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economist suntribune sports thursday sept 5 2002 35 lacrosse keeps rocking clarks world stouftviue teacher back with toronto pros after summer gig in bc by jim thomas correspondent call it a busmans holiday but for stouffville resident glenn clark a summer vacation is playing lacrosse for a team in port coquitiam bc for the 32yearold toronto rock assistant captain toiling in the western lacrosse association during the offseason serves two purposes it keeps him physically and mentally conditioned for the schedule that lies ahead and allows him to participate in a sport he loves so much while the end result wasnt what he wanted port coquitlam lost out to victoria and a shot at the mann cup hes backlooking fit as a fiddle and primed for his full- time position on the physical edu cation staff of bayview secondary school in richmond hill a native of brampton clark grew up at bay ridges and attend ed pickering high school where he participated in every available sport including hockey football rugby and lacrosse in hockey he performed with the university of toronto blues and the pickering panthers of the provincial junior a hockey league even today he plays in a york university noncontact league but lacrosse for clark was in the cards even though initially he didnt know it i was always in awe of the brooklin redmen of the ontario hoisting the national lacrosse league championship trophy from last years tide game win over albany toronto rock player and stouffville resident glenn clark also plays whats known as canadas national sport during the summer months with the port coquidam adanacs of the western lacrosse association lacrosse association major series he recalls while working his way up through the minor ranks those guys were good i never thought id reach that level the brooklin management had other ideas they called him up for the mann cup it was a great ride he remem bers clark played with the ontario raiders before that franchise moved from hamilton to toronto in the past four years the rock has won three championships the last tide a 1312 victory over albany new york all home games are played at the air canada centre and before that at maple leaf gardens crowds in excess of 16000 are the norm i love both hockey and lacrosse clark says but lacrosse is a better game to watch the play is faster more controlled and less scrambly both sports have taken their toll at last count his bone fracture total had reached 15 including three broken ankles interesting he says that team captain jim veltman is also a stouffville resident theyre close friends interesting too clarks wife the former shelley whittaker is a stouffville native they have two sons taggart who is three and grady one taggart attends most home games and usually accom panies his dad into the dressing room he knows all the guys his father says at 6foot2 and 200 pounds clark keeps in shape working out walking and biking his role as a physical education instructor helps too he coaches basketball rugby and lacrosse when time permits he gets in a litde golf clark entertains no thoughts of lacrosse retirement he feels barring serious injury he has six or seven years left in his playing career and hopefully for clark it might result in a few more national lacrosse league and mann cup championships before hanging up the stick and gloves some of the best kept environmental secrets are at the stourrville reservoir forest and wildlife area unionville has its toogood pond aurora has sheppards bush newmarket has its fairy lake stouffville though has the best kept secret in the region of york its called but dont tell anyone the stouffville reservoir forest and wildlife area its located but again dont tell anyone on the north side of millard street between bayberry street and ironwood crescent i along with 48 canada geese and three mal lard ducks visited the site recendy this treasure a property any municipality might covet was acquired by the metropolitan toronto and region conservation authority in 1966 12 years after hurricane hazel swept through the centre of town the 100 acres were once part of the bartholomew and stouffer farms the project including a flood control dam was officially opened in 1969 while its purpose that of flood control has been fulfilled a side benefit that of public enjoyment has not why not because its not user friendly a place where youd take your best girl for a romantic sunday evening stroll not if shes allergic to golden rod sow this tles and other noxious weeds they stand as high as an elephants eye the scum environmentalists may call it something else that covers 70 per cent of the manmade lake is so thick wildlife find it sim pler to swim under it than around it tim thomas the rustcorroded dam hasnt seen a coat of paint since construction no swimming signs are posted but no devilmecarekid would risk submersion in water so murky other posted signs indicate the location of trails and the distances of each marshmeadow 15 to 25 minutes lambert stouffer 25 to 45 minutes and ab bartholomew 40 to 60 minutes each is time- worn and difficult to read motorized vehicles are not allowed golfing is not permitted in general the public doesnt seem welcome either not so insists kelly batt die town of whitchurchstouffvilles personable and ener getic parks and facilities manager its a people place he claims but not a brucesmill he hopes it never is a bruces mill the larger and busier stouffville road conservation area and suggests those living adjacent to it hope it never is either the properly he explains still belongs to the conservation authority leisure services only maintains it this they do cutting grass and improving trails its prime purpose is flood control says batt the recreation aspect is secondary he says once the midtown walkway is com pleted from hoover road to millard street pub lic access will improve itll create a north link he says and help keep the downtown vibrant the plan spans a fiveyear period batt notes also the stouffville reservoir trail system is in a book called take a hike now available throughout york region he doesnt feel the time is right for whitchurchstouffville to assume ownership of the site and all responsibilities involved with this including painting of die dam right now weve all we can handle he claims batt describes as regrettable the fact some people disregard the honour system and allow dogs to run loose the practice is difficult to control he notes adding the same goes for enforcing the poop and scoop bylaw so for the time being at least stouffvilles hidden treasure will remain just that a site available to those who wish to use it area wildlife think this just fine and so do wildlife lovers they call it stouffvilles garden of eden minus an adam and eve sports digest stouffville girls kick up a storm the whitchurchstouffville under- 17 girls soccer team made its pres ence felt at the recent unionville- milliken selectallstar tournament by capturing their division tide with a 2- 1 overtime win over whitby in the championship final at milliken park in markham with stouffville nursing a 10 lead s on a goal by brittany hitchen whitby tied the game in the late going to force overtime stouffville however prevailed on a golden goal by christina davis in reaching the final stouffville defeated host unionvillemilliken 31 and tied brampton 11 before being edged by whitby 10 davis earned most valuable player honours in the final also contributing to the clubs suc cess were goalie leanne emslie defender kerry hulshof and midfield er carolyn tubb other team mem bers included andrea sauter danielle burkhart nicole moreau sandra pankratz valierie murphy angela clubine diana wideman carolyn tubb laura verrelli and michelle madigan ron murphy and david emslie coached the team a satisfying finish for macri it certainly helps to begin a race with a good starting position for jonathan macri starting the final cart toyota atiantic series race in denver colorado last weekend in the 11th position didnt help his chances in reaching the victory podi um nevertheless the 20 -year- old gormley resident and his pl racing- ntn bearings miller genuine draft battiefield equipment rentals swift 014a vehi cle gave a good performance on the 165mile temporary street course by finish ing fifth overall despite not finishing in the top three macri was satisfied with what transpired in saturdays finale im pretty happy with our results today realistically we thought that a top- five finish would be possible but probably not a podium position since we started in 11th a little too far back the car ran well today and it seemed to come to me as the race went on a solid fifth place is a pretty good way to end the season jon fogarty won the race and clinched the series championship ryan dalziel and alex gurney fin ished second and third respectively clinching fifth place solidified macris seventhplace standing in the championship series with 96 points following fogarty and valiante who finished first and second respec tively jonathan macri finishes fifth in final race of year