The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

ERA WED JANUARY 1970 VOL NO Editorials Regional park Central York County needs regional park large enough to accom modate a wide spectrum of activities ranging from golf to an arena- community centre swimming pool complex and the countys farm on Yonge St can be the key to acquiring such a park Action is needed soon though The idea of a regional recreation area is not original New market and Aurora councils have been kicking it around for months and it was discussed at the last county council meeting but its a good one Whether the countys farm is to be developed as park or used as a financial resource to gain a park its eminently developable land with Yonge St frontage some action to guarantee its availability should be taken immediately because the farm is currently unencumbered by lease arrangements The Federal Government has pulled out of the big building on the farm which had been in use as an armoury and the lease of the balance of the property to neighboring farmer Ernest Crossland has expired other people already have designs on the land Aurora Council for instance has suggested it be used for a community college A county regional government due next year would also be under sure from politicians from the south and north ends of the county not to become involved in a central regional park The farm is well situated for a central York County recreation area Its in the northeast corner of King Township and fronts on the countys main highway St It is within easy driving distance of all five of the existing municipalities Newmarket Aurora and Whitchurch East and of course King It is large enough to accommodate such amenities as golf course snowmobile and ski trails and would be a good location for the additional centre and swimming pool facilities so badly needed in this area One of the countys oldest and mo3t historic buildings the- Quaker Meeting House stands on adjoining property as docs the county senior citizens home This historic site could be the focal point of the park and the senior citizens would be handy to it If on the other hand people who are experts In the siting of parks says a recreational use is not the best possible one for the St site its strategic location gives it a high market value and thus it could provide the necessary capital to acquire a more ideal site Many parks people and conservationists feel this type of green belt recreational use is best confined to valleys and flood plains and the land surrounding them Their reasoning is that these sites lend themselves to more recreational uses because water is near at hand and are less valuable as development sites This type of land has been acquired by the Metro Toronto Conservation Authority for parks with admirable results If this reasoning is adhered to the possibility of trading the Yonge St property for land along the Holland River and its tributaries between Newmarket and Aurora could be explored SUGAR By Bill Smiley A love affair that died Snow is something you like or dislike You cant just ignore it At least not around these parts If you ignored it at our house theyd find you in the spring in a high state of decomposition When I was a kid I loved snow The more he heller Fighting in it rolling in it making angels washing girls faces in it throwing 1 at the enemy and coming home Somewhere along the line our loe affair Iris withered and gone stale Oh I admit its beautiful to look at on a bright winter day when fresh fall of a few and the rest of a simple thing Hut when the snow is over the top of your boots and you have to carry the cans yards its a minor nightmare Deciding in the morning whether or not you can ram your way through the three foot bonus from the across the end of your drive is similar to Russian roulette I tried it once last week and had to leave the car sitting there like a stranded whale tail sticking out into the street and body straddling the sidewalk One hour shovelling after work they back into the driveway The only way to beat them is to throw your shovel away as though it was molten metal jump in the ear and roar out back wards before they make it Then we have a sidewalk plow If you beat the big plow the little one will get you He comes around when youre at work and kicks out a onefoot pile on the streetside and another on the drivewayside This is frozen into crusty snowice by the time you get home and you need an Alpenstock to break it up One big help though is the kids Theyre right on the job If it snows two inches of fluffy stuff they are at the door with big boyish smil es Can I shovel your walk Mister You could do it yourself without strain but figure on assisting free enterprise give them the job and overpay them Comes a real downfall say ten inches of that wet slushy stuff when every loaded shovel weighs six pounds and is a potential coronary and theyre all home watching tele- The final aid is the snow- blower When the banks have built Up to a height where you can see only your neighbors roof and a bit of sky when the banks are so high not even the Abominable Snowman would tackle one the blower comes around And throws tons of snow salt and sand well up onto your lawn Great Well if you cant beat them what do you do Ive been turning over a scheme No dopey snowmobile No downhill skiing because of a cou ple of crook knees And if I wanted to ski I could do it in my own back yard practising jumps off the picnic table al air of the old skill such as It was is still here Ive done plenty of winter flying and its great up there except when you run into a snowstorm and have to set her down in a farmers field Hut I could sail along at a couple of thousand feet and sneer down at the snow enjoy its beauty and maybe even get lo like the filthy stuff again It would be a lot better than having the snow sneer down at me as I try to hoist a loaded shovel onto a sevenfoot bank and wait for that sharp pain in the chest with each hoist THE Readers ERA Dear Editor My comments quoted in your newspaper upon the question of whe ther or not the Municipality should buy a club membership business at the Highlands Golf Club have caused distress to at least one res- within the town Councils decision was based on the simple rules of hospitality A visitor is usually shown to the best room in the house and offered a choice of refreshments available Not only does the Golf Club have the nicest lounge facilities