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6 stoujjville suntribune thursday march 2 2006 0 itoufjvllte mrnat f suntnbune a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave 3rd floor stouflville on l4a 7z5 publisher ian proudfoot 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 onus on voters to ask questions the province opened up a can of worms last week when it announced municipal politicians may stay in office for four years after this novembers election instead of three the threeyear term isnt long enough for municipal politicians and school board trustees to enact effective strategies and it gives more respect to local level politicians premier dalton mcguinty said the idea is causing quite a ruckus among politicians who are debating how long it takes to get work done once elected a fouryear term some critics also say gives incumbents more exposure than ever which can deter new faces coming to the table while its important to ensure citi zens have an opportunity to express their opinions at the ballot box and even run for office its most important to ensure quality people are leading our communities with a longer term of government it puts even more onus on municipal voters to elect intelligent actionori ented dedicated leaders with values ethics and vision voter turnout at the municipal level is traditionally low constituents are uninspired by municipal politics even though decisions made at this level greatly affect our lifestyle voters now more than ever need to ask candidates hard questions about their stand on important municipal issues such as growth taxes traffic congestion and waste we cant take for granted that just because someones name appears more often than others in newspapers or charity group volunteer lists they are better qualified to make key deci sions about the future of our commu nities lets face it the first year of an elect ed term is largely orientation getting feet wet learning the ins and outs and legalities of municipal government the second year a politican gets down to business a cynic might say the final year is all about campaigning for reeiection on the positive side a fouryear term gives councillors another produc tive year of strategy and planning even seasoned incumbents have to wait for newcomers to catch up on issues before they getting down to business if the fouryear term is going to be our new reality voters had better pay close attention to what candidates are saying these next eight or nine months its not a funeral for a fish grandma sneezed as she flushed and lost her teeth i letters to the editor markhams development history could he stouffvilles future re region running out of land feb 23 on dec 26 1985 1 wrote a letter to your newpa- per concerning future development of markham farmland markham then had a vast supply of prime farmland within its boundaries and a pro- development mprdon cousens stated you cant always use the excuse of preserving prime agricul tural land as justification for not building homes and factories fast forward to 2006 and a booming whitchurchstouffville is poised arguably in very much the same sitution as markham was 20 years ago town planners are eyeing farmland as the future site for thousands more homes beef farmer ralph smalley states that since small family farms are disappearing anyway as long as prime fertile farmland isnt the first to go development isnt too detrimental it sounds like winwin all around after all farmland is plentiful frustrated farmers are happy to sell their unprof itable farms and besides food is cheap at the gro cery store german philosopher georg hegel once stated we learn from history that we never learn any thing from history here are our longrange planners using the same reasons to justify urban sprawl as they did 20 years ago havent we learned anything surely the lessons taught by markham with its rampant sprawl cookiecutter subdivisions and horrendous traffic problems offer compelling reasons for whitchurchstouffville and the rest of york region to come up with smarter land use plans i say editorial editor jim mason jmasonymgcom assistant editor rick vanderlinde rvanderlindeyrngcom interactive media marketing advertising manager dawna andrews dandrewsyrngcom 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 voneilyrngcom production team leader sherry day sdayyrhgcom editorial 9055131717 fax9055137525 advertising 9055131717 classified 18007433353fax 9058531765 distribution 9055131717 canadian ontario ditulatioos qhud press audit boari member coundj 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 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 editor 34 civic ave po box 154 stouffville l4a 7z5 email jmasonyrngcom or fax 9055137525 town planner should enter the oxymoron dictio nary right beside military intelligence i have been a small family farmer in markham and whitchurchstouffville for the past 30 years farming is tough but we are far from gone we have had to change our focus from commodity agriculture to niche marketing to stay profitable think that prime fertile farmland will be saved think again without belabouring the already well- documented loss of urban edge agriculture ill give you an example as late as 1959 the no 1 farm county in the united states by dollar volume was los angeles county today its the nations most populous dont get too cosy with greenbelt legislation as farmland protection in perpetuity either the jewel in the greenbelt crown of 1985 markham was the parkway corridor south of hwy 7 today its the 407 toll road political altruism often has a shelf life remember that sign says country close to the city lets not roof over the very same countryside that brought people here in the first place guyfarintosh farintosh farms whitchurchstouffville debora kelly mexico not worthy of our tourism dollars i cant begin to imagine the sorrow and shock felt by the family of dominic and nancy ianiero not only are they grieving the senseless and brutal murder of the woodbridge couple on the eve of their daughters wedding at a mayan riveria resort last week but it appears the opportunity for justice they so rightly seek diminishes with each day that passes they have been at the mercy of a ludicrously and deliberately incompe tent mexican justice system that appears more concerned about pro tecting the countrys tourism market than apprehending the perpetrators of thishorrendous crime are we really to believe a team of professional hit women well maybe it was women from canada roused the ianieros from their bed in the early morning slit their throats and leaving a trail of blood behind them then col lected their bags from their nearby rooms before heading to the airport to catch their charter flight home later that afternoon its a preposterous story yet this is what mexican authorities announced shortly after the murder was discovered without presenting a shred of evidence clearly because the ianieros are of italian descent the offi cials thought they could get away with suggesting organized crime was involved it was only one further indig nity to this hardworking family- focused couple whose lives had been so abruptly ended while mexican investigators repeat edly changed their story since then they continue to point fingers at canadian suspects without appearing to involve canadian police which meant the ianiero family rather than being able to grieve their devastating loss in privacy was forced not only to stand in the glare of a relent less media speculation but to make a public plea for the justice canadians usually take for granted this case becomes even more dis turbing oh learning canadian authori ties have been involved its a travesty to suggest information about rcmp involvement cant be made public due to the ongoing inves tigation our justice officials have to come clean most certainly to the ianiero family in the meantime we should keep in mind mexico is a country plagued by rampant crime and violence and its justice system is corrupt and incompe tent york region residents and officials should not only loudly join in the cry for justice for the ianieros but should also turn their backs on a country not worthy of a single cent of our tourism dollars