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p4 tribune august 25 1993 st sidewalks benefits outweigh location t he construction of a side walk on 9th line south of main street has been a sub ject of consternation for near by residents there are several points to consider in this matter the location of the sidewalk is unarguably poor it will look out of place so far from the road but over the long run it will serve residents well if 9th line is widened in the future the sidewalk wont have to be destroyed and a new one commissioned in the meantime it offers elder- ly people a safe walking path well away from traffic pedes trians wont likely be splashed by ignorant motorists on wet days and in winter snowbanks wont have to be piled onto the side walk just m win this fldflf am yatcft twoje kjnjlaaa- questions in death ofjchildhood friend t was stunned to hear the tragic news what a terrible loss i just couldnt believe it someone so young so vibrant so alive taken from our hearts in a hor rific drowning incident why i asked why why why bert was a friend to all he encountered he was colorful funny and had a great love for nature and children he could be cantankerous at times but derived a great deal of pleasure from the simple things in life he kept pigeons of all things and devoted much of his young life to them i was told on the weekend of his demise but i could hardly believe it was true ive known bert for 20odd years when i was young he would come into my house and get me wrapped up in all sorts of adventures my younger brother had a closer affinity for him and practically worshipped him but while my brother and i knew him intimately we were not his closest acquaintances his real best friend was always causing him grief but now it is that friend who is grieving his friend of course is named ernie and bert of course was that bananahead ed muppet on tvs sesame street evidently bert was bumped off in a drowning incident to minute with mair a n o r e w m a i r teach children about death and water safety sort of like killing bert with two stones why the childrens television workshop the producers of the show elected to kill off the bert character is a mystery to me but i cant help feeling awful about it ernie without bert thats like ice without the cream rodgers without astaire fred without barney or bacon without eggs why couldnt the network have drown some minor char acter was bert not bringing in the ratings did he and ernie develop artistic differences like martin and lewis or was it a messy divorce like loni and that other burt and why did he drown bert never went near water in his life it was ernie who loved water what with his rub ber duckie and all maybe there is a conspiracy here who was present when bert went down for the third time anyway why ernie of course hmm makes you wonder maybe ernie was jealous of berts success with the under five set or maybe bert had willed ernie his paper clip collection and ernie just couldnt wait to get his grubby orange hands on those shiny little devils or maybe ernie drove bert to it he could be exasperating at times driving poor bert to dis traction at any rate the question remains why bert they should have had big bird kick the bucket he was always such a weenie the fact is i hate it when they break up a set stouffville tribune publisher general manager editorinchief advertising director business manager operations manager patricia pappas andrew mair jo ann stevenson debra weller vivian oneil pamela nichols lively mouse is welltravelled staff reporters tracy kibble julie caspersen roger belgrave photographers sjoerd witteveen steve somerville real estate joan marshman classified doreen deacon debbie amundson uxbridge retail sales joan marshman doreen deacon heather hill gibson uxbridge distribu tion arlene maddock canadian publications mail sales product agreement 439010 published every wednesday by metroland printing publishing and distributing at 9 heritage rd markham ontario l3p 1m3 tel 2942200 the stouhvllle tribune published every wednesday at 6244 main st stouhvllle is one of the metroland printing publishing and distributing group of suburban newspapers which includes aaxplckering news advertiser aurora banner barrle advance brampton guardian burlington post colllngwood connection etoblcoke guardian georgetown independentacton free press kingston this week lindsay this week markham economist sun midland express milton canadian champion mlsslssauga news newmarket era banner north york mirror northumberland news oakvllle beaver orillla today oshawa- whltby this week peterborough this week richmond hillthornhlllvaughan liberal scarbor ough mirror and uxbridge tribune national sales representative metroland corporate sales 4931300 6402100 6405477 fax r hateau gilderdale feels unnaturally sombre in the wake of granny pats departure her basement bedroom seems empty the basket of clean clothes bereft of its usual mas sive cargo of wrinkled garments as a result of her sterling work at the ironing board over the past four weeks all thats left is a brochure detailing the delights of orillia and an elusive but lively mouse the latter is still here only by happy coincidence since granny had inadvertently packed it the day she left for dear old blighty this miniature rodent was a gift from resident feline portia who presented it with much fan fare to my mother in the small hours of tuesday morning for tunately for portias hapless vic tim our cat follows the maternal family trait of not completing what she starts if it requires kates corner ka qi i ci e r d a n ivinmn i- even a modicum of effort when the mouse eluded her grasp she gave up and went out again leaving it to scrabble about frantically behind the washing machine mums efforts to catch it having met with scant success she completed her pack ing and went upstairs for a nice cup of tea just before she left she came across an item she had omitted to pack its hard to tell who was more surprised granny pat or the mouse when she opened the suitcase and the stunned rodent emerged like greased tightening from its tightly packed prison of clothing toi letries and assorted souvenirs from the true north strong and free as i write the mouse is still on the loose providing an interest ing diversion during commercial breaks my mother meanwhile returned home with a host of memories not to mention some additional souvenirs donated by the mouse during its incarcera tion in her suitcase we couldnt help speculating as to whether mvim would have been permitted to leave the country or enter britain had the livestock been unearthed from her luggage by that paragon of friendly understand ing your average customs offi cer but lets face it when it comes to games of cat- and mouse it would be hard to image a profession more equal to the task of deciding her fate