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ssi- j i oovs ttf a r 1- a6 economist suntribune tuesday dec 262000 zs r 9htaserlmarkhamonll3plm3 j j f b lfa v- emails oeiiaoiosemmuuat r ii l 9 heritage rd markham ont l3p 1m3 lt iyubisherian proudfobt general manager aith brouwer eduorsacbietbrenila larson j director of advertising oefoa hfemfr deputy editor classified j j daxuukeuyjrj am q2mp editor l retail sale manager jimmason stephen mathieu production director inside sales manager yxherikay staceyallen distribution director business manager barry goodyear robert lazurko online publishing office manager manager vivian 0 neil margaret fleming editorial transportation trash must be top priorities transportation and trash are the critical topics for york region councillors and bureaucrats in 2001 the environment amalgamation and social housing are other important issues but not so pressing as transit and garbage the huge influx of new residents and new busi nesses in fork region means services are pressed there are too many cars and too few arterial roads there are more people and consequently more trash bags at more curbs throughout the region we have asked repeatedly what will the region do to offer gridlocked commuters better transit options and we have also asked after 12 years of debate how far has the region come in its plans for managing a looming garbage crisis the fact is the region made both transit and trash priorities for 2000 theres now a regional transit system that incor porates the nine municipal transit systems into one entity thats a good step but its not a defini tive answer were not much further ahead than we were a year ago in 20 years the greater toronto areas popula tion will increase to more than 7 million people the newcomers will add more than a million vehi cles to local roads 37 million cars and trucks pushing up rushhour car trips by 50 per cent 36 million a day by 2021 no wonder we have road rage incidents but there are also millions of dollars worth of commitments to improve transportation in the region from 200 million in improvements to provincial highways across the gta to a mil lion commitment to widen hwy 404 north in aurora and extend the road to green lane from the extension of hwy 407 into durham by the end of next year to the 1 billion that is needed to expand go transit rail lines in york region the intent is there the cash is an issue relevalley landfill scediiledtocloseiri 2002the region has to fmdvasoluuonifor 175000 tonnes of waste annually york region has spent 252 million to collect and dispose of its waste this year including 34 million on recycling by- 2003 the figure would jump to as high as 57 million with 18 million needed for recycling we should be looking at improving diversion at alternatives such as incineration at options such as composting on a dramatic scale theres more to disposing of waste than ship ping it to someone elses back yard and burying it education is also key encouraging the public to divert can be challenging but its a necessity councillors arc scheduled to study the issue at a series of workshops this spring hopefully arriving at somekind of answer but as aurora deputy mayor john west points out the region has visited countries with other options and in 12 years has made no progress to deal with the crisis and again cash becomes a critical issue we can continue to lobby the province we can continue to find funding from other programs and resources in york region but its imperative region al officials continue working on solutions for these two critical issues if we cant get around the region with relative ease and if were buried under a mountain of trash our regional economy will take a turn for the worse new businesses will not choose york region as a home and no one wants that to happen t f environment slipping away on salty roads road salt its slowly and silently destroying our natural resources arid its time to investigate alter natives v experts however are brushing aside the notion oh the grounds salt is more effective safer and cheaper by far than any available alternative and while its good to keep an eye on taxpayers money that kind of thinking is shortsighted while it costs just more than 1 million to sand andsalt nearly 3000 kilometres of regional road ways experts say that figure could rise to ah astounding 34 million with use of naturalbased spreaders such as grains and other agricultural products i 1 despite that regional councillor diane hume- riiuk vvill crusadefora50percent reduction of salt on regional roads and will push for theevenrual eliniination of its use t- i v xhuuklntsbuteffecto6urpred6us watersuppuesanddeterioradonofour roads cars and natural resources will be far more costly in the lohgranvvjmmemntinueduseofroadsalt 4 to dieir credit most public works departments have already cut down on salt oyer the years mix ing the toxic icebuster with sand but- thats not enough i v fhumeruuk points to studies in both the us and at the university of guelph that show altema- tiyesjto road salt can be economical effective and environmentally friendly ft is time we stopped adding to natures demise and think of vyavs to soften the blow i qrie cottage community bancroft hasclimi- natecfroad salt and officials say a magnesium- baseil product is just as effective in fact officials in theconage community report no increase in road aeddchts or the towns budget i sjy6rkregf6n take the time to look into thpprtant environmental issue efforts now v may save more than just dollars down the road ogm