The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Elbe itibrral 10395 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill L4G 4Y6 Ontario PUBLISHER ROBERT MAXWELL lhe Bolton Enlerpuse PAGE A4 EDITOR HAROLD BLAINE ASSOCIATE EDITOR RON WALLACE Wednesday. August 17, 1977 Town passes chance to look like hero in the Metric war “We’ll look like fools,” said Councillor Ron Moran, “when Markham council almost balked at the price of metric speed limit signs. But look like heroes. They cept. Some people practice it in the United States. But Markham c0uncil went along with what big brother was asking them to do at Queen’s Park, who in turn was going along with what the even bigger brother in Ottawa wanted, metric speed limit signs. This week, council received seven pages of correspondence from the minister of transportation and communication, James Snow and his deputy. That is probably more ver- biage than Snow and all his predecessors have squandered on the Highway 7 and Islington Avenue. One wonders if he getting a lot of flack. What the correspondence says is that councils should stick to nice round numbers, like 100 km-hr. It also notes that the conversion is the result of the joint decision of high- instead the Markham councillors passed up a chance to could have headlines sea to sea if they rejected metric, taken a stab at democracy. That’s not too foreign a con- ways ministers in all 10 provinces. Which just goes to show that when ten men get together to make a reasonable decision they can agree to something that any one of them, on an The made say they like fools. At the individual basis, would find downright revolting. multi-million process of metric conversion was dollar never agreed to by act of parliament. It was started by a simple resolution of the Commons. The legislature had a chance to debate the issue of traffic signs but the MPPs too were afraid of looking local level Councillor Walter Grieve said he could un- derstand the need for metric conversion for international trade, drive down country or but there was no such need to measure the speed at which we the highway in our own to define a piece of property. We don’t export land. From will add to is a lawyer this week comes word that metric conversion the cost of real estate transcations for years to come â€" with no foreseeable benefit. The final quirk was provided by the Americans. What is the point of switching to metric for exports if our largest trading partner is staying on the imperial system? Parade committee needs a turnout at Monday meeting Probably no one person or organization can be blamed for the rather small showing at a Santa Claus Parade meeting in Rich- mond Hill a couple of weeks ago, but there is some cause for con- cern. Sporadic at best, Claus Parade in Richmond Hill has simply become a “maybe-we-can; maybe-weâ€"can’t” operation. There wasn’t one last year, but there was in 1975. There wasn’t one the year before that, but there was in 1973. Following that concept, there probably will be one this year, but if the turnout of that meeting is any indication, we’ll have Santa’s elves to handle the project. We don’t really believe that clubs and organizations in Rich- mond Hill lack a community spirit. If that were the case, the clubs and organizations wouldn’t exist. And it is the middle of the summer. Who really wants to be thinking about Santa Claus when there are still six weeks of water Ever since the oil producing nations of the Middle East drubbed it to us in 1973, the energy question has taken on an urgency which even the general public is unaware of in 1977. It is a persistent matter which bears down on all of us every day and in some instances bring out the worst in human beings. As if to escape this persistence, many people continue to waste precious energy in whatever they buy. Some critics would im- mediately suggest that our economy is to blame for this waste. Ban all advertising or tax gas Hw‘it irmw ""' L l‘v"-‘ \em urns ' ‘ ME a p. -t. CLASSIFIED - 884-1 105. 8813373 \ :3. r 1’> v «M Kim meek: m mJl ROSPAN NORTH DIVISION v' ' '.1 ‘ v '1 \Iq'wdv John: ievgcs Ariterrismg Director Ra» Peale» .0 P91113419) Man-“39' ‘ . . . - . ~ ,1 C, .. skiing left? But the fact remains, if the parade is going to be a reality, planning must start now. And people must be available to assist with that planning if the parade is to have any reasonable semblance the Santa at all. That’s meeting is big as this to call in show up, community enterprise, be. guzzling monsters to such extreme levels and you will cure the consumer from ever purchasing such items. Sounds pretty effective until the conâ€" sequences are looked at carefully. First off, the limits of a punitive tax are not as far reaching as that argument goes. Witness the limited effects of former Finance Minister John Turner’s ten cent gasoline tax in June, 1975. That tax was supposed to conserve energy resources and to help pay for the great increases in oil transported to eastern Canada. It had an initial star- E11: ll'ihn'al VOLUME Ill]. NUMBER 7 10355 Yonge Street. P.O. Box £190.de 4Y6. Ontario TELEPHONE - 8843177. 