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8 suntribune blackout 2003 saturday aug 16 2003 drivers stuck in gridlock 2003 bymikeadler staff writer he was all in black standing in the middle of steeles avenue and waving cars through between drags on his cigarette giving every indication he knew what he was doing the man directed motorists and pedestrians at the intersectioh at warden avenue keeping it up as the sun sank he was one of many local heroes who decided to help others reach home during the rush hourfromhell one kept traffic flowing at warden and denison street others did the samefor the major streets along steeles water bottles attheirfeet f r still people in the blackouts early hours faced what looked like an impossible commute home at 540 pm human resources consultant frank wong prepared to turn his honda civic iritd the stationary eastbound traffic on 14th avenue weve been waiting here for a halfrhour already said jasmine wong a backseat passenger two insurance agency employees tara pollard and kathy poschar took off their shoes and sat on the grass they waited for someone from their office to find a rotary phone something they would need to receive the many accident calls they knew were coming and then well be here all night ms poschar predicted a dental laboratory worker in a stained white smock reclined on a lawn nearby listening to a transistor radio he said hed make it home the same way as everyone else fake the car and goslowly i was on empty before i even got to work its s one of those things you never expect to happen scott murden a graphic artist from mount albert sat at the corner of bkchmount road he waited with his cigarettes and cell phone and remembered his car had little gas left in it k i was oh empty before i even got to work its one of those things you never expect to hap pen he said david a business owner who didnt want to give his last name stood with his arms folded on the sidewalk and checked the traffic having advised his staff to remain at work where they might be cooler than in their homes he said he had heard about the computer virus called blaster two days before and thought of it when the lights went out at the beginning i thought that might be the cause waiting for traffic to lighten up so he could reach his home in north york chris hunter sat in front of three empty cans and an untouched sausage roll in a 14th avenue doughnut shop which was doing a brisk business it would be nice if it was close you could walk he said gaps in traffic developed some drivers grew frustrated at intersections a man driving a ford elorer honked clapped- his hands and hollered at other motorists because he could not turn from 14thavenue onto aldeh road just f ing move already he shouted- gars stood stranded in the intersection with other cars moving between them as a westbound civic lurched to a stop to avoid a collision an exas- perated passenger raised her hand whats going on here she said use common sensed mayor asks residents from page 1 around the municipality making sure rid oiieis watering their lawns or wash ing their cars mayor emmerson said when the power does come on im asking people to use common sense and only use what they absolutely have to so far the residents of whitchurch stqufryillehave been calm and polite fegobdhesid i i suntribune columnist jim thomas was thanked regularly for directing traffic at main arid -mill- streets in stouffville thursday motorists handed him bottled water arid canned pop which he had stacked next to the street ice in an arena had a life expectan cy of about 18 hours with no backup things dont look good for the ice at the i stouffville arena said jeff lamb build ing manager a- framing camp session for the stouffville spirit junior a hockey team vas cancelled thursday night affect ing 50 youths the daisy patch at musseknaris lake was doing a brisk ice cream busi ness thursday night and early yester day mbrnmg for variety store owner bonnie jackson it was a twoedged sword every time she opened the freezer door the cold escaped arid ice cream grew softer i had 1000 worth of ice cream delivered just before the power went put mrs jackson said i made arrangements for generators to come in i hope they get here on time or im going to have quite a melt even thought the beer taps and air conditioners at stouffvilles emerald isle were out of commission that did nt keep the regulars away nothing worked not even the cash register owner pauline ashmore said i couldnt even buy batteries for my lanterns no stores were open but the customers came anyway with 6000 worth of meat in the freezer an extended power failure hurts said lee farley manager of the fickle pickle a main street restaurant and i had to turn a lot of people away we also sent staff home this is diffi cult said ms farley gindi ross of lakeshore road treat ed the power outage as a welcome release from the usual hustle and bus- tie thego train ride from toronto was uneventful thursday night i got home the kids were quiet there were no video games and no loud music it was wonderful i walked over to the lake and got an ice cream cone yesits soft but who cares life is good ms ross said hondas summer sales event p- its time to drive a purchase financing up to 60 months ma nvisiu swot xnncn civic sedan dxg s msrp 115hp 17 litre engine amfm stereo system with cd and 4 speakers air conditioning with micron airfiltration system keyless remote entry power door locks drivers and front passengers dualstage front airbags 5speed manual transmission accord sedan lxg complimentary fillup all new honda vehicles are delivered with a full tank per month for 48 months with 2030 down freight 8 pde included security deposit fjv lease or purchase financing 160hp 24 litre ivtec 4cylinder engine 5speed automatic transmission air conditioning with micron airfiltration system dualstage front airbags front side airbags power windows door locks and heated door mirrors amfmcd audio system with 6 speakers keyless remote entry with power window control antilock braking system abs 0 purchase financing or lease it for ii per month for 48 months with 4765 down freight 8 pde included 0 security deposit ontario t trri ani oferc ae available on approved credit only through honda canada finance inc until september 2 2003 lease payments shown are for 48 months and include 10i01095 for freight and pde with 96000 km allowance fl5r 1 12km exceeding 96000 km applies based on a new 2003 civic sedan dxg 5speed accord sedan lxg automatic model es1543pxcm5643e 209299 per month for 48 months alr 3858 total lease obligation of m2 1 0032 14352 down payment or equivalent trade of 2030476s required zero down payment plans available plus first monthly payment option to purchase at lease end for 8448 1960 plus taxes msrp does not include freight and pde l0i0l095 3848 conventional financing is available on all new 2003 civic sedans and coupes excluding hybrid sir accord sedans and coupes for 24 36 48 or 60 month terms financing example 20000 at 3848 per annum equals 3665337559 per month for 60 months cob is 19918c7253540 fora total obligation of 219918042253540 down payment may be required itaxes licence insurance registration and maintenance fees are additional dealer may selllease for less tsee car and driver magazine january 2003 ttfor full details visit wwwnhtsacom tttsource association of international automobile manufacturers of canada see your neighbourhood ontario honda dealer for details hondaontariocom or i8889honda9 j- i ttrr5ri