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economist suntribune thursday june 6 2002 stouffville tribune a metroland community newspaper 9 heritage rd markham ont l3p 1m3 publisher ian proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly director of advertising debra weller editor jim mason classