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f ljmusamh stouffville tribune tuesday nov 23 1999 stouffvifle tribune a metroland community newspaper 37 sandiford dr suite 306 stouffville ont l4a 7x5 opinion publisher ian pwudfoot general manager alvin brouwer editor in chief brenda larson director of advertising debra welter deputy editor debora kelly classified manager ann campbell editor alshackleton retail sales manager stephen mathieu production director cherikay inside sales manager staceyallen distribution director barry goodyear business manager margaret fleming online publishing manager brian kirlik office manager vivian oneil letters evergreen hospice says thanks for article on day program on behalf of the board staff and volunteers of evergreen hospice i wanted to personally thank the markham economist sun for the fine article written by mike adler club for the living nov 23 about our day program we enjoyed having mike with us on several occasions researching the story and appreci ate the way in which he presented us to the community it is good to know the markham economist sun continues to be committed to present ing stories that are positive and demonstrate the concern and compassion of a community again allow me to let the community and mike adler know how deeply we appreciate your continued interest in our efforts to pro vide support when caring counts cynthia h payne president board of directors evergreen hospice remembrance day ceremony failed to observe 11th hour silence on the last remembrance day of this cen tury i attended the ceremony at markham civic centre along with many others at the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month the scheduled program continued until approximately 1115 am when two min utes of silence was finally observed somehow it didnt have the same meaning im sure a twominute interruption at 11 am would not have taken anything away from the excellently planned program i hope to attend the remembrance day ceremony in 2000 at the civic centre and trust this error will not be repeated margaret campbell markham parents need to make kids aware of consequences of crime as much as i sympathize with shaheeri kamadias loss im looking at this issue from a different perspective parents should set reasonable expecta tions boundaries and limits and gently guide our children toward acceptable behaviour when they are still at a tender age as we have in our absolute power the molding of their characters it is also our duty to educate our children to become law abiding citizens and to impress upon them the consequences of committing a crime undaelliott markham provinces education cuts show lack of respect for teachers two weeks ago premier mike harris announced more budget cuts but none to education then last week he changed his mind and announced 800 million more cuts on the way to education just so that his books balance a number of promises made last year will be clawed back as well the governmentappointed education improvement commission has already stated that the current funding formula could not support the collective agreements that already exist never mind future ones that may be made it may interest ontarians to know most teachers in this province have not had a pay increase in nine years and some even earn less than they did nine years ago when you add to that the much larger work load given to teachers by bill 160 the already chronic lack of resources and now more cuts along with continued frozen wages it shows how much our government values its educa tors and our education system i guess former education minister john snobelens famous create a crisis in educa tion speech was right on r greenwood stouffville york region municipalities to blame for moraines destruction regarding the stories on the destruction of the oak ridges moraine where does the blame lie i suggest with every municipality involved in the subject lands as a resident of richmond hill for more than 30 years i have seen the destruction of farmland by developers who want to create ghettos on the moraine such as will happen to bond lake drynoch oak ridge and mitchell farms make no mistake ravines and forests will be done in as well as all possible parkland potentials ifyou visit oak ridges you will find very few woodland trails but you will find plenty of forests disappearing and paved streets when you forget to lock the bam door there will always be someone who will want to steal your horse richard vwood richmond hill letters policy stouffvillelhbune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a i daytime telephone number name and address the newspaper reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space write letters to the editor 37 sandiford dr suite 306 stouffville ont l4a 7x5 email latters0stoufftrlbcom stouffville tribune serving the community since 1888 canadian circulations audit board member ontario press council canadian publications mail product sales agreement 1403419 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phone 905 6402100 fax 905 6405477 classified 18007433353 distribution 9056400100 telephone 9056462100 mx 905 6405477 email newsroomstoufftribcom brenda larson schools show courage by banning pokemon hate off to students and admin istrators at richmond hills st charles gamier catholic ele mentary school and sixteenth avenue public school flying in the face of popular culture theyve demonstrated true courage theyve implemented a pokemon ban on their property no pikachu no mewtwo no onix no hundreds of other little characters with special powers or skills to memorize the idea is to prevent schoolyard fights over trades and distractions from work caused by the collectibles its a great idea described as a cultural phenome- non the pokemon craze includes trad ing cards figures posters a television series and of course a movie id say its actually more than a cultural phenome non its a financial phenomenon a multibilliondollar industry that shows no immediate signs of abating but it will eventually pokemon will go the way of tickle me elmo theyll still be around but moms and dads wont be fighting each other in store lines to get one or two orthree at christmas time york public school board chief psy- chqlogist glenn dipasquale is on the mark when he says were not teaching our children the difference between what is truly valuable in life and what is largely irrelevant parents have to spend some time with their children telling them that if something doesnt matter five years from now its not that important he says hes so right the kids who are up to their necks in pokemon today will move on to another fad tomorrow whether ifs baseball and hockey cards comic books or a new set of action figures my daughters a little too young to care about pokemon but she recognizes the caricature of pikachu when she sees it ahhh the power of mass marketing my nephew has a vast collection of cards and figures and can tell you every thing about them and their powers and who they can beat in a fight he hasnt run into any confrontations over trades because bis mom and dad wont let him take the goods to school at best hes learning patterning memorization logical thinking process es and how to organize items based on their similarities at worst hes falling victim to the media pressure we have all experienced but kids shouldnt have to deal with the linlevel playing field collectibles can bring to their schoolyard whether ifs haves versus havenots of a fight over an unfair trade or a stolen figure or a classroom disruption theres plenty of time after school to play pokemon or any other game