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ththbuntosbal3peiyl9 st tuesday october 1997 vol i09 63 the tribune mions send your letters to the editor to the address below editorial business development recognized for effort business development is alive and well and residing in whitchiirchstouffville the valiant efforts of the stouffer vision fund were awarded kudos from the royal bank this week the com munity development award was announced this week the towns economic development team and the chamber of commerce can rightly be proud it is not even that the fund is a success if it were not the fund would still be deserving of this and the other honour it won the ontario chamber of commerces presidents award it is deserving because in the face of enormous economic pressures from without the pro ponents of this fund have stuck their necks out and tried to make a difference tried to make the town a better place in which to live and do business it takes a certain amount of moxy to stand up and ask the businesses in town to contribute upwards of 5000 to get the fund off the ground and then ask again to keep it going it appears to be paying off in some measure and not just in trophies last week the economic development officer eric lismanis said negotiations have begun to bring a plant to stouffville which would become its largest employer others are looking here as well the business community in canada is recognizing what is trying to be done here local business should also be aware and get involved municipal election coming up fast the leaves may be falling but things are still springing up out of lawns most noticeably election signs it is hard to believe the passage of time it seems like weeks ago that we were going to the polls to elect our municipal government when in fact three years have drifted by municipal politics is a strange bird the people who run for office are normally civicminded individuals who care for the community they call home so much they would sacrifice most of the spare time and a good deal of the rest of their time to ensuring the garbage gets picked up that resident a doesnt put his fence too close to resident b and that our roads will only cause a minimal amount of damage to our suspensions in the newspaper business we relish a good town election it brings about all sorts of good copy riot to mention the mounting election fever that culminates in an evening of numberwatching coffee drinking and latenight deadlines trying to sort the victors from the losers the leadup to an election is almost as much fun debates the raising of issues and watching the political machinery kick itself into high gear are the fodder for our media gristmill in the weeks and months leading up to the big day however we often have to clarify our position on elections some people believe they can use the media to further their political agenda that wont be hap pening here for the record heres our policy on elections if a candidate puts an ad in the paper that is his or her business an ad is not an endorsement by this paper an endorse ment if one is given will appear on this the editorial page we will attempt to give every candi date the same coverage that means a candidate profile will be approximately the same length concerned with the same minute with mair andrew mair subjects etc we will not print letters endorsing a favourite candidate of yours if you wish to get such a message out buy an ad we simply do not have the space to run these sorts of endorsements b by the same token we will not be running any letters slamming a candi date in favour of another if a candidate makes a statement that you wish to com ment on or if the candidate has done something wrong we may consider it we wont cover campaign openings single candidate photo opportunities or press conferences we simply do not have the space once a candidate has registered with the municipality we will contact them for a photo and brief inter view our job is to inform voters of the issues to inform readers of who is run ning in which ward and the results of the election democracy is very important to us at this newspaper and so is fairness these few simple rules are set out to ensure fairness in fostering the democratic process we are not so concerned with who is elected but that you the voter is given every opportunity to make an informed and wise decision and to urge you to vote even old girls just want to have fun old girls just want to have fun witness the last weekend in septem ber when i was transported to a secret destination by three wonderful friends we were celebrating the birthday that wouldnt die and their collective gift to me was an allexpenses paid weekend of wine no men and song in st catharines we arrived at the scenic holiday inn whimsically located on a kind of traffic island within spitting distance of the qew and offering panoramic views of toys w us costco and canadian tire my companions original plan had been to shack up at one of those lovely olde worlde b bs where a log fire roars in the grate the old stone patio is bedecked with tubs of superbly coordi nated flowers and gingerbread trim adorns the gables unfortunately or fortunately depending on your point of view they had reckoned without the niagara grape and wine festival which meant that accommodation was as hard to come by as a sighting of mike harris engrossed in a good book during this splendidly bacchanalian affair the natives of the region along with legions of folks from away spend kates corner kate gilderdale 10 days celebrating the joys of the fer mented grape in a manner of cheerful abandon rarely seen in this fair but upstanding province strangely for a group of superannu ated ladies who are not averse to a soupcon of liquid refreshment with lunch we had never heard of the festi val until now our eyes were happily opened on fri day night as we repaired to the event tent and sampled a wondrous selection of ontario wines to the accompani ment of live blues music at the end of the evening we hailed a cab and went back to nirvanaby truckstop where we fell into our beds exhausted from our noble efforts to support a vital local industry arising refreshed at 1030 we ambled out and watched part of the fan tastic parade which is a highlight of the festival before walking to montebello park to sample more wine listen to the steel band and admire the antics of fel low revellers these ranged from toddlers taking their first wobbly steps to handbag- wielding grannies dancing merrily to the macarena from there we took a bus tour of- two wineries purely for educational purposes of course in the company of our charming tour guide in the evening we dined at wellington court where the uniform excellence of the food was matched by attentive ser vice and a delightful ambiance the following day we checked out of our comfortable room and took a self- guided tour of about half a dozen wineries we were impressed by the knowledge and enthusiasm of the peo ple we met and enchanted by the beau ty of the niagara escarpment after an early dinner masquerading as a late lunch at a lakeside restaurant we headed reluctantly for home it was then that we came out of the shower and exercised our lungs on an eclectic musical selection which ranged from its a long way to tipperary to girls just want to have fun i may never be famous but with friends like hilary linda and lynn ill always be rich stouffville tribune aimetroland community patricia pappas publisher andrew mair editorinchief julie caspersen editor debraweller director of advertising mike rogerson retail advertising manager stacey allen classified manager barry goodyear director of distribution vivian oneil business manager pamela nichols operations manager about us news 905 640t2100 retail sales v 905 6402100 mms classifieds ztf 9056402i874i distribution 905 6402100 i fax 905 640r577 email thetnbistarca 6244 main st stouffville ont l4a 1e2 1 i m j the stouffville tribune pub- ometrolnd and pistribution group pf 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