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“Ann Preston. :1 young illiterate servant girl; came from Ireland with Dr. Reid and his family about 1830. She attended Wesleyan Me- thodist. now Thomhill Uni- ted Church. Ann's spiritual strength. vibrant faith and persuasive Christian witness were legendary. She talked constantly with her Heaven- The Cross contains seven panels. six of which portray in visual images the various stages and events in the life of Ann. from her arrival in Canada as a young girl with the family of Dr. John Reid, to her declining years when she was free to enjoy the seclusion of her prayer house. The seventh panel briefly outlines the life sto- ry of this remarkable wo- man who. first with derision and later with respect. was called Holy Ann. TELLS HER STORY Of Holy Ann (1810 to 1906) the panel recounts as follows: The Holy Ann Memorial Cross was designed as a tri- bute to Ann Preston. an ear- ly Methodist member of what is now the congrega- tion of Thornhill United Church. She became renow- ned for her life-long de- monstration of the power of an exuberant Christian Faith. (Photo by Stuart’s Studio) A sculptured cross in memory of well known 19th Century Thom- hill resident Ann Preston, a long-lived domestic noted for her religious devotion, was dedicated by Rev. Alf McAlister Sunday during the 107th anniversary service at Thornhill United Church. The Holy Ann Mem- orial Cross was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Harold Clark who occupied the now demolished former Reid home Annswell at 16 Elgin Street from 1951 to 1967. Holy Ann, subject of a widely read book translated into several languages, was employed by the Reid family in Thornhill for the majority of her 96 years. Dedicate Holy Ann Cross VOL. 97, NO. 17. Ratepayers Complain 0f Failure 0f Council -Planners T 0 Communicate With Public In the report presented by Chairman Buster Vermeulen the committee said: “As it stands now, studies and input which affect decisions concerning plan- ning and development are made primarily by the developer and politicians. The public are asked to register objections. The problem set before the meeting by the committee was that of lack of communication between citizens and poli- ticians with respect to development plan- ning in Richmond Hill. Citizens Want To Participate In Town Planning ‘ The meeting was called by a special citizen participation committee set up by Richmond Hill Social Planning Council. By MARGARET LADE A group of some 60 ratepayers met in Richmond Hill High School October 10 and unanimously agreed that there is urgent need for more citizen participation in planning in the Richmond Hill area: mg mmrm 1 Public L “The best remembered even-t associated with Arm's life is the ‘miracle of the Cross FAMOUS SCULPTOR “The Holy Ann Memo was designed well’. One hot summer day created by Adlai Hardin when taunted by the Reid Lyme, Connecticut. a so boys about the inconvenience ! of a well gone dry; she prayed for water. And on the following morning she received an answer to her prayer when water returned to the well. Many years 1a- ter, -a gardener on the pro- perty helped perpetuate the memory of this event by tor distinguished for his : sitive portrayal of relig'i figures and events. He i fellow and past presidem the National Sculpture ciety of America and works are to be found numerous religious inst tions, museums and pu (Continued on Page 3) “Ann was poor. illiterate and of humble origin. Her daily tasks were those of a household servant. Her re- ligious training was as meagre as her schooling, but through the depth of her convictions, her profound faith in prayer and her ac~ tive Christian service, she made an incalculable impact on the religious life of 'her times." says the memorial folder prepared for the oc- casion of the Cross dedica- ticn. ly Father, confident that the miracle of the well and other remarkable events were direct answers to pray- er. During her lifetime Holy Ann was honored and re- vered by those who knew her. and since her death by countless others in Canada and abroad." MIRACLE 0!“ WELL Regional Councillor Lois Hancey, after hearing the proposals and discussion asked, The committee recommended that an advisory board on planning be set up based on each neighborhood selecting a representative, that these representatives be members of such a board. As a solution to the problem, the committee recommended increase in par- ticipation of the public in the area of planning, both at the official plan level and at the day-to-day level. “PromOtion of ideas by the public instead of reaction to ideas would help solve_ the problem greatly.” This invites reaction, and the public sets about changing these decisions through pressure groups, resulting too often in confrontation. “The Holy Ann Memorial Cross was designed and created by Adlai Hardin of Lyme, Connecticut, a sculp- tor distinguished for his sen- sitive portrayal of religious figures and events. He is a fellow and past president of the National Sculpture So- ciety of America and his worlG are to be found in numerous religious institu- tions. museums and public erecting a