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6 stouffville suntribune thursday feb 16 2006 t stouffville up suntnbune a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave 3rd floor stouffville on l4a 7z5 publisher ianproudfoot editor in chief debora kelly business manager robert lazurko director advertising distribution barry black director interactive media technology john futhey director circulation systems lynn pashko marketingpartnerships director debra weller york region printing general manager bob dean editorial york would benefit from youth plan the province plans to spend as much as 30 million over the next three years to combat torontos guns and gangs prob lem dubbed the youth challenge fund premier dalton mcguinty has commis sioned a citizens coalition to help steer youth at risk along a better path in life in 13 of the citys neediest neighbourhoods the province has put up an immedi ate injection of 15 million with hopes the private sector will ante up millions more to help combat an increasing gang problem in black communities if the effort is a success york region should press queens park for a similar financial pushstart in ontarios fastest growing community mr mcguintys toronto effort is laud able at least more concrete than the fin gerpointing and rhetoric weve been hearing from all levels of government but while the money may help ulti mately its community involvement that will make or break the initiative as point ed out by spokesperson for the effort toronto argonauts coach mike pinbam demons and thats exactly why such a program could work in york region pro vided we get employers on board while its true york hasntexperienced the same level of violent crime 52 gun homicides toronto witnessed last year a similar initiative tackling the root of youth crime is necessary believe it or not a problem exists in york and left to grow it will fester into a much bigger issue according to last years police statis tics while major crimes were on the slide youth crime was up by 187 per cent dur ing the first half of 2005 charges laid against young persons increased 155 per cent and the number of youths dealt with by other means increased 206 per cent we know the gang activity is ongoing in urban feeder areas and the gangs com municate very effectively says stuart auty president of the canadian safe school network theyre already in york region mississauga durham and every part of the gta thats why a program such as the one introduced last weekend in toronto could act as preventive medicine in york and were already looking in the right direction in vaughan for example the mayors task force on public safety wants to create grassroots solutions to keep young people off the street a mentoring program is just the type of thing that could do it provided it is supported by a strong corporate army it may be an ageless cliche but more and more society is going back to the pollyanna reality that it really does take a village to raise a child letters to the editor arm teenagers with trades every politician promises money will be spent on a cure i taught for more than 30 years in a vocational school for students who could not pass grade 8 eighteen shops provided handson training in everything from auto mechanics to horticulture most students went into trades as apprentices armed with newfound skills not guns several school boards now offer programs including coop in which students can acquire apprenticeship credits but they are not paid tradespeople should be encouraged to accept student apprentices full time and the students should receive an allowance we need tradespeople and teenagers need a positive role to play in our society allowing our youth to rely on welfare or crime are not options herbert bell whitchurchstouffville cabinet ministers prove point pity the voters of vancouverkingsway who strategically voted liberal to ensure a progressive mp theirs was not a conservative strategy truth is you never really know what you will get when you vote liberal new democrats know there is very little differ ence between the conservatives and liberals now new cabinet ministers emerson and fortier can help us prove the point if anything good is to come from mr harpers cabinet selection let us hope it puts an end to strategic voting pamela courtot stouffville the stouffville sun 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 editor 34 civic ave pobox 154 stouffville l4a 7z5 email jmasonyrngcom or fax 9055137525 canada post inconveniencing seniors it is indeed very depressing canada post decided unilaterally to discontinue mail deliv ery to residents on warden avenue a system that has been in vogue for the past 25 years this decision does not take into account the inconvenience to senior citizens to have to make a special trip every day to check on their mail in all kinds of weather conditions one can only imagine the mess that would surround the green boxes in winter and spring when all cars and people have to trudge through the snow and slush to get to their mail the question of any hazard to the mail delivery van and driver is untenable consider ing it has been successfully delivered for so many years i request canada post reconsider its deci sion and restore the mail delivery system as before nmecklai whitchurchstouffville editorial editor jim mason jmasonymgcom assistant editor rick vanderlinde rvanderlindeyrngcom interactive media marketing advertising manager dawna andrews dandrewsymgcom advertising classified manager ann campbell acampbellyrngcom assistant classified manager bonnie rondeau brondeauyrngcom retail manager stacey allen sallenyrngcom new business development manager mikerogerson mrogersonyrngcom administration office manager vivian oneil voneuyrngcom production team leader sherry day sdayyrngcom editorial 9055131717 fax9055137525 advertising 9055131717 classified 18007433353fax 9058531765 distribution 9055131717 canadian clrcuwons hsqil audit board member ontario press council suntnbune a york region newspaper group community newspaper the suntribune published every thursday and saturday is a member of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd a whollyowned subsidiary of torstar corporation metroland is comprised of 70 community publications across ontario the york region newspaper group includes the liberal serving richmond hill and thomhill vaughan citizen the economist sun markham the erabanner newmarketaurora georgina advocate york region business times north of the city yorkregioncom and york region printing off the top with jim mason another rerun or the real deal for theatre plans im as tired of editing stories on plans for a theatre in stouffville as you probably are of reading them its this communitys version of the movie groundhogday its seems as if every year for the past several a new proposal will surface a subcommittee will be struck and a plan to turn the old town hall into a centre for the performing arts will surface the other option is a new facility not that im antitheatre far from it if our family is an example stouffville would likely make very good use of a the atre the annual recitals for stouffville dance troupes music schools and the atre companies our children have been in have been held in theatres across the gta from port perry to vaughan and markham to king and when they were staged locally they were in school gyms seniors centres and church sanctuaries that attempted to double as theatres its hardly ah ideal situation town hall theatre plans were nixed in 2002 and 2005 theres still a web site wwwclocktowertheatrecom describ- ingefforts thoughts of incorporating a theatre into stoufrvilles new high school as done in vaughan markham and newmarket were lost last year the latest news is a recommendation from a 15member task force to wait for it build an arts centre big surprise this will be a municipal election issue this fall as sure as corruption and trust were front and centre in last months fed eral vote if theatre supporters want to win over voters and candidates they can start by producing numbers to sell their case how much corporate money a sticky point in early attempts is antici pated from home builders and large companies what will the theatre cost taxpayers to build and run compared to the arenas the town offices or the poollibrary this towns other bigticket facilities how many dates a year can we expect our theatre to be used not that were lining up for tickets for a fivenight run with the dave matthews band or the boston pops but what level of touring entertainers can we expect to buy subscriber tickets for stouffville isnt about to shrink residents will demand more including a new hockey rink better roads and you guessed it a theatre of their own jim mason is editor of the sun- tribune