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Era Out Wed January THE ERA Serving County Since 1352 DAVID HASKELL DONALD CARTER Wrong once could they be twice A recent government report states that the mercury found in fish in the provinces lakes may not have been put there by indus trial and residential waste after all The socalled high mercury content found in fish in recent years may be just high because we now have more sophisti cated testing equipment In fact government biologists have found found a high mercury content in fish that live in lakes that have rarely been seen by man Tests have shown a high mercury con tent in a fish that has been dead for In other words nature plat the fish not man In other words we have been eating mercury in fish for many years and it has not proved to have been danger- If government biologists are wrong about mercury they could be wrong about the huge smelt population NOT ruining ice fishing in Lake Simcoe Two things are certain there are few er whitefish being caught in Lake this winter and there are more smelt being caught A short a time as three years ago it was a rarity to catch a smelt through the ice Now its becoming a rarity to catch more then smelt in winter And the few that are being caught this winter are older and larger than the smelt population in Lake Sim- in recent years is in direct relationship the decrease in the whitefish population Could the government be wrong about ACTUALLY WERE IN THE MIDDLE Of A MAJOR DEPRESSION BUT Ill NEVER ADMIT IT J Watch the bouncing football The location of the Region of York headquarters in being bounced from committee to But it should be soon The bouncing started when the regional pol ice commission decided on a Newmarket loca tion the Office Specialty building on Pro peel Si after looking at several sites committee last week where it ran into strong opposition Now it seems just about every munici pality in the Region to have the police within it- boundaries Newmarket Councillor Twinnev wants it Newmarket Aurora Dick wants it in Aiiiom Richmond Hill Mayor Hill wants in Rich mond Hill and the councils of and want it in Richmond Hill Even land developers have idea- about where the police headquarters should be located Naturally each different developer NEWSROOM NOTES feels the headquarters should be on his prop- THE Readers ERA This space is reserved for the comments opinions and drawings of The Eras read ers Please feel free to send yours along All we ask is that you Include your name and address No job corps Richmond Hill is not tin ideal location because of its remoteness to the remainder Dear Editor of the Region Newmarket and Aurora would be better because of their central location seems to have the nod because there good building available and because it the choice of the Regions We read in the Era Jan that Mr John Mount Albert advocates the creation of jobs to be The joust again this time on ice It would be interest ing to know from a psy chological viewpoint which would be the more debilitating to have to accept welfare in order to exist or to be forced to accept employment at the minimum rather than the going wage rate in downtown Toronto and cost 150 while you can go down on the train in minutes for and you get a comfortable ride and toilet facilities minutes a trip and enjoy all this comfort its worth the price twice over isnt it Richmond Hill has had a cent service on St for years so that helps but north of Our intention is to formed happy group of Consequ ently we provide home- maker service training which includes a home nursing course and spec- Sal lectures on topics such as nutrition men tal health child care geriatrics and occupa tional therapy A uni form and pin is subsequ ently provided The service a home- maker could extend to tains the people who are sending children to scho ol should pay the school a little home here in Newmarket In two years they have doubled my the rarity in antiquity or there never were rules at least in Oltle England For you see when Basher hurled his braz en and foolhardy challenge at me again some of you may recall how I vanquished him on Fairy Lake last October I immediately con tacted Sir Basil and Lady Those kind people spent endless hours searching through King Arthurs Rules of Jousting Canterbury Tales the Lnrousse and even the Audubon Book The rules of ice jousting have been lost SCOTT YOUNG SAYS Day of the crowning blow I lost an argument with our older daughter All right I will she said She turned England they never heard of studded horse shoes or maybe lakes never froze solid enough So rather than disappoint Basher I am going where there is ice and where there is somebody who knows the rules of ice joust ing Thats northern Ontario and thats where Ill meet Cedric Cynthia Oomlaut again I met Cynthia when I was a potted palm salesman My territory extend ed from the Manitoba border to the Labrador border and Smooth Rock Falls on the south and anywhere on the north and Cynthia lived pretty well in the centre of my territory and I stopped in at their igloo many times I crisscrossed northern Canada selling potted palms One night actually this particular night was nearly six months as the three of us were enjoying some muskeg wine I noticed some drawings hanging over the I recalled last week that these drawings were of musk ox dragging slabs of ice with parkaclad men standing on them At the accept the minimum wage until economic conditions Improve or does he expect those finding themselves in less fortunate situations to do the dirty job for htm Trains better Dear Editor I am writing to you about GO trains They are the only logical an swer to the problem hundreds of people go ing to work in the city Need homemakers We are interested in getting participation in a Homemaker Service which the Red Cross So ciety Region of York is attempting to believe the ser vice may assist Individuals In your com munity as well as re lieving