cement tablet hill Fax bearing the inscription, 18, me ‘Over Holy Ann's Well A.D. funds f: 1857 Placed Here A.D. 1925'. ernmen The tablet is still in exis- the ag tence and has been moved for the to the nearby Annswell persona Park," says the memorial group g folder. The “Ann's life spanned the greater part of the 19th Cen- tury. She lived in the Reid home at the northeast cor- ner of Yonge and Elgin Streets. for well over 50 years. When the family no longer needed her services they provided her with a cottage lstill sanding on John Street) where she reâ€" sided for a number of years. Subsequently she lived as a guest in the homes of seve- ral friends, and died in To- ronto in 1906 at the age of 96. She is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto. FAMOUS SCULPTOR “Is the point of representation of each RICHMOND HILL, ONTARIO, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1973 “In Essentials Unity; in Non-Essentials Liberty; in all things Charity” Teachers in the York -County Board of Education system have now voted to put their salary negotiations So many people have shown interest in this program. they have crowded the courses offered by Seneca College in conjunction with the agency. The board was also pleas- ed to learn that many high school students have regis- tered for the “Marriage and Parenting in the 70’s" series which begins this week There is a special student rate of $3, and sessions will be held monthly through November. January and end- ing May 28. Family Services Director Dr. Frank Fidler reported on the great success of the sel- ection conferences for the lay counsellor program. In addition to those who can be accommodated immediately, there is a considerable group of candidates who have been encouraged to look forward to acceptance in the training program at a later date. He said that since Janu- ary, 1969, only one secondary teacher declared surplus was unable to be placed in a school (September, 1972) and The board also learned that 46 people had been in- terviewed in the preceeding month, making the total to date for the year 621. The trustees requested that negotiations continue through the summer in spite of the fact that teachers made no request to begin until late in March. The trustees are also prepared to meet and negotiate. INCREASE ALREADY The board gave the tea- chers a 7.02 percent inâ€" crease, but this was “not to be interpreted as indicating the board is unwilling to ne- gotiate." However, the teach- ers' negotiating committee stated firmly it would not budge from its 14.5 percent demand. Honsberger said. At a meeting of the board of Richmond Hill and Thom- hill Family Services October 18, members learned that funds from the regional gov- ernment have expired and the agency is now relying for the rest of the year on personal contributions and group grants. Teachers Ask Provincial Body OSSTF To Negotiate Salaries Volunteers Aid Family Services in the hands of the provin- cial body of the Ontario Se- condary School Teachers Fe- derat-ion. At a mass get together last week in Newmarket, the teachers were 98 percent in Among its points; The trustees have agreed to ac- cept mass resignations on 30 days’ notice at any time in order not to have November 30, the deadline for January resignations, dominate mee- tings and “to prove they were not trying to outma- noeuvre the teachers by get- ting past that date." While the wage war bet- ween the teachers and the trustees of York County Board of Education rages on, John Honsberger, chairman of the trustees’ salary negoâ€" tiation committee, this week released a statement to the secondary school teachers stating the board's position up to the moment. School Board Sets Position In Memo He advised the citizens’ group to have faith in their councillors, that when his committee had approached councillors they found that their views were very Speaking for the 19-member Lake Wilcox Study Committee, Dick Evans said all residents of the area are invited to participate in preparing presentations to council, but that the “decisions are made behind closed doors”. area so important at this point in time? Here is a group of concerned, interested citizens who are acknowledging their responsibility as citizens. Isn't this suf- ficient to approach (Richmond Hill) council_to be recognized as a group?” Following the introduction, represent- atives of groups in the Lake Wilcox area and the Town ovaaughan described the problems in their respective areas and told how they are meeting them. provincial executive wouldl Unresolved negotiating instruct the teachers to col- is=ues include: lect resignations. The secondary teachers of Deadline for teachers York have been working Wishing to resign by January I without an agreement since is November 30. Teachers~ September 1. The last con~ wishing to resign at the end tract was settled in Septem- of the year have until March I hnr, 1971 and was for a to submit their resignations Lam-year period. (Negotiat- Mrs. McLean said the Ocâ€" tober 17 meeting also agreed that, if the provincial OSSTF was unable to obtain a sett- lement by November 19 ac- ceptable to the teachers, the provincial