letters to the editor drag letter writers into 20th century many of your recent letter writ ers obviously have very fixed and simple ideas about teacher con- tract disputes those teachers they think who stand up for their basic human rights to negotiate collectively are complainers dont deserve respect and definitely dont need good salaries however those teachers who quietly accept whatever the school board offers are dedicated love students and get on with their work these same correspondents tell 4 it was like in amythologi catperfect golden age thegooci 5 old days when teacherswefe worked to death suffered ridicu lous regulations and accepted their pittance gratefully or they tell us how teachers would fare in the real world these same correspondents should be hauled by die scruff of the neck into the third millenni um should be forced to study the mechanisms of collective bargain ing and should stop demonizing teachers if they think teaching is so easy try it if extracurricular activities are so necessary so easy to do and should be done for no charge quick rush to sign on instead of constantly moaning groaning and whining about what other people should be doing james p b kelly h harris giveth and harris takethaway i saw a news item showing pre mier mike i larris delivering toys to the christmas wish fund as the premier was shown with an arm load of toys in his arms the com- mentatorsaid harris wanted every child in ontario to have something for christmas tonight on the news it was reported the ontario government is passing a 60hour work week its certainly heartwarming to know the premier is taking on the task of ensuring every child in ontario has something for christ mas because with a 60hour work week no parent will have time to buy anything for their children wendy poole i markham snowbanks block view and create safety hazard my son was almost struck by a car trying to run a red light at the intersection of birchmount road arid risebrough circuit the driver could hot see my son k because of the snbwbankon the f northwest comer of the intersec tion i drove by at 10 pm dec 14 to check the area for myself the snowbank on that corner was about sixfeet high in fact the but ton for pedestrians to push for the crosswalk light was barely within reach especially for young chil dren as the snow around the post had not been cleared i called the town of markham to report the snowbank after my son told me what nearly happened to liim i was informed the main roads would be plowed first fol lowed by the side roads and then the snowbanks would be dealt with i suggested since birch- mountirisebrough is a school crossing perhaps the childrens safety should be attended to first the response i received was everything comes first jcpuld have been mistalcenbutj mqught i detected atbhebf sarcasmiri tlie 00i7 inotnl response i know the election is over but i think perhaps our town officials need to remember our children do come first their safety is para- mount to have a sixfoot snow bank at a school intersection is appalling to have a crosswalk but- ton barely within reach is equally appalling at that intersection south bound traffic is coming around a curve in the road the children will not be able to see cars from behind a huge snowbank until itstbo lata im interested to hear what the town of markham has to say on this subject and i believe it is an issue that concerns all of us in the community david c king markham gridlocknightmare needs provinces assistance re region to get tough on grid lock fisch tlie liberal dec 17 gridlock is a problem that goes far beyond inconvenience its a major source of pollution killing thousands of frail ontarians and damaging childrens lungs it is costing tlie business community hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue as trucks continually get caught in traffic jams what is the answer to this nightmare regional chairperson bill fisch identifies part of the solution when he points to improving tlie public transportation system in the gta but i found it interesting he didnt mention the source of fund ing for tlie improvements to tlie ttc- go transit and many other regional carriers south of the border state gov ernments subsidize transporta tion systems up to 70 percent yet premier mike harris refuses to put a penny from the provincial coffers into the ttc or other gta public transportation systems he even refuses to put provin- cial tax revenue from gas sales toward public transportation as thousands of idling cars bum their fuel every day while stuck in the quagmire of rushhour traffic the cities of the gta cannot further taxalready burdened prop erty owners so what are we to do first management of the don valley parkway and gardiner expressway should be turned oyer to the city of toronto that would allow the city to set up electronic tolls with the money going directly to subsidizing and expanding gta public transportation the public has to realize access to a city centre via private automo- bile is a privilege not a right therefore it is reasonable for peo ple to pay for that privilege urban studies have shown expressways to the city centre are always gridlock nightmares therefore once the gta has acquirea publics j trsprratiqnsysteni giejgas diner ans- dvp shouidthenjje used only higheectpublic transportation or perhaps torn down altogether wake up mr harris we need you to help lead us out of our grid lock nightmare chris dinsdale newmarket board treating acclaimed trustee poorly the treatment by york region district school board toward acclaimed