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stoujjville suntribune thursday may 18 2006 5 the joys of the crossing guard ince my retirement from fulltime employment at the old stouffville tri bune ive held sever al positions with a couple of excep tions most have been part- time ive enjoyed them all including writing this column but nothing has given me more satisfaction than my current assignment as a school crossing guard i only wish id started sooner the reason for hesitating to sign on the dotted line was twofold i feared the morn ing noon and afternoon shifts would so break up my day there would be no time left for anything else i also wondered if i could withstand the wet and wintry weather neither worries me now im still able to retain my twiceweekly paper routes although deliveries maybe a little late and i survived last thursdays wind and rain with no ill effects since assuming this responsibility ive worked four areas glad park avenue and elm road ninth line north and elm road stouffer street and main and millard street at opal court ones as good as the other so far i have no favourites however at this point i have no idea where my permanent stand will be maybe nowhere im willing to wait what makes crossing guarding so rewarding its the young people in an age when children come under microscopic scrutiny and sometimes callous criti cism ive received nothing but politeness and respect they make my day with countless thank you sir responses all sincerely said take a bow parents and teachers youre doing some thing right it shows in the mannerisms of your sons daughters and students im impressed while encounters with individuals is but for an instant comments can leave lasting impressions like one little girl at glad park and elm who said thank you mister for keeping me safe if my mommy was here shed thank you too i know shes watching at that moment i found no relief from a persistent speck in my eye a helping hand whitchurchstouffville is compassionate community many townsfolk have accept ed the challenge of helping those less fortunate in devel oping countries theyve returned with sto ries of poverty death and dis ease the like of which we in canada will never know while visits to igoma roaming around with jim thomas nairobi or kampala are for me unlikely i recently took advantage of an opportunity of lending a helping hand at evangel hall a relief centre in downtown toronto it was the mission and outreach committee of st james presbyterian church that envisioned the project it involved assisting spiritually and socially a crosssection of innercity people who have come to rely on this institu tion for bare necessities of life for me and undoubtedly others it was a firsttime experience evangel hall like the scott mission the yonge street mis sion the salvation army and the evergreen centre has a wellorganized staff who know their people many of whom return night after night week after week and month after month the chief administrator is kristen stout the director of development is cindy han the first wave of street refugees was welcomed around 5 pm and the second shortly after six in total 125 were served some are mentally chal lenged with no desire to inter act the majority however displayed a willingness to talk with subjects ranging from the plight of the toronto maple leafs to the fragility of their own existence the history of evangel hall dates back more than 90 years it was founded in 1913 by the presbyterian church in canada during much of this time this service to the poor in downtown toronto was on queen street west recently a fivestorey structure was opened on adelaide street at a cost of 132 million its mission statement reads to enable the dis tressed people of torontos innercity to achieve their potential through christian ministry of service programs housing and advocacy all designed to nurture self- esteem and human dignity this it is doing i saw it firsthand it was good to be there jim thomas is a stouf fville resident who has writ ten for area newspapers for more than 50 years our beef urgers the item to put you in a warm weather mood and thrill your kids too our burgers are back for the season why buy our burgers not only do they come seasoned and ready to go theyre leaner than others and hardly shrink at all when you grill them that means that when you start with a big burger ours are 13 lb each you finish with a big burger what do we make them with since we sell only centre cuts of beef we have only loin trimmings like steak tails and prime rib tximmings when these are gone we use blade roasts truly ground chuck what does everyone else use to make burgers just ask them regular or teriyaki 13 lb size jmitttf a w telis reg 399 lb i jpweek sbmfffl utside our this is my favourite sausage because it is not too sparky its full of flavour and its made with beer its a great dinner sausage or snuggled in a bun with mustard and other condiments of choice maccheese this is doreens recipe for the comfort food of all comfort foods the trick is to use extraold cheddar arid the traditional topping of buttered cracker crumbs serves fim qj 3 4 reg 1095 o off this week vidalia c osn this corn will be arriving on both thursday and friday its really good corn at a really good price and if this weather holds it will definitely put you in a sunny springy mood from florida or georgia upnions are back the sweetest onions bar none and what great timing there is notldng like them on one of our burgers v will be closed on monday our mw open ftojftis am to 5 pm just to let you know that well be open on monday in the plant centre until 500 weve got lots of new stuff for this week including hibiscus weve got the 6 pots which are good for planters some bushes arriving both today and friday in various colours from what i hear theyll be in a bit of short supply- ferns outdoor sunshine ferns are arriving today and friday as well the bigger ones will be tougher to get so buy them now boston perns are available again but like the outdoor variety the big ones will go fast mother geraniums have now arrived in various colours weve got a good supply of 6 planter stock as well in mauve and pink coconut and fibre mixed hanging baskets will be arriving today and saturday lots and lots to choose from coieus is available in a whole lot of interesting colours if you heed your shade bed sparked up tuberous begonia hangers are now in good supply as well as fuchsia hangers lobelia in both large or small hanges dark blue light blue or white are in stock again and well get lots and lots of small stuff for your urns arid planters if you bought a planter from us last year and youd like it redone bring it in and well fix it up and speaking of urns another shipment has arrived and well be unpacking that and planting a few to give you ideas and farther news zinnias are arriving friday as well as both angel wing and dragon wing begonias its time to get planting wew one thing thats new this week is a 3-year- old white cheddar the label which is green and black reads personal selection its an amazing cheese and at first glance seeriis rather expensive but its actually cheap for a oneway ticket to cheddar heaven also although weve had it for a few weeks now our soft and chewy australian licorice is a big hit there is mango jflgjfo tffecfe green apple strawberry and jwjgr the traditional black youll need a few bags but you wont go broke at ea a quake in our bakery this week well have a feature happening on all of our squares mcluding an apricot square which we make with california apricots much better than the less expensive turkish variety if you are headed northward they travel well and g v off theyre best enjoyed at room i m a ttlls temperature dwsbjs 1week mushroom for the last long while weve always made our mushroom soup with brandy and we still do but for those who can do without the brandy weve made a more traditional mushroom soup with lots of mushrooms its a great soup i qef reg 599 ea j j m village groceft quality foods z specials in effect until closing sunday mat 21 hours mon 1100700 tuesthurs 900700 fri 900800 sat 900600 sun 1000500 548 carlton road unionville 9401770