executive would instruct the teachers to colâ€" lect resignations. “That telephone call was the first intimation I had of the matter and, as of this moment, neither I nor any- one in this office has re- ceived official notice from either the District Federa- tion nor the parent provin- cial group," Hunter said. ONLY NEWS RELEASES Margaret McLean, com- muni-cations officer for the board. said her first contact of any kind from the teaâ€" chers’ group came this week when she received “a bagful] of previous news releases,” all of which had gone out to various of the media, but none to the school board. The trustees also agreed to a grievance piocedure in principle, but felt that the writing of such a procedure in advance of an agreement would inhibit writing. Honsberger said the trus- tees drafted an agreement in response to a request from the teachers 'for a legally binding agreement between the board and the OSSTF, but the teachers then with-- drew the request. The October 17 Newmar- ket meeting caught the school board by surprise, so much so in fact that Chair- man Marvin Hunter cut short the regular meeting of the board Monday night to discuss the teachers’ action. In a statement to the board at the start of the evening, Hunter said his first knowledge of the mee- ting come with a call from a Toronto reporter, who asked him if the board would be willing to negotiate with the provincial body of the OSSTF. Honsberger said the board agreed to pay all teachers in the same (or higher) catego- ry in 1973-74 as they were paid in 1972-73 if a commit- tee jointly appointed by District 11 and the board were established to make re- commendations for 197445. favor of relieving the local branch of the OSSTF of any further salary negotiations with the trustees’ salary ne- gotiating committee. The latter and the tea- chers’ negotiating committee have been locked in a wage dispute since May. He said the board was willing to have all mutually acceptable items arbitra-ted rather than negotiated and asked for a clear decision, but the teachers chose ‘to negotiate. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE As a result of a meeting of superintendents and prin- cipals called by the director of education in the spring. all 17 surplus teachers on staff were placed. Observing these meetings were the pre- sident and executive secre- tary of District 11 of the OSSTF. he was kept on as a supply- teacher for one year at full salary in the hope some po- sition he could legally fill would open up. PLACED ALL TEACHERS SURPRISE FOR BOARD The chairman of the tea- chers’ negotiating t e a m, Dave Robinson of Langstaff Secondary, recommended 130 the assembled teachers that a request be made to the provincial executive of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF) to take over negotiations. PROVINCIAL TAKE-OVER The motion for provincial takeover was passed with I an overwhelming majority of 98 percent of the secret bal- ' lots cast. There was only one ! abstention. Ontario OSSTF President Douglas Dinsmore was pre- sent and spoke to the throng. Other provincial observers included Morris Richardson. general secretary; Vincent Mathewson, executive offi- cer: Ralph Connor, treasu- rer: Robert Briggs, advisory board; Jim Bethune. econo- mic welfare, and William Goldie, assistant secr'etaI‘Y. The topic concerning flhe teachers was its contract with York County Board of Education for the school year 1973-74. As yet the two bodies have not come to an agreement on salary and other matters of concern to the teachers. iNeighborhood Deterioration Threatens OSSTF Threaten No Contract No Teachers It was standing room only at a mass meeting of the secondary school teachers of York Region held in the Odeon Theatre, Newmarket, Wednesday of last week. The theatre seats 696 people. and there are approximately 866 secondary teachers in York. Planning Director William Power warned council an in c r e a s e (1 legal facility would be required to handle the number of court cases In prospect is an extensive public information program. backed up with bylaw en- forcement notices and legal action where necessary. ac- cording to council discussion Tuesday of last week. PLANNERS ALARMED Presented with a planning department report on the surprising extent and num- ber of infractions, Markham Town Council (in planning committee) asked Clerk Ad- ministrator Joseph Pickard to report as soon a possible on measures to stop and combat the apparently fast- s-preading problem. Among the hardest 'hit are the Doncaster Avenue and Glencameron Road area in south Thorn-hill. Even the still unfinished Don Mills industrial area east of T-hornhill is in trouble as the number ‘of infractions threatens to grow and spread like an epidemic. ‘ Residential areas in Thorn- hill and other parts of the town are threatened with unexpected retail shopping traffic, illegal outdoor stor- age. neighborhood deterior- ation and other related bad effects, An outbreak of industrial zoning infractions by retail and quasiâ€"retail establish- ments in Markham Town threatens to undermine years of community plan- ning and frustrate the pur- pose of large amounts