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Era Newmarket Aurora Ketwkk We IS THEERA Serving York County Since every at Ovaries St Newmarket Ontario by Inland Co Limited Subscriptions for two years siooc for one calendar year Single coo in each The NewmarketAurora Era one of the Inland Publishing Co Limited group of suburban newspapers which include the News Ad vertiser Brampton Guardian Burlington Gazette Economist and Sun News Beaver This Week and Tribune Member Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association and the Audit Bureau of Circulation Second Class Mail registration number IMS Phone Newmarket Charles St DA VID HASKELL Publisher TERRY CARTER- Editor- in- Chief ROBERT MARTIN News Editor Phone Aurora BLUE RIBBON MP to petition government WITH ALL THESE NEW ROAD PROJECTS IN YORK REGION WE CAN TO WORK FASTER AT IS A promise is a promise unless its a Liberal election promise During the federal election campaign the Trudeau administration glibly promised to establish a million program to aid urban transit in Canada The promise was an obvious attempt to woo voters in the greater Metropolitan Toronto area where commuter traffic is rapidly bogging down highways and bus services and where the need for rapid transit and rail services far outstrips the funds available to expand them Now after spending million on an abortive attempt to build an airport at Pickering which nobody wanted and for which there was not even an iron clad case that we needed it and million on air transport related industries including the takeover of the plant and its STOL aircraft project for which there is no market the government says it has no money left for buses and subways The promise was a boondoggle akin to the million promise for a waterfront park on Toronto harbor made during an earlier election The governments decision to renege on its election promise will have a devastating effect on the fuutre development of urban transit in Metro Toronto claims MP Sinclair Stevens the finance critic He has sent each of his constituents a petition form urging the government to recon sider its priorities and honor the urban transit commitment This is an opportunity for many commuters to strike their own blows in the cause of better bus and rail commuter service We hope Mr Stevens will be flooded with petition forms King taxpayers must pay Some King Township taxpayers will no doubt be happy to know that they are going to have to pay an interest charge on their taxes even though they have paid their taxes on time This strange situation has come about because of a ridiculous stand taken by King Township council and in particular Mayor Margaret The situation developed late last year when Mayor Britnell declared her township was not going to pay its share of the York regional tax levy until it had collected taxes from its own taxpayers In dispute were the September and December installments In other words Mayor Britnell said the region will have to wait for its money until we collect our money The township was not going to borrow money to pay taxes to another municipality she maintained York region took the stand that provincial legislation clearly points out that a member municipality of a region must pay its levy when due On this point the region took King Township to court and won a clear cut victory Mayor Britnell and some of her council colleagues still dispute their loss in court and will meet with the township solicitor to seek his opinion whether King won or lost its battle with the region This ploy is just delaying the inevitable and another indication of the councils stubborn foolishness The councils stand throughout is just adding to the taxpayers tax bill If King Township had borrowed money to meet their regional commitments it could have done so at the prime rate of 8 percent Because they wont do what every other municipality in York region does every year they must pay the region percent on their unpaid levy And the 3V percent difference in unpaid regional taxes must come from somewhere That somewhere is from the taxpayers of King Township either in the form of higher taxes next year or in the shelving of a much- needed township expenditure and kids By Alice Buck is council watching Once again the subject of a proposed road through Sheppards Bush has become a public issue and threatens to destroy the delicate balance of good will which Aurora Council has created in a town fed a diet of controversy over the past four years Council has taken preliminary exploratory steps toward a proposal to link its industrial park with Wellington St East through a road along the railway tracks to connect with Ross St Former mayor Evelyn Buck who attended insisted on the need for an industrial road to connect with Industry St Mrs Buck is obviously watching the new councillors ready to pounce when she feels they have overstepped their bounds While councilwatching is a necessary pastime and a former such as Mrs Buck has the experience and knowledge to be effective in this activity she should wait until a real issue surfaces before jumping on the cart Mrs Buck watch the development of the the April council meeting charged the new proposed road along the railway tracks and let council was negotiating secretly for a road her ensure that the wishes of the public are through the bush a plan for which Mrs Buck considered before plans are finalized severely criticized during the election But it seems somewhat incongruous for the campaign former mayor to take an adamant stand against Mayor George Timpson claims his council the proposed road through Sheppards Bush was not plotting in secret but merely exploring today in light of her position when she was the possibility of a road Auroras mayor last year The new councils plan for a road along the railway tracks is an excellent compromise which will maintain the sanctuary of a conservation area within the town limits while not thwarting the progress of development in the towns in dustrial park Aurora needs a road pattern in its industrial park to make land in the park attractive to new industries While a hookup to Wellington St is not necessary for development in the park a road which will steer industrial traffic away from the centre core will