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mtvfim tr i in maua- mqersahjrd 1 l vtw bjejcqe8torawnea3ja9ax 1 11 ii i ill hfwti i ii i p ii ii i i i i ii s f the tribune saturday june 13 1998 vol 14 no 24 the tribune is a member of the ontario press council t opinions 905 6402100 fax- 905 6405477 email thetribistarca opinion vegetation wiped out in vandorf park a voice of vandorf wke oceacwc much of the natural vegetation growing for decades in van dorf community park was wiped out in two days this week a branch of the holland river fol lows vandorf sideroad from its beginnings east of my home and flows through our park for many years plantings on both sides of the creek in the park have been maintained as a conservation project many species of natural grasses have been carefully monitored to help sustain the natural balance of the creek and its wildlife on june 10 and 11 this project was almost completely wiped out by town staff with weedeaters the edges of the creek now look like a war zone along with the natural grasses which have been cut to the ground hundreds of flowering yellow water iris were demolished many trees have been ruthlessly pruned ensuring that the lower branches can no longer provide protection for the animals and birds who dwell in our park apparently the majestic willows that received compara tive little damage during the storm of may 31 are also to be cut down shelley my younger daughter is a biology major whose future plans are to help save endangered species we decid ed to drive to the park to see the damage for ourselves my cane kept getting caught in the debris which was strewn everywhere and i finally gave up trying to walk through it and returned to my car shelley continued alone when jshe returned her first comment was how long before the first drowning in the pond they have cut the grasses to the waters edge councillor steve pliakes assured me the town office has told hiim further work will be put on hold as a community we must ensure that all future decisions affecting our park are made with informed and intelligent input from all area residents the museum workers and volunteers i have been attempting to inform vandorfarea residents that a committee has been formed to turn our natural park into a smaller version of high park and will let nothing stand in its way this committee had nothing to do with the first annual park cleanup which was organized by pliakes two issues arise with that cleanup why did the park need its first annual cleanup who is creating the garbage that had to be picked up why was this necessary cleanup not arranged by the people who are supposed to be representing us as our park committee as i have watched the increased development i have always hoped that the new arrivals would learn to love the area as much as i have and would teach their children to respect nature instead it appears that some new residents want to flatten out the land and destroy the homes of hun dreds of natural species a public meeting of the residents of vandorf and the sur rounding area must be called to form a new committee which can equally represent all citizens and our abundant wildlife this meeting cannot take place in someones living room over coffee but must be held at vandorf hall to prop erly house the numbers who will want to attend with help from other concerned community members i will arrange this gathering pliakes has agreed to chair this meeting please call me at 905 7279053 although this work has temporarily stopped until informed and intelligent public input has been allowed and the proper decisions for the future of our park are decided the devastation that has been wrought cannot be undone tory humour letters parents should be held accountable for teens dear editor i stopped in my tracks when i read view point by debora kelly entitled time to take our parks back in the june 9 tribune kelly took the words right off the end of my pen vandalism is alive and well in stouffville parks unfortunately i see it daily i live close to one i see the major problem lying with the par ents of these vandalizing teens case in point last week teens were stealing lumber from a building site to create a fort police were called our neighbourhood watch is alive and well the teens were caught and parents advised these teens should have been made to clean up the mess they created and pay for the lumber they stole but instead the town kindly efficiently and quickly responded albeit using our tax dollars the sooner a law is passed which holds parents financially accountable the better we will be and the sooner this needless van dalism will cease when parents have to shell out their hard- earned dollars maybe they will take a closer look at where their children are who they are with what are they doing and teach the child respect so i agree communities take back your parks become involved look around take that walk through the park dont take another route and dont be intimidated by a child or a group of children thats what they are apathy creates opportunity gwen pollard yearbook committee says thanks to many sponsors dear editor the st- mark yearbook committee on behalf of st mark catholic school would like to extend its appreciation and thanks to the follow ing sponsors for their contributions and dona tions toward the 2nd annual yearbook with your interest and support we were able to capture and record memories of the 199798 school year once again a special thank you to mm meats stormark rental stouffville bowling centre durham dodge chrysler shoppers drug mart d j smith plumbing hulshof masonry wayne smith carpeniry lombardo auto centre inc nicastro landscaping case dismissed quadco electronics leadbetters meats boyds sports david timewell contracting custom home improvements stouffville ltd frank michele jago the home stereo network l m gardens limited tas son construction ltd schell lumber limited fairwood homes and country style donuts port perry st mark yearbook committee stouffville tribune weekender 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