of money spent on special in- dustrial area works and ser- vices. Industrial Zoning Infractions Hit Thornhill Lake Wilcox has been the “dog’s tail" in the region for years, said Evans. It has been used and thrown around, not just by Richmond Hill, but by the region, and as a result all have suffered, includ- ing the children. “We want to live this down,” he said. “We have a feeling of community. If one person is in trouble we all get together to Aided by a study undertaken by uni- versity students, the local community group had come to the conclusion that Lake Wilcox has something unique that is worth preserving, and that with the backing of the municipal council it intends to bring it to the regional council, which has authogity over all planning in York. well received. In order to get good planning at the municipal level, said Evans, “You have to have a councillor you have faith in". HOME PAPER OF THE DISTRICT SINCE 1878 In summary the teachers authorized the negotiating committee to turn negoti- ation: over to the provincial OSSTF for possible further negotiations to agreement, or the teachers become provin- cial OSSTF employees and the secondary schools ofl York will close. Finally the teachers are concerned with the general salary schedule. Highly quali- fied staff in York are being paid hundreds of dollars be- low teachers in adjoining counties, the teachers say. MASS RESIGNATIONS Although the mood of the meeting was calm, only about 20 of the teachers at the meeting dissented when a standing vote was taken on the motion “That if the pro- vincial executive of OSSTF are not able to obtain a sett- lement satisfactory to the teachers of York County prior to November 19, 1973, then the provincial execu- tive contact teachers to col- lect resignations." The boan is seeking an agreement that would downâ€" grade the salaries of tea- chers teaching outside of the subject specialization be- cause of shifting subject en- rolments. The board, say the tea- chers, refuses to go to arbit~ nation on grievances lodged under the former agreement. ions usually start soon af- ter the board’s inaugural in January, and since the coun- ty board was formed in 1969. the board and teacher nego- tioting teams have had as many as 40 meetings in one year before arriving at a mutually satisfactory con- tract). DOWNGRADE SALARIES The board. the teachers say, refuses to negotiate working conditions. CREATE PROBLEMS “Retail. service commer- cial and nonconforming in- dustrial uses in industrial areas create planning prob- lems. These problems relate directly to development and zoning standards,” said the planning department report. The planning department reporL on industrial area zo- ning bylaw infractions ob- viously took the members of council by surprise. The planners said they had no idea of the real number of infractions now existing in the town, but provided maps and color slides of a large number of illegal operations. The areas covered inclu- ded ‘the Donoaster Avenue- Glencameron Road Indus- trial Zone, the Heritage Road-Laidlaw Boulevard In- dustrial Zone, and the South Don Mills Industrial Zone. DESIGN DIFFERENT Power said industrial park streets are designed for slo- wer traffic and for vehicles requiring larger than normal turning space. Industrial subdivisions have far less than the amount of parking space required for retail and commercial areas. Retail uses introduce problems, such as unsuitable signs and traffic. that can reduce the desirability of industrial subdivisions. said the plan- ning director. necessary if the infractions are to be eliminated. The new regional Town of Mark- ham is expected to have a population close to 75,000 by year's end and still has no permanent full time legal staff. “Commercial uses create The transfer of operations to this new location will be phased over a two or three year period, So that produc- tioh of high quality roses will not suffer or have to be curtailed, Mr. Mills said. Announcement was made last week by President Har- old Mills Senior, that H. J. Mills Limited, local rose growing firm, has sold its present location between Centre Street East and Duf- ferin Lane and is in the pro- cess of lining up a whole new glass range of 150.000 square feet. The new site of this company will be still within Richmond Hill's town limits â€" on Bayview Avenue north of the Elgin Mills Sideroad East. It was Mr. Mills' father, another Harold Mills, who brought the company to the Hill in 1911. Although he started rose growing on a small scale. it was not long until his establishment had grown greatly in size and he became a large employer of labor. He also found time to be active in the commun- H. J. Mills Florists Moving Will Remain In Richmond Hill Possible solutions are out- lined thus: 0 Change the bylaws to permit these non-conforming uses. o Prosecute the offenders and seek injunctions to reâ€" move them. FLAGRANT ABUSES "There have been some flagrant abuses of the zoning bylaw in the past. These abuses aren‘t conducive to good planning. The strict control of certain ty‘pw of development is paramount if the interests of existing con- forming uses in any are and the