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Friday comment Reports read at meetings should be available There seems to be a contradiction which has come out of Midland's Planning Board meeting on Tuesday night. It seems that reporters, who asked for a copy of a report tabled by Ed Lawlor on the proposed group home for the mentally handicapped were refused because it had not yet been passed by the board. However, reporters were in at- tendance at the public meeting and were allowed to scribble notes, while Mr. Lawlor read aloud to the board from the report. If the report was not a_ public document, why were reporters not excluded from the meeting while its contents were being read? It would seem to us that if a report can be read during a public meeting copies of that report could be circulated to the press. It would make the reporter's job of being accurate in regards to the proceedings much easier and present a clearer picture of the report's contents. We would ask that copies of all such documents be circulated to the press and public. It can only make for a more clear, concise understanding of what went on during the meeting when the account appears in the paper. Letters to the editor Council of seven IS reasonable Dear Editor: As has been reported in the press, an Ad Hoc committee of council has been set up to look into a) whether the size of council should be increased; b) how councillors should be elected. I am writing to express my own present opinions on this subject, with the hope that citizens will respond by letting their views be known, so that they may be taken into full con- sideration when this matter is discussed. A council of seven for a town the size of Midland seems reasonable to me. It is true that this involves a fair amount of work for all members of council, and occasionally meetings are missed because of a conflict in dates. This is more of a inconvenience, however, than a serious disability. A small council means that all members have a good Like the old awareness of what is going on, because of the interlocking committee and board structure. At the present time, unless I hear convincing answers to the contrary, I am inclined to support the status quo in terms of council mem- bership and keep the cost to ratepayers down. I would be receptive, however, to having all councillors elected at large. lt seems to me more democratic, particularly when a council is small, for all municipal electors to be able to vote for all councillors, rather than each ward electing its own alderman. All members of council should consider the interests of the town at large, rather than the interests of a single ward. Election by general vote would help promote this desirable result. Yours truly, Richard Platt song, 'Ain't necessarily so' Dear Editor, Further to the valiant efforts of a number of Midland Citizens to save Little Lake parkland from falling into the hands of private operators, I think it timely to offer the following quotation which appeared with great fan-fare in the local press during the last municipal election campaign: "The study on the Little Lake watershed is a priority too, and land use planning in the area should bear in mind the Preservation of Parkland Area and Atmosphere." Believe it or not, as incredible as it may seem, the above statement was made by none other than the present mayor of Midland, one of those coun- cillors who voted for the resolution to sell a half acre of Little Lake prime parkland to private interests. I always thought that a man's word was as good as his bond. Apparently, in the words of a hit-song from Gershwin's memorable folk opera Porgy and Bess, 'It Ain't Necessarily So'. Sincerely yours, William J. Ogilvie, Deputy Reeve of The Town of Midland. Thanks from former OPP press officer Dear Editor, I would like to thank you and your staff for their cooperation and assistance regarding the release of news items for the Ontario Provincial Police. I know that your continued assistance will be appreciated by Provincial Constable Murry Cooper, who will be continuing in my place as Community Service Officer. Yours truly, Chuck Coulson, Loss Prevention Consultant, Huronia Communications and Security Inc. Thanks for help on prayer day Dear Editor, Many thanks for the coverage we received during the "World Day of Prayer" The committee feels that an- nouncements helped to increase our attendance. Again, many thanks. Alice J. Roberts. The Friday Times and Friday Citizen Published every Friday morning by Markle Community Newspapers Limited at Box 609, 521 Bay Street, Midland, Ontario / 526-2283 Box 429, 75 Main Street, Penetanguishene, Ontario / 549-2012 Andrew Markle, publisher Victor Wilson, general manager Rod McDonald, managing editor Howard Elllott, Penetanguishene editor The Friday Times and Friday Citizen are distributed free each Friday to households in Midland and Penetanguishene 20c per copy at newsstands Markle Community Newspapers Limited also publish The Midland Times, Penetanguishene Citizen and Elmvale Lance ich Wednesday in the Huronia market. = Historian, publisher, industrialist William Cranston dies after lengthy illness Well-known Midlander, William Herbert Cran- ston died Wednesday morning following a lengthy illness. He had been a newspaper publisher, industrialist and historian. He had been in ill health for several years and for the past few months had been almost completely confined to his bed. William H. 