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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1985-08-21, Page 6Page 6—Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, August 21, 1985 • 28-2822 kiegiar "The Sepoy Town" BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1985 Thomas Thompson JannesTriel Pat Livingston Joan Helm Merle Elliott -Advertising Manager' -Editor -General,Manager '-Compositor -Typesetter Subscription rates in advance: S l 6.00 Outside Canada s45.0° 1Canada 843.00 Senior Citizen Outside3.Second class mailing reg. no. 0847 Advertising is accepted on the.condition that in the event of a typographical error, the portion of the advertising space occupied by'the erroneous item together with.a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the adve'rtisernent will be paid at the applicable rates. . , .Increase conquered •Lucknow,.:residents, will be paying the same amount in taxes to keep ttie village running as they did last year, a feat • of council which is all too rare in these days of accepted increases. Last year Council set the mill rate at 14.952 for residential taxpayers and 17.590 for commercial payers and the rates remain unchanged for 1985's budget. In fact, according to Reeve George Joynt, the village has remained between the ,14 and 15 mill rate points since 1977, eight years. In the meantime the village hasn't suffered for programs to upgrade the roads system, has managed to help pay for a medical centre and is looking ahead to develop a sewage • system for a part of the village with an eye to eventual expansion for the whole municipality. " Meanwhile, to Complete programs in 'municipalities across the province, increases for tax demands have gradually levelled out to about five per cent, with school boards usually requesting more. Joynt attributes this remarkable record to the fact that the village has a good Working arrangement with Kinloss, Ashfield and West W awanosh, the three townships on its borders. • Naturally, there have been disagreements between the four municipalities but their continued efforts have brought about a level of services and recreation in the area, particularily the arena, the medical centre and the fire department, not usually found in a community this size. Joynt also points to a relatively new skill developing ainongst councillors and clerks as being responsible for mud' of Lucknow's tax rate success. With the provincial and federal governments placing more responsibility on the local level, More programa have to be financed with local money or be left undone, or,, a patient and dedicated individual or group with some time to spare can read through the reams of information from the senior levels of government on their grant programs. •There are myriads of' programs from each ministry and department, all with their varying criteria for acceptance, and some with surprising amounts of money to be assigned. There is also a surprising amount of red tape to batter • through. • • But the results are worth it, as the quality of life hi LucknOw shows with roads and a storm sewer System almost completed, an adequate number of essential services and • good recreation facilities, with viable plans for irnprove- • ments in the works. Council • should be commended for their efforts to Maintain the delicate equilibrium between ongoing pro- grams and digging up the finances to pay for them. 06,,,.s.t4Thek,:64$*0 Bonnie, left, 'and Ilnda Sinnett show the grace and dignity it takes to take titles in a fair queen competition. • The Kintail sisters, the Second Runner Up and Miss Friendship, respectively, good naturedly allowed them- • selves to be badgered into the watermelon seed spitting. contest, along with Denise Maize, Fair Queen; and Vicki • Pentland, First Runner Up. • (Photo by James Friel) ft' was a weird, foreboding night, or so it seemed to Anne Murdoch as she lay in her bed wrestling with the miserable thoughts which filled her mind. A ghostly wind .rustled the dying leaves on the maples, and • from somewhere far in the distance came the mournful sounds of a cattle beast in the last moments of labour. Anne slipped out of the covers and tip -toed to the open window. When the dark clouds cleared the face of the moon,the stark outline of the new house appeared - the structure on which Allan Livingstone had worked so diligently. Tbmorrow, that stone ediface would be all that remained to remind her of his young, sincere face - an image iiihich would remain in her heart forever. She crept back to her.bed and cried herself to sleep.• Early the next morning, Allan aune back to the new house to collect his tools. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving without saying goodbye to Anne, .so he plucked up courage to confront the domin- eering Mrs. Murdodi for the last time. "Goodmorning tae ye missus," he said, almost trembling at the sight of her. "ru be, leavin' the noo, saw could I please hae • word wi' ye daughter before I gae?" ,.."She's no here - she'll be milldn' this time o' day," Mrs. Murdoch said sharply. "Would ye mind if I gae tae ye Bann • then?" • Katie Murdoch was greatly relieved to hear this ragamuffin was leaving. It was, only because of that fact that she condes- cended • to allow him access to her ' daughter. •"Ye may go," she said in a patronizing manner. "But dinna stay mare than a wee while - my lass hae work tae do!" On his way down to the barn, Allan tried to rehearse his farewell speech but he need • not have bothered. There was no sign of Anne anywhere in the barn and the cows were lowing to be relieved of the contents of their swollen udders. Perhaps, Allan thought, she Was deliberately avoiding him. He returned to the stone house; gathered his tools together and sadly walked away from Redtrees forever. , On his way to the sixth line, Allan took the usual pedestrian shortcut through a piece of uncleared bush: He intended to • make his way south to 'Toronto, hopefully begging rides with farmers and carters he Might meet on the way. &grossed in these thoughts, he did not immediately see the' figure of a girl who suddenly appeared from behind a large tree. When he looked up and saw Anne Murdoch standing before him, he was flabbergasted. "Och lass, ye startled me," he said. "What in the world are ye doin' here?" Anne .Murdoeh was obviously excited and distressed. She had • difficulty in speaking: "Ye're no leavin' wi'out me, Allan liv- ingstone - rm goin' wi' ye," she said in a flustered but determined voice. "ru no be tormented by my mother any mare. If ye willna take me, I shall hae tae gae on my, own!" Allan was delighted that she showed so much interest in him, but was terrified of the thought of abducting a girl from her parents. • "Ye're loony lass," he gasped. "The law would be after me frae enticing ye awa. In any case, ft wouldna take 'em long tae catch up wi' us." 1, "Dinna fash yesel," 'Anne said peevish- ly. "There's nought anybody can do - 1/ we're mare than twenty-one - the both o' us. An' 'they'll never find us. They'll think • we took the road tae Toronto - but I'can fool em, easy. I ken this country and the bush around it like I ken the back o' mi' hand." Allan was amazed at the girl's craft and • ingenuity. The sudden realization of her scheming mind left him speechless. "Ye'd best make ye mind up," she said impatiently. "I hae tae go back an' milk yon -COWS, afore mi' mother knows I'm missin'. ' / She looked at him for a reply but Allan was lost for word. "Listen. tae me," .she said. "Wait here until it's dark and dinna let anybody see ye. When ye think everybody is asleep in their beds, make ye way back tae -the new house and wait free me there. As soon as I can, I'll join ye and bring enough food an' clothes frae the journey. If I dinna find ye • Waitinr frae me, J shall go my ain way!" 4