stouffvilleeast gwillimbury trustee bob burrows is wrong burrows was an excellent teacher he taught my daughter for two years at holland landing pub lic school i vas expecting him to be an excellent trustee however the school board claims he does not live in york region and therefore cannot fill the position i repeat newly elected trustee alan shefmans questions what was tlie rationale the officials used in making this decision why did they not let burrows give his view of tlie situation what public funds have been spent in collecting their information for this 5000ayear job now i understand it is going to court we tlie taxpayers will pay again if they want to remove him from this position it should be debated in an open and public forum i am angry with the treatment burrows received it would make any competent and intelligent person shy away from public office in east gwillimbury in the future pamfulford holland landing join our online discussionsatyrngcom your opinion is important to us for our letters to the editor pages and on our website weinvite you to join the ongo- ing discussions at ymgcom and youre welcome to launch your own discussion there too the site serves york region newspaper group readers z v- jx i wireless wizards should invent the mitten tracker so how that im wired i find out i should be unwired war wireless application protocol is where its at for the techsawy and hipgeek alike irritold last week my companys it guy was enthusiastically expounding on the wonders of his blackberry a wireless messaging device dreamed up by waterloos research in motion ltd his email voice mail and just the information from warenabled web sites that he wants can arrive via this small black object resting on tlie lunch table before us apparently more than 7 million of these hot little personal digital assis tants abound in the united states neat eh and i was still thinking cell phones were cool and thats another thing in the near future they say mobile phones will come equipped with large colour screens fancy diary functions builtin mp3 digital music playersandvideo capabilities that allow us to watch film clips is that cool orwhat its rather aweinspiring isnt it some young bright visionaries are bringing the future to our everyday existence or so i thought last week now after another frantic frazzled morning im going to heap a little scorn on the techgeniuses of tlie world why do they keep inventing things that are undoubtedly cool but in the long run arent necessary in the mun dane lives most of us lead i dont really need to have my email follow me wherever i go i dont really jieed to watch a video imyli warenabled device would immediately tell me where my chil drens hats and mittens are every mom- ing as we aim to start the day with some small measure of calm practically every single morning despite my frantic exhortations that they please please please bring said items from schooisittersdaddys van into the house and place them in the hatandmittens box conveniently placed beside the coat hooks not that they ever use them either all we can ever find is partnerless gloves and mit tens and backup hats and headbands that really dont fit now gosh you cant even get lost in a car now thanks to the whizzes who dreamed up a global positioning sys tem if theseguys are so smart howabout providing me with a few microchips i could embed in my kids hat and mit tens each morning with the assistance of a global satellite and wireless messag ing device i could then immediately ascertain where die missing items are just like that no more frantic searching that gets more desperate as the moment when the school bell rings and the work day begins looms ever closer of coat arms and backpacks and nooks and crannies no more threats shouts pouts and long drawnout explanations ringing in each morn i could immediately ascertain if the other mitten really is in daddys van i could immediately determine if the new hat worn only once really was stolen by a nother kid at school i would immediately know that the missing mitten was under daddys work boots on the boot tray- albeit a soggy discovery- a peace settles over me just thinking about it such a device would save my sanity not to mention help preserve the emo tional stability of my children now tjtat would be cool no lohgerwould my son and daugh ter be left wondering if i really meant it when i warned them after purchasing yet another hat or pair of mittens or gloves if you lose these dont bother coming home tp if you know any brilliant techie minds would you mind passing along the request ill put it on my wish list for cool things that id like to sec happen in 2001 letters policy stouffvllle tribune 1 welcomes your letters ad submissions must be less than 400words and must include a daytime telephone number narneandaddressthe newspaper reserves the right lo pubuth or not publish and to edftlbrdarltyandspace mk mmnmmmwiiemi stouffville tribune t serving the community since 1888 bs3 ape onfertarcmcf mwmiumllltlllmmml mnn ma tr m ttt si fcnr w hjiuum fanofflta sun pututed uttflmaiilliiatm suitfjocrfffuounriwlntl bftkindoissxiiij4ewiporwsdpaliw mum her- kvcouriet bmfa manet 6rn btf tl wk mlon cntopdm barium gunn buw sfpf nan burintn hdb dry ramt coantoovwtef connection cm tokunocciliimwcatycainbyroiitts qcmcoiftainnaoiou0ioitmlioc wmi uobnaypmun0m wm won ctnmm oiamgin miwtuoconiafoanmnorumcrtna nnoibaloaotfiacrlft0oryflmfm tmacan uxor scmoicatfi knot smumk wont wtf stntos uuv hw am or of tot phone 90 3942oo fax9053941538 classified i8oo74mjsj distribution 9053948244