make the lands more attractive to industry and keep the centre of town free from annoying truck traffic But Bush remians a sensitive area for most Aurora residents who bitterly fought the former council for the right to retain this quiet sanctuary Last year Aurora council proposed a road to service the industrial park which would split the conservation area into two sections the maple sugar bush and playing fields Aurora residents Every mother of young children I have decided should haw a cat The terrible thing about childrearing you see is the fact that its such a longrange project No matter what the experts claim kids never really buy the theory that all that rest- time and nourishment is for their own good So despite your endless efforts and the purest of intentions most often Mom comes off pictured in the role of With children it takes almost forever to sec how they turn out But take cats They dont leave servings of nourishing liver on their plates They know that liver once a week is better than a vitamin pill daily Just give a cat regular meals for a few weeks and a warm box to sleep in and it blossoms in a most satisfying way Whats more eats actually reciprocate your attentions Cats dont squirm and wriggle off your lap the minute theyre mobile Simply ap pear on the scene and they brush against you in a most affectionate manner Their sounds are soft and soot hi ng Cats dont stamp their feet engage in noisy play and become loudly vocal the moment you attention is diverted elsewhere The point to all this of course is that we recently acquired a cat in that centuriesold traditional manner common to catfanciers Seeing our door open several inches she simply slipped in and set up stakes Now in cold light of reason there is not a single item this home needed less than a cat Dominated as we are by a staunchly terrier we have lost more boughs from bushes and 2by4s from fencetops than we care to acknowledge The whiff of a passing pussycat is enough to send Hector streaking through the yard tearing limbs from trees as he acts out his anticline fantasies Nor was Hector the only barrier A husband more specifically antichaos than anticat had to be dealt with At first we complied following all his directions Gemini as we called her the vet placed her lime of in late May or early June was advertised on all supermarket bulletinboards and local papers and finally despatched to the canine control unit with rigid instructions to call us before you do anything But no owner materialized And finally our brainwashed head consented to her return return that is we could find her a home How convincing a persistent 10yearold daughter can be That was four months ago Funny I always managed to find homes for strays before Gemini is now her coat rich and glossy No one could deny that shes turned into a beautiful cat even if her tail Is missing You know that missing tail Is how she really got to us These days no one is totally immune to her charms even father who still refuses to call her Gemini and clings to the clipped nickname of CT short for there goes the cat designed but never successful in fooling dogs and small children Why just the other day found him on his hands and knees behind the humidifier dangling a key chain and playing peek To date weve had only one really close call caused when an earlymorning husband neglected our animal juggling act Gem to my horror came stalking down the hall just as Hector polished off his morning toast Luckily for all Hector is even fonder of food than chasing cats And I had a split second to grasp him round middle all 90 pounds of fury and scream sombody get the cat Then of course theres the matter of justifying a debit for spaying fees But look how loves her I tell doting dad And after all its her first pet since bils turtles and budgies and cant be really satisfying living in cages as they do And how could a 10yearold hope to handle Hector said no This years council is considering a road which will take only 18 feet of the field area for a road that will hug the railway tracks and cause a minimum of disruption to the conservation area indeed it would probably remain un noticed to visitors to the maple sugar area And the stand of Mrs Buck is certainly a surprise since it was she who so adamantly Tale of the Rustmobile By Penny van Everdingen We buried our second today Car that is No it isnt that we have bad luck with machines we just live longer than they do Built- in obsolescence its called especially in the last one a Poor old Susie sent out into the world without a winter coat of rustproof material First her apple green skin became eroded That we fixed cosmetically with plastic aluminum tape old rags newspapers and other tricks of the trade Finally she was treated to a glossy new white and burgundy spring and summer coat After a year or so gangrene set in again At first it took the form of bubbles on the fenders rocker panels and around the door handles When the floor in the back scat became springy we simply requested guest riders to please step solidly only on hump Finally though the only thing between people and pavement was the thin rubber mat Resourceful people that we are we found an inch thick board just the right size to cover the yawning gap Problem solved Unfortunately the cancerous rust grew until the spotted chrome door handle was released and merely dangled alongside the door Getting in by the drivers side and schlumping across the seat was loo unladylike a method of entering a vehicle but I managed After a few more months the door couldnt even by persuaded to open from inside The poor old Sausage hadnt thrown off heat for two years As other men boarded their chariots clad in sporty car coats and shorty boots my husband departed for the City looking like an Arctic explorer The man at the garage said the heater coil has worn out but knew the truth Even heaters die of rust en croachment The time for the last rites arrived when we washed Susie The dirt holding in the headlight was sprayed away and Susies eyelamp was left dangling Susie has been sent to that great graveyard in East protected by high fences Wrecking yards are built that way not to protect our sensitive eyes from the sight but so that healthy cars will not be infuriated into