overcrowding in might be rewarding fin ancially emotionally tion and an appointment for entrance to the first training course please home or asked any ques- My taxes went up over a hundred dollars including the basic exemption and my school tax is If this type of taxa- little Parents should pay Dear Editor Mr W A Johnson wrote in the Telegram Oct 24 1970 that the school taxation system was overdue for revision savings will be gone and you would be wise to start building some more senior citizens homes as you will need them to house those who will not be able to keep their homes any longer I know a couple who are going back to New foundland after a year up here They say they are not going to work just to pay it alt out In taxes In Newfoundland hey pay 10 a year on acres and per child going to school This was a beautiful day In June We were first up in the house I made some cof fee said What do you say we go rid- i if they had just been washed pol ished they were that green She said Right now And I said Yes and she seemed very pleased Shes in university Not everything I say pleases her ill ill fin 1 in I I dont want this tn sound like a big rich spread or anything filly cost her to take her filly elsewhere So did she But the day that had started out pretty good was ruined She was cool to me from then until she left for her summer jobj where she made enough money to pay her own way to university in the fall She didnt ride again before she left During the summer I thought of it often I didnt like riding alone On the first she was back in September I said Lets go rid ing She looked at me sharply but came along When we were in the basement she didnt pick up her helmet with her oilier slung over a pole I set up in the basement with the bridle- mid spare halters on nails driven into the beams nearby The only door Into the basement 1 The corral is about yards downhill through some trees As we carried our sad dles down the lane I was thinking it was for both of us a free easy hour or together Then I took a second look at what she was carrying You forgot your helmet I said She is blonde mid her hair hung loose She was swinging along taking long step in with Why not I asked Thnt helmet just Isnt me she said J I tried logic You come off that filly of yours once in a while I said Theres a chance thnt you could lam on your head Without helmet you might be a vege table for life It hits happened I She was pale now Not smile Im not going to wear it Im old enough to make up So we went riding If she had boon young- Study since these long ago Arctic jousts have been preserved in drawings there must exist a set of rules somewhere either writ ten or handed down from father to daughter by word of mouth So week tomorrow I will hoard a train at Union Station and travel to Kapusknsing From there I will fly to the igloo some miles to the north It will be nice to sit with and Cynthia again in their Igloo and enjoy some of the best muskeg wine in the Arctic Between sips from the wnssnil cup I will photograph the ancients drawings and copy down the rules ice joustiwr Upon my return I will share all this with Basher so that we will be on equal footing when we meet on Fairy Lake on Sunday afternoon Feb 14 part of the Newmarket Winter Carnival activities BILL SMILEYS SUGAR AND SPICE Tender loving care Even a winter sourpuss like me cannot hut bo affected when we hit one of those rare perfect winter days Today is one of them Snapping degrees Sun grinning down like an old yel low lecher as fresh snow lifts virginal blue white pleading hands Sky as cold and blue as Mr Bensons heart Ugly fallendown in bock yard has vanished until spring Picnic table is a loaf of white bread rising Big spruce by the garage holds with dignity in sagging arms the big lumps of heavy white cotton In the country evergreens are startling black chimps of contrast Ancient rail fences with jaunty posts run their erratic charm through the bluish drifts So do the Skiers whizz down like gulls swooping for scraps And the damned snowmobiles grunt ted not necessarily stopped is free to go out and commit mayhem or suicide When I see some kid belting along full throttle on Icy or trying to pass the right I shudder And when I snowmobile gang is the speed and the time of year Both are likely to be halfstoned both are prone to vandalism indifferent to the feelings of others Belles of York By Robert White Linda Wilson of New market Is a grade 11 business and commerce student Huron Heights Secondary School Although enthusiast Linda haw been spending her weekends this winter doing There I knew something would spoil it Dont worry I wont go into a diatribe about the stinking things I consider thorn beneath my dignity I wouldnt ban them if I hart the power Theyre a wonderful machine for farmers trappers and others who need to get places they couldnt before Some of the kids at our school who live on Islands way out In the bay cross tho ice on the things catch the school bus drive forty minutes to school then make the return journey in the afternoon You cant knock that And theyre fine for recreation too if theyre used with some sense But theres the rub As cabinet minister remarked recently on the subject You cant legislate against stupidity And some of the most stupid peo ple I know own snowmobiles Not you gentle reader not you You dont go flying solo after an hours tes license where in midwinter Boring Its enough to make the mind boggle One used to go to a party 1 party One used to curl and sit around Intelligent people and talk about cab bages and kings wax and things Now all you hear is a melange of car buretors and tracks and horsepowers and feats of derringdo most of the latter gai ning in each interminnblo repetition snowmobliers bellowing at each other each trying to top the others story I told you I wasnt going to write diat ribe And I wont car started this morn ing Classes went well My wifes in decent mood And my daughter got and on