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Of these, eight were triplications and 11 were We had a total of 123 nominations. As the chairman of the beautification awards program (The Liberal‘s Second Annual Rose Awards) I would like to take this moment to express my thanks to all the people of Richmond Hill who participated in the awards program and helped to make it a huge success. Rose awards attract 0 var 700 an tries Through you, léi thanks to him. As I am the owner of the Elkhorn it gave me great pleasure to read Mr. Matthew‘s kind words about my business establishment I was pleased to see in last week's Liberal an article by dining out columnist Norman H. Matthews describing his dinner at the Elkhorn Restaurant and Tavern. Dear editor The lack of phasing policies raises a serious question about who will control the pace of develop- ment. The low housing density rules out economy and rental homes. But the biggest problem is raised by traffic. All agencies agree on the necessity of moving large numbers of future Thornhill Parks for one. The parks consultant for the plan must have looked at the golf courses and the parkway belt and felt a minimum would be needed. Since then, the parkway belt has shrunk to a utility core and the golf courses have come under a real threat of development. The plan that sets the population goal of 75,000 for the Vaughan side of Thornhill is a document of compromise. Despite years of consultation between citizens, developers and council, plus many months of meetings with other agencies to get problems ironed out before the document was “engraved in stone," there are still many problems. Thornhill-Vaughan is not a planner’s dream. So said Vaughan’s chief administrative officer last week. Because right beside the lumber company is a concrete But to view the area afterrtrhfié fire was out brings the sudden realization of what they ac- complished during that multi- alarm fire. Thornhill city plan still has problems They lost the building which housed a lumber company and hardware store. It was, for all ‘intents and purposes, last before fire fighters arrived on the scene. Richmond Hill, its full-time force and its volunteers. were joined by fire fighters from Markham, Vaughan and Aurora Friday night to battle one of the largest fires seen around these parts for quite a while. When fires as catastrophic as the two in Richmond Hill on the weekend break out, you judge the calibre of fire fighters not by what was destroyed, but by what was saved. What is saved shows the worth of fire fighters Res taurant 0 wn er thanks columnist 10395 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill L4G 4Y6 Ontario PUBLISHER ROBERT MAXWELL EDITOR HAROLD BLAINE ASSOCIATE EDITOR RON WALLACE PAGE A4 The Liberal Is published every Wednesday by Melrospan CON Division, wthh also publishes The Banner in Aurora, Newmarkel, T the Honor» Enterprise. me express my filly Iihmtl â€" The Town of Rich- mond Hill and the Chamber of Commerce for sponsoring the awards: â€" The Horticultural Society for judging of the â€"The Liberal for running the awards program; duplications. leaving 109 properties in Richmond Hill qualifying for awards. I would also like to thank: I have not had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Matthews, but, I would like him to know that his kind words made my day. I hope he would come in again and give me the opportunity of thanking him personally for his thoughtful kindness to a businessman in Richmond [Ill] Hill y by Meuospan Commun-ty Newspapers Limued Norm Auvova, Newmarkel, The Woodbndge Vaughan News. and Old Thornhlll residents have been getting to work that way since 1898, so the newcomers might as well join the crowd. It would make more sense, and perhaps be cheaper in the long run, to provide an expanded public transit system to the city and promise it in the plan. There is only one east-west road connecting the industrial and residential areas in the plan. If such a policy were to be taken seriously, the arterial road system would have to change. Large amounts of money would have to be spent on public housing. Since Vaughan’s industrial area is made up mostly of wanehouses where people work at or near minimum wages, such a policy can be little more than a dream. Instead they are adding a vague policy that Vaughan will try to have people living in the plan- ning area who are working in the town. But they cannot agree on how to do it. As a result there is no clear direction in the plan on public transit to the city. residents north and south We have always maintained firefighting techniques in York are