in the town it has the ONLY lounge facilities That they should be boycot ted regardless of this fact and on the grounds that they successfully appealed against the payment of busi ness taxes is not a theory that I can logically support If other establishments in town were able to offer the same faci lities then most certainly they would be given preference They dont Personally I believe its only good sound business sense to make the best impression possible upon of ficial lo the town Yours EVELYN BUCK Reeve of Aurora Dear Editor On behalf of the Newmarket Lions Club I wish to thank you for your assistance in providing newspap er coverage for our Christmas bas kets this year Your consideration at no expense to the Club helped make this project a success Your sincerely The Era will not publish Letters to the Editor signed with a pseudonym A Concerned Mother An Unhappy Commuter unless the writer includes his complete name and address Names will be withheld upon request There are no specific restrictions on length but we ask that letters be as brief as possible Etc Crier Of pot and alcohol Whats happening o teenagers todays Wheres that spirit of rebel lion that first reared its propitious head in the mid 50s initiating one of the greatest social innovations since Liicrctia and Elizabeth Candy Stanton hustled their hustles on a platform and demonstrated that they could print an X on a ballot as good as he next guy namely Just when I was enjoying almost he generation gap a bunch of teenagers in Aurora generation gaps To lie a In conformist he idea is to find out what the group youre nonconform ing with docs then do the direct opposite Now essentially and al cohol give off the same They lioth produce beautiful feelings of euphoria and exaltation They help temporarily to overcome he myriad deficiencies that we mortals are heir such as shyness fear etc And if you really wan me lo say it I will tliey help loosen sexual if what you arc trying to do is parallel the profligacy of adults why not switch to alcohol For one thing its cheaper and for another you can smoke a while youre indulging thus making he whole degenerating habit more we should he allowed to do the same Now that would hurt wouldnt it But tets not fight After all if wed only realize it were firm ly united in a common cause We are joined as il were to defend the very existence of alcohol and marijuana not to condemn it There is as we all know a certain faction who keep telling us that alcohol and drugs are problems drugs and alcohol hut the peo ple who use them You probably wouldnt want to admit if at this time hut I know thai on the odd rthcn get out of or or both And who is to contradict us when we argue that to date no evi dence has presented Itself lo prove thai pot I drugs like LSI or speed Only a fool would think that pot was phy sically addicting that it might lead the more dangerous stuff Tliey might as well say that alcohol could lead to marc alcohol Anyone who knows anything will ell you that pot doesnt do you kids any harm at all other than make you laugh a lot of awhile then may- he get a bit lethargic or selfneglect ful And its only when the stuff is wearing off hat yon appear to he In fuel if hey only knew it the very worst that could hap pen you is hat when youre under in an affluent you the luxury of abundant pot the acquisition of new contact lenses is The way I see it be only reason these people are on our backs is because hey think we are show ing a had example 1 hasnt occur red lo them that sometimes a really bad example does some good in the world The here of course is excess ralher than moderation While moderation may be a example the moderate pot clean See what Oh one thing chaps who enforce our laws lake rather dim view of grass inhaling Those suspended sentences come a bit irksome times Around the county J By DAVE HASKELL Just because Im writing this little piece about ice fishing and ice fish huts doesnt make me an expert on the subject far from it Ive been ice fishing off and on for about years and always in hut for my very own Its made out of plywood and by and by It stands me about and thats cheap You sec I managed to scrounge a stove from the greatest ice fisher men of them all Joe Dales I wheed led the stove pipe from the worst ice fishermen of them all Joe Vandcn I traded a pint of beer for a half gallon of primer and a half gal lon of pinkish paint with my neigh bor Hoist And I used the tools nails knowhow and garage of another neighbor Leu Chappelle And Ibere it sits in Leonards garage Daves fish hut with its four glim windows and two doors wink ing in its pinkish glow from the over head lights I applied the coup de grace the installation of the glass in the windows last Saturday morning and would have had it out on the ice on Sunday except we were struck by the beastly weather By the time you read this hope to have landed my first whitofish from it hope Ice fishing can be the most boring sport in the world It depends on the outlook tnil of course his ability to land fish Some people Ive talked to on the subject just go out on the ice to get away from yapping wives and to get ston ed They dont care if thev ever catch a fish Joe Dales is pardon me a different kettle of fish Mind you he is not against his parched throat now and with some liba tion to the ihvnes- caused by the lack of humidity in the fish But hi- ail business when it to He ivipnnnlh titsmaiU the fish following them II over Lake from shallow deep to shallow water baiting the from time to time the On the other end of the scale fishermen who just go out to get stoned They dump bottles tin cans and unmention able refuse down the hole No won der they never catch any fish If you way through beer bottles and tin cans to eat a beatup minnow who dont own ire a number of on Lake Simcoe who will a hut for the day supply fuel bait and transport fish hut titer for as little whitefish and itch THE ERA Serving York County Sinea Incorporating THE POST THE HERALD DAVID HASKELL Publisher WILLIAM J POIRIER Associate Publisher TERRY CARTER Managing Editor GEORGE WALDEN News Editor Published every Wednesday at 30 Charles St Newmarket Ontario by Inland Publishing Co Limited Subscriptions for two years for one year Single copies each or by carrier per month Member Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association and the 1908 Phone Newmarket 8952331 30 Charles St Phone Aurora Phone Keswick RJL Keswick