88141373 .1~ ( n 'y “have Carrier semme {‘Il)l§ CIRCULATION - 884â€"0981. 88141376 3‘0 00 a war ('7 CJ’UJJ $20 00 3 why the next parade very important. It’s tough to say ‘time is running out’, but in the case of an operation as parade, that’s exactly what time is doing. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, August 22, Committee Room “B” (lower level) of the municipal building. It begins at 8 pm. and if reps of clubs which have been invited don’t it’ll probably be the shortest meeting on record. In the interests of keeping our together as a solid we hope the turnout Monday is overwhelming. And, somehow, we think it will tling impact on people’s consuming habits, but it soon wore off. All we were left with was a constant round of price increases for oil and gasoline, with the vast amount going to the coffers of the federal and producing provinces. Ontario continued to receive assurances that the monies were going for new exploration and development. Little evidence exists to con- firm that statement when so much controversy exists over the extent of the energy reserves to serve Canada. What we do end up with is a $3 billion heritage fund for Alberta so that What next? @6518 LE SKATE'BOARD TRACK -n.. . """rvu-ww-‘w SCRAPPED TENNIS BUBBLE Quilts were made by pioneer women as a thrifty way to use scraps left over from dressmaking. Winters were cold and called for warm bedding. Quilt making developed into a social pastime where fellowship and hospitality were enjoyed. “Quilting bees" provided opportunities for the women to get together and to ease their loneliness since usually neighbors were few and distant, and travel was slow. Quilts were often the only opportunity the pioneer woman had to express her love of beautiful things and bore such names as flower garden, tulip, basket, Dresden plate, pine and temperance tree, log cabin, churn dash, double wedding ring (a most intricate design), double Irish chain, necktie, and spider web. Quilts were given as gifts because the pioneers could not afford to pur- chase other articles. Among the delighted recipients were brides, new mothers and burned out families, Church groups made quilts to raise money, the average cost of the new materials needed being from two to five dollars. A young woman preparing for marriage would not be satisfied until she had a baker’s dozen quilts tucked away in her “green box”. Twelves of these would be used as needed but the thirteenth was the “bride’s quilt”, a very elaborate work of art which was put on display only on special occasions. When the last stitch was placed in the quilt at a “bee” it was customary to throw the new quilt over the head of one of the an agricultural and raw materials economy can be changed into broadly industrialized economy. At least one can un- derstand the wishes of Albertans to strike while the iron is hot. It’s much harder to understand Ottawa's muddled energy policy, that is, if the federal policy exists. All I can get out of it is their great preoccupation to get domestic energy prices up to the world price, whether that be $13.50 per barrel or $20.00 per barrel. If there is any magic in such an approach, I fail to see how it helps our general economic per- formance, let alone Ontario’s manufacturing sector or all of Ontario‘s [consumers All it really does is to increase the rate of in- flation and an already too high level of unem- ployment. During the past 4 years, Ontario has taken the position that .energy price increases must be linked to direct production costs. Such an approach is reasonable to all concerned, we thought. So much for past history! It may sound as if Ontario was crying over spilt milk instead of getting on with the job at yesterdays by mary dawson unmarried girls present. It was believed that this would ensure that she would be the next to marry. It was also believed that if a girl slept under a new quilt she would dream of her future husband. Quilting is the process of sewing three layers of material together with small running stitches (eight to the inch was the ideal). The quilting frames consisted of two eight foot long strips of board (about one inch by three inches) and two seven foot long. These had a strip of ticking or heavy cotton fastened to them the full length to which the quilt base