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Flulike illness running rampant throughout Region NEWMARKET There is a flulike illness running rampant throughout York Region according to a spokesman from the Regional Health Unit Dr Eric Holowaty associate medical officer of health said it is very difficult to determine if the illness is actually influenza However it is safe to say there is a flulike illness running around he said Dr Peter Miller one of the doctors on call last weekend in Newmarket reports he had close to 100 calls on Saturday alone of which were regarding flu symptoms Dr Miller said the best thing to do if you think you might be coming down with the flu ie high fever muscle aches and pains is to stay off work so the disease isnt transmitted to your fellow workers go to bed and get lots of rest drink fluids and take aspirin My colleagues have reported several cases of pneumonia which may or may not be caused by the flu bug said Dr Miller The disease will usually run its course in seven to days with the acute stages lasting from three to four days and a cough for another seven to days afterwards The current type of flu strain making the rounds is known as A Texas a mild variation of A Victoria which was so prevalent during last years flu season The flu season generally runs from December to early spring but according to Dr Holowaty everything this year points to an earlier longer and heavier flu season than normal The reason we havent embarked on a massive flu vaccination program as we did with the Swine flu scare is simply because it takes two or three days for the body to build up antibodies once vaccinated and its basically too late to start a program now said Dr Holowaty And theres the risk of paralysis with the vaccine but that risk is only l in but its there just the same he said The current strain of flu is not particularly dangerous at least any more so than most but doctors caution the elderly and infirm to take the utmost care if they suspect they have been exposed to any flu virus as the mortality rale of flu is much higher in the over 65 age bracket VOL NO PAGES South Since Shore KESVVICKNEWMARKETAURORA DECEMBER NEWMARKET CENTS New Keswick sewers designed for 00000 By BOB MARTIN Era news editor KESWICK The Keswick water and sewage treatment system has been to accommodate more than people The Era has learned The figure con tained in a series of calculations that form a part of engineering specifications for the project was confirmed Thursday by an official in the Ministry of the Environment design approvals branch Ken Brown stressed however that the figure is very misleading Were not designating it for people he explained Weve been told Keswick is not to grow beyond 20000 people While the total system now in the design stage will not accommodate the population trunk lines are being considered that would handle such a high maximum he noted ip may n of own part of Participark By MARIE WHEELER Era correspondent KESWICK The Keswick Kinsmen Club has built a on land here which Township may not own According to reports took over the land when the owner failed to pay his taxes and gave the Kinsmen permission to construct the park After the park was the owner paid the back taxes But the problem now is that the township is having trouble locating the owner He is believed to be a minister now residing in Newfoundland Councillor Bruce Welch confirmed mere is an ownership problem it concerns one section of the grounds only Club members arc disap pointed about the situation but feel lhal both they and the township acted in good faith and that the township was not aware of any ownership problems when the land was turned over to the club for development Both the Kinsmen and the township are hoping to see matter corrected in the near future said Welch ad ding that it will be a subject for discussion at tomorrows council meeting Any growth beyond the 20000 maximum would have to receive environment and planning approvals before expansion of me water and sewage treatment plant noted Mr Brown Even the allowance for the inground system is still a preliminary figure he added The consultant has recommended he said We havent approved that yet The projected figure he noted allows for every possible including changes in growth pattern and total growth Not were ever ex pecting that there will be people up there said Mr Brown but it costs very little more to make the sewage and water lines a little bigger The only thing you do is put in a little larger pipe Mr Brown said the planning used in the Keswick system is standard engineering procedure The actual limits of the system are lied to above ground plants the expansion of which can fall under environmental and political controls he stressed The pipes are purposely oversized because were ignorant of what might happen in the future noted Mr Brown By installing larger pipes the system has a built in 1 1 flexibility for a period lasting longer than a lifetime he added The 100000 figure obtained by The Era is contained in the design brief for the project The report lists the ultimate design area as to the south Woodbine Ave to the east Side to the north and Cook Bay to the west According to report population density for the existing residential area of acres has been set at persons per acre or 22500 people The acres designated future residential has been allowed the same density additional people while commercial industrial has been set at 225 persons per acre or on the designated 200 acres The remaining 3700 acres in the ultimate design area has been assigned a density of 20 persons per acre for an ad ditional 74000 people Based on those totals the system could accommodate a population of 104000 One township