime with great forbearance i returned to my office and contin ued to input the great canadian column within minutes poc appeared in the doorway a large foilwrapped package dan- kates corner kat e gild era ale gling tantalizingly from his jaws dropping it just centimetres beyond my reach he gazed at me proudly and waited for my effusive thanks his donation turned out to be a peanut butter sandwich which had apparently been hijacked from the darkest recesses of my daughters back pack having no desire to pursue the murky question of its vintage i smiled through clenched teeth chucked a newlyminted foil ball up the stairs and waited until poc was in hot pursuit of this prize before consigning his lat est offering to the trash all over chateau gilderdale neath chairs beds chests and appli ances lurk several hundred feet of foil all rolled into little balls for the edification of my animal companions it seemed like a good idea at first but now every time i extract a sheet of foil from the dispenser eight furry feet thun der across the kitchen floor from nowhere and two pairs of eyes regard me unblinkingly until i construct the latest in the series of this plethora of playthings a game of fetch ensues with both cats vying for possession and one returning triumphant to deposit a soggy misshapen foil ball at my feet for the next pitch the chase itself involves crashing headon into sundry items such as table legs doors and people who happen to be in the way and may well account for spasms severe deficit in the intelligence department anyone want to swap their goldfish for two cats and a years supply of foil