was attached. The pieces of wood were fastened at the four corners by clamps which were loosened occasionally so the quilt could be “rolled” as the quilters completed their fine stitching as far as they could reach toward the centre of the quilt. The lining was made most frequently of dyed flour and sugar bags or more rarely of store- bought flannelette or printed calico. The in- terlining would be of ,carded wool, batting or a worn blanket. After the quilt lining had been attached to the ticking on the frame with heavy thread, the frame would be adjusted until the material was stret- ched quite smooth and taut. Over it would be placed the interlining and then the quilt top which would be pinned in place. Then the quilting design (cable, plume shells, fans, diamonds, etc.) would be drawn on the pieced quilt top with chalk and the quilting would get underway. We still waste energy band. Well, actually Ontario has not lost any time in searching about for new answers. We haven't lounged around, worrying about losing our place in the sun. With the formation of the Energy Ministry in 1974, we have undertaken a number of measures to deal with potential energy shortages down the road. First off, we analyzed our energy needs, the growth in demand for electrical power and the extent of vulnerability. Ontario imports 80 per cent of its energy resources. Pretty shocking until one realizes that this province contains close to one-third of the total Canadian population. Ontario is the manufacturing hub of Canada. Given some of these figures and general background, we moved on a number of fronts. We invested $100 million in the first major Syncrude plant which should start production in the next couple of years. That amount represents only a small amount of the total capital required from other levels of govem- ment and the oil industry to get this first plant in production. Letters My taxes went up 43% but assessment didn’t I was somewhat shocked to receive, a few days ago, a tax demand (part 3 of 4) which together amounted to a total only three or four dollars less than the demand for the whole of 1973. It amounted in fact for the whole year of 1977 to an increase of 43 percent approximately over that for 1973. There has been no in- crease in the assessment since 1973. It is clearly impossible to justify this increase by an appeal to the increase in cost of living over that period. The tax is, of course, collected by Richmond Hill Town: their excellent note accompanying the demand seems that of each tax dollar collected 52.7 cents is the responsibility of the Regional Government; and 34.8 cents of the Town. Spokesmen of the Town and Region stated that they each had no authority, control or responsibility for the demand made by the two Regional Educational Boards nor the demands of the other level of government. This makes it clear that there is neither an elected body nor an ad- ministration which can consider the relative needs of the various services required by and paid for by the taxpayers; This group seeking former band players for 30th anniversary The Burlington Teen Tour Band is looking for former band members and former band boosters for a reunion. They’re going to celebrate the Band’s 30th anniversary and the retirement of their Music Director Eric Ford; Eric Ford, who has been Music Director of the famous “Redcoats” since 1968, is retiring this year. Mr. Ford had a long and distinguished career in music before coming to Burlington. In addition to his work as Professor of Music in Trumpet at Hamilton’s Royal College of Music, he has been Music Director and instructor for the Burlington Department of Recreation Services. He is best known, of course, for his out- standing work with the Burlington Teen Tour Band. Under his direction, and with his own arrangements and compositions, the Band has become famous on Phase in metric signs, he says ED. NOTE: The following is an open letter distributed to Ontario newspapers. Readers are invited to respond to The Liberal. The Hon. J.W. Snow Queen’s Park Toronto Dear Mr. Snow, I was surprised to learn, upon questioning your officials, that you are providing no “phase- Hospital appreciates coverage Ron Wallace Associate Editor The Liberal Richmond Hill Dear Mr. Wallace, Over the past few weeks we have noticed that many fine articles on different aspects of hospital life have ap- peared in The Liberal. We would just like to let you know how much we appreciate the assistance and co-operation of The Liberal in supporting the hospital and hope that we have the opportunity to meet with you and show you our hospital sometime in the future. M R S . P E G G Y TEMPLE Chairman Public Relations Committee in” period on