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economist suntribune news saturday april 20 2002 erbmpdgel srnce thenp he has experienced a taste of theeipmre mr hall has- bvenreceiving smce htts picture was plastered across tel- evtsfonscreens and canadian newspapers latelast weekafterhe and mr hall attended a gala tpgetlv er- in ottawa hosted by the gay rights group egale -h- v m idatmeuxbridgestbfewhere he works mn dumond said it is obvious some customers now rec- ognize him even though they wont say anything theyre either really really nice to me orjsome people wonltj even say thanks to me they just turn and walk out he says overall the reaction has beeriv generally supportive mr dumond says noting proudly his employers arid co have been great but hfears the small minority thatjeimerdciesnt approvetof mr hall generai- jhesays threats agairist-mr- hall have been iricreas mg recentlya-5f- j theyre either really really nice to me or some people wont even say thanks to me they just turn and walk out i worry about marcs safety mr dumond says the threats are coming its crazy you just want it to end but its not going to where mr- halls fight is going also concerns mr dumond rmivjhall launched a lawsuit againstpereyma principal michael powejrsand durhams catholic school board last week seeking an injunction that willj allpwhim 6 takefimr dumondtb ithej school prbht on may 10- he is alsdseelang m prom ioob6o in generatand aggravated damages i wish it didnt have to be about nioney because it was never about that it was about going to the f prom says mr dum6rid though he sayshe understands mr hall vheedsthemoheyt6cover his own costs t i recently turned f 21 ispectivedf ais 17cyjrpld boymehjcl he womesmhaus t struggle jvill physically eau him as well ks taking a toll ori lusgrades y marcs my bpyfriendsbii him asjtperspriit dont seelum as ah icpnthesays- i wilfeuppbrt wmldeddesheytpbkdisust- ed t6c6unuejonrjylfc pj theptatemottisiph corning frpmtne manwho initialjyr x hall ihto fighting- his school mr powers told mr hall in earlyjviarch he xi would not be all6wedipbrmgysti samesex partner tolfefeprprnvmrf dumond says his crushed r z he ended up calling me-that- night he was crying aridheftbld me mr dumond recalls i was angry i was so mad at beginning he had already given up before it started he didnt want to go where he was nt wanted he continues mr dumond says he encour- aged mr hall whom he has been dating almost a year tostand up to the school board from there mr halls friends picked up the fight starting a website and soliciting media attention that last point worried mr dumond who says now he wished he had- been con sulted truthfully i felt a little exclud- ed mr dumond says their motk vationbehind it was great i just wish i had beenasked myopinion but its too late for thati part of his i concern istiieimpact media attention will have on his ijlfah 1hhnl former whitchurchstouffville resident and markham student jean- paul dumond is part of a controversy in durham region his boyfriend marc hall wants mr dumond to accompany him to a prom parents with whom he still lives his mother an emergency room nurse is very- supportive he says- his 75year father a retired engineer is not so enamoured myvdadsvery hushhush see noevilhear no evil he doesnt talk about it itbothers me immenseiy but i have to accept it mr dumond says the family has lived in uxbridge for the past seven years after living in nearby whitchurchstouffville raised catholic mr dumond attended st joseph elementary school brother andre high school both in markham his catholic faith has riot stayed withhim i cant believe in something i cahtfeel he explains myviewori it isyoudont have to be religious to have values v mr dumondsays hefinds it ignorant of others tosay homo sexuals like mr hall should simply go to a public school if they dont like being refused entry to the prom with their samesex partner most catholic homosexuals only come to understand their sexual orientation when they reach their early to midteens he suggests a decade after attending catholic schools and making friends there he notes the catholic church accepts homosexuals but disap proves of homosexual acts they say the prom is about sex it isnt he says- asked about concerns raised about the difference in his and mr halls age mr dumond says its- never been an issue its not an issue for my parents its not an issue for marcs parents thats something that bugs me when people want to live other peo ples life butt out though speculation now exists mr halls fight will drum up debate over the funding of catholic schools mr dumond says he is simply hoping the injunction goes through so that he and mr hall can go to the prom my mother doesnt want irie to go because she fears for my safety admits i want to go to the prom because that was the intent the media has taken this story and twisted it to become a war against religion and in truth it was never that at its marcs prom thats what people forget its his prom itsihis last night to see friends residents praise region for deal to by jeff mitchell staff writer residents are hailing a decision to fund a thornhill park as a measure that preserves dwiridlinggreenspaceand protects a local historical site york region councillors meetingjn private session thursday approved an unspecified amount of funding to help the town of markham buy a portion of settlers park which the municipality had assumed it owned all along it may costbetween 12 and 18 million to buy thevi8acre parcel- which- has been rnaintained as parkland by the town for years even though it is privately owned the family that owns the land set off a furor three years ago when it announced plans to develop it but the regions decision which is contin gent on other partners including the toronto region conservation authority contributing will keep the land in public hands last thursdays announcement was applauded by supporters who attended die meeting in newmarket were very pleased very gratified that york region will be part of this purchase said joann kurtz vicepresident of the german mills ratepayers association the land is very important to the atmosphere of the german mills area she added it brings a senseof the rural history of the area into mind the area was among the first settled in markham early settler william berczy estab lished a mill and granary there ms kurtz said residents were shocked to learn in 1999 the land was privately owned and slated for development that shock was soon translated into a widespread will topre- serve the land she said people were stunned and were galva nized into immediate action ms kurtz said karl mahler of the thornhill garden and agricultural society said development of the parcel would have disrupted adjoining park land and more importantly represented a loss of valuable greenspace i dorit think you can really put a value on it mr mahler said it is considered an inte gral part of a natural heritage site markham ward 1 councillor erin shapero said the regions decision is in keeping with its stated commitment to preserve yorks natural heritage suchmeasuresare particularly important in fast municipalities like markhamshesaid thursday we are a growing community and we are losing greerispacearidfbrest cover ms shapero saidwe cannot affortiithat arid the residents of markham recognize that there has been support for the preserva tion from throughbut the municipality ms shapero said v n-v- j o 7 ms shapero saisme towns portion of the cost of the purchase wuf cbrne frorrva recent lyestablished land acquisition fund which now totals 24 million other partners will includethe evergreen foundation a national nonprofit iand protection agency the region aridmetrcashe r ov ci gardening season is here dont vegetate cultivate excellence in rehabilitation since 1985 w sjn f 30 minutes 6fgiaehjnggiyeshealth similar to a brisk walk gardening aijtiespiserve joint flexibility lifting and repetitiye tasks build strength and endurance y at weall gulieni hwy 7 9th line april 20 21 28 at 1100 am forgardening safety tipsj markham stouffville unionville gate f jenhtferai hicke health centre -healtliceiitire- jz bpxiiuicpa