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v a4the tribune wednesday june 16 1982 editorfsmail dear editor ga wholeheartedly endorse the letter i written by bruce stapley and published in the june 16 issue of the tribune con- demning those who would prevent the building of several multiple dwellings on springstreet north of main this attitude of many people that once theyve established themselves they dont- want anyone else within several miles is truly selfish and not peculiar to i stouffvillethese people seem to forget that had others adopted a similar atti- tuderthey too would not be herev looking at the specific case qrques- tion one is quickly reminded of one of stouff villes dire needs that of multiple housing accommodation undoubtedly there are many who would like to come and enjoy the good life of this town but are prevented from doing so by lack of housing i have also come in contact with a num ber of people who are interested in small twobedroom single family dwellings these are also in very short supply for these reasons anyone who is prepared to produce multiple accommodation should be encouraged to do so and not have selfish road blocks thrown in their way charles h nolan duchess street stouffville praise dear jim a bus arrived back at stouffville dist secondary school june 9 with a group of exhausted but nappy grade 8 students following a threeday trip to niagara palls accommodation was provided at brock university visits were made to the niagara-on-the- lake museum niagara falls and marine land where f nugent had the thrill of being kis sed by a whale across the border stopoffs were made at lewiston new york mcdonalds frontier house for lunch and a guided tour of fort niagara an excellent history lesson theevening was spent back at brock with some going rol ler skating and others taking in a moviea sockhop concluded the nights activities the final day in cluded a trip on the maid of the mist and a shopping expedi tion i wish to personally thank mr nugent mr reid miss dangelo mr wideman mrs bibby and jim the bus driver for their patience and co- operation last but certainly not least- i wish to compliment the stu- dents on their excel- lenttbehayior i was proud to be part of the trip and share the ex- periences of their company sincerely phyllis wells stouffville -v- a antique or not you cant have my camera for a door prize sv- established 1888 james thomas barryw wallace andrewp cook editorinchief publisher advertising manager editorial dept jim holt jimlrving display advertising oept rod spicer bryan armstrong classified advertisingcirculation joan marshman v office manager doreen deacon business office eileen glover 5 national advertising representative dan poyntz 3631051 published every wednesday at 54 main st stouffville ont tel 6402101 toronto phone 36 1 1 680 single copies 25e subscriptions s1 300 per year in canada s3500 elsewhere member of canadian community newspapers association and ontario weekly newspapers association second class mail registration number 0896 the stouffville tribune is one of the metroland printing 8 publishing ltd group of suburban newspapers which includes the acton free press ajaxwhitbypickenna news advertiser aurora bannernewmarket era aurora bannertnewmarket era weekend edition the bolton enterpnse bramp ton guardian the burlington post the burlmton weekend post the etobicoke advertiserguardian the georgetown independent markhamfhomriilf economist and sun the milton champion the mississauga news the mississauga news weekend edition the north york mirror oakville beaver oakville friday beaver oshawa this week oshawa this weekend the richmond hillthornhill liberal the scarborough mirror the woodbridge vaughan news rairoaaaing around- 64021 00- 361 1680 j visible projects needed for the first time in stouffvilles history taxes on an average home assessed at 20000 will exceed 1000 a little under this figure in v rural whitchurch v the increase isnt all attributable to local council not by a long shot education eats up about 64 per cent of every tax dollar with a portion required to cover regional costs the manonthestrcet isnt likely to com plain he seldom does at least not to the point of lodging any formal protest wed suggest however that complaints would turn to praise if the taxpayer had something visible to show for his expenditure no one minds paying within reason for something one can see but when increases are hidden it hurts this is the kind of situation that can occur when a municipality is in the midst of zero population growth expenses due to inflation continue to climb with little relief in the form added assessment even to maintain the status quo requires each of us to pay- more be that as it maywesee two positive steps taken by council in 1982 the hiring of a re creation coordinator and thesetting up of ah auxiliary firef ighting unit in the area of ballan- traemusselmanslake both have been talked about for years the coordinator is now a reality a second fire station will occur soon were disappointed that nothing tangible is likely to happen with respect to a new recrea tion centre a project this town needs so badly a major venture of this kind would warrant a tax hike and would be accepted without com plaint however we see nothing occuring in this regard for at least another year the re- creation board is of the opinion theres still much ground work to be done we say do it now rather thanwait until september he who hesitates is lost area site is a disgrace this newspaper has consistently supported the work of the metro toronto and region con- servation authority praised the foresight of its charter officials and commended the maintenance carried out at area sites- these properties for the most part arc ex- tensi vely used not so much by residents within the municipalities where theyre located but by toronto folk and this is fine metro is paying by far the biggest share of the cost our enthusiasm however declined some what following a visit saturday and again sunday to the claremont area on the 7th con- cession of pickering at westney road this site has deteriorated beyond belief in short its a disgrace ff i the pond once a haven for dozens of water fowl now has only three the surface is co vered withalgae and slime the grass except in a few specific places is no longer cut and the road is in a state of disrepair like most committees the mtrca is un doubtedly operating with a reduced budget because the claremont area isnt a big draw like braces mill and greenwood its perhaps by necessity rather than desire been let slide- however if there are insufficient funds to maintain it properly then lock the gates to the public the mtrca would appear to be a slum landlord who owns a property and operates an eyesore because thats what it is v our visits last weekend were brief others left just as quickly obviously wondering what had happened to the beautiful park they once knew and appreciated i y 1 t- tf- r irt tjvtr 3 i boy scout training might help by jim yh6mas i i was never a boy scout too bad i might have learned