councillor who reviewed figures obtained by The Era said he was shocked A second councillor con firmed that the 104000 figure has never been raised during council discussions of the project Theres never been the faintest suggestion of that kind either at the or local levels the councillor stressed i mi talk r tf A SEW ji v- I t I v A 1 i t J mm sfcJ mm 1 in tlTrf i I Bo y A IF- wa Asm photo A STORYBOOK VISIT round Newmarket recently Making friends with their from their S h rom Mt Amb ver Michael Rob- CM Jamle M enns Supervisor Shlrl Davidon Is oc h0dln 3monlhoW Davidson have been a number of children centres I BELLE CASTLE photo Helen Glass of Newmarket who used to spend a great deal of her time designing and building floats for various parades decided a Christmas tree was a little too ordinary for her grand children so she built Belle Castle and will be placing Christmas gifts in under and around it for when her six grandchildren Clinton and Glass shown here with the castle Tony and Tammy and Jason and Gregory Glass come for their Christmas visit Georgina Chamber wont sue township asks members aid KESWICK Instead of suing Georgina Township council to obtain a grant the Chamber of Com merce is mounting a campaign to get pledges from chamber members An immediate cash flow problem could he solved if the chamber can money from a bank on the basis of membership pledges president Mike McDonald said at a meeting last week The chamber had been considering legal action to get from council The chamber says council reneged on a contract requiring payment of that amount But following a recom mendation by the chamber executive last week the members agreed to drop plans- for legal action If we start it the suit council may change and it could be an albatross around our neck Mr McDonald said The members also approved a resolution affirming the chambers nonpolitical role in township affairs Only Frank Peters a plumber and electrician voted against the resolution saying chamber should present a slate of candidates in the next municipal election There were 20 members present at the meeting held in the Keswick arena Tuesday night last week Using a new fee structure the chamber will ask all members to pledge payment of membership fees over the next Ihrce years A bank loan could be arranged on that basis The new fees are a year for businesses with fewer than three staff members a year for others and a year for development companies Representatives of the chamber will be calling on members in early January and report on success of the pledge campaign by Jan In other business the chamber agreed to let manager Kris Nielsen work for individual firms as a consultant The money earned will go to the chamber The chamber also in structed the executive to con sider changing the name of the organization to South Lake Simcoe Chamber of Commerce reflecting the large area it serves Clare Green a Keswick lawyer was elected second vice- president of the chamber and Thomas Marks a marketing consultant was elected to the board of directors Chairman Mike McDonald will also head the industrial committee 30 young families band together to aid the needy The meaning of Christmas What does Christmas mean to you To find out what it really means to some of your neighbors see on page A5 Caterpillars and snowballs In the midst of one of lhr earliest winters this area has seen in many years an Old St resident found a big furry cater pillar crawling around among the snowballs Page Santas really a big spender really a secret big spender according to local jewellers and car dealers For real story behind the man in red see page Tele care just keeps going A communitys emergency services cant shut down just because its Christ mas At a telephone service for those in distress someone will be manning telephones throughout the holiday For the story of these dedicated people see page NEWMARKET About 30 young families in the Quaker Hill area all of them new residents in town- banded together to provide a good Christmas for a needy family somewhere in this community Our neighborhood got together and each gave a few items of food clothing and toys so this family could have a Christmas that most take for granted explained Mrs Linda of Dixon Blvd a spokesman for the group I may add that these families are young struggling people who found that little extra it takes to help someone else she said The families all live in the Dixon Blvd Sandford St and ArmilageSt area in Quaker Hill subdivision What we did was to call the Childrens Aid branch in Newmarket and adopted a needy family This agency helps a lot of people but could use a little help to assist more said Mrs She hopes this story will encourage others to take on a similar project and will tell peopie in other neighborhoods that if they get together a little from each goes a long way I could list the names of the 30 families who helped but this isnt necessary for they know and already received the pleasure of knowing they did something to help 1 would like to thank these people for their terrific response to the idea of helping this family she said Russ Jackson heads panel Jackson a name which figured prominently on most sports pages for many years is back in the news this week in York as a speaker on teenage alcoholism See page A6 Holiday hours NEWMARKET The offices of The Era will be closed from Friday Dec 23 at 5 pm until Tuesday Dec so that employees can be with their families over the Christmas holiday The same hours will be in effect over the New Years holiday However The Eras composing room and editorial department will have Friday off and work Monday on both holidays Readers with news or advertising are asked to have their copy at The Era by Friday Merry Christmas