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This week, a column about sornething of more localized interest. Webster's Dictionary defines community as "people living in a particular area having common interests". The same dictionary also defines association as "an organization of persons having a common interest". Thus, it might be said that a community association is an organization of people living in a particular area having a common interest, presumably in that area. Community associations are not a new phenomena. Traditionally, they have had their genesis in ratepayer groups which were formed to present a supposedly uniform statement of ratepayer opinion on a particular issue. It has been equally traditional that once that particular issue had been battled to the bitter end that ratepayer- interest dwindled to near-nothingness. The organization was usually kept afloat by but a few people, often for long periods of time, until another interest arose which aroused ratepayer interest. The development of the West Lynde Community -A ni i not follow this traditional pattern. An Association was formed in late 19/3 and early 1974 which assumed a common interest on the part of the people of West Lynde. This belief in the commonality of interest was further strengthened when, in 1973-74 and 1974-75, a number of highly successful social events were held, and issues came along which galvanized the community. The Association was viewed as a vibrant, energetic expression of common interest and common purpose. Yet, in this euphoric period, the signs of disinterest were there for tliose who wanted to see. General meetings were attended by a relative handful of people. No great issues of common interest to the people were to be discussed, therefore, there was no compelling reason for the multitudes to attend. The successes of the association were misleading in other ways as well. Local government sat up, and took notice of it, and treated it with respect as it would any other supposedly solid block of over 800 votes. It ascribed to the W.L.C.A. political clout, and pointedly paid attention to its rumblings. This attitude in turn fanned the political fires of the association, and dreams of a powerful pojitical force were conjured up at will. This led immediately to the debate as to the prime purpose of the W.L.C.A. with a vocal minority favouring overt political action. Political strength, however, is numbered according to the size and cohesiveness of the vote. In local elections, the vote was neither overwhelming nor uniform. The dream of political action was replaced by the reality of political disinterest. The West Lynde Community Association is now over three years old, and it has reached a crossroads. The steady, stable successes are showing signs of wear; attend- ýY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 2,1977, PAGE 5 ance at general meetings has gotten worse; and the everpresent infighting as to purpose is now out in the open. Clearly, some decisions need to be taken. Does the member- ship opt for an Association which runs the social events, and little more with'th'executive and Street Reps doing ail the work? Or, does the membership take the time to determine what it is they want by way of a community association? In my opinion, the Association should be left to disappear in dignity. It served its purpose, but the purpose is no more. I doubt if many would mourn its passing because very few have contributed to its life. As a postscript to the articles on the GO Systern, I would like to report that not one train I took last week was on time. The GO people should go back to practising with their Lionel setups until they get it right. And to the local politician who said the System could be improved if the people wanted the politicians to spend the money, I say spend the money on this where its needed, and not on other things like planning studies. And, finally, the best line heard this week comes from Dave Broadfoot at the All-Star Dinner in Vancouver. Comparing Canadians and Americans, he pointed out that here in Canada we don't buy our politicians, we rent them! As I was sitting down to write this column I noticed a wayward newspaper which hadn't been filed and it's headline almost jumped out at me. It read, "County Town Carnival to begin Thursday". I was instantly taken back to a warm and muggy summer with green grass and the wind rustling the leaves and a time when a shady tree was nuch sought after. It's a terrible letdown to have to drag yourself back to reality by looking out the window at what the CBers would call, "wall to wall snow". Let's face it, some people just don't know about moderation. Of course on the odd occasion I will moan to no one in particular that I wished we had some snow so I could go skiing but I want you to know I'm certainly not responsible for that great white mess outside. In fact I've always said that it can snow all it wants as long as it doesn't land in my driveway. Well the darn stuff landed in my driveway and everybody else's too and either somebody got carried away in their request for ski or snowmobile Teachers struck Monday Cont'd from P.