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Photo lacked a bit of info “Reaching Skyward" were the two words which appeared under a Page 5 photograph in your Liberal last week. It certainly was, but no one knew from whence it came. Minor oversight, dear readers, that the bulk of the basic in- formation failed to appear with the photo. Therefore, to satisfy your curiosity, here’s the information which was supposed to have ap peared under the picture: “Heading to the 250-foot level (about 80 metres) is Classic Communications Ltd. new Cable TV tower. New structure will carry Microwave antennae to serve Markham, Thornhill, Woodbridge, Kleinburg and Stoul‘fville. Tower is located off Newkirk Road in Rich- mond Hill." There, doncha feel better already? Certainly the Romans could not have built their straight roads all over the country without stepping on a few toes. Back then, there was one law for the rulers, and another for the colonials. The idea of a public highway that everyone could use made a comeback in medieval times. Compared with Roman roads, despite the best efforts of the engineers over the centuries, many British roads have not turned out that straight. Of course, some new ideas The concept of the King's Highway is an ancient and honorable one. Key to Tâ€"V plan not the key at all By SHARON BRAIN During the last clean up of the basement, there was an insidious conspiracy afoot. Some people felt they should throw out the box of mildewed papers I had dragged about with me for the last 15 years. By now, all these correspondents are upright members of their communities. But I have in my possession documents that prove they were not always the respectable, sensible, middle-aged pillars of decency they are now. You notice the box did not belong to any of the people who wanted it gone. He used to write me almost illegible letters that scathineg denounced the appearance and personalities of the snobbish women who chose to study Home Economics at his college. But I saved it. I carried it up- stairs and hid it under the bed. Today Iwent through it. And now I know why they wanted it to go. I have a gold mine here. You see, the box contains all the letters I got while in school. I have letters from a happily married man, father of two, who now lives in King City. Later he conceded one of them was bearable. But it seemed she had an impossible set of parents who guarded her like the crown jewels. And he named names. I think his wife might like to read those letters. Or better still, his mother-in-law Surely there is some money in that somewhere. 0r there was my girlfriend who used to write me during her summers as waitress at a resort. Surely those letters should be kept to pass on to her children CLASSIFIED ~ BSA-l NS. 881-3373 Home delivery ol The Liberal is 80 cents every four weeks; by mail $10.00 a year in Canada. $20.00 a year outside ol Canada. No local mail delivery where carrier service exists. The Metal us published each week by Menospan Community Newspapers leiled. This newspaper is a member of the Canadian Community Newspapev Amiauon and the Audit Bueau 01 Cremation 10395 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill L4G 4Y6 Ontario comm HAROLD sums PUBL'SHE" ""3"" MAXWELL ASSOCIATE EDITOR non WALLACE The Libeval is published evevy Wednesday by 'V Divusmn, which also publishes The Banner In Aurora the Bolxon Enterpvise. PAGE A4 Robert Maxwell - General Manager Q John C Fergus - Advemsmg Direcror 2 Ray Padlev Jr - Field Sales Manager Graham Hennckson - Circulauon Director NOrman Slunden ‘ Productnn Manager Larry JohnSOn - News Emror Markham - Vaughan Edit-on Ross Hadsatl » leCulallofl Supervisor sharon's â€"/ f? sunshine METROSPAN » NORTH DIVISION mgr "ifihtral 10395 Yonge Smet. 9.0. Box 350‘ MC 4Y6. Ontario manor“: ~ 9343177. 931397; Eh: it‘ihrral The oonmms, boxh edllonal and advemsmg of The Libe'al Richmond Hill, are prmeaed by mpvwrighl and any unaumovized use is prohibited. Second Class Mail Registration No. 0190 VOLUME Ill], NUMBER 13 Menospan Community Newspapers Limited North va‘ Newmavket‘ The Woodbndge Vaughan News. and Treasure in basement when they get tired of Mother’s lectures on getting home on time. or burning the candle at both ends, or over-indulging in various ways. She has now had him for seven years of marriage and two children. Or from another friend, I have a letter that says: “He’s not much, but there isn’t anything else available. So I guess I’ll keep him around for a while longer.” She might be willing to pay a bit for that. The only letters that aren’t worth anything are those from my mother. She would enclose a cheque, tell me I didn’t seem to be getting enough sleep, and warn me of the dangers of big city life. And then there are the letters from that man I married. I read him a few over dinner tonight. Ruined the meat-loaf for him. The Ontario Municipal Board was left to hold a hearing in which few of the things which are really bothering people could be said. Thanks to the minister, its hearing looks like a travesty and the board, not the minister, will take the blame. The board needs the power to look at highways that are near the heart of planning decisions. His style was two pages of “Gee what a good time I‘m having without you,” with a one-line kicker at the end to protect his interests during his absence. The ministry was taking that position even though it would unload Highway 7B at the earliest opportunity, on the nearest un- suspecting municipality. Rather than fight for something people in Thornhill wanted, the minister of housing changed the Thornhill-Vaughan plan and signed it without Vaughan councillors knowing of the