the con- version in September to the metric speed limit and other road signs. Any reference to “miles per hour” is to be sud- denly and totally removed and only metric signs will be displayed. I believe you are making a mistake. For a period of time, perhaps a year, speed limits, bridge clearances, distances, etc., should be posted in both the metric and the present systems. Otherwise there is going to be confusion and eigen some danger. The transfer to the metric system generally is going to create real difficulty for many people and the transition should be smoothed as much as possible. In the change from Fahrenheit to Celsius, the temperature in both systems has been provided for more than two years. It is difficult to un- derstand why you are treating road signs so differently. The arguments ad- vanced about inadequate space on signs for both simply do not hold up under examination. Through this letter I am urging you to reconsider your policy of precipitate change in September and, instead, use dual road signing for a phasein period. MEL SWART, M.P.P. Welland-Thorold two continents. To honor Mr. Ford on his retirement, the Band is planning to celebrate its 30th anniversary with an “Eric Ford Day”. The date is Saturday, September 10 and the festivities will commence with an Alumni Parade of Band Members of earlier years who came through the Band under Mr. Ford’s direction. An afternoon concert will enable “old” Red- coats to hear how the “new” Redcoats per- form The highlight of the day will be a dinner and presentation to Mr. and Mrs. Ford, followed by a - dance. Ex-Band members are now scattered throughout the US. and Canada. Although invitations have been sent to the last- known address of all past members of the Band, it is expected that many will not reach their in- tended destination. All former Burlington Teen Tour Band Memâ€" bers who had All former Burlington Teen Tour Band Mem- bers who have not received their invitation are invited to write to the Burlington Teen Tour Band Boosters, lnc., Box 5013, Burlington, Ontario, UK 326, or call Mrs. Marg Webb, in Burlington at (416) 634-3115. Only one even worse, there is no elected nor ad- ministrative body which decides how much in total the taxpayer shall spend and therefore pay. From a business point of view this is utterly unacceptable and idiotic; from the angle of a society which considers itself democratic, it is just nonsensical. The only elected body with an administration reasonably within reach of a Richmond Hill tax- payer is the Council of the Town of Richmond Hill. I suggest therefore, that we the people of Richmond Hill should demand of all our various layers of government, right up to Ottawa, if need be, that the Regional Government and the Regional Boards of Education should all submit their proposed budgets for consideration by, and approval of, the Council of the Town of Richmond Hill, which is responsible to the tax- payers of Richmond Hill. This would put matters into a business-like and also a democratic basis to which the present chaotic jumble does not even approach. RONALD G. PERRY 44 Sunset Beach Rd. Oak Ridges, Ont. Helpmate seeks info Helpmate Information IS beginning a new Community Calendar to list events in and around Richmond Hill. beThe fialst Calendar will on ‘spa on Se tember 6. y p. People are asked to call Helpmate at 883-2234 to inform the centre of any events coming up. The centre would ap- preciate knowing about events at least one week before they occur. The calendars will be posted at the Richmond Hill Library, the Richvale Branch and the Charles Connor Branch. Thank you for your attention in this matter. ANNE GERBER Assistant Coâ€"ordinator Helpmate Richmond Hill. showed for parade meet Once again the Com- munity Spirit (or more preciously, the lack of it) of Richmond Hill has been shown again. We, at the Chamber of Commerce, held an organizational meeting for a Santa Claus Parade on July 25, 1977, and in- vited 14 different Service Clubs, Lodges and Merchant’s Associations in town. Chuck Doyle of the Progress Club and I had a very interesting con- versation, as we were the ONLY two in attendance. Time and time again, disappointment is shown by residents of Richmond Hill because of a lack of a Santa Claus Parade and it is up to ourselves as Service Club to get off our collective - - - uh, er, chairs and do something about it. There will be another meeting August 22, 1977, at 8 pm. in Committee Room “B” (lower level) of the Town Hall. I would like all those interested in par- ticipating in the organization of a parade to attend. Let's get it together or forget it, once and for all. DAVID BARROW, President, C h a m b e r Commerce, Richmond Hill. of