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a ftoufltilksuhyribiine m thundayjunev2t66 tstouffvuk jmstouffwile mm ma suntnhune a metnoland community newspaper box 154 stouffville 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 welter york region printing general manager bob dean editorial same pesticide law needed across york as of this week all ontarians had to butt out even if they were smoking in enclosed rooms at the doughnut shop or in a cigar store lounge this new addition to the smoking legislation is being hailed as an effective way of creating a safer healthier envi ronment for all of us right across the province its another story when it comes to pesticide legislation now that it is hot and humid a lot of us will be outside in the quest of creating the perfect greenest and most beautiful lawns and gardens and many of us will still turn to pesti- cidesdespite research telling us pesti cide use can be damaging to our envi ronment and in some cases health our communities have different rules if you live in newmarket you cant use pesticides ditto for toronto markham aurora and richmond hill are thinking about banning pesti cides but you can still use them its simply not fair to enforce different pesticide laws in different communities there is a definite need for coopera tion among the municipalities the regions and the province they need to come up with a more fitting solution that will not only benefit those in some parts of the province but everyone from alisa craig to zurich maybe it means more research on the effects of pesticides as for smoking the detrimental effects of secondhand smoke were established despite concerns about the effects of pesticides many of us havent been convinced to give up using them in our gardens and on our lawns until the facts are all there some form of incentive is needed in richmond hill for example you have the healthy yards program which encourages you to turn in your old pes ticides for organic lawn care products a while ago there was talk of finan cial incentives to help people buy fuel- efficient vehicles but that hasnt come to be a similar break on say pst might help convince some switching to organ ic products is a worthwhile move its the first day of june and weve already had two smog advisory days newmarket was named as one of the worst air quality areas this week and if we can do a little to help ease the strain on our environment by com ing up with uniform pesticide laws shouldnt we do that because after all it is our health we are discussing letters to the editor latcham gallery deserves more respect from councillors as a member and volunteer of the latcham gallery i was outraged after attending the april 18 town council meeting prior to the meeting the gallery was asked to present two budgets for funding the volunteer gallery board presented a survival budget with an operating grant request of 30000 which would mean completely depleting the gallerys coffers by the end of the year and a growth bud get grant amount of 50000 which would pro vide a minimum level of growth councillor rob hargrave argued eloquently for the 30000 grant his request was met by dead silence from the rest of the councillors no one supported his motion not even councillor harry bowes who represents the very ward the gallery is in yet these are the very councillors who at elec tion time voiced their support of the gallery in the end susanne hilton put a 20000 grant on the table which passed by their actions it appears this is a council that does not want to see the gallery grow not even to survive just a long slow painful death the gallery will be facing cuts to programs or its first deficit in27 years each year the gallery must beg for funding from council through grants and awards compet ing for funds with other deserving charity groups the gallery has asked to be designated a line item on the town budget like the museum and library all are important yearround institutions council seems unwilling to do this until there is a cultural policy in effect this policy drafted by a dedicated group of volunteers which has tire lessly scrutinized stacks of information and poli- editorial editor jim mason jmasonyrngcom assistant editor rick vanderlinde rvanderlindeyrngcom interactive media marketing advertising manager dawna andrews dandnwsyrngcom advertising classified manager ann campbell acampbellymgcom assistant classified manager bonnie rondeau brondeauyrngcom retail manager staceyallen sallenymgcom new business development manager mikerogerson mrogersonymgcom production team leader sherry day sdayymgcom editorial 9055131717 fax9055137525 advertising 9055131717 classified 18007433353fax 905853765 distribution 9055131717 cxudbn cteaxjcra autt tort mont onttto fmt suntnbune a york region newspaper group community newspaper the suntribune published every thuisday 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 thomhin vaughan citi2en the economist sun uamam the erabanner ncwmarkety aurora georgina advocate york region business times north of the city yorkregxxicom 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 po box 1 54 stouffville l4a 7z5 email jmasonyrngcom or fax 9052941538 cies from this and other communities is under revision yet again talk of a cultural policy has been in the works since 2003 the gallery can no longer wait councils inac tion will be the death of it the town claims it has no money yet it found more than 100000 for cost overruns related to the renovations at the town offices and the reno vations at lemonville community centre the gallery doesnt go over budget we cut cor ners rely heavily on volunteers and constantly pursue donations freebies and discounts to bring visual arts to the community it is time council gave the gallery the respect it deserves time is of the essence for the latcham gallery as provincial funding diminishes by 30000 this year and 45000 next year as the forecasters predict culture is the future for towns and cities alike it is the gallerys turn for support if the gallery dies there wont be any need for an arts and culture policy because the only arts institution in whitchurchstouffville will be gone margaret grandison stouffville off the top with jim mason in search of our finest citizens theyre out there we just need your help identifying them theyre our best citizens those who think of others before themselves they will be crowned whitchurch- stouffvilles citizen and sports person of the year at the strawberry festival late this month if you come through for us that is nominations opened last week for both awards they close june 16 the awards are a neat slice of life here in the small town that is about to grow into a small city this is not quite cheers territory where everybody still knows everybodys name but its close take last years sports person of the year jean barclay her skating and coaching career spanned the existence of three arenas after the awards cere mony in memorial park three genera tions of residents waited to congratu late her she had taught them or their children the great canadian skill of skating thats community it was the same a couple of years ago for citizen of the year sandy schell kennedy best known for her years of co ordinating stouffvilles awardwinning terry fox run sandy too had an entourage offamily members and appre ciative friends offering congratulations people here care the suntribune and our predeces sors the stouffville sun and the tribune have been honoured to sponsor the awards for more than 20 years its the small town version of being able to put your name on the stanley cup or academy awards what makes an award winner its not someone who makes a living on what they do they arent involved for personal gain or because they have a child or spouse involved many of the sports winners are coach es or team executives who led squads without a son or daughter on the roster same with the tireless service club work like late lion cliff aiken who gets involved simply because its the right thing to do in their home town one of my neatest of annual jobs here in suntribuneland is to inform recipi ents that theyve been selected the bizarre part trying to find free time in their schedules for them to be photographed and interviewed for the paper theyre that involved nominations should be emailed to stouffvilleawardsyrngcom jim mason is editor of the suntribune