residents of the town are to be protected. “Non-conforming industrial uses may lower the quality of new industrial areas de- signed for industrial parks. These uses weren’t contem- plated when the bylvaw was developed. And as a result, they look out of place. They are a special problem when these non-conforming uses abut residential areas. “Commercial uses have different parking demands than industrial uses. This is a problem, especially in areas that have specific in- dustrial bylaws that weren‘t designed to accommodate commercial uses of any kind. FOR LARGE VEHICLES “Industrial areas are de- signed to allow for large turning radii. Commercial traffic is basically related to the private automobile and doesn't require these high development standards. “Different sign regula- tions have been developed for industrial areas and these regulations don't relate to commercial advertising signs, which are different in quali- ty. size and type," said the report. The conclusions of the re- port were as follows: of the greater amounts of customer oriented traffic. These retail and service commercial uses crea-te traf- fic congestion and traffic safety hazards invindu-strial areas. different servicing demands than industrial uses. The primary servicing problem relates to parking and traf- fic problems. Commercial traffic has a different pat- tern than industrial traffic. It has a greater volume, long peak periods and gene- rally m-oves faster when compared to industrial traf- fic. Commercial uses require more visitor parking because 74 GREMLIN x help. I have lived there for many years, and it is a unique situation." A member of the special SPE com- mittee, David Schiller, wished the Lake Wilcox people success, adding that he hoped that other neighborhoods got half as much support from their representa- tives as Evans' committee had from theirs. Physical and social planning must go together, he said. Need for roads and sewers were no more important than need for social services. A report from the Vaughan group was presented by Mrs. Marylo Graham. Problems in Thornhill and Maple areas, she said, focussed on established residents of the area who were concerned about the lack of progress in acquiring sewers, septic tanks, etc., to meet increasing needs. BUYER'S (Continued on Page 20) Presentmanager of H. J. Mills Limited, rose growers, who ship beautiful roses throughout Canada, and who are still generous in their support of all local organ- izations and activities, is Tom Nolan, who this month celebrates his 25th year with the company. He start- ed in as a boy of 15 and has become one of Canada's top marketing experts in the flower industry. Along with Mr. Mills he will continue to .help keep Richmond Hill ‘Canada‘s largest exclusive rose growing centre. This fact is reflected in the town's motto. “En La Rose Je Fleure". ity in many capacities and at the time of his sudden and untimely death at the age of 50 in 1939 he was serving as a member of Richmond Hill Village Council and as chief of Richmond Hill Fire Brigade. With his blessing many of his employers serv- ed as volunteer firemen and under his direction he- came a very efficient fire- fighting unit. The report deals with the Thornhill situation around Donca<ter Avenue and Glen- cameron Road as follows: “Occupancy permits are a very costly solution in terms of administration cos-ts. However. it seems to be the only way of controlling the uSe of multiple tenancy buil- dings. A possible alternative is a strict bylaw enforce- ment program which would entail high legal costs in terms of a full time town solicitor to ‘handle bylaw prosecutions. STRICT ENFORCEMENT "The strict bylaw enforce- ment program would be the basis of a public education program that would even- tually reduce bylaw viola- tions. The publtc would know that bylaws must be obeyed, and as a result, more people would be con- cerned about being in con- formity with the bylaw." said the Markham planning office report on illegal land use. "Prosecutions should be used for flagrant violations (which are those uses which are prohibited by the bylaw) and for bylaw violations that have occurred in the Don Mills industrial area. If bu- sinesses don‘t wish to im- prove their premises (when bylaw revisions are offered). then prosecution should be used." says the report. The planners think bylaw changes should be consi- dered for the Heritage-Laid- law area because there a number of non-conforming uses have existed for some time and the statute of limi- tation may be in effect. The existing situation could be im- proved with more adequate bylaw standards and, in some cases, site plan bylaws and agreements. they say. BYLAW CHANGES “Bylaw changes should be considered for a review of the Glencameron area in or- der to improve the parking standards ‘to reflect the sales and service commercial uses in the area. Some considera- tion should be given to al- lowing no further commer- cial uses. “It is suggested that a solution combining (all three methods) would be practi- cal," says the report. 0 Institute a program of occupancy permits to pre- vent funther abuses. PRICE 15¢ PER COPY (Continued on Page 3)