'Bill' Cranston came to Midland in 1935 when his father J. Herbert Cranston purchased the Midland Free Press. Bill eventually became publisher of the paper in 1946, when his father stepped down from that position. Always keenly in- terested in history, he was, along with his father, the spark behind establishment of Huronia Museum in 1947, and continued his interest in that project right to the time of his death. He was also among those who saw the value of the Sainte Marie project, and pushed establishment of the Huronia Historic Parks Cammissian New provincial park should be opening July 1 -- Awenda __-- Provincial Park, the 5,500 acre natural environment park under construction in the Methodist Point area, northwest of Penetanguishene, will be open by July Ist of this year, says park superintendant Tom Stott. "Tt looks like we're going to be open by July 1," said Mr. Stott in an interview Tuesday. "There's still quite a lot of work to be done, but I think we'll make it."' Awenda has been under construction for three years, and when com- pleted, will feature miles of trails for year round use, 150 camping sites, an archaeological site, and public beach. Mr. Stott explained that the final push to complete the park began in October 1977, and has continued throughout the winter. During that time, the 18 men on the park con- struction crew have been busy clearing roads, installing fixtures, plumbing and partitions in park comfort stations, have built a control office at the »park's entrance, have cleared beach ae >. Py 7 ' és . EAs A\/ + & y 2 wr op fk Fb \ > Ft" > A areas, and have worked on campsites, all in an effort to meet the opening day target. When opened, Awenda will be unique among Ontario's provincial parks. Whereas most Ontario parks have been built and designated as recreational areas, Awenda has been set aside as a natural en- vironment park, Mr. Stott explained. This means that campsites will be located further apart from each other than in most provincial parks, and the emphasis on park facilities will be on keeping them as naturally set as possible, while still offering con- veniences to the park user. Awenda's natural environmental design- ation also means that roads through the park will be narrower than those in most other Ontario provincial parks and larger camping trailers will be unable to be accommodated. Awenda's_ designation also means, explained Mr. Stott, that much of the park's 5,500 wooded acres will be left intact, for use as nature hiking and interpretation areas. Similarly, most of the park's two miles of Georgian Bay shoreline will be preserved in its natural state, although a beach with a parking area has been cleared. Mr. Stott noted that although the main beach is the only area of the park's shoreline cleared specifically for recreational purposes, there are several isolated coves and inlets along the shoreline that will provide ideal secluded swimming. "Awenda is certainly not going to be like a Wasaga Beach," said Mr. Stott, "'and it's not going to affect the other local beaches." Once the park is opened, estimates Mr. Stott, it will employ eight or nine full-time main- tenance personnel, and during the summer months will probably employ 10 students. During Awenda's initial year of operation, three visitor service people will be on hand to act as guides, interpreting for park visitors, the dif- ferent aspects of the new facility's resources. The iy % aon *% eee i's ' an) eB) ~ Be © bette: | 4 , : po Se b : ; i Bie $s ' Als \ z ' -- Be Easter's coming Peewees are champions Coldwater Peewees captured the York- Simcoe Minor Hockey League crown Friday, with a 6-1 win over Thornton in the third game of the best-of-three series. Grant Galloway paced the Coldwater team with - two goals in the third period after Steve Schandlen, Derek Mayo and Joe Bell put them ahead 3-0 by the start of the third period. Walker Dobson scored with 33 seconds remaining in the game for Coldwater's fourth goal of the period. Bob Morrison scored the only goal for Thornton in a losing cause. Coldwater took a one game lead in the series on a three goal performance by Schandlen as_ they age 4, Friday, March 24, 1978 h Thornton 3-0. Midlanders will have memorate Easter. observed at 7 p.m. At 7 Resurrection. 