second to none, and fire fighters keep on proving it. Well done, Richmond Hill, and well done. too, Vaughan, Markham and Aurora. And judging by the nearness of the adjacent buildings, fire fighters were taking no nonsense from a blaze that could have caused twice as much damage. When a fire reaches the in- tensity of Friday‘s inferno, there‘s little anyone can do to knock it down. But there’s plenty that can be done to keep it in one place. Fire fighters call it “conâ€" taining a blaze”. And that's what they did Friday night. When the flames were finally extinguished, the adjacent buildings stood, virtually un- touched by the fire. plant to the west and a house to the east. ANGELO ELIAS, 10300 Yonge St., Richmond Hill. Ont Thénk you again for Your coâ€"operation. The lawn ornaments and certificates will be presented to the winners in September. A list of the winners will be published in The Liberal within the next two weeks. nominations WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31. 1977 DINO SALVATORI Chairman Awards program committee. program Many tourist facility operators The people of the province are throughout the province looked forward especially desirable visitors. They tend A number of factors made this a somewhat disastrous year for Ontario tourism: the Montreal Olympics, the us. bicentennial celebrations and the US. presidential election. the energy crisis, confusion regarding sizes of US. and Canadian gallons of gasoline, the exchange rate on the dollar. negative publicity regarding mercury pollution of some of our lakes. and the general economic slump DISASTROL'S YEAR This trend was particularly noticeable in 1976. This has meant that the growth rate of tourism revenues in Ontario has declined steadily since 1974. For a number of years now, the total number of visitors choosing this province for a vacation-land has been steadily decreasing. Over the same period, the number of Ontarians seeking a sunny southern climate. or taking advantage of charter flights abroad has increased. The tourist industry is vital to the economy of Ontario. but it has recently been losing ground. Visitors from all other countries totalled 885.000 and spent a further $290,000.0004 Without question, it is one of our greatest sources of foreign currency. In 1976, some 20,775,000 tourists from the United States visited Ontario, spending in the neighborhood of $750,000,000. It is, in fact, one of our largest em- ployers and our second biggest in- dustry. Last year. it produced $2.8 billion in revenue and employed 200,000 people. The development of tourism in Ontario has contributed quite sub- stantially to our province‘s economy. I used to crouch right down beside the radio and picture that big city room. I‘ve always been fascinated by the role of editor, ever since those days so long ago when Edward G. Robinson used to snarl out of the side of his mouth â€" it had to be the side with that cigar taking up the rest â€" as Steve Wilson of The Illustrated Press. However, after two or three trips the length of the building, it was reassuring to finally have the receptionist look up from her desk and say: “If it‘s the laundromat you want, sir, it’s next door." FASC/NA T/NG JOB After all anyone can have holidays, but how many people get the chance to walk into a strange office â€" staff of three ~ go straight through to the back, sit down in a big chair. put their feet up on the desk. wait for somebody to come. and then to do the whole thing all over again because nobody noticed them come in? Having spent the last two weeks experiencing the heady power of an editor at one of our sister (brother?) papers â€" you can't be too careful these daysâ€" it was a bit ofa blow to find out someone thought I‘d been away on a mere vacation. “Well, did you have a good vacation?” one of the men in the office sajd to me Monday when he saw me. ' regional VieWpoint By Al! Stong MLA York Centre By Jim Irving queen's park LOCAL COMPETITION We must also bear in mind the fact we are actually in competition with other provinces for the tourist business of our own residents, since Ontarians themselves are the target of many advertising programmes. Finally. some businesses simply are not honouring the exchange rate, which at present is favourable to American visitors. This would increase overhead costs from the outset. Minimum hourly wages are also higher here, making operating costs greater. Our property tax system places many motels at a competitive disadvantage. For example, the interest costs on funds used to build a motel in Canada would be approximately 11 per cent, compared with 7 per cent