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inside opinion 6 wheels 13 sports 20 classified 20 8 few turn out to protest plan to make york region smoke free more meetings slated community calendar event bowl for big brothers when saturday call7271251 where stouflville bowling centre k r- s f o just how far will ao parents go to give their child a birthday they wont forget serving whitchurchstouffville since 1888 50 cents including gst 24 pages thursday feb 17i2000 to reach us 905 2942200 80 million needed for expansions by jennifer brown staff miter whatever york regions future boundaries look like- the bottom line is hospitals need the support of the local municipality now to go ahead with their 200million expansion plans talk of amalgamation and plans to dissolve the region have prompted concern among some hospital officials who have been lobbying for funding to help pay for their capital projects but amalgamation aside the reality is hospitals need to come up with almost 80 million local ly over the next four years to complete expansion plans need ed to address demands of growth whatever the boundaries me issue is the same the hos pitals need to grow and develop said frank lussing president of york central hospital who feels there should even be a longterm commitment for growth funding however we organize our selves geopolitically whether it is regional council or another council there is a need to come to the table newspaper headlines hinting that municipal leaders are align ing themselves with proposed new structures under various amalgamation plans made the hospitals nervous at first but they feel in the end funding will come through y see province page 7 filling the tank takes a toll on truckers and suv drivers gas prices bymikeadler staff writer when filling your ford windstar with regular costs 5676i ifs time to worry oh my gosh a surprised thomhill resident said as the price of the gas flowing into her vans extralarge tank climbed past her usual 45 tab its a necessary evil the windstar owner who would not give her name said yesterday at a hwy 7 shell station in richmond hill i need a large vehicle so i have ho choice at a pump nearby north york plumber jeffory porter estimated that compared to last year gas prices have added 40 a month to the cost of using his dodge caravan for work ifs ridiculous but the fuming from ordinary drivers going from under 50 cents a litre last summer to 689 this week at most york region stations is nothing compared to the strain on users ofdiesel fuel like the trucking industry diesel once cheap and stable has shot up to record levels above even the price of gasoline compared to one year ago the ontario trucking association told a panel of tory mpps this week the rack price ofdiesel has gone up 147 percent its hurting a lot of guys said mike skelton operations manager of skelton truck lines in newmarket who enjoyed a base price last year of 21 cents a litre and now buys for 62 to 65 cents see lack page 2 staff photorob alary mo o h e v inte mobile the little dealership with a big 5336 highway 7 just east of mccowan 2941440 toll free 18008922209 wwwnorthpointechevoldscom sale hou rs morithurs 9 am 9 pm fit 9 am 6 pm i sat 9 am 6 pmal service hoursb monthurs 7 am 7 pms fri730amr6pm sat8am1 pmi we at north pointe chev olds would like to wish the community a very happy new year i vejay sariesy service manager would like to invite you to our dealership to take advantage of our new gm special the winter special includes lube oil filter rotate tires general inspection total cost 9500 plus tax seafood restaurant 5812 main st stouffvffle 6406115 live nova scotia lobster fresh seafood steak gourmet pizza every tuesday buy 2 pasta get 1 free