Principles have no real force except when one is well fed. Mark Twain. Mushrooms a Christmas topic? Yes and no! Mushrooms are a food and have been used as such since Roman times, a delicacy for many years for the elite. Now they are commercially grown in great numbers and are available at mushroon farms for a fair price. Mushrooms belong to the fungi family which rank among the lowest form of plant life and many of them grow with a great speed, in a matter of hours or overnight. Fungi grows all over the world but more so in temperate zones where the heat and humidity are just right. Puff balls are a prime example of rapid growth. After a rain storm they puff up to a great size, quite huge and they are very white in color. I was told by an elderly gentleman years ago to soak them in salt watei overnight before cooking. We have always done it even though it is not an easy task as they are so light weight they just float. They grow well in the Durham Region, in wooded areas unseen until sud- denly in no time at all they balloon and there they are ready to be taken. There are three mushroom farms not far from Whitby and we buy ours at one of them by the five pound box; white and perfect, I wash them but never peel or cut the stems off. All fungi have a very high water content. I am told they are rich in nitrogen, much more so than in other plants. A small amount of protein and minerals give them some value. As a bonus and a godsend to anyone on a diet they are great. Read up about them or talk to someone who knows about nutrition. The calories are negli- gible unless you are unwise about cooking them. I DRR CSSB, custodians sign new pact The Durham Region Roman Catholic Separ- ate School Board and its 47 custodians ratified a new two-year contract last week. Under the settlement, the custodians will receive an eight per cent wage increase in the first year and a 5.5 per cent increase in the second year. The custodial staff, members of the Cana- dian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 218, voted by 75 per cent to accept the deal. A general custodian's wage will now be in- creased to $8.86 an hour from $8.20 an hour this year. Next year ,they will earn $9.35. The contract's provi- sions are retroactive to October 1. The pact also provides for 100 per cent board- paid OHIP and Blue Cross medical and den- tal plans as well as a manpower increase,-six weeks paid vacations after 25 years service and a $1 increase in the Sunday night standby. The custodians also won an early retirement clause, an afternoon shift at the now under- construction new admi- nistration building and in those schools with more than two full-time custodians. During the two-year settlement, the cost of living allowances will be eight per cent and 12.3 per cent of basic salaries in the first and second year respect- ively. FISHER REFRIGERATION & APPLIANCE PARTS NEW STORE OPENING Hwy. 12 -1 mile N. of lig next to Manchester Credit1 COMPLETE LUNE 0F APPLIANCE PARTS, NEW & USED stove elements, washer & dryer parts, etc. 'WE BUY & SELL NEW & USED APPLIANCES Open 9-9 AMPLE PARKING 655-3233 hts Union use very small amounts of butter or spray a small amount of Pam in the pan. This also applies to red or green sweet peppers. For those who want to lose weight, diabetics or high blood pressure people they can extend a meal to a great degree without adding unwanted calories. Men especially love steak and mushrooms, why not mushrooms and steak? Small amounts of ground steak or even porterhouse can be extended until your plate looks as full as anyone elses, especially if peppers and mushrooms are done together. To be deprived of certain amounts of food can create problems which do awful things to people and many of them cheat which of course is wrong. Of course, few people need the great amounts of meat they eat, probably habit over the years. So why not save muoey while enjoying a good meal? Many people prefer raw mushrooms and eat them in salads or just munch them. At a party one can nibble at mushrooms while others eat rich food, rich in fat and sugar content. Some fungi are so poisonous that a tiny bite can cause convulsions and death. The Destroying Angel is one and there are many others. I leave that to others as I have no expertise in this field and prefer to buy ours. Many people have probably died over the years trying out new varieties and for this reason it is hardly worth it. "Mushrooms" or toadstools are often very beauti- ful. Glorious colors, red, vermillon, brilliant blues, orange and so on. Some have wonderful patterns of color and design. I have always allowed them to grow in the garden and they do grow because we have a lot of trees. - This Christmas season let us all give thanks and forget self. We have a wonderful country in every way. Let us upgrade rather than degrade every- thing in the system. Many people talk at random about everything before they know or see the truth. The truth is the ultimate, hard sometimes to find, always evasive. If you are a religionest send your prayers to the Polish people, if not send your thoughts, good uplift- ing thoughts. This is what I mean about forgetting self; forget the dead cows infront on a bank, unjust criticism and so on and on. Dead bodies and broken spirits are more important. We all have sons and or grandsons, that is a great number of us and we must keep the world free and keep the agony at a minimum. This must be our first priority and it does not begin with "me first." To everyone a "thankful" Christmas for so many blessings and a hope for the New Year. Hope "beats eternal in the human breast." A handy new book by Sidney Ledson, author of the best-selling book, 'Teach Your Child to Read in 60 Days'. Here's a book no stenographer should be without; virtually a university course in grammar but presented in a iively way no university can match. $3.95 p PRINTING & OFFICE SUPPLY 218 Harwood Ave. S., Ajax 638-1968 To Serve Durham Region Corne In For A Free Road Test Special - Good Till Dec. 31181 Drain & Clean Transmission Pan Clean Filter, Replace Fluid Adjust Bands (where applicable) & Road Test Reg. 13230 NOW ONLY S1995 GOOD ONLY WITH THIS AD. Whitby Location Only 132 Brock St. N. Whitby 668-07371 WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY. DECMEBER 23, 1981, PAGE 13 Safeway Plaza entrance dangerous council told Heavy traffic condi- tions during the peak hours is making it "ex- tremely dangerous" for motorists trying to get in or out of the Safeway Plaza on Brock Street South according to public works director Dick Kuwahara. During these peak hours it has become nec- essary for a member of the Durham Regional Police - Force to be assigned to traffic con- trol at the entranceway. Kuwahara told Whit- by Town Council in a written report that the main access into the plaza from Brock Street South is in alignment with Gilbert Street. This causes motorists to en- ter the plaza by travell- ing west on Gilbert making it necessary to cross Brock Street. "There is a traffic operational problem," the director said. "The situation could be ex- tremely dangerous in bad weather conditions. The increase in traffic due to growth of the town will further im- pede the flow of north- south traffic." Kuwahara has said that a group of consult- ing engineers will inves- tigate the problem and will submit a report recommending possible solutions. "On receipt of this report we will be able to take further action on this matter," he said. The consultant's fee will be paid out of the 1982 budget. *1* l" M NL 118 ATHOL ST. 666-3366 For pick up or delivery we can filM your party needs. Hours: Mon. - Thurs. 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Fr1. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Sun. 4 p.m. - 12 P.m. Roman Cathollc Churches HOLY FAMILY ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST Saturday Masses at St. Paul's School 903 Giff ard St. 668-3676 200 Garrard Rd. Sunday Masses at Anderson Colleglate, 400 Anderson St. MASSES (ust above Dundas St.) 576-2098 Saturday, 7 p.m. MASSES Sunday, 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m. Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday, 9 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 11:15 a.m. "Know that I am wlth you always; yes to the end of tlme." :