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economist suntribune tuesday march 14 2000 stouffville tribune a metroland community newspaper 9 heritage rd markham on l3p 1m3 opinion telephone 905 2942200 fax 905 2941538 email newsroomeconsuntom publisher ian prondfoot general manager alvin brouwer editor in chief brenda larson director of advertising debraweller deputy editor dehorn kelly editor julie caspersen production director chert kay distribution director barry goodyear online publishing manager brian kirlik classified manager ann campbell retail sales manager stephen mathieu inside sales manager staceyallen business manager margaret fleming office manager vivian oneil letters difference between required and recommended measured in dollars i learned something today that i thought i must share with your readers a few nights back my daughters car would not start i was fairly confidant the battery was the culprit but to be sure i took the car to a ser vice centre and asked that they inspect and test the charging system before replacing the battery i left the vehicle overnight the next day i received a phone call advising me that the vehicle needed 585 worth of work this did not include the new battery like me you might assume that the work recommended was the result of the inspection i was paying for like me you would be wrong after several phone conversations it turns out that the service being recommended may not have been required the recommendation for service was based on the year make model and mileage of the vehicle and not its current condition note the vehicle had been pur chased as used but fully certified from a rep utable local auto dealer less than two months and 800 kilometres earlier i did take the vehicle elsewhere to have the battery replaced and i did not have the 585 worth of work done the vehicle is running quite well when asked specifically the second service centre thought the recommended ser vice was not required the lesson i learned is the difference between recommended and required ser vice is about 585 neilsmith unionville if town has tools to protect moraine province should prove it an open letter to ontario environment minister dan newman on your first day in office you were quick to copy the premiers rhetoric that the municipal ities had all the tools they needed to protect the moraine however at meetings of richmond hill council on both feb 23 and march 7 the statement was council lacked the tools because no provincial government had ever taken the firm and responsible act of turning canadian alliance leadership weighin the 1994 guidelines into law the prehearing meeting with the ontario municipal board your governments creature gave the ruling that the new official plan was unenforceable these understandings were supported by the towns planner therefore since you have made the firm statement that municipalities do in fact have the tools will you please explain to me which of your governments tools will be effective and how these planning tools will be effective in saving the natural and environmentally neces sary features of the moraine i would like to be able to take your response to council and to demonstrate that you are correct your response of necessity will have to be in clear english as i am neither a professional planner nor a bureaucrat johnogorman thornhill comments raise questions about ethics of smoking task force an open letter to the york regions smoking taskforce comments made by some of smoking task force chairperson joyce frustaglio were per plexing im accused of being biased and not open minded of course im biased shouldnt task force members be objective and unbiased and represent the interests of the whole community shouldnt biased task force members be offset by an equal number of unbiased members the composition of the task force its credi bility and qualifications are in question task force members should publicly announce rel evant information such as their backgrounds smoking habits past and present whether they have ever owned and operated a business in which smoking was an important factor how were they appointed to task force and by whom the most astounding comment made though was by vaughan mayor loma jackson who said until the province passes legislation restricting or banning smoking in public places it will remain very difficult for munici palities to enforce local bylaws unless im missing something here this means that this task force and all this bickering is a waste of time and money in resolving this issue the task force is urged to take into consideration 1 fairness compromise and common sense 2 smoking is legal in canada 3 going to a restaurant is a personal choice and the marketplace must determine such matters which involve only the patrons and restaurant owners 4 smoking is an addiction 5 wasting taxpayers money in courts should it reach that stage would be better spent by establishing a smoking clinic for the purpose of helping smokers kick the habit mounirsahyoun unionville letters policy stouffville tnbune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a 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 9 heritage rd markham on up 1m3 email ltten0ecoflsuncom stouffville tribune serving the community since 1888 ee3 due canadian circulations i audit board member ontario press council canadian publications mail product sales agreement 1403419 subscription rates by mail lyear- 6955 luesdays only stouffville tribune published every tuesday thursday and saturday is one of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd group of newspapers which includes the ajarpickering news advertiser alliston heraldcourier barrie advance barrs bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington post city parent collingwoodwasaga connection east ftik mirror erin advocatecountry routes etobicoke guardian flamborough post georgetown independentacton free press kingston this week lindsay this week midlandpenetanguishene mirror milton canadian champion milton shopping news mississauga news newmarket- aurora georgina erabanner northumberland news north ybrk mirror oakvide beaver oakvide shopping news orillia today oshawawhitbyclaringtonport perry this week peterborough this week richmond hillthornhillvaughan liberal scarborough mirror stouffville tribune todays seniors uxbridge tribune and city of york guardian phone k5 2942200 fax 95 2941538 classified 18007433353 distribution 905 2948244 brenda larson teachers cant win battle over testing and work hours another class to teach mandatory participation in extracurricular activities a test of skills and abilities youll have to forgive teachers for feeling a bit put upon the province is making demands of our educators to be better to do more and to prove theyre worthy of the positions they hold the atmosphere is tense and it appears this year will be a labour rela- tions nightmare teachers have been stewing over the idea of being tested since premier mike harris announced his governments intention last spring so the liming of the latest announce ments didnt help on thursday education minister janet ecker announced the province would force school boards to imple ment increases in instructional time to 1250 minutes a week from 1125 teachers will teach 667 classes of eight each day instead of six on friday premier mike harris said his government would entertain the idea of forcing teachers to participate in extracurricular programs teachers have taken public beatings over their work year and workload its easy to point to march break and christmas break and professional devel opment days and two months of sum mer break and criticize teachers who whine about being overworked so teachers already feel like social pariahs because of their career choice and harris government isnt easing up if anything by its announcements the province is heightening the tension between teachers and government and what does this approach accom plish it makes john public stop consider and reaffirm that teachers should be tested a refusal to undergo testing doesnt win teachers public support if anything john public will join the cry to test if theyre good teachers they shouldnt worry hell agree anything to improve my childs education hell say it also makes john public stop and consider whether or not the teachers workload isnt anything his boss would nt ask of him without the benefits teachers enjoy such as prime vacation time and a great pension plan it makes john public stop and con sider whether or not its too much to ask a teacher to embrace life in the school outside the classroom to take part in the extracurricular aspects of a students development i think the answer would be no its not too much to ask especial ly since teachers say they care so as harris heightens the tension and as the teachers take firm stands in opposition to that which the province is asking it only serves to further alienate teachers from the public they serve the teasers cant win this image battle