in the United States. This would indicate the problem is more serious than simply a matter of a year during which a number of special and interesting activities took place outside Ontario. Our tourist industry has to cope with a reputation for being overpriced. In fact. our costs are higher. DIFFICULT PROBLEM On the other hand, the number of Ontarians choosing to travel outside the country has continued to increase at an average rate of 8.5 per cent for every first quarter since 1974. In the first quarter of this year, the number of non~residents visiting Ontario decreased by some 8 per cent, compared with the first quarter of 1976 â€" which had itself been a poor year for tourism in the province. to 1977 for a return to increased valuable tourist dollars. So far the prgspects are not very good. Fo’r some reason; {he slump in tourism i§ continuing. 's Tourist industry needs more push He had his orders, if yomf That‘é why you stayed in for lunch that day. There you were, barking out orders; telling the mayor to hold the line, (while you finished the sports page) solving the latest crime, as the police still sought to identify the victim from some prints that had been sand-papered over a couple of times, cracking out hard- hitting editorials against corruption in high places, while the town’s leading hit man waited in a car across the street from the paper for the first edition to roll off the press to see if you told all. And that was only the reporters. Being an editor, such as Edward G. opened another world. You were always around the biggest stories when they broke. You got into all the games and the fights for free: you always had a dreamy looking blonde on each arm â€" and sometimes on your back ~â€" and you were always welcomed at the biggest night clubs, because the owner liked your stuff. Or maybe that came iate_r_.°"1§ight then, I knew they led a pretty exciting life; there was nothing mundane about being a newspaperman. with all the guys sitting around with their hats on their heads, press cards in the hat bands, and world weary looks on their faces that said they’d heard it all before. but it would be kind of fun to go out and hear it once again, and maybe this time, it would come out right. Was it holiday or power play? A N0 THE? WORLD Bearing in mind the vital importance of Ontario’s tourism industry -â€" both with respect to the provincial economy, and in the light of the employment opportunities which it offers â€" possibly more efforts should be made to promote this facet of busines§ in the province. The return on our advertising dollar is approximately $260. That is a higher return than that obtained by the federal government or the Province of Quebec, which, by comparison, obtain only $158 and $147 on the dollar, respectively. However, our tourist industry will continue to be in a depressed condition until some of the problems which are being experienced can be corrected. MONEY WELL SPENT This province invests some $6 million annually in an effort to attract and retain tourism dollars. For the most part, promotional activities prove rewarding. Ontario tourism is an attractive proposition for the holidaymaker. We have, in this province, superb scenery and recreational opportunities which are so unique that people genuinely wish to return once they have ex- perienced a holiday here. to stay longer at tourist facilities, consequ'ently spendipg more money. And l really didn’t think it odd when they started calling me “Steve.” So, all in all, it went very well. But I still don’t know why they found that green eye shade so funny. I mean. they opened up the mail for me each morning, didn’t seem to mind too much when I said “Now see here, you guys," nor did they seem to find anything strange in those elastics I wore to keep my shirt sleeves from slipping too much‘ And I think I did, after I finally coyvinced them what I was there for. That's why I was prepared to take it all in my stride, move in without too many ados and show them that I had kept pace, that I knew how one moved in present day newsrooms, no matter what the size. Well, as we all know, it isn’t quite that way at all. And I knew as much when I went out to Woodbridge a couple of weeks ago to take over from the vacationing editor. And even though the top figures of the community sought you out, coveted your company, sought your advice, you kept them at arm’s length. You wanted it set straight right from the beginning that you didn’t play any favorites, that just because you knew each other and you often benefitted from their tips, it didn’t mean they had you in their pocket In the palm of their hand, maybe. but not quite their pocket. Roben Maxwell - Geneval Managev John c. Fevgus - Advenising Divectov Rav Padley Jr. - field Sales Manage! Pele: Lane - Circulauon Dileclov Nonman Stunden - PKOduCtiOfl Manager Lam Juhnslon - News Edllal. Markham - Vaughan Eamon Ross Hodsodl ~ Cuculauon Superwsov Home dellvew of The Lubeval Is 80 cents every (om weeks; hit man $1000 a veal in Canada yqay outs-Ge of Canada. No bcal mail dehverv where Caniev sewice exists. 