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page 2 the tribune thursday february 10 172 established 1888 charles h nolan publisher james thomas associate publisher and editor bobebt mccausland advertising manager published everv thursday by inland publishing co limited at 54 main st stouffville onf tel 6102101 single copies 15c subscriptions s600 per year in canada s1000 elsewhere member of audit bureau of circulation canadian weekly newspapers association and ontario weekly newspapers association second class mail registration number gs96 editorial high jumpers delight whitchurchstouffville was hit by the seasons heaviest snowfall thursday by nighttime a considerable depth had accumulated making driving dif ficult in stouffville snowclearing operations were carried out quickly but un fortunately on main street the project went no further up until sunday the snow was still piled two feet high at the curb apparently no one felt it necessary to haul the stuff away in previous winters 1971 was one of the worst the removal of snow was a top priority program employees working in shifts continued on the job throughout the night by the following morning everything was back to normal such was not the case last weekend shoppers after slipping and sliding into a parking spot had to jump over or wade through snow to their knees to reach the sidewalk traffic was slowed to a crawl and on occasions stopped entirely whether walking or riding conditions were terrible if the roundtheclock snow removal service has been discontinued in town then we would recommend it be started again when required if the service has not been stopped then we would recommend the stouffville main street be moved up higher on the priority list meet your member over the years residents within the riding of york northprovincial and yorksimcoe federal have sometimes expressed criticism over the impersonal type of representation received at both levels of government the tribune has been critical too we know and the electorate knows that members of parliament are busy men we know too that both john roberts and bill hodgson can be con tacted quickly on most occasions by telephone and certainly always by mail and no one will deny their willingness to assist whenever possible but except on the eve of an election or on the occasion of some public ceremony how much time does either man spend in the town of whitchurchstouffville how much personal contact do they have with the electorate they are endeavoring to serve in ottawa and queens park the answer of course is very little however on monday evening feb 14 a new approach will be attempted at least new to stouffville m p john roberts will attend a public gathering in the auditorium of orchard park school at 8 pm mr roberts presence here on this date places the onus squarely on the shoulders of the electorate how serious are you how sincere the numbers who attend will provide the answer strikes weve had enough few will argue with the fact that people in general are getting pretty fed up with strikes particularly those in our coun trys essential services the prime minister has declined to bring govern ment pressure to bear and expresses reluctance to interfere with normal bargaining procedures however there is an election coming and we would like to suggest that if mr trudeau and his government are returned there will be some action to curb the interference of essential ser vices before another election rolls around the prime minister is well aware that continual interference with public ser vices by various unions will give the ndp a bad time and not the liberals there is talk of another air strike this time among engineers and still another with the postal service mr lewis and the ndp will be wat ching these possible events quite closely knowing full well that should either arrive on the eve of the election their party could be dealt a severe blow strikes which affect only the produc tion of some retail output are taken with a shrug but the number occurring in such services as transportation postal and communication departments has been growing and with growing public irritation the vast majority of canadians have no connection with any union and do not feel kindly towards any individual or group that agitates for such action editors mail dear sir in a letter published recently from a mr h j wilcox he stated among other things that the federal government had once again increased estate taxes this shows to me at least the difficulty in getting across to the public what the government is doing the point is the federal government has now completely abolished estate taxes this should be of great benefit particularly to farmers and small businessmen who wish to see the en terprise carried on in their family unfortunately the provincial govern ments including ontario which urged us to abolish the estate taxes are now rushing in to impose succession duties in this area those who oppose such measures however should criticize queens park and not ottawa who has abandoned this method of taxation john roberts mp yorksimcoe dear sir in reference to the recent news item concerning the vla development at ballantrae tribune issue jan 20 i would like to express an opinion shared im sure by the majority of residents in the subdivision as far as we are concerned the development has already proved itself it has provided housing on property much superior to what we owned originally the environment is better with more opportunities for outdoor activities for children and adults alike most of us appreciate the philosophy of the local schools it is refreshing however the question seems to be that the development has not yet contributed enough to the area to warrant additional buildup of the same it must be quite obvious that the type of housing provided is of superior quality ballantrae has not been what you could call a prosperous looking com munity but the v l a houses are a credit to the area particularly from an appearance point of view every one of the owners is gainfully employed so he or she has money to spend locally if another group of houses is added well obtain a type of shopping plaza that will stimulate revenue in the district already local businesses have profited the majority of children are of average or above average academically so there is no added strain on the one vocational type school in the region in fact the truth is this type of housing has attracted a most desirable type of resident heard tje oe abouy te ehfe mo exexcsed faace sugar and spice im no snowmobile bug by bill smiley all winter ive been laughing not wildly or out loud so that some people could do what theyve wanted to for years have me quietly put away no its just been a steady stream of assorted chuckles snickers and titters with an occasional giggle erupting when it poured rain around here in january i was laughing