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6 stouffville suntribime thursday jan 22 2004 opinion publisher ian pr0udf00t telephone 9056402612 fax 9056408778 email jmasonyrngcom website wwwyorkregioncom editorial photo radar must not be used to pad budgets no one likes a speed trap and no one welcomes the costly tick et that goes with being caught most drivers after all believe while they may have been speeding they were doing so safely who would endanger his own life by driving recklessly but as york regional police would tell you speeding contributes significantly to the growing carnage on our streets and while the force has taken creative measures a police helicopter and unmarked minivans for instance to catch speeders it is still overwhelmed its little wonder seasoned officers have been calling for the return of photo radar but they dont want it to be limited to the 400 series highways roads statisti cally safer than most would think they want photo radar in the heart of york region on roads that have become hot spots for speeders roads officers cant police effectively depending on how we deploy photo radar is going to allow us to provide bet ter coverage staffsgl tom carrique says photo radar could be an effective tool to battle speeding on local roads the spectre of knowing it may be used on bathurst street woodbine avenue or 16th avenue alone would slow down drivers no one would know when he may get that dreaded speeding ticket in the mail but if photo radar is used by york regional police it must not be a cash grab it has to be about safety that means it cant be set up on high ways that are relatively safe but see their fair share of speeders that makes photo radar an assembly line of quickhit tickets originally premier dalton mcguinty said photo radar revenue could be used to tackle ontarios projected 56billion deficit since then however transportation minister harinder takhar has said the money would be used by municipalities thats the wrong approach municipal police forces should only see enough of the revenue to offset the cost of running photo radar locally not a penny more the revenue should not be used to pad police budgets that way the motive for photo radar quotas can be more easily resisted safety comes first if results are clear fewer deaths on our roads photo radar will eventually be welcomed wheres everyone going gas price just dropped letters to the editor council should know benefit of creepy crawly things re- snakes for park scare councillors jan 15 knee jerks were the sounds of whitchurch- stouffville council when mark carroll proposed what councillor phil bannon called a snake pit most people respond with a kneejerk reac tion when in close proximity or at the sight of spiders snakes bats and most things creepy and crawly this i think is quite normal unless youre eight years old ill never forget my kneejerk reaction when- my son came home with fur on his lips from the caterpillar he just ate he is older now and would only react with passive curiosity of watching fear factor i digress a mature thoughtful response to mr carrolls proposal would have been a more knowledgeable reflection on the benefits of these creepy crawly things i freak out when the first bat swings by dur ing the summer mosquito hunting season then reason sets in and the thought of how infection by a mosquito with west nile virus could be minimized now i live with nature a little more since i built my first bat house i think the idea of a habitat for butterflies bats birds snakes or whatever would be an educational bonanza for schoolchildren people who buy homes in that area might even reflect on the country close to the city atmosphere sounds to me like we have some city slickers the stouffville suntribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and address the stouffville suntribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space write letters to the editor34 civic ave r0 box 154 stouffville l4a7z5email jmasonymgcom on council who react too quickly and do not really consider what has been proposed the environmental benefit to those who decide to live nearby might be appreciated not to worry if nature is out of control and we are overrun with birds bats butterflies and heaven forbid snakes wehave weapons of mass destruction bob lewis bloomington candidates comments naive re fear mongering at work during town election campaign letter to the editor jan 8 after reading ron sniders letter i considered a word for word rebuttal however the 2003 coun cil candidates naive outofcontext remarks and insults to the residents of whitchurchstouffville are hardly worth the effort with his natural ability to obfuscate the facts mr sniders political career is assured who is he trying to fool earth to ron snider is anybody home sandra carvello gormley suntribune a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave 3rd floor stouffville ontario l4a 7z5 phone 9056402612 fax9056408778 classified 18007433353 distribution 9052948244 website wwwyorfcregioncom email jmasonyrngcom member ontario community newspapers association canadian community newspapers association ontario press council editor in chief debora kelly editor jim mason reporters joan ransberry hannelore volpe retail sales manager steve kane sales representative susan berry production manager pamttfchols office manager vrvian oneil business manager robert lazurko advertising director retail sales flyers nicole fletcher advertising director classified real estate events management gordpaolucci managing director real estate mikerogerson director of production john futhey distribution manager barry blade sales manager new business development distribution dawna andrews general manager york region printing bob dean director marketing promotions debraweller shows manager stacey allen classified manager ann campbell off the top with jim mason still an easy read 40 years later sorry kids id love to tell you i was born with printers ink coursing through my veins or i lived tom sawyer before reading it but the true literary tales of jim mason just arent that exciting glad park public school in stouffville is marking family literacy day tuesday with guest readings from mayor sue sherban stouffville spirit hockey players and others local journalists including this guy were asked to write about their reading experience for the students its certainly memorable but not all that spectacular with plenty of foreshadowing now that i think about my early reading habits when i raced home from elementary school in the 1960s it wasnt to catch the latest episode of batman or leave it to beaver i went straight for the mailbox to retrieve the local paper arid hopefully that weeks edition of life magazine before 24hour tv news and all- sports stations this was our window on the world the vietnam war the sixteam nhl and trudeaumania i was hooked for grade 5 current events class i clipped extra stories to share with less interested pals just spreading the news if i needed mote the public library was only a block away it was a peaceful sanctuary away from the noisy play ground and hockey rink and it served up all this neat stuff free of charge newspapers from across the country and the latest copy of every major maga zine let alone the mountains of books and encyclopedias the shelving in my room was jammed with dogeared copies of most hardy boys offerings and scott youngs timeless books for kids but it was that daily newspaper from the quirky queens park columnist to the death notices that grabbed me maybe because it was so current i havent changed that much but my world has instead of one small daily in northwestern ontario here were blessed with four dailies plus this twice- weekly local paper if were not spoiled enough in the gta i log on to the internet and read newspa pers from the world with bookmarks for papers in one of our favourite destina tions tampa bay and my home town of thunder bay some things havent changed jim mason is editor of the stouffville suntribune