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

WHITBY FREE P¶RE, %WEýDNESDAY, DECENMR 14t 1988, PAGE ri Lucas Letterpress was mollified .. if that is the right word - when I told him. He even .... But wait. Perhaps we should back up a stride or two. Stride one: Lucas Letterpress is the editor and prop. of The Beaver Fiat Tail, the only newspaper published in the town of Beaver, Ont. Lucas hias written one or two guest columna here when yours truly bias corne up blank. That's a columnst's nightmare, that -- COring Up blank. So anyway. Stride two: Sometime in the pat week a stranger sort of sidled up te me (I won't give the circumatiances, they're not germiane te the tepic) and somehow remarked: 'Those charactersù in, your column. They're. somewhat Dickenesian. 'Pardon?" I asked. 'Dickenesian. You know., Sort of like the characters I didn't follow Up the comparison. Anyway, later in the week I got to talking te, Lucas and mentioned the comparison. 'Piekenesian?" he replied. "I think that's what she said." 'Exactly that word?" "I don't recali. It is what she meant, anyway." Lucas scratched his head, as he does when perplexed. "Did she mention," he said, "me specifically?" I had to, admit that no, the stranger had not mentioned Lucas by naine. Lucas, being a working journalist, has te be a sehool ma?m about details. 'Then who was nientioned?" he queried. "Exactly?" I teld him that Bent Broadaxe was one naine that had corne up in the conversation. Maybe Razor Strop, maybe Johnny Cannuck. But that last two are highly forgettable. The truth was, I didn't recali. Exactly. I was beginning te wish I had not brought the tepie up. 'Not exactly Dickenesian. Not exactly Lucas Letterpress. Maybe Bent Broadaxe. What on earth would it take for you te remember a specific detail?" Lucas whispered in his emphatic best. WITH OUR FEET UP by Bill Swan Like the Dickens I shrugged. "Are there any other comments you have failed te correctly remeniber?" he asked. 'Net that I can think of," I replied. 'Thckenesian. You think. Maybe Bent 'was mentioned. And yet you have the nerve te throw that in my face." 'Now wait a minute. I didt . .." "And it's not asthough yeu get reader reaction every day, either. How many has this been in three and a half years. Twice?" No, I mumble. Three,. four. 'Naine them. And that lettér frorn your mother doesn't count." 'Hey, look!" I said. 'That's getting a littie too. .." "And I don't know what other details of yours I can trust. For instance, did that stranger really sidie up te you? Or was that just a pretty word that had the right sound?" You know how it is with people who do not suifer fools gladly. We fools can be pushed too fer. By now Lucas had gone too fer. 'You huif about straw houses," I said finally. "rYou've got your puf ail up about wind. You think you can insit me by insinuating that readers don't react? FillFlil." By now I knew I couldn't extricate myseif without a fib, or two. 'Ii.. . okay., Maybe the stranger did say, Like the Dickens. Or something. But the intent was there. And I never said I agreed. 'Beides, readers do react. Why it was juat two years ago that the runner woman said something." "Anne Emmett? She mumbled something, because you wrote about her. She was being polite," Lucas jeered. '"hen there was Ian Barron." 'That was three, and a haif years ago, in your first, column. Have you mentioned theéWhitby Tigers since then?" 'Twice, but that's not thé point. Three people spoke to me already this year. One didn't even live in. Whitby. "Not only that, but twice in three and haif years ~pe have written letters to the editor. Now they oth called'me ignorant. and stupid and a few otho- er things that were edited out of the letters. But they did write."1 'Humph!" "And then, this week, there was the gift." "Gifts? " Lucas looked incredulous, and neither of us can speli it. "Gift. From Marie Ferguson. Some fire starter from Anne Marie Candies in Brooklin to help me over the winters problem of lighting my air-tight wood-burning stove."f Lucas didn't say a thing. He just slunk home, muttering. But I just know hell try te get the last word. Likely right now he's hammering out some editorial about journalism ethics and freebies and al that. .But then, he's likely neyer tried to light a wood fire wi«th soggy lindling. Mollified indeed. New tests show lower lead levels iin sehool drinking water By Debbie Luchuk Further tests on drinking water in Durham Reg*on schools has yielded lower lead levels than in tests recently. conducted by the CBC, says Bruce Mather, director of education for the Dur- ham Board of Education. "The news was good. We couldn't be happier," said Mather at a press conférence last Thurs- dave Durham schools had been tested by the CBC for a news feature on lead contamination of water in schools and homes. Test results showed three of the five sehools to have higher than acceptable levels of lead in drink- ing water. The three schools were the new Bellwood public school in Whitby, Roland Michener public school in Ajaýx and Maple Ridge public schoolin Pickering,' Consequently, the Ministry of the Environment performed tests that showed only Michener to have questionable leveis of lead in drinking water. The Durharnboard then hired Ortech International of Missis- sauga to conduct further testing both before- and after complete flushing of the water system in il operating schools and in the Valley Farm school now under construction in Pickering.. "The CBC results were the highest (in. lead levels). The ministry's was lower and our resuis froin Ortech Corporation are lower than them alI," said Mather. Mather said flushing of the system "is workirg extremely well» in lowering the lead level in the three schools that showed higher than acceptable leveIs of SEE PAGE 8 OUTDOOR INN PRCHII'."irSTMAS SPECIALS IN STOCK ONLY kÇRHU Junior Classie Ski Package Reg. 88.00 NOW 59.90 B ONNA Junior Sabre Ski Package, Reg. 88.00 NOW -59.90 SADULT TOTAL PACKAGE KARIFU Classic Ski's ItNOVA EXEL Po1es Reg. 223.9o NOW 154,,90 YAHIU Boots SSALOMON Bindings Instock: # LYNX # FALCON' KODIAK EDGE 0 BONNA ' PATJ{FJNDER Sk's Ail Specials SHiking Boot's from 24.90 KANGAROO'S Winter Boots 28.90 e GREB Boots 35.99 *K-WAY Nylon Jackets from 29.90, Pants 25.90 *100% Goose Down Jacket Reg. 210.00 NOW 139.90 *Tinsulate Jacket from 129.00 *GORETEX Jackets 0 BANFF & FARWEST from 139.90 *PATAGONIA Sweater's from 99.99 *KOMBI GORETEX Gloves Reg. 64.00 NOW 49.90 ~ IBack Packs from 49.90 e Da-y Packs from 6.90 Special Christmas Mç1VERRY VÀ iW,'W CAMPNG &HIKIG 1Store Hours: n CIRIT ASS Mon. & Tues. 9-8 01 35 BockSt.N.,Whiby 68-474 Wed. to Fr1. 9-9 ______________________________ Saturday 9-6 VTtOtdtf THE STWELVE DATS 0F .... twetve Liuuy incotIns 640eLeve n. &y scib(es ten. polLshec( pick-ups ..niue ca.tcfLy cWu:9/Cs eujlit -and' ra.rquis seven four-whee( rangers .... Sitx ILIe jL-tfl3 Sr f-emer-cur-ies ssss .... fourty used ca-s ..tWOpaint booths and. a par-ts couter i-ui bymew... (Ma.rigo (cfSouch) FORDH TRFUCKS ùýK