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. A community service Easter services planned many opportunities to worship in the many services planned to com- Every night from Monday until Thursday, there is a service at St. Mark's Anglican Church at7 p.m. On Good Friday, services will be held at 10 a.m. and there will be Holy Communion on Sunday at 8 and 10 a.m. St. Margaret's Roman Catholic Church will observe the Mass of the Last Supper at 7 p.m. on Holy Thursday. This will be followed by private prayers of Adoration until midnight. On Good Friday, there will be Holy Com- munion at 3 p.m. The Stations of the Cross will be p.m. on Holy Saturday, there will be an Easter vigil, and the Mass of the On Easter Sunday, Mass will be said at 9a.m., will be held at Calvary Baptist Church at 10 a.m. on Good Friday. Hot Cross buns will be served following the service and nursery supervision will be supplied. Knox Presbyterian will hold the regular Easter Sunday service at 11 a.m. which is responsible for its operation, along with that of the Museum of the Upper Lakes at Wasaga Beach and the Military and Naval Establishment at Penetanguishene. Bill, for many years, was also a member of the Ontario Historic Sites Board. Industrially, Bill Cranston was responsible for hiring Midland's first visitor service guides will direct park users around Awenda's network of trails, and will provide information on the con- tinuing archaeological excavations underway within its boundaries. Mr. Stott notes that for a visitor not familiar with the northern part of Huronia, Awenda may be a little too difficult to find. It is located on a piece of land jutting out into Georgian Bay, between Kettle's Beach and Thunder Beach. Mr. Stott says that hopefully, high: way signs and trail signs will be erected by May, directing visitors to the new park. The park does not plan to embark on an ad- vertising campaign to introduce itself to the public, said Mr. Stott, although it will be referred to in provincial camping guides, and on Ontario's provincial park map. "Tt will probably be advertised by word of mouth, rather than of- ficial advertising cam- paign,"' Mr. Stott suggested. He went on to say that come July, special opening ceremonies will probably be taking place at Awenda, although at this point, he said, it is too early to tell in what form they'll be, Industrial Commissioner, and was also one of the guiding lights in establishment of the Georgian Bay Regional Development Commis- sion. He was directly connected with Midland Footwear and Fern Shoe Company of Penetanguishene, and Midland __ Industries Limited. It was also Bill W.H. Cranston Cranston's dream of better television recep- tion that prompted him into bringing cable television to Midland. During World War II, Bill Cranston was a member of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board. Over the years he had been appointed to the Ontario Economic Council, as well as to several other Provincial posts.. He served his local community in a number of capacities including a seat on Council and Midland representative on Simcoe County Council. He held posts on the Chamber of Com- merce and other civic organizations. Over recent years W.H. Cranston had been the recipient of numerous honours, including an honourary LLD degree from Trent University. The electronic theatre at the Museum of the Upper Lakes at Wasaga Beach was named in his honour last summer, and later a plaque in his honour was unveiled at the Huronia Museum. During the summer, he was also the recipient of the Canada Medal, which was presented by the Governor-Genreal. 4 The late Mr. Cranston was a valued member of Calvary Baptist Church and had for a number of years, been a Deacon. He is survived by his wife, Viola Wheeler, one son, John of Calgary, and a grandson. There is also a brother, Thomas K., residing in Scotland. Funeral will take place at 2:30 p.m. Monday at Nicholls Funeral Home. The deceased will be resting at Nicholls Funeral Home from 2:00 p.m. Saturday, March 25. Y.M.C.A. crime prevention. be valuable. - YOU ARE INVITED TOA H.S.P.C. PUBLIC FORUM The Huronia Social Planning Council is sponsoring a Public Forum at the Midland WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 8:30 P.M. The theme of the evening will be CITIZEN PARTICIPATION: A RIGHT OR A RESPONSIBILITY? Guest Speaker will be John Gorman, B.A., L.L.B. Among the areas of interest to be discussed will be: Citizen impact on Government, Social issues and needs in Huronia, Citizen participation in law enforcement and Your attendance and participation in the evenings activities will i] CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD RICHARD DREYFUSS also starring TER! ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS Z--R.I2- FE OB B-- ZS Zz = Zee = _ a ae @ i = OF THE THIRD KIND STARTS TODAY _ A COLUMBIA/EMI Presentation KIND A PHILLIPS Production A STEVEN SPIELBERG Film GARR and MELINDA DILLON with FRANCOIS TRUFFAUT GOOD FRIDAY Matinee 2 p.m. EASTER MONDAY Matinee 2 p.m. TU BETTI King St, Midland Nightly 6:45 & 9 p.m. ADULT ENTERTAINMENT a