|, The South Marysburgh Mirror] THE LAST WORD | a T: troublesome V: vehicle (in the wrong hands) Thave always had some concerns about ATV’s (all and never have been intended for travel on our highways or on the hard shoulder. Yet why is it that more and more often we are seeing these recreational vehicles being driven at high speed, not only along the hard shoulders of our county roads, but also on the roads themselves. Deaths are sure to be the consequence, and innocent parties may well also be involved. This week I watched an ATV, followed by a dirt bike, both traveling at high speed, as they came along #1 highway to #10, IGNORED THE HALT SIGN and tumed west along #10 in the direction of Cherry Valley. Both of these vehicles were driven by young people. Neither of these vehicles are licensed or insured or LEGALLY permitted to travel on our highways yet I, and I am sure, other people, continue to see incidents like this happening. I cannot believe that our Municipal Council almost passed a bye law permitting these vehicles to travel along the hard shoulders of our County roads. Please keep ATV’s where they belong: OFF ROAD. Now what about applying some speed limits, particularly along the old railway tracks ACTORS AM- ENDS TOM- A- HAWK BUTTER - NUTS. RU- (D)-E B-EAGLE KIN - DNES (send rev.) -S PUZZLE SOLUTION DOWN OBOIST (anag. I boost) STAG - NATION LISP (anag. slip) NEEDLES - S T-H-UNDER- S- TRUCK ACROSS 14 §-MOTHER-IN-G 7 ABS- TRACT 15 CA- (MP) -USES 9 L-(0)-ITER 16 OB- SERVED 10 KIN-G 19 MA- SONS 11 L-(AUNCH P (anag. paunch) 20 W- (ID) -EST -ADS 22 TO-GA 12. ST- RAINED 13 RASHER CHIRO- (anag. choir) P - R- where they can regularly be seen and heard traveling at ‘excessive’ speed. Our police department, who probably have a good idea of those responsible for causing the prob- lem, need to take this one to heart and, with our help, apply the law. This week we have been mourning the loss of Coun- cilor Ron Everall to the County. He will be sadly missed by many who knew him and respected his commitment to mu- nicipal affairs. The County is a poorer place without him. An election is coming up in a few months time and I agree with those who have encouraged a delay until then to fill this vacant seat. But I would take it a stage further. Con- T_ sider these statistics. Town of Ajax, Population 90,000. Seven members of counclt including City of Peterborough, "population 130,000. Eleven members of council including the mayor. City of Belleville, population 46,000. Nine members of council including the mayor ity of Kingston, population 114,000. Thirteen members of council including the mayor. In Prince Edward County, we have 16 elected repre- sentatives who sit in Shire Hall and service the needs of 22,748 or so, residents. One councilor to under 2000 people (if you count babies and children into the equation). Might ere be something slightly incongruous about these num- ers? WHY are we so fixated in maintaining the OLD boundary structures and in the process electing such a large number of representatives for such a small population??? It is a touchy subject suggesting that the time has come to re- duce these numbers to say, seven or at the most, nine. But sixteen will not go into nine and some would lose their seats. This is, I suggest, why we have a situation where we have 5 more members of council than a city like Kingston, with a population FIVE times our size. If we truly NEED 16 members of council will someone please explain why the cities/municipalities I have shown (and many others not listed) are able to function very well with a smaller council chamber? Finally, on a lighter note, take a close look at our lo- cal newspapers. What is the difference between them and our national dailies? Answer: They are a celebration of life here in the County. They are filled with GOOD NEWS, rea- sons to celebrate, helpful information, and the “STUFF” we all like to read and hear about. Congratulations to them and their editorial staff. Bill Yates, Friend of the County.