changes, to say nothing of the public. have cropped up since, like in- dividual property rights, and democracy. But every now and then there is a reminder that the class of bureaucrats who were supposed to be swept out of this country with the coming of responsible govern- ment are still in control. Last week. the people on the Vaughan side of Thornhill were shocked to learn after years of negotiations that what they con- sidered was the key to the Thor- nhill-Vaughan plan for them, would not be part of the plan at all. Why, because they dared speak about 3 King’s Highway, Highway 7B, and wanted their words to be part of the minister of housing‘s official plan. The ministry of transportation and communication had said the highway should not be anything but a highway in the plan. Democracy is believed to be an idea that has gained some credibility in Canada. But I can’t feel superior because I have my side of that correspondence. and I gushed enough to make up for any coolness on his part. When I was not quoting from the works of John Donne, or discussing the nature of love as revealed in Philosophy 120, I was saying “Like, I mean wow!" Very embarrassing. Come to think of it, I guess all those letters I wrote to other people might still be drifting about in their damp basements. After all, I have a position in the community to consider. Maybe I should just arrange a trade to get my letters back. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28. 1977 I have just spent the last few months going through HECK (this being a family newspaper means I can’t say Hell). Can you'imagine what it is like to spend more than 7,000 hours of your life flying a helicopter and then have to learn to fly an airplane? Well, you can bet your sweet tailrotor that it ain’t that easy, 01’ buddy. I’ll give you a brief background on the reason for the change in aircraft. CKEY has been providing traffic reports to commuters since 1967. In ’68 we decided to put up two helicopters thereby giving our listeners two points of coverage in each report. Three years ago we replaced one of the machines with a much faster jet chopper in an effort to expand our area and be of help to drivers in the outlying regions of the Big Smoke. All went well until darkness fell and the laws of aviation dictated that we must stay strictly within the Metro boundaries. ,The reason for this was simply that all of our aircraft had only one engine and you weren’t allowed to crash in the country at night, only in the city. Makes sense . . ._huh? York County Board of Education in its continuing drive to see that we don’t become too smueg sure of ourselves, is doing its best once more to complicate what would seem to be a relatively simple issue. Somehow it feels that, for the taxpayers to get their $74,000,000 worth, it must take every motion that comes before it and threaten it Solomon-like with an axe, to see who really cares the most. Right now the board is in a quandary â€" that’s something like a quarry, only the gravel’s thicker â€" about a mixed-up government edict â€" that's the edict that’s mixed up this time â€" as to whether the teaching of French in elementary schools next year, should be compulsory from Grade 1 on. - Anywho. .’ . to be able to provide complete traffic coverage, daytime or after dark, the only alternative available was to go twin- engine. Now we were faced with two choices Not that anything is ever relatively simple with the board. That way, it can then decide to do just the opposite. In 1975, the board approved an integrated French program beginning at the Grade 1 level, as of Sept. 1, 1978. It was not man- datory, however, and for those students not starting French in Grade 1, a two-year sequence beginning in Grade 7, or any other grade, would be made available. According to board spokesmen, the ministry of education contradicts itself on the subject, not quite stating that the subject will be compulsory in one place, and ruling out any options in the matter in the other. Naturally, the govemment’s daffy directive now has left the board’s panel of interpreters more bewildered than usual, with chairman Craig Cribar adding an extra dollop to the mix-up. QUESTIONED IT The Newmarket minister However, a solid grounding in these things does make it a little easier for one to move about in society. And if one has an extra language, easier to move about in other climas as well. Here, in Canada, we’re sup- By Bob Rice (6) (‘ZZZ . one was a twin-engine helicopter priced at French should be compulsory in Grade 7 man/none HILL THE LAW SAID Planes are nice but hard to drive The implication being that the kids must become learned scholars in the subject, instead of just being able to maintain the half-literate pace of the rest of the class. But that is no more so than they are expected to become writers, calligraphers or mathematicians, because they will also be studying reading, writing and arithmatic. However, a solid grounding in these things does make it a little easier for one to move about in society. Is there some sort of special absolution people coming to this country should get, because we daren’t let them think we’d ever be so presumptuous as to inflict anything of our own culture, or of our own academic way of life on them? If so, why stop at the language? Why not let everyone who enrols have options on the three Rs, as well? The big fear of the board seems to be that many parents â€" im- migrants, especially â€" find the thought of their kids having to learn an extra language, just too much to handle. questions French being singled out in such fashion, when other courses are allowed more flexibility. Cribar