something about the great out- doors besides how to grow dandelions but- lucky for my leader id have driven the poor guy up the nearest tree never to descend any- way im honest thekids know my shortcom- ings so whats the use if they didnt before they sure doriow at leasttwb of them do neil- marylynn and i enjoyed ah overnight campout friday at the albion hills conserva tion area west of bolton they loved it im still recovering n it was one of thoselastminulcdecisions you know how it is thingskeep cropping up to make you wonder if you should or you shouldnt first off jean was late with supper due to an afternoon jr choir practise at the- church nothing was packed wehad no provk sionsandi was dog tired regardless i said wed go like greased lightning the kids threwthirigs togethera mattress for me two sleeping bags for them three cans of pop a carton of cookies a bag of marshmallows a flashlight an alarm clock three pillows several blankets two baseball gloves a ball and susie yes their mother said shed rest easier at home if we had susie along to kind of stand guarda watchdog of sorts we arrived af the site around eight and purchased a 7 loton high ground overlook- iivgliieparktia veallyreautifjjusp- it took only ten minutes to erectthe tint with neil doing most of the work v- dne thing i learned from this experience is likethe boy scouts say bepreparedwe werent for one thing we neglected to bring a starter for the fire and ended up scrounging a full roll of toilet paper from the community outhouse hardly fair for those who arrived for legitimate reasons but our need i felt was as urgent as theirs anyway there were some healthly burdocks nearby that would serve their requirements in an emergency boy did that stuff burn in no time mere embers became a raging inferno requiring three dousirigsof water to put it out i l problem no 2 was insufficient blankets while it was seasonably warm around nineit was unseasonably cold around two and very damp i woke up chilled to the bone next time ill know better well packup like were headed for the north pole the most pressing problem however was what to do with susie being part beagle the multitude of scents and savors nearly drove her wild she wanted to run ten different direc tions at once that plusthe fact her bathroom habits leave somethingto be desired left me no alternative but to fall asleep hanging onto her leash on two occacsions during the early- morning hours she sounded the alarm the- first was natures call weslipped quietly out and went for a stroll the freshair did us both some good then around three she jumped towards the entrance nearly yanking my right arm from its socket obviously a raccoon or rabbit had corrie daringly close the charge wasso violent it knocked out a main support and the tent came crashing down chaos in the scramble that followed thekids were awakened plus the neighbors onboth sides our canvas enclosure had to be reerected by neil after some semblence of peace and quiet had been restored the rest of the night what little we had left was by comparison uneventful- wewereupsharp at five only to discover the park gates locked mostcampcrs we learned dont work saturdays i was the exception the superintendent came to 6urrescue several knocks on his trailer door as i said id make a boy scout but being a laymanat the camping game can still be fun for the kids neil and marylynn loved it i endured it anyway they- want to go back ive agreed only this time its moms turn im staying home susie too window on wildlife- the cuckoo benefits man by art briggsjude about the time the tent caterpillars stretch their weblike structures in the neighboring trees the hollow clucking sound of the cuckoo may be heard its ciicucu call sometimes followed by a series of rapid kuks and often muffled by thick foliage does little to help you pinpoint the inconspicuous caller then just about the time you have zeroed in on its where abouts youll get only a fleeting glimpse of a graceful bird flying away its long tail strcsm- ing out behind quite a number of people upbn hearing the name cuckoo immediately connect it with the parasiticoldworld species this unfortunate misunderstanding only adds unwarranted cri- ticism to one of ourmost exotic and interesting birds although cases haave been recorded of north american cuckoos occasionally laying their eggs in other birds nests both ontario species the blackbilled and the yellow- billed build nests of their own j- v- v the fact these loose structures of sticks are notin the same artistic class as the lasting- weave of the oriole does not detract from their prideof possession and on this flimsy plat form two to four bluishgreen eggs similar in size to those of a robins are laid keeping them on the shallow nest during incubatiori with its necessary daily turning procedure must be a ticklish problem indeed when you find a cuckoos nest its more often than not by accident occasionally other birds nesting nearby will arouse your curiosity and while locating their site a cuckoos nest is discovered there are probably more cuckoos nests in the thickest tangle of shrubbery than most people realize but since the nature of the bird is one of quiet harmony it often remains unnoticed as attention is drawn to the more voiceful thrashers jays and catbirds that it is tolerant and sociable with other birds was quite noticeable at two of the nests i observed several seasons ago both these sec- tluded retreats were placed at approximately ithe same height above the groundabout seven feet- a dozen paces from one cuckoos nest mourning doves raised their young on a larger but no more stable platform yellow warblers nested a little less than that distance away and a dead limb protruding from a nearby elm housed a flicker family the other cuckoo family had an even greater selection of feathered neighbors close at hand within two yards of this second nest for exam ple least flycatchers could be seen forming a cradle and yellow warblers were nesting in an adjoining bush a grey catbird sat tight its abode scarcely visible in the spikey centre of a wild crab tree only about five yards from the cuckoos eggs to the right and no further away a song sparrow was setting on four speckled eggs goldfinches were trying to de cide which of the adjacent thorn trees offered the best concealment while a robin already had five mouthsto feed in the same tight area cover but besides company cuckoos like hairy caterpillars which other birds often pass up possibly because of the insects spiny struc ture with the everpresent threat to our fruit and woodland trees by outbreaks of caterpillar hordes the slim brown and white cuckoo is a pricess ally of man this week as we located a blackbilled cuck oo calling from the upper branches of a large oak i did some wishful thinking wouldnt it be nice f mused if the cuckoos descended on the grubinfested trees in the same numbers as starlings flock to a cherry orchard suddenly our controversy over the various spraying programs would be obsolete and wed all be healthier and happier for it jitt 1 i f wm mx t