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bsgflgbbesflampwi phtri6unitlkvmavfi9 tuesday may 5 1998 vol 110 no 35 the tyihune is a member of the ontario press i council sf the tribune send your letters to the editor to the address below editorial- an active in childs education education week celebrates all that is good about canadian schools and despite a recent teachers strike and the continual dis cord between the ontario ovefrirnent and the teachers there is plenty to feel good about in our classrooms our nation has one of the highest literacy rates in the world and our postgraduate students are among the most highly- sought in the world weare making strides in attracting women in the direction f of the sciences technology and engineering and while the teachers dont like the idea standardized testing at least gives us an idea where we stand education week is a great idea because it brings the system to the foreground we are made more keenly aware of what is going oh in the lives of our children parents should takethis time as another school year draws to a close to speak with educators in the community parents- should make themselves a part of the process it also helps to improve the education system through active involvement it is important that parents take the time to visit local schools talk with the teachers and principals and hear what they have to say if parents want the best for their children it is imperative to take the time to be a part of their education hey vandorf get off fog mountain dear editor whew after reading last saturdays weekender y april 25 i was almost afraid that tuesdays edition would see the paper renamed the vandorf tri bune who is driving the bus the head line on elaine stewarts column a better question might be who is greasing fhe wheels while i admire the determination of the vra and the vandorf community in creating a strong voice towards the future planning of its community it should be pointed out that there are many more taxpaying residents in ward 1 than those living in vandorf reading pages 6 and 7 of saturdays paper may have lead one to think oth erwise i i see after having lost the ward 1 council seat to steve pliakes that frank martino has now styled himself as the vicar of vandorf heres a free tip frank the major ity of taxpaying residents at least those here in ward 1 who were eligible to vote didnt support a selfserving agenda which focused primarily on the t needs and desires of vandorf residents letters only and since im on the subject of com munity priorities theres another thing id like to point out train whistles are sounded in areas where there are level crossings without barriers in place for a simple reason public safety while this may disturb your precious sleep somewhat there are many that travel through these level crossings late no twist of fate is as cruel as that which takes away a child r there are times when even the most compassionate words arid deeds are inadequate to ease the devastating agony of loss how do you offer comfort in circum stances so unbearable that the usual platitudes and expressions of reassur ance seem almost an insult to those who are suffering tragedy does not discriminate between the deserving and the innocent as last weeks events in stoufiyilleso painfully illustrate no one is to blame yet everyone involved will be affected by the outcome for the rest of their lives the anguish in me community for the two families was palpable where ever you went everyone both those avho imew them arid those whom they had never met wanted so desperately to help butnvhat could they do or say in their sad awareness that some things can never be made better the death of a child is something kates corner kdie gildefdale every parent instinctively dreads from the moment they hold their baby in their arms for the first time and for the first time they find themselves overwhelmed with a love which is geri- erous rather than selfcentred and the knowledge that they would do any thing even give their own life to pro tect theirchild no twist of fate is as cruel as that which takes away a child from loving parents leaving them to live the rest of their lives with a gap which can never be filled what happened last week was just such a twist of fate one which has also left friends and neighbours deeply saddened and struggling to articulate their feelings to the grieving families those within the community but outside the families immediate circle are torn between offering condolences and invading a very private grief prayers sorrow empathy and love can never be enough but they are all the rest of us have to give in his poem on anothers sorrow williarn blake wrote can i see anothers woe and not be in sorrow too can i see anothers grief and not seek for kind relief think thou canst not sigh a sigh and thy maker is not by think thou canst not weep a tear and thy maker is hot near oh he gives to us his joy y that pur grief he may destroy till our grief is fled and gone he doth sit by us and r at night or in the wee hours of the morning some weary after long shifts while we are blessed to have the forest here combined with the weather on fog mountain it makes for poor visi bility much of the time believe it or not thereare a surpris ing number of people who after a decade or so of working in factories in the music industry like my husband and i or simply due to aging have experienced a certain degree of hearing loss to silence these whistles to any extent would be in my opinion court ing potential disaster and i applaud elaine stewart for having recognized the danger in this i suggest that anyone who feels their comfort is being undermined by the very brief sounding of the trains whis- ties invest in a pair of sponge earplugs they cost less than a dollar are extrerriely comfortable to wear yes even to sleep as years of copping naps on flights and in tour buses will attest to and are more than effective in blocking out extraneous noise lets use the limited community funds we have at our disposal for the benefit of all residents education safety services future growth arid erivironriiental protection should be at the forefront recreation and beautification are certainly important but not at the expense of the former if you need a sidewalk toenjoy the rugged beauty that is all around us move to high park youll soon see that increasing public access brings its own problems mug- gers gangs hookers and drug dealers are just a few of them shauna kennedy bailanrrae stouffville tribune a metroland community newspaper amm ian proiidfoot publisher andrew mair editorinchief tracy kibble editor debraweller director of advertising y mike rogerson retail advertising manager stacey allen classified manager barry goodyear director of distribution vivian oneil business manager pamela nichols operations manager about us news m 905 6402100 retail sales 9056402100 classifieds 905 6402874 distribution 905 6402100 xrimjk t 9056405477 fmail thetribistarca 6244 main st stouffville ont the moufivuu tribune pubuahed eiery iwey tomimy nd sturay bj ut at the mrtrolend prfaui pub- uttnl and dtrtronulon roup of com munity nawrpapora wblfh include ajxfckahnnwadruw all- ion llenlri courier carrie advance barry bay thi weak bolton enter- prinwcnjnwoodavt beach connection earl york mirror brio advocauvcountry routes eloblooke guardian flaaaborough port georr e- town inrfopendrdtacton free prrsa kinrto tw week unday tui week markkas ecodomut sun mid- unawr letters policy the tribune welcomes your letters to the editor please keep letters to no more than 300 words note that letters may be edited tor space libel spelling grammar while we endeavor to print as many letters as possible we regret that not all let ters may be printed j j