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economist suntribune saturday feb 9 2002 stouffville tribune a metroland community newspaper 9 heritage rd markham 6nt l3p1m3 publisher ian proudfoot general manager alvin brouwer editor in chief brenda larson director of advertising debra weller deputy editor debora kelly editor jim mason production manager pam nichols distribution manager barry black 6 electronic communications manager john futhey classified manager ann campbell retail sales manager stephen mathieu inside sales manager staceyallen business manager robert lazurko office manager vivian oneil letters cartoon an accurate depiction of prime ministers recent dealings the cartoon by nease jan 19 depicting jean chretien as a card shark was right on the button our prime minister dealt his last hand of poker by sending off brian tobin mr tobin was the most recent member of the rat pack that prime minister chretien had no further use for poor brian desperate ly wanted to be our next prime minister but mr chretien had picked john manley as his choice to keep finance minister paul martin from ever attaining his hearts desire to lead the country the first rat pack member to go was john nunziata it appeared that john had far too much personal integrity and backbone for our prime minister to stomach sheila copps another member was silenced and removed from her position as deputy prime minister the last member don boudria was given a promotion in the recent cabinet shuffle for his obedience our very own mp john mccallum having just been sworn in as a cabinet minister was abruptly brought to heel by mr chretien for answering a question from a reporter why send representatives to ottawa when they must remain dormant or face the wrath of the prime minister jshaw markham teachers refuse to jump through hoops on recertification testing re teachers refusal to take tests is extrem ism gone too far letter to the editor jan 26 i take issue with mr grays comments regarding teachers and their refusal to partic ipate in the tory governments recertification program mr gray suggests that teachers have been defying rules and breaking the law for about seven years now i take it he is referring to our act of protest which has been called by some an illegal strike this was an isolated event brought on by the governments unilateral decision to wrest control of school boards from locally elected trustees the results of this move include dirtier schools a lack of textbooks long waits for special education services reduced busing for field trips etc mr gray states taxpayers are being forced to bankroll their teachers salary increases andpension plan it is the nature of public service that employees are paid with tax dollars as for wage increases teachers had their salaries cut during the ndps social contract and then frozen for about ten years the increases they are now beginning to receive are between two and three per cent annually and are still less than the average for the private sector v as for the pension plan teachers fund it and manage it themselves the suggestion that teachers by refusing to participate in the governments poorly devised recertification program are setting a bad example for students does not take into consideration the context in which teachers have taken this stance it is not testing per se that teachers object to it is the governments use of recertifica tion as a political device designed to per suade voters that they are raising standards in education the governments own college of teachers made recommendations about recertifica tion that were ignored ontarios teachers are amongst the best trained in the world they need high grade averages similar to those required by applicants to law school just to get into an education faculty additionally teachers have to prove they are of good character and have particular interests and abilities that would enhance their contributions to education eg past volunteer work sports and musical involve ment related jobs such as camp counsellor teachers continue to upgrade their skills through various training programs and course work they do so voluntarily as they have always done paying for courses with their own after tax dollars what teachers are refusing to do now is to jump through the governments hoops which are intended primarily to create an illusion of educational reform without providing mean ingful and substantive positive change b osullivan stouffville supportive community helps in fight against breast cancer the past month has been the most difficult and trying of my life dealing with breast can cer can be a very scary and lonely experience i have been able to get through this challenge with numerous words of caring encourage ment kindness and love i have shed many tears but would always end up smiling i have received phone calls flowers books gift certificates cards the compassion is overwhelming thankyou just doesnt seem to be enough for the support that my friends neigh bours and family have given me unionyille what an amazing community i am so fortunate to be a part of it thank you again cathy hodgson unionville letters policy stouffville tribune 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 ont l3p 1m3 email lettersdeconsuncom stouffville tribune serving the community since 1888 canadian circulations audit board member ontario press council canadian publications mail product sales agreement 1403419 subscription rates by mail 1 year 6955 thursdays only stouffville tribune published every thursday and saturday is one of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd group of newspapers which includes the ajavpickering news advertiser alliston heraldcourier barrie advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington 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already shaping up as a record month for obviologists in the past week the daily scan of newspaper headlines reveals playing hockey can lead to heart problems for men in their 30s who do not exercise regularly canadian medical association journal people who use tanning beds an increased risk of developing skin can cer dartmouth medical school overfed babies are more apt to be obese adults childrens hospital of philadelphia adolescents who watch wrestling on iv- are more prone to violence wake forest university tv commercials for drugs- prompt patients to ask for the drugs they see on tv health canada children whose fathers play an active role in their lives have fewer behavioural problems university of- maryland personality disorders amongyouths may increase the risk for criminal and- violent behaviour in later life columbia university other studies prove conclusively par ents of young children have little free time teen drivers account for more accidents than any other age group poverty homelessness and racial dis crimination prevent kids from achieving to the best of their abilities university students like to drink alcohol talking on cell phones while driving increases risk of accidents and the more time children spend in nonmaternal child care the more at risk they are for aggressiveness and disobedience im not making this up somebody probably you and i and other taxpayers actually paid for these studies into the patendy apparent and the manifestly evident the good thing about research into the unmistakable at least for people who write columns in sunday newspa pers is there will never be a shortage of topics to study which is why im suggesting free of charge well except for the fact that i actually get paid for this few selfevi dent truths for the benefit of researchers who may wish to get a government grant and reprpye them iu everiinclude headlines new research shows city traffic heaviest in mornings late afternoons students who read are more apt to succeed study says kvc sun pronetp rising in east setting in westi analysis reveals rf r survey shows farmers unhappy regardless of weather v l taxpayers can expect mcfease says p v m and my own politicians rarely followj mrough on campaign promises l