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xaivticn 0 vr v 7rir nviirrig p 4 the triune tuesday november 4 1997 st the tribune tuesday november 4 1997 vol 109 no 71 opinions send your letters to the editor to the address below editorial be wary of oneissue candidates agendas we have always extolled the virtues of exercising your demo cratic right of voting in fact we think its the most important thing you can do to serve yourself your community and your country but there are also pitfalls one such danger is casting your vote for oneissue candidates we are not saying that such candidates should not seek office we are merely suggesting that serving the interests on a single agenda does little for the community as a whole and more often than not benefits and individual or single cause candidates often run on single issues to draw attention to them these candidates once elected often find their agendas thwarted by the majority of the body they have been elected to or in the case of some achieve their goals and then maintain lit tle interest in the job we have elected them to do for example if someone runs to say get a bylaw passed pre venting ice cream trucks from parking in front of his or her house this person is not likely to be of much benefit to us once that issue has been resolved we would urge all to seek out the best candidate for their ward be wary of promises that obviously cannot be kept be con cerned if the candidate seems to be focussing on a personal agenda and beware of political junkies those who would be elected for personal gratification we want people in office who will serve their community not their own interests mow that youve seen allthe movies and you re bored wrth the mall- maybe you could start ou the homework your teachers how can we trust bill to improve education open letter to stouffville parents as a parent of three children ages 9 5 and 3 have been following the teachers strike very closely im op posed to the governments bill 160 i can not and do not believe these changes will improve my childrens education we have proof of this by all the changes that had to be made two years ago when the government letters then cut a half billion dollars from our childrens education we experienced class size increases and the cancellation of our junior kindergarten program we lost a full- time librarian and a fulltime physical educator our schools are down to the bare bones how much more can be cut my blood runs cold when i hear mike harris on the television announcing what the teachers are doing is illegal what mr harris is doing is morally illegal in forcing us to accept bill 160 he denied that the government had a plan to cut funding of over a half those who sew in tears reap in joy last friday evening mr wallethead and i were cowering in the back room trying to shut out the unworldly sounds emanating from the ghosts and goblins seeking entrance to chateau gilderdale after an emotional roller coaster of a week i had somehow neglected to buy my usual bucket o candy and was attempting to assuage the resulting guilt with a glass or two of vin ordi naire meanwhile rach 3 from the sound track of shine was reaching its zenith in a loud and complex crescen do which was doing spirited battle with the intermittent but jarring noise of the doorbell let me explain about our doorbell when we first moved to the old home stead i was determined not to have one of those polite but boring avon calling chimes it had to be an in- yourear doorbell the kind it would be impossible to ignore mr wallethead installed it right beside the kitchen door and the first time it rang i almost flattened the cat with the casserole dish i was in the throes of removing from the oven it wasnt so much loud as deafening it kates corner kate gilderdale could be the reason the overwhelming majority of homeowners prefer avon calling by now i am more or less immune to the effects of its heartstopping peel but i have thought seriously about upgrading our liability insurance in the event that one of our guests keels over permanently at its clarion call but i digress as we sat in our haven from hal loween my mind took me back to the days of yore when our own darling children were all decked out to go trick or treating of the myriad challenges i have faced as a parent one of the most harrowing has been the requirement to provide costumes for the annual accu mulation of candy contest the first year or two were okay because preschoolers still think their parents are the centre of the universe little children are touchingly grateful for the eyepatch bandanna wellies and jauntilystriped sweatshirt which together with their awesome imagina tion are all it takes to transform them into fearsome pirates all too soon however they want to be a ninja turtle power ranger or some other character currently in vogue but the sophisticated little con sumers of today are rarely satisfied v with anything less than a perfect repli ca to a parent who dropped out of brownies on learning that the acquisi tion of her next badge was contingent upon the successful completion of a knitting test this could hardly be con strued as tidings of comfort and joy indeed needlecrafts of any kind are quite beyond the epitome of aging cool since handing in my maternal notice was not an option however i was obliged to give my extremelylim ited talents full reign over the next few years to my amazement i man aged a princess leia darth vader two superpersons and a black cat fash ioned out of darth s rather oddlycon structed body suit which only goes to show that those who sew in tears shall reap in joy billion dollars over the next two years to our schools this we now know is a lie how can he be trust ed my belief that we live in a democ ratic society is wavering we have seen the effects of his cuts by the closing of hospitals and the recent school funding he is leading us to believe that the teachers are the bad guys they are not asking for salary increases they are not getting strike pay they are making a stand by speaking out for our children and their children and the future of our children and their right to the best education available this strike belongs to all of us and it is time we lend a hand and show our support by joining the teachers on the picket lines or calling our local mpp julia munro at 6403753 and voicing your opinion you can also send it in writing by mail julia munro felcher blvd box 9 rr 3 stouffville ont l4a 7x4 fax6405180 a concerned parent carole averill stouffville stop honking dear editor i live near one of the schools where the teachers are striking i am requesting that people who wish to show support do so in a less noisy manner honking may seem like a good idea to you but having to lis ten to this all day is annoying as the people who were comment ing on the noise of the train whistles noted we do have a noise bylaw k darby stouffville stouffville tribune a mettoland community patricia pappas publisher andrew mair editorinchief tracy kibble 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