for the first time in about four winters at the snowmobilers and skiers winter after winter i have satglowering inwardly as the snowmobilers tried to outshout each other in their boisterous boyish manner each trying to tell a taller tale than the other about how he jumped the creek or went up a 90degree slope with no hands or some such rot winter after winter ive tried to keep the sour look off my face as the ski hounds burble their in talk about how many runs they made chortle with glee every time there was a fresh fall of snow and brag about their brand new scheis- smaken eighty dollar ski boots for about two months the winter of 197172 was known as smileys revenge there was a little snow in december but it was almost a green christmas there wasnt a snowbank worthy of skidding into on new years eve and the fine weather continued for weeks lots of rain high temperatures and virtually no snow let their snowmobiles sit there and rust i whispered barely able to restrain a guffaw let their skis warp and their fancy boots remain unscuffed i muttered scarce able to hold back a peal of laughter what better proof of its value do the local politicians need to indicate that other developers are interested in building at ballantrae does im sure not guarantee the calibre of resident we now have in the canadian veteran if more of canadas servicemen wish to locate in this community why not let them satisfied resident its not that i have anything personal against these midwinter bores some of my best friends are snowmobilers though i wouldnt want my daughter to marry one and i know some perfectly sensible people who think there is something ineffably enjoyable in sliding down a hill on a couple of inflated barrel staves the genuine skier thinks nothing of spending ten or fifteen dollars on a sundays skiing even if he has to cut his church givings to the bone and its not jealousy or spite just because i have a ropy knee that would put me on crutches for two months if i had a fall is no reason to envy those who swoop down the hill like a bird same with snowmobiling i have a slight handicap there too i can fly a plane and drive a car if there are good mechanics around but when it comes to small motors which stop running all i can do is stand there and stare shifting from one foot to the other its embarrassing but im being frank its all very well to talk about car burettors and pistons and fuel lines if you know what they are where they are and what to do if they arent working i figure im lucky if i get the lawn- mower started once out of three times without summoning help thus the only picture i can conjure with me and a snowmobile in it is a nightmare the pair of us out in the woods ten miles from nowhere with the carburettors seized up or burned out or whatever it is they do no i dont hate the people or the sports i just hate snow with a deep and bitter loathing which must have some psychological explanation did i wet my pants as a small child while playing in the snow did my parents sick of my eternal wailing throw me into a snowbank and hastily retrieve me i dont know the answer but i do know that smileys revenge has turned into smileys folly as i write i cant see the house across the street its snowing seagulls horizontally with a fortymile wind 3wujnp its a dogs life by jim thomas we dont own a dog my wife detests cats t and the lone survivor of two goldfish suddenly up and died now all we have left are a pair of turtles and two rabbits and thats enough im not really opposed to having pets in fact i think theyre fine in their place but scratching great gouges out of the bathroom door spreading loose hair all over the chesterfield or seeking instant relief in the centre of the living room rug are not occurrences that can be tolerated at least not at our house five children can cause commotion enough but all folks dont feel this way they treat their pets like they were human youve seen the kind they talk to them fondle them even clothe them not me i look on a dog as just that a dog the same for a cat just a cat nothing more nothing less many people will differ theyll rise to the defense of their poor little pooch and criticize anyone who dares to castigate the intelligence of their puss i watched them on parade thursday attending a governmentsponsored anti- rabies clinic in the committee room of the stouffville fire station they came by the hundreds in all shapes and sizes both the animals and their owners the cats were in many kinds of containers bran sacks card board boxes crates suitcases trunks a and cages the majority of dogs were restrained on a leash but it was difficult at times to tell just who was leading who one boy about ten came in alone with a rambunctious collie the dog was ob viously the master hauling the lad all around the room then there was the 300 pound farmery looking chap he carried his pet about twice the size of a peanut in his pocket one woman had her cat tucked inside the front of her slacks the vets appeared slightly stunned for the moment as she went through the ritual of releasing it j one puss took a quick look and ran it was later caught at the rear of the presbyterian church the injections were quick and sup posedly painless although the animals side of the story will never be told i would assume however that a dogs yelp and a cats meow must stand for something more than ouch for one lady it did i cant stand to look she said covering her eyes with both hands tell me when its over its a cruel cruel thing protested another i would rather it be me the vet appeared more than willing to obligej but reconsidered lj my poor little poopsy comforted another did that mean old doctor hurt you she kissed it affectionately on top j of the head j for clinical purposes i learned that only the dogs need names some are dandies like simon pure henrietta daisy georgia sam rastus lulabellej freda violet jock and josh as for sex the question on two or three occasions proved a bit embarrassing just a second while i check said one ill have to go home and ask my dad said another j search me replied still another maybe the vet will know one dog called lassie was listed as male i another named pete had just given birth to six pups within a period of 5 hours more than 800 animals received vaccinations most owners seemed pleased with the swift ness of the service very little waiting just in and out commented one gentleman how about my wife will you give her a shot she was frothing at the mouth when i left u shes reached that stage im afraid its too late replied the vet im afraid it is the chap answered heading out into the storm its a dogs life gusting to sixty or seventy the skiers are smirking the snowmobilers are laughing out loud and im crying deep inside i knew it was a dream but dream we must or we are nothing some winter well never mind hand me that shovel woman and stand back out of earshot