Harry Stemp was born in Uxbridge in 1934. He started his career with the Uxbridge Times-Journal as an apprentice typesetter at age 14. He soon began writing sports for the Times-Journal and eventually owned 10 community newspapers in central Ontario including the Times-Journal. He started writing his award-winning Stemp’s Stew in 1965. The column came to an end shortly after he sold his newspaper chain in 1989, but was rejuvenated in 2006 when Harry became a regular contributor to The Cosmos.
The good and the bad
There is an old saying “it's an ill wind that blows no good”, and perhaps this will ring true for the now vacated First Leaside property on Brock Street.
No doubt these events have been a huge blow to company president Dave Phillips and the community as a whole. But, for Uxbridge, the news may not be all bad. The old Co-op property which was turning into an eyesore along our main street has now been completely cleaned up. All of the complicated and costly foundation work has been completed, and the site is ready for a structure of some kind. And the big plus is the completion of the 'crash' wall beside the tracks, eliminating a huge expense for anyone interested in developing the property. As well, there is the improvement to the vacant land to the west of the tracks ,which is now a large workable parking area.
It would be surprising if some developers have not already looked at the property with a view to picking it up at a reasonable price, and erecting an attractive seniors’ home or a large apt. building, etc. These things happen all the time in the present financial climate.
And even though the developer received major tax concessions, these didn't kick in until the project was completed. So, according to Township treasurer Al Shultz, the land was not producing a lot of tax revenue so “the tax loss is not significant”.
No one likes to see one have the problems facing Mr. Phillips and First Leaside, but I have to agree with Mayor O'Connor when she said, “Compared to what we had there, we are better off”.
The only thing we can hope is that the property doesn't get mired in a long drawn out legal battle, which could mean no action for many months, or even years to come, which would mean nothing but more bad news for Uxbridge.
-----------------------
All good things must come to an end and news that Ontario Place will be closed is a good indication of that. For many years it was the place to take the family, be it for a picnic or to enjoy the many rides and concessions. Or to sit back and enjoy one of the many concerts presented in the beautiful outdoor theatre.
However, over the years Ontario Place has faced stiff competition as sites like Canada's Wonderland and others came on the scene. Attendance at Ontario Place reached two million a summer when it was riding high. Latest figures released indicated that they hit a low of 500,000 during the summer of 2011. Once the leader in outdoor entertainment, Ontario Place is no longer a viable operation.
It was fun while it lasted and, hopefully, this important property on the shores of Lake Ontario connected to the CNE grounds will be turned into a new venue and will be a place where people can enjoy the beauty of that part of Toronto for years to come.
-----------------------
Cell phones are a wonderful convenience when used properly. But they can cause a lot of problems when they become addictive and people who can't stay off them, which happens a lot these days, are causing havoc and serious accidents. Here in Florida there is no law banning their use while driving so far.
The other day on my morning walk I saw a black car go by and start to slow down and stop for a 'red' traffic light. Suddenly another car driven by a young lady, chatting on her phone, came along and 'bang', right into rear of the first car.
The male driver jumped out and started back to meet the young lady who was already apologizing profusely. Both started checking their cars and because of the slow speed there was no apparent damage to either car.
Continuing on my walk it wasn't long before the black car passed me, again indicating both drivers were satisfied no harm had been done. But within minutes the young lady came along and, can you believe it, she was already jabbering away on her cell phone, probably telling a friend what had just happened.
Lesson learned - not. Hopefully her lesson won't be learned by ending up in a serious car accident. But, after this episode, I'm not counting on it.
------------------------
CBC radio/TV got the highest response ever in an opinion poll they held recently. The question was: “Should the word 'God' be kept in the Canadian national anthem”?
It didn't take long for a large number of Canadians to respond and 86% said. 'Yes - leave the word God in the Canadian national anthem”. A powerful statement indicating Canadians are getting more than a bit tired of our politicians trying to be politically correct by casting aside traditions that, for many years, have been part of our Canadian culture.
The thing that bothers me is they aren't doing this because they really care for newcomers to Canada. They care about only one thing - votes - and getting re-elected. Good that Canadians, often complacent, are finally speaking out and saying 'enough is enough'.
------------------------
Never too early to mark a date in your calendar and get ready for what should be another wonderful High School reunion in Uxbridge.
Peter Morris and his hard-working committee have been meeting for the past couple of months planning the details and events that hopefully will draw a lot of former students back to town for a celebration of what Uxbridge (High) Secondary School has meant to our community.
Many will remember the fun time we had at the last reunion. Unfortunately a lot of former students are no longer with us, but it will be a great experience to see friends and former students we haven't seen in years.
There will be more publicity as the months roll by, and we will talk about individual events as details are finalized. So start telling your out-of-town friends to mark their calendar for the June 21-23 weekend 2013, so they can come and celebrate with us.