*1 The teachers are concern- ed too, about recuding teacher-pupil ratios in the classroom. Neil Doherty, a provincial OECTA representative, said the board has offered to give the teachers parity with the public school board (12 per cent) if the teachers will accept an increase in the pupil-teacher ratio. However, he added, that if the teachers accepted the increase in the pupil-teacher ratio, about 20 teaching jobs 'vo"1'] hP. lost School Trustee Louis Hughes, chief board bargainer said the board cannot afford to give the teachers 12 per cent and maintain the tax rate parity with the public board. He said the separate board fears parents will send their children to the public board if the tax rate is raised. The teachers' contract expired Aug. 31, 1976, and the strike is the first by teachers this year in the province of Ontario. snow or else we're all being punished for something we shouldn't have done. The storm has had its humurous moments although i have to admit it has caused more grief than humour. And of course there's nothing more frustrating to a skier such as myself to see all the glorious white stuff coming down and then find out that because there's so much white stuff you can't get to the ski area to use it. You can't get there of course and my area' is 30 miles away which is a little difficult even if I owned cross country skis. The Laurentians often get this much snow and more which is why they attract so many skiers. One year while I was there on a ski week and taking lessons the mountains had an unusually great amount of fluffy white stuff. During the sk class I lost control and headed off into the brush. After losing an argument with a couple of saplings I got myself stopped and as I turned around to catch the instructor's attention I tripped and fell upside down. As I hit the snow the crust broke and I found myself at the bottom of a great cavern in the snow and daylight was ten feet above me. i considered myself lucky that the instructor was smart enough to follow my tracks to locate me but it was extremely embarrassing to have to get the whole class there to help hoist me out the great hole. I can also remember during my high school days that we had a lot of snow. The students found it great fun forcing their cars into a side spin down Henry Street and if you were really good at it your car would go sideways all the way past the high school. It impressed the girls to no end. But i wasn't very good at it and wound up being told by the principal not to drive my car to school. During one of my sliding attempts the car sort of left the road and sort of cleaned out about 30 feet of hedge at a house close to the school. Of course down by the lake the snow drifted in great mounds and it was fun to drive down the then under A MORTGAGES i M i T E. O 1st & 2nd Arrongedi Bought Ond Soid at Prime Rates coInPeter Kade 668-1556 ANUBIS INVESTMENTS Ltd. 149 rock St. N., Whitby FAMILY WORSHIPI 11 a.m. each Sunday ST. MARK'S UNITED CHURCH Centre and Colborne Sts., Whitby Church School 668-3091 and Infant Care worship. INFORMATION 668-3602 while parents 668-97R2 construction roads near the Dupont plant and "blast" into the great snow drifts. Because of the drifting and ice it was difficult to tell if you were right on the roadway or not. On one occassion I most definitely was not and while blasting into a great drift with my car full of fellow classmates we discovered - the hard way - the location of a fire hydrant. I didn't break the hydrant but I certainly rearranged my bumper and grill and put a stop to blasting snow drifts. I can vividly remember another occasion while driving with three friends to a dance in Brooklin experiencing car trouble on highway 12 just south of the fruit market between here and Brooklin I suspected snowwasblowing in on the warm engine and after nelting it was shorting out the ignition wires. As it would only take me a minute to pull over and dry the wires I started looking for a place to pull off the highway. One section looked flat and the wind had stripped it of all snow leaving only hard and frozen dirt. Not wanting to hold up traffic I quickly wheeled over i shouldn't have. The next thing I knew we were all looking out the windows and seeing only white stuff. My "flat" spot was a ten foot ditch full of snow and the "dirt" was just a skim of dust the wind had blown on top of the snow. I was about as popular as a cop at a pot party. Anyway I'd just like to point out something to you people out there who have been asking for snow - enough is enough already. THAPAR DENTURE THERAPY CLINIC 16à Simcoe St. S. Oshawa 579-8752 Hours Mon-Sat & Evenings by Appointment 0 nly A good cut, set, permanent or professional straightening can add life to dull hair. Professional hair coloring can highlight or change your hair for a totally new look. LA CONTESSA BEAUTY LOUNGE 119 Green St. 668-926 j