10395 Yong. Strum P.O. Box 990. MC (Y5. Onlario TELEPHONE - 884-8177. 831-3378 CLASSIFIED - 384-1105. 881-3373 CIRCULATION DREAM SHA TTERS METHOSPAN - NORTH DIVISION E11: ifihn‘al RM:th Hm, a‘ use IS [Mohamed VOLUME 100, NUMBER 9 It‘s always nice to come home, especially to a place where the poor are rich, and the guys who’s robbing you speaks your language, and it doesn’t cost $.00 to get your socks washed and ironed, and the climate is hot and cold. not just wet and dry, and you’re not the richest person on the bus or the poorest person in the hotel. ’ Bést flight: The one from Santo Domingo to Toronto. Most humiliating moment: Santo Domingo. After three weeks of Spanish, I asked for an ashtray with a degree of confidence approaching cockiness. The waiter nodded and brought the salt and pepper. But gas was only 25 cents a gallon. Of course, only the rich drive cars, while everyone needs shoes. Most govemrnents have given these squatters access to electricity. So they now have refrigerators, lights, and television. I And squalor. Most expensive city: Caracus. I never saw a pair of shoes cheaper than $50. They are made of discarded building scraps. Beneath their tin roofs are huge families growing up in brutal poverty. But lip close: these are one-room howls with no water, sewage, or roads. From a ways off.'in with the windows closed, they are alinqst pictqresque. It's easier Every city has its slums. They run up the sides of the hills that surround the cities. or spring up on vacant lots right next door to a new apartment building. Worst slufns: a draw. I wduld love to give the award to Panama, but my choice would be purely personal. (See Pa_ragraph 4,) Best meal: A hotaog coveFed with green peppers and onions at the race track in Rio. Weiner was bright red. Re_f_used tp ponder the reason. Most spectacular sight: Flying over the Andes on aAsimny morning. At least it didn‘t snow in the city Would have ruined my sandals. Next morning saw in the papers that 61 people, most of them tourists with children. spent the night dangling high above the mountain side in the first breakdown of the system in 20 years. Worst weather: Santiago. Very Chile. Should have been forewarned by the number of people on our flight carrying ski-boots. But I‘ve never before been forced to come to grips with what causes the seasons. There’s more to it than just the equator. Closest call: Caracus, Venezuela. Slept in one morning, and had to put off the cable car trip up the mountain that risgs above the city. There are other s3ghvtsirwort‘fi-ggeing in Rio, but only women are out looking at them. It is the only place I have ever been where I felt over-dressed in a one-piece suit. I never realized the human body has that much displayable skin. i spent my days on Copacabana Beach trying to ignore my husband trying to ignore the bikinis. We both failed abysmaiiy. The fact they had a very large and very shiny knife made it fairly easy for us to understand whatever it was they wanted was exactly what we were going to let them have. So one column will be all you get. Favorite city: Rio de Janeiro. The natives have a saying that in six days God made the world, and on the seventh He rested by making Rio! At least I think that’s whét'tfiéy said when they demanded the bag it was in. But since they were speaking Spanish, it was a little hard to be sure. CIRCULATION - BBWBBL 881-3378 And because they can’t get The Liberal down there, they thought they’d better take the notebook as well. I‘m back. I saw five countries in 22 days. And the strain of eating every meal out, of never getting near a stove, of never being allowed to make my own bed, of having someone else scrub out the tub â€" well. It was tough. I originally meant to give you several columns on the delights of South and Central America. I even took notes about each country as we travelled. But then two charming, but somewhat agressive men decided to relieve us of our watches, wallets, money, books and camera in Panama City. / faced Panama robbers BRUTAL PO VERTY \auxh‘ Audn B‘ OVER ANDES SKIN GALORE FA CED K N/FE BY SHARON BRAIN {a sharon's a? sunshine wspa De: mutation $20.00 a