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a smmwd stouffvifle jribinie 5 r j a metroland community newspaper- 9 heritage ra markhani ont l3p 1m3 publisher ian proudfoot general manager alvin brouwer editor in chief brenda larson director of advertising debra welter deputy editor debora kelly f production director cheri kay distribution director barry goodyear online publishing r j manager brian kirlik v classified manager ann campbell retail sales manager stephen mathieu inside sales manager rs allen business manager margaret fleming i office manager s v vivian oneil i editorial c last week we reported that york region is 4 witnessing a widening gap between rich and poor residents accordingto regional statistics and the canadian council on social development in the past five years the number of people living belowme poverty line in 6urwelltodo society has almost doubled in 1991- 7 per cent of the regions popula- tion of 500000 scraped by under the low- income cutoff ilico meaning they spent more than 55 per cent of their income on the necessities of life such as shelter clothing and r food byl996 13 per cent of the regions growing population pf 600000 were inthe same boat the region isalso seeing an increase in the number of peoplewhoare seeking affordable housing at least half of the 251000 new hoiis- ing units needed to handle the regions pbpula- tion boom intheriext 25 years should be affordable units according to a regional report- r as our region experiences dramatic growth as our urban centres swell with newcomers to the nation as well as to the region we are seeing problems that have hot had a place in i our affluent region our social service providers the officials who run the assistance programs such as food banks and homeless shelters are seeing more people who are relying on systemic interven tion to keep their families together and fed wendwhave residents who felyonfood banks who cant afford to support their fami lies properly who may berughly skilled and- qualified newcomers to the nation arid t who- cant speak english c we have to ensure people understand the problem to start withjhat they realize there is an issuewitk growing poverty in york region k despite what they see in their singlefamily neighbburribpds i r we have to ask regional officials to identify opportunities for assisting people in need and determine how best to respond whether its through education programs in schools and community centres orby developing partner- i ships with good corporate citizens to provide funding and materials to change our society v we need to encourage families to utilize appropriate social services tctgef the correct kind of- helpv whether ifs irhmediate assis- jtance longterm planning or prigbingsupport arid we need tojericourage voluriteerisrh charity sothat we grow a caring commu- nity email newsroomeconsuncom v vv vlrf s letters to the editor wherewasmike colle then iviolenceisnt a way to solve a staff writer mike adler missed a gofden problem 111 owf society opportunity during his interview with liberal mppmikecoue colle was a member of the david peterson liberal government and had i been in adlers position i would have asked mr colle why did the peterson government not protect the oak ridges moraine when it had the chance taking action back then would save the liberals from protesting and tryingtogain brownie points now r jshawr markham healing comes with confession thank you for including my daughter in your article on the world youth day in rome the article was enjoyable but the closing paragraph needs tobe corrected yes the pope declared 2000 a jubilee year it is appalling to see all theviolence going f on in the clubstoday ever since we hit the year 2000 all we have been hearing islast night there was a shoot ing or last night there was a stabbing it is so common now to hear this that it doesnt seem surpnsing anymore what is going on and what is making peo ple commit all meseirrational actsdo peo ple have to start being cautious about having fun v t it seems like it the unfortunate thing is that it is all the good people that end up get ting hurt in the end k j- violence is not the way to solve problems it just creates more of a dilemma and more sorrow we as a society have to be cautious and aware of what is happening in clubs and the incidents around us i j what we can do is set an example to young a year to focus on reconciliation and for- kids because it commences in young children giveness- however catholics experience vik vaavi owu aaoro gods healing through confession the sacrament of reconciliation not a quick trip to rome i p when i said the slates are wiped clean i was referring to leviticus 25 and land being returned to original owners slaves liberated r arid debts forgiven 7 as a roman catholic we make a pilgrim- age torome as a further expression of our faith the vatican being the focal point for roman catholics margbaker unionville and what they are taught and shown we are the products of the parenteguairdiansvwhd raised us some may be thinking thisis not a solu- tion and i am not saying it really is but it a doesnt hurt to try because every little circum stance can make a difference even- if you have succeeded in changing only one per- sons mind the violence mat is occurring is happen ing too frequently and it has to be stopped almermdacasciato woodbridge lettersyolicy stounviuethbune 5 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 k publishor not publish and to r edit for clarity and space f write letters to the editor jghentagerd- markhaitiontuplm3 c email lenersdeconsuncom x stouffville tribune servingthe community since 1888 bbs canedianclreulatlons audit bond member ontario press council 1 stouffville tribune published every tuesday thursday and saturday is one ol the metroland printing publishing and drstnbuting ltd group ol newspapers which includes the ajaxpkkenng news 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david teetzel cant fighipavemeht while youre paving over the environment f t just goes showthauiyou approach everything with a cynical attitude you will be proven wrong once in a blue moon anyway back in january iremember laugh ing about the sheer naivete of a group of naturalists who thought york region councillors would spend 16 million to build a bridge- for the sake of some wildlife jlastjneeting they did it the issue is the- muchdiscussed bayview extension that will cut through the jefferson in northern rjchmohdhill although protesters failed to stop rtreecutting when thpy stood infront of bulldozers last fall the regiondid con sider various plans torecluce the roads impact on a gully 600 metres north of stouffville road v the initial iproposaltwasto build a bridge that spanned the entire gully ata cost ofmorethan6 million that was rejected so the naturalists rsaid the least the regionxcoulddowas spend 16 million to build a girder bridge that would allow animals arid pedestrians to travebsafely under the road back in january the regions tians- portatioh committee decided to builda fburmetrebyfourmetre concrete box culvert under the road at a cost of 350000 instead of the bridge f michaeljwhite yice of the richmond hillnaturalists said at the r time it was wrong tbjdestroy trees grass flowers and slimbsandreplace therh with concrete t 3 and i said at thetime that white was yreamingin technicolour if lie thougjit the regional politicians would choose trees and flowers over 1 25 million and richmond hill mayor bill bell who chairs the transportation commit tee said at the time im sympathetic much in the same way i am about freez ing development on the oak ridges moraine but that costs money and therein lies at least part of the reason for regional councils reversal and the naturalists dream come true in the face of intense public pressure richmond hill and york region councils decided to oppose all new development on that section of themorainel and it would look pretty hypocritical to be at- the ontario municipal board demanding the mprainebeprotected while paving one of its most beautiful sections r be cauirig for enhanced wildlife cbrridorswhile leaving all the lit- tlecritters to roam directly into the path ofspeedingcornrnuter traffic novthe cynicln riiesays were it riot j- an election year bur local politicians wouldnt mind looking like hypocrites to saveamillioribucks v f but lefs not go there ui i rb1 st ij v 5 f wi