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itcwctnjartfca ftktuaatfimw ins1de otters 6 home 13 sports 21 classified 23 8markham home show purchased by york region newspaper group shows divisioa arts culture calendar event the pied piper of hamelin pantomime when march 1 2 tickets from christ church where latcham hall stouffville 9056401461 whitchtirchstcruffville public librah io better read than dead poetry an york region is at an alltime low serving whitchurchstouffville since 1888 11 m 50 cents including gst 44 pages saturday feb 16 2002 to reach us 905 2942200 character ive takes off in region were all accountable york chairperson says by ieff mitchell staff writer york region is now officially a community of character politicians community and business leaders as well as stu dents gathered tuesday for the launch of an initiative that aims to make the region a caring and safe community in a character community everyone works together regional chairperson bill fisch said- during the launch held at york region headquarters in newmarket we- promote caring neigh bourhoods we show respect were accountable for all our actions everyone must play a part- indeed convincing residents of the value- of the character community and getting them to buy into it has been a pri mary goal for markham mayor don cousens who has spear headed the initiative he said the effort will be suc cessful if a community standard is created that promotespositive attributes such as honesty integrity and respect while eschewing less desirable behav iour and traits in a community of character undisciplined living is socially unacceptable said mr cousens while much preparation has seesch00lspagell multibilliondollar plan will have private sector partner this spring transit system fasttracked by jeff mitchell staff writer york regions plan for a multi- billiondollar transit system has been put on the fast track to take advantage of new provincial fund ing the region will choose a private sector partner to design construct and operate the system in the hwy 7 corridor by this spring its a tight timetable said york region chairperson bill fisch who heads a steering committee on the rapid transit partnership when we decided to embark on this four or five months ago we realized things at the provincial level would happen very quickly so we wanted to be ready having a publicprivate partner ship in place will position the region to land a share of the 125 billion pledged in late december by the province through its golden horseshoe transit investment partnerships gtip fund regional officials believe some 75 municipal and private sector applicants are vying for the funds a short list of proposals will be called for in the spring the region has also submitted an application for gtip funds to improve york region transit yrt service throughout the sprawling municipality the regions wish list including rapid transit for the hwy 7 corri dor and better bus service throughout the- region will cost billions of dollars over the next 30 years senior government funding see transit page 7 happy 50th big guy staff photosjoerd witteveen tom clarkson chooses his friends where he can find them in this case a plastic gorilla to help celebrate his 50th birthday mr clarkson found the ape on the front yard of his ninth line home in bloomington north of stouffvilletast week x betz pools 5688 mafrpst wwbsft 4500 fc v y town and country realty ltd 6400888 ois jfjw i v