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it cj j ji c st weekender saturday december 13 1997 p 3 enviro group stunned after estion it be abolished joan ransberry staff reporter sherban a move to dump the towns envi ronmental committee has sparked controversy on monday whitchurch-stouff- ville council will be asked to back a staff recommendation to abolish the sevenmember committee which includes a scientist an arborist a waste management spe cialist and an environmental engi neer reaction from committee mem bers ranges from stunned to disap- pointed while some councillors are question ing the ratio- nale of abol ishing a committee thats linked to the envi ronment the timings off suggests ward 6 councillor sue sherban the environment is a key issue on a global basis why would we get rid of our environmental group she said fisch to form task forces from page 1 found challenges in the region of yorks history including a threat of imposed amalgamation by queens park downloading of provincial ser vices and pooling of property taxes in the 905 regions to help pay for toron tos social services but fisch warned councillors not to make any amalgamation decisions based on fear the province will impose its own solution he also urged councillors to wait until all the facts and figures are avail able before making a decision we should not make a decision on gut instinct he said until we have some of these questions answered i see little merit in going down that road fisch intends to establish a number of regional task forces to study streamlin ing regional and local services such as transit acknowledging some councillors anxiety that markham will now have six representatives at the region including yorks top politician fisch promised to be a completely fair and impartial chairperson i have that ability i have that track record and that is the pledge i make to you since the environmentallysensi tive oak ridges moraine factors into whitchurchstouffville citi zen participation should be wel comed said committee member don chubbuck im very disappointed said chubbuck who is an environmen tal specialist with ontario hydro as well his colleague al metauro strongly opposes disbanding the committee weve a small community were a town that needs input from its citizens said metauro who owns a waste management busi ness metauro also questions the role of the town in relationship to the committee which was struck three years ago council never put anything into this committee said metauro we sat there and wondered why we werent utilized when we could have been were profession als who are interested in the envi ronment he said an environmental committee can be in place in town but not be part of council said whitchurch- stouffville mayor wayne emmer- son it can carry on but not be a committee of council a group can form on its own they could come and advise us on environmental matters said emmerson ward 2 councillor mark carroll said staff was concerned because the committee wanted to get involved in planning matters that has nothing to do with the envi- ronment said emmer son the com mittee wanted to take on ad- ministrative duties and tell pliakes me how to do my job the committee stepped on a few toes said carroll it didnt have a specific man date it needs one if it knew what it was suppose to do maybe it wouldnt run hither and yon the fate of the committee was discussed during councils orienta tion session on tuesday said ward 1 councillor steve pliakes we discussed it said pliakes we were told the committee did nt have any teeth in it maybe all it needs is some teeth the environment is the most important issue facing us all stressed pliakes were tinkering with our grand childrens future we were given a pretty good planet lets make sure we pass it on he said while ward 3 councillor peter dobrich has yet to decide how hell deal with the matter he too questions whether the committee had a clear mandate from coun cil we were told it wasnt working but maybe it didnt have man date said dobrich there are pros and cons to dis banding the committee said ward 4 councillor cliff dunkeldtll have to take a good look at this he said committee member and former councillor mike watson said he was disgusted at how under uti lized the committee was the committee ended up doing its own projects said watson committee projects included lake testing programs for clark lake simeon lake preston lake and musselmans lake initiating dunkeld mapping of areas within the town reviewing the waste man agement pro grams and recycling programs holding earth day celebrations included tree planting at schools giving away tree saplings to the public and getting green space articles published in newspapers the total cost of these projects to the town was under 1 50 said watson he added is it smart to get rid of people who care about preserv ing our lakes trees wetlands and other areas of environmental con cern committee member and former councillor ivanka bradley wonders how abolishing a citizens group will affect volunteerism in town these people gave of their own time they came forward because they care this strikes a blow to the environment and to volunteerism said bradley taxpayers got moneys worth with harry bowes hogarth the york region board of education faded out this week with trays of food and cake and equally rich praise for trustees and staff but it was stouffvilles harry bowes who got the loudest applause a standing ovation and a shower of com plements for his 22 dedicated years at the board bowes always brought his sense of public duty and good humour to the job giving the board a human face said board chair bill crothers as chair for six years the stouffville trustee main tained both strong leadership and his compassion he added all of us have been privileged to learn from you and work with you the markham trustee told bowes noting he intends to stay a member of at least one school council in town its been an interesting and exciting experience bowes said at a reception later he held a giant get- well card sent and signed by board staff after bowes had heart surgery several years ago saying hed treasure it all his life he thanked his family and the parents of the region later adding that getting parents more involved in stouffville schools was one of the things he enjoyed most as trustee although bowes was the longest- serving a total of 12 trustees who served a total of 97 years retired tues day night in january six veterans and six new trustees will hold the inaugural meeting of a new district school board for york region- it will be governed by different rules technically it will be a different board though it serves the same area at the meeting education director bill hogarth lauded the current trustees for sticking to a policy of fiscal restraint and displaying courage in dif ficult times the position of future school trustees has been devalued in ontario but thats no reflection on the current board he said you challenged us to do a better job hogarth said on behalf of board staff i can look every taxpayer in the eye and say that they got their moneys worth mike a dler harry bowes shows off his personalized farewell card from yrbe staff with public relations spokesperson ellen chcnaux monday during a board party plwtohymlkeablen were first in distribution weve delivered 49038152 flyers doortodoor so far this year for further information on how we can deliver your flyers call ruth or melissa at 6402100 the triblfne a watch for these flyers on saturday december 13 1997 walmart ap dominion loblawssupercentre zellers sobeys sears sears christmas weston produce loblaws yonge bernard the bay stockup moores the suit people canadian tlre richmond hill biway mm meats petsmart iga- stouffville satoclod areas only