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economist sisunttribum communily thursday dec 9 1999 m residents and politicians take a stand in the name of safety putting a stop to fatal crashes by joan ransberry staff writer ashboardtype speed controls are being rec ommended for inter sections throughout whitchurchstouffville officials of stouffvilles new road watch program plan to lobby york region asking that measures be taken to curb the number of acci dents at intersections in and around whitchurchstouffville the accident rate is climbing weve got stop signs but not every one is obeying them road watch executive herb bell said installing strips of washboarding just before the stop signs could alert drivers that theyre approaching an intersection bell suggested washboarding is used on parts of highways 404 and 401 said paul whitehouse whitchurch-stouff- viues public works director intersections do need attention said whitehouse there have been four fatalities on aurora road with in whitchurchstouffville thisyear said whitehouse although we do not have details of the cause of the accidents it would appear that the motorist northbound on mccowan at the ninth line failed to stop at the intersection both intersections are under the jurisdiction of york region and have oversized stop signs and advance stop ahead signage whitehouse said one accident at aurora road and ninth line claimed the lives of a scarborough couple while an 18- yearold was charged with failing to staff photosteve somerville stouffville councillors judy scala andgliff duhkeld monitor truck traffic at avbodbirie ayehue and hwy 47 for the dangerous intersection report stop at a stop sign the adult chil dren of the victims convinced a judge to lay a careless driving charge i agree with this approach bell said private citizens are taking action instead of just letting the sys tem look after things road watch is a group made up of private citizens were also tryingto do somethingto make our roads safer whitehouse is suggesting the region consider additional stop- ahead signs more stop signs on the left of the road approaching an intersection reflective markings on stop sign posts rumble strips flash ing red beacons on top of stop signs and pavement markings there have been 26 accidents at intersections in whitchurch- stouffville this year bell said there were 10 personal injury accidents at intersections or road links in stouffville this year while there were 57 accidents involving proper v tydamage the intersection at woodbine avenue and bloomington road was the most accident prone with a dozen accidents so far this year there were five accidents at the intersection of stouffville road and woodbine avenue five at aurora road and warden avenue arid four at- aurora road and mccowan road bell said mayor wayne emmerson is appealing to his colleagues on york council to put a plan in place to make intersections safer ive asked that the intersections be investigated emmerson said people have every right to be con cerned about the danger in october a 140name petition calling for improved safety mea sures for vivian road was presented to whitchurchstouffville council after a number of serious accidents upset area residents the use of radar needs to be beefed up between woodbine avenue and hwy 48 residents have stated the public is calling- for speed reductions increased police enforcement installation of allway stops overhead flashing lights at allway stops and traffic calming devices at various intersections in the area police enforcement through spot radar is the only effective means of controlling speeding whitehouse said while the region is being asked to examine the intersections road watch continues to do its bit to make the roads safer each month residents report about 50 motorists who are not obeying the rules of the road 1 people are taking part in road i watchthe report cards including a record of the driving problem are being filled out and placed inthe drop off boxes in place across yitchiuchstouffviue roadwatch volunteers deliver all the cards to me york regional police gifts from the heart staff photosteve somerville children at markham stouffville hospital childcare unit may have a merrier christmas this year thanks to the donation of these new toys and toy box st monicas catholic school council with the help of canadian lire donated the toys in memory of former grade 1 teacher and 30year board employee carole lynn who died of cancer last fall pictured are council chairperson josie parlagreco alongside her two daughters alexandra and laura shawn bolduc is checking out the express train talented justin hines earns junior stouffville teen aims to inspire others to reach for their dreams by joan ransberry staff writer hes not just under considera tion to be canadas national voice for the milleririium theres much more to justin hines of stouffville while the young man waits to find out if his creation sing your song is being adopted as the song toaccompany canada into the next century hines is taking great pride in being picked as one of ontarios finest young people its an honour shared by 11 others on tuesday hines learned that hes the recipient of the 1999 junior achievement of the year award sponsored by the ontario community newspaper association while only 17 years old the unionville high school student has won a gemini nomination the ytv achievement award and a commis sion to write what maybe canadas official anthem for the millennium this past spring the talented singer and gifted songwriter visited ottawa to perform sing your song hte audience included deputy the unionville high school student has won a gemini nomination the ytv achievement award j and a commission to write what may be canadas official anthem for the millennium prime minister herb gray after the performance hines received a let- ter of praise and endorsement frorn prime minister jean chretien hines professional career began in 1996 when he entered a contest sponsored by a local radio station he won from there he went on to sing at blue jays games arid at world wrestling federation events hines sang a duet with michael burgess at markham theatre and hes been the featured artists on many televi sion specials hines is also an accomplished public speaker asan actor he was the recipient of rhany awards including the 1997 provincial award for the arts for exceptional children hines was the recipient of unionville high schools esthe- wheatly award for excellence nv education handed out this september hines sings on local and nation al broadcasts for easter seals the variety club and toronto hospital for sick children hines has larsons syndrome a rare genetic disorder that causes among other things the dislocation of major joints in his body he gets around in a wheelchair hines knows the difference between ability and disability hefe performed at many fundraising activities for the disabled as well he visits schools to answer ques tions and raise awareness and he writes motivational articles the teen is a role model whov dedicated to reaching his goal of being a professional performer and uses his dedication and strength to encourage others to reach their dreams his parents carol and dave and brother brandon are expected to join hines at the april 7 awards cer emony