righting the wrong done by manufacturers to their brothers and sisters in chrome Can you imagine Brad Walker Pete Slcssor and other Innocent middlemen faced with a raging rebellion of angry roadsters That explains the high fences arc becoming accustomed to these metal funerals but still remember the passing of our first christened Thunderchicken was a little red bug who went and went until he developed back trouble as he aged then went even further The orthopedic surgeon suggested a frame fusion The chiropractor said the frame impinged on the wiring the nerves of the car He couldnt adjust it without causing an electrical hemorrhage The best Volkswagen surgeon in Holland Landing told us it would be best to put him to steep On St one very rainy day he chugged his last NB Crawford Company am a writer of fiction Under no circumstance is this story to be taken as a confession or admission of anything Anyway as you read we disposed of the evidence views HIS JOB TESTIS tf SKCcwrxm PROJECT BOO CANS OP POP J Appreciates cartoon strip in The Era Would you please convey my congrat ulations to Cameron on Views from Fairy Lake This work is well done good humoured wholesome fun somewhat subtle clever and inoffensive to anyone unless of course you include the opinion of some duck However theyre not included among your readers May this strip con tinue to prosper and grace your very good newspaper JOHNC Millard Ave Newmarket Locals trek to Jays opener We were there Along with over other fools and idiots our busload of Newmarkets Bluejay fans attended the opening day of major league baseball in Toronto With wet snow blowing in our faces and the outfield covered in the white stuff we listened to Anne Murray sing the national anthem and then we watched The Toronto win their first bigleague game Why didnt we stay home and watch it on television along with instant replays and color commentary and a cup of hot chocolate To quote a famous mountain climber Because It was there You just could not miss the first game of the year You certainly could not miss the firstever major league ball game played in Toronto And you just had to go to the ballpark to see if the management really put and a bird on the uniforms of a bunch of grown men They did They really mean it Actually its beginning to sound almost normal Just dont say it too many times in a row But then how many words can pass that test FANS RENT BUS So we baseball fans had to rent the bus hire the driver and trek down to the Big Smoke to see what this game of baseball was all about style The history books will record that the home side prevailed that day by a score Thirtyone hits were given up by the pitchers and there were four hit three of them by the Doug Ault the firstsacker hit home runs in his first two trips to the plate vis Woods hit his in his firstever trip to the plate in the majors It was a big day for Toronto fans in spite of the cold and the snow and the lack of beer being sold on an official basis There was no lack of spirits And beer was not the staple of the day probably due to the weather Everyone it seemed was drinking brown paper bags You couldnt get a Coke or a unless you waited at a concession stand and missed two or three innings while doing so Our quiet little group had brought a small amount of warmth for consumption on the long bus trip from Newmarket to Toronto and of course for the ball park Im sure no one really wanted to bring any into the park but did it only in defiance of Bill Davis and his cabinet JOIN THOUSANDS History will not record that thousands of people on the firstbase side of home plate had to crowd into one little gate just to get into the park That will have to be rectified before long or someone will get crushed before the game One member of our group a former politician spied a door marked Staff Only and tired of waiting in the crush opened it and entered the ball park Turns out it was a door for maintenance people and our intrepid former politico seized a shovel and marched onto the snowfilled ball field under the eyes of thousands He could have dumped the shovel at that point I suppose and just taken the seat of his choice But no he felt he had entered as a maintenance worker and he would do his job Thereafter at the conclusion of every in ning he could be seen shovelling up popcorn boxes candy wrappers and empty brown paper bags and dumping them into cardboard refuse containers He also managed to trip a few fans who were exiting the stadium to escape the driving snow and blustery winds Each member of the bus fan club signed the handle of his shovel on the way home As some of the others on that bus were journalists there was some Illfeeling that this man had pounced upon the first Bluejay scoop The attire of Bluejay fans was not what you normally see at the ball park SNOW SUITS No teeshirts and sun visors Snowmobile suits boots touques gloves scarves mittens blankets thermos heavy stockings and balaclavas were the order of the day David Haskell of this newspaper wore a snowmobile suit which continually hung over one eye blocking his view of left field and home plate unless he turned his head to look behind him Some of our Bluejay fans were obviously fairweather fans Two or three left in the second inning to return to the bus where a radio blared out the playbyplay For Shame Cant take it On this historic first for Toronto and baseball fans they left the park due to a small precipitation and un seasonable winds This writer dedicated to recording the pulse and feeling of the day scoffs at their weakness I hung in there fighting the snow and the wind for the conclusion of the entire third inning before I realized that nothing much more would happen and only then reluctantly scampered back to the bus How was 1 to know the Bluejays would come back to win the game It looked like it was all over when I left Bluejay fans are sophisticated baseball fans When the White Sox went ahead 20 In the top of the first I overheard someone say WaitU we get the puck There were also chants of Lets Go and We Want Shack All in fun Im sure The Bluejays will not be winning club for a while yet but they will play exciting baseball It will be worth going to the park to see But not till the weather becomes more baseballlike