By Bruce Stapley

A few years back, Ian Boyd of Boyd’s Source for Sports hatched a plan to counter what was at the time seen as a bit of negativity aimed at Stouffville District Secondary School before the construction of the new facility.

 He approached a couple of his fellow retailers and got the financial backing to “buy” a full page in the Free Press each month for the school’s aspiring journalists.

The results, as anyone who has followed the Free Press from the start will attest, have been nothing less than scintillating. Under the direction of the school’s Pat Dipede and Carola Schmidt, and with an assist from the Free Press production team of Travis Merrick and Sheri Smith, the page has evolved to the point where it is at a professional level. Student editors have actually used the page to help them get accepted to journalism school.

Three years later, Ian continues to sponsor the page, along with his neighbour on Ringwood Dr., Jolana’s Exceptional Home Décor, and McDonald’s Restaurant in Stouffville.

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If you are missing your tea fix since the closing of Tempest in a Teapot six months ago, not to worry. Tempest owner Sara Marsala is still making available her assortment of 50 specialty loose leaf teas. They can be ordered online at www.tempestinateapot.ca, or by calling her at 905-640-8787. The teas can be picked up, or Sara will even deliver them in town.

Sara, who ran Tempest for five years, is about to release a book called Tempest in a Teapot – Recipes and Reminiscences. The book is a collection of recipes from the Tempest kitchen, along with some ‘special moments’ experienced by her customers and herself at the store.  Contact Sara if you’d like to buy a copy. She’s hoping to have it available for Christmas.

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Mike Vince is the new “wireless” whiz kid on Main Street. The 29 year old recently moved his Studio Lab sound store to Main Street after over a year sharing space at Card’s Appliances. While Mike operates the store by day, in his off-duty hours he can be found transforming people’s homes into wireless enclaves, hooking up computers and stereo components without the pain of wires. “Mike started with us at Studio Lab when he was six,” recalled his father Bob, who founded the store in Scarborough.  “He now designs and builds some of the speakers in the store.”

What’s big in video and sound these days? “Home theatres with flat screen TVs and surround sound speakers”, said Bob who, along with his wife Linda and daughter Jennifer Vendetti, still helps out at the store.

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Janet Keen, who operated Stouffville’s Century 21 outlet through the 1990’s, has resurfaced at Sandy Mackenzie’s State farm Insurance office on Main St. Stouffville.

Janet was to start working as a customer service rep at the office November 17. Of course, those who listen to WhiStle Radio 102.7 will surely know Sandy from his ‘chirpy’ ads on the increasingly popular station!

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