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12- Ballantrae Lions Club raffle a hot ticket The second prize is a Napoleon Gas Barbecue and the third prize is a DVD player from Card's Appliances. Proceeds from the draw will be used to fundrlocal Lions Club pmiects including D i s t r i c t Lions Club draw. which takes place Oct. 9 at ' the Ballantrae Community Centre. A luxurious six-1 son lnflnitl hot tub from Bet: Pobls is the top prize In Ballantrae 'WHITCHURCH-STOUFFVILLE THIS MONTH" â€"- See us on x, assistance for families facing financial difficulties, the s e n i o r s ' Christmas _ dinner. com- ‘5 m u..n i t y ‘ C it» centie pro- ' > iects and relief for dis- asters or emer- gencies that occur in the community. Tickets are available now from Lions Club members or by calling club vice-president Brad Evans at 905-642-9585. Only l,200 tickets have been printed and the cost is $i0 or three for $25. Big Scott‘s monumental wallop that sailed way up into the night and over the centre field fence brought to mind a quip Hoke had laid on me a decade and a half ago. It came during an interview for a story I wrote about him In ‘the local paper on the occasion of But it was me at the microphone. flanked by a support staff consisting of my two young sons, so I lust signed off by summing up how Scott Eyre's game- ending three-run home 'run. hit lust moments earli- er in the bottom of the sev- enth and final inning, had given the Stouffvilie Mennos a 4-3 victory over the Bradford Sox in the Oshawa .City and District Men's Fastball League match up. If it had been loe Bowen sitting in the announcers booth at the main diamond on a recent Wednesday night. he would have pmb- ably bellowed out that "the ghost of Hoke Miller is with us tonight!" 'www.stoufivilleonline.com' Stumbling t,“ Stouffville Back when Hoke was the talk of the local diamond. Stouffville was a self-suffi- cient rural entity, a phone When I asked Hoke about his hitting prowess with the local nine. he played right along. “There are still balls I hit out there that haven't come down yet!" he drawled, putting on that famous Hoke Miller grin. lt-seems ol' Hoke was a ‘feared slugger back in his younger days when he played for the Stouflville Red Sox men's baseball team that was a serious contender for several provincial championships back in the l940's He went on to enioy a successful minor league baseball career, just like his Red Sox teammate’Earl Cook,- who was known as “The Lemonville Farmer" dur- ing his Triple A heyday. his retirement from a local sand and gravel company. Somewhere Over The Rainbow "Go get it Grim" I said. "Maybe Scott will auto- graph it for you." Griffin looked up at me with that uncertain look kids get when they think they might be crossing the line of what's allowed. But he ran out and got the ball, brought it back in, then Today, with the countâ€" less distractions that come with being part of the all- encompassing GTA, few care to come down to Memorial Park to'watch'the local team any more. But ‘for 3 those who do the minds can be ,rich. Just 'ask, my 7-year-old .son Grimm-why; spied Scott Eyre’s heme minâ€"ball lying in the outfield grass after it was heaved back into the park by a passer-by. call to Toronto was long distance, and a trip into the big city was a special occasion. And the town was unified by such things as baseball. ‘ with Bruce Stanley Our hostess will bring glfls and greetings. along wlth helpful communlly lnlormation. If you listen real carefulâ€" ly while walking past the main diamond late on a warm summer night, you may just hear a ghostly whistling up on high. Don't be alarmed. It's likely one of Hoke Millers long home mns finally coming back down to 'eanh. stood in fronboLScott and drummed upvth‘e courage to ask him to sign it. ”Sure!" responded Scott. adding that It was probably the first time he'd ever been asked for an auto- graph. Griffin has a new hero. He’s added the home run ball to his collection of prized sports memorabilia. "You can now get fresh coffee in a variety of flavours. fresh esp,resso fresh fruit, breads and pastry auhe leisure cen- tre." said program/aquat- lc supervisor Mloole Ongman. The cafe is located in the lobby. near the entrance to the library. if you want to relax after an invigorating swim, or inst enioy a dell- cious cup of coffee with your latest library bank: drop by Tinks Expresso Cafe. which recently opened at the Lebmric Leisure Centre. café onenS‘at leisure centre New _ To Your Community? Be sure to call Sun {930 .COME ’AGON AUGUST 2003