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economist suntribune news thursday feb 17 2000 reporter earns prestigious award by lisa queen staff writer reporter jennifer brown has been named the best subur ban journalist in north america the suburban newspapers association which represents 2000 publications in canada and the united states named brown journalist of the year monday this is the pulitzer prize of suburban newspapers editor doug devine said its the highest honour available to subur ban journalists under new attitude jtesents good brothers fib 1900 paul james feb 2600 tickets are limited please call 905 6425360 6211 main st stouffvihe t 31 mm- mm v i r3tv ms ssfcassffi 1 axi 109 brock st w 6188 main st uxbridge stouffville 8527409 6422927 1 m take the fear out of taxes wwwhrblockca editorinchief brenda larson was thrilled with the announcement were delighted and extremely proud of jennifer she said shes a hardworking and talented reporter who always has the best interests of our readers and the community at heart brown won the award based on a broad range of stories her work is allencompassing pmf c i from criminal courts to street corners from hospital emergency rooms to brown kindergarten classrooms jennifers stories have chronicled the challenges and triumphs ofyork region residents larson wrote in a letter to the association nominating brown highlights of her work last year included coverage of an inquest into the death of eightyearold courtney trempe mauled by a bull mastiff while playing with friends in a neighbours back yard the stories prompt ed the towns of stouffville and georgina to enact vicious dog bylaws yorks ongoing health care crisis the education system jonathan wamback the newmarket teen who fell into a threemonth coma after he was beaten last summer browns coverage including interviews with jonathans mother and father helped mobilize the community to show its concern for the family and get involved in a campaign to change the young offenders act brown joined metroland in july 1995 after four years as a reporter with the weekly huntsville forester in her home town stouffville a stop on the wine tour maps by joan ransberry staff writer stouffville is about to be part of the ontario wine tour on tuesday whitchurchstouffville council backed an application allowing a fullscale winery in town winemaker mario testa will now build willow springs at5572bethesdard grapes will be grown on at least 10 acres while another 10 acres will grow other fruit trees all will be used to make wine as well testa will sell grapes and fruit wines along with related merchandise willow springs winery will measure 2800 square feet of that 1200 will be a retail storea total of 1200 will be used for manufacturing and there will be a 400-square- foot office the land is presently zoned rural and will remain so the amendment agreed on by council will permit an on- site wine store for the sale of wines produced on the prop erty stouffville will now be included in an established south ern ontario wine tour held every summer dacjrria your family ski snow board cross country ski centre v come to dagmar ave 6 pack for anytime only 12000 valid all operating hours tax included learn to ski on snowboard skiing 4000 snowboard 5000 leam to ski package is available weekends and holidays 4 hour rental 4 hour area ticket and 1 hour group lesson limited to use of the beginner chairlift and our new wonder carpet were closer 1220 lakeridge road 9056492002 the war amps kidstokids child amputees teaching youngsters about safety safety is no accident so playsafe a to order a piaysafe video or safety walk kit contact the war amps national headquarters 2827 riverside drive ottawa ontario k1v 0c4 tel 613 7313821 ottawa or ezee access tel 18002503030 fax 18002198988 internet httpwwwwarampsca clwtububgltrlloonurobrot63109 this message brought to you as a community servcie of the economisttribune lack of competition inflates prices mpp from page 1 depending on whos selling its the rapid price increases that hurt most added michael anderson vicepresident of don anderson haulage in stouffville where fuel is the companys secondbiggest cost after wages a week ago we had a five cents a litre increase on one days notice both men said their companies are how passing fuel sur charges on to their customers but there is only so much the customers can absorb and according to the association since 90 per cent of ontario consumer products and foodstuffs are shipped by truck those extra costs could mean inflation you may soon pay more for that loaf of bread truck repossessions common companies have been putting deals to purchase trucks on hold said gary crudge ontario sales director at area truck retailer kenworth toronto truck repossessions unheard of until recently are common he added the ota and the canadian automobile association mean while have asked the province to lower its share of taxes on gasoline and diesel sales david leonhardt the caas public and government affairs director also wants to see the oil companies forced to post notices at stations stating how long their prices are good until that way he said drivers wont be ambushed by price hikes thats what really seems to be irking people that sense that theyve been tricked leonhardt said joe tascona an mpp cochairing a gas prices review task force touring the province said the high price of gas has more to do with a lack of competition in the oil industry than taxes if you were stuck driving an empty guzzler yesterday a chevy suburban a gmc sierra or what have you then stouffville was a good place to be gas sold there at the relative bargain price of 639 cents a litre will the high prices of the last two months turn the bigger sportutility vehicles into dinosaurs jurys still out but i do think its certainly going to have people thinking twice said craig riley owner of markville ford lincoln mercury in markham families with minivans may gravitate to smaller suvs in the future but people who want ford excursions or lincoln navigators dont seem to mind the price of gas riley said in 1973 higher gas prices drove many families to get rid of their second car and very big cars began to disappear from dealers lots recalled harry gow president of the consumer group transport 2000 lower gas prices he added tend to pro mote suburbanstyle development and a shift away from pub lic transit premier mike harris didnt rule out a cut in provincial gas tax this week but thats a decision for finance minister ernie eves according to terry simzer spokesperson for consumer minister bob runciman school boards feel pain at the pumps the high price of diesel could cost york regions school boards an extra 500000 by june says david martin trans portation service manager for the public and separate boards thats because school bus operators here signed a fuel escalator clause protecting them against fuelcost fluctua tions in their contracts with student transportation services the joint entity that fields 800 buses for the boards every school day last june sts and the bus operators locked in for the 1999- 2000 school year around a base rate of 426 cents a litre for diesel every twocent increase above the base costs the boards one cent more per kilometre to run a bus today diesel is selling for 61 cents or more said martin who added the cost overrun had reached about 350000 in december and noted that was before prices jumped again to record levels its the taxpayers that are on the hook for the increased cost here he said operators say such clauses are common in agreements and work both ways if diesel prices go two pennies below the base operators have to hand money back this year im ahead last year im behind said garry gosling general manager of laidlawtransit ltd in markham many ontario boards are already overbudget on trans portation costs said gary kennedy who negotiated the agree ment for several bus operators in york and is vicepresident of one company langdons coach lines in king city january and february are going to be the real crunchers mikeadler