said he has nothing against students learning French, but he can‘t see “how we can force Italian immigrants, for example, to want to learn French.” Is that really a problem? And, if so, why can’t you “force” Italian, or Hungarian, or Czechoslovakian, or even Gaelic-tongued Scottish immigrants to conform to whatever’s on the curriculum? roughly eight hundred thousand dollars or, two, change over to a twin fixed-wing aircraft at about a quarter of the cost. So here I am . . . flying around T my bright orange Cessna Skymaster GETTING THERE... It’s a honey of an aircraft and, to be honest with you, the only twin that is perfectly suited for the job. But let me tell you, pal . . . getting here wasn’t a jar of honey. You see . . . before I could get my mitts on this Cadillac I had to go through the basic training on a Volkswagen. When I first approached the Cessna 172, parked on the ramp at Buttonville Airport, I immediately knew that something was wrong. First of all, the rotor blades were stuck on the nose instead of the top of the cockpit. Any twit worth a Sack of mud would know right off the bat that this thing didn’t have a hope of getting off the ground. - In addition: the darnithing didn’t have a tail rotor. Perhaps the designers thought that the big vertical tail and the funny things sticking out on it would do the job but I sure as heck wasn’t going to be fooled. Now, I should tell you that, being a good pilot, I looked all around the fanny of that bird but nowhere could I find the little two-bladed fan that keeps the aircraft straight. regional viewpoint WHO NEEDS WHEELS As if these things weren’t bad enough . flying around Toronto in But the fair will already be rolling toward what directors hope will be more record crowds at the new lOS-acre site at Defence minister Barney Danson with Mayor Tony Roman is to open the new Markham Fairgrounds Saturday at 12:30 pm: officially. French shouldn’t be any more bewildering to kids when they’re first starting out than mathematics, and they shouldn’t be allowed the luxury of feeling they’re being discriminated against, because something new has been added. Unless, of course, it’s just a hazy scheme dreamed up by some poseur with too many professional development days on his hands and not enough days in the classroom. Maybe Quebec will secede and drift out into the Atlantic someplace. And maybe to some that makes the study of French redundant. But I don’t think so. In fact, it may make it just that much more imperative. posed to have two languages, although I’m never sure if that’s fact or fantasy, the rules keep changing so often. However, now and then, those in English-speaking Canada and those in French-speaking Canada, decide to learn each other’s language at an early age and they grow up not even realizing they’re supposed to have so much in un- common. It’s great for unity. Fair opens Thursday SOMETHING NEW There will be far more space for exhibits for crowds and parking at the new site, compared with Gates open for the 12nd fair and first one at the new site Thursday and the fair runs through to Sunday. 18th Avenue and McCowan Road. the airplane even had wheels. Now I ask you . . why would they stick wheels on when all you have to do is lift off the ground into a hover and then disappear into the wild blue yonder? I had to be led back to the terminal building since my mind was numb and I couldn’t seem to put one food ahead of the other. I went to bed that night dreading the approach of daylight. How was I going to cope with it all? The stupid things need runways to land on . . . preferable with enough pavements to allow you to come to a controlled stop. They had wings and a whole lot of stuff like that . . . they even had brakes. My instructor ( I will not use his name because he is a nice guy and I wouldn’t want to damage his reputation) approached me and asked if I had any questions before we got into the aircraft. Five hours later it was decided that we wouldn’t go aloft that day since darkness had engulfed the area and a light drizzle was falling. Next week I’ll take you along while I try to master the unknown but in the meantime, let your mind ponder the words of the Millpond philosopher who said “ . . . to care for your brother in times of need . . . is worth two in the bush!" Why didn’t I take up a reasonable profession. . .like maybelshould have beena shepherd. I could see I was going to have a problem or But I’ve know many Europeans who speak English fluently, as a result of having it served to them just after their pablum. Frenchg and English are more and more becoming universal languages; soon even the Republic of Quebec will be forced to learn English if it wishes to associate with the outside world. The York board has a great opportunity to add to its students’ horizons by introducing French to its Grade 1 curriculum. I’ve never known anyone yet who learned to speak French by beginning in Grade 7, 8 or 9. Whether the ministry decrees it or not, the board should scrap its 1975 resolution, and see to it that French becomes part of the schedule from Grade 1 on, with no options. Just think, when the kids swore at you, you’d no longer understand what they were saying. Not only would learning the language help to lessen the sense of isolation so often felt among the people of this country, as well as provide another generation with an extra key to survival, but there’d be other advantages, too. the old one at Highway 7 and 48 where the fair was held for 121 years. A new feature this year will be quarterhorse racing Thursday and Saturday nights. Standard-bred horses will run Saturday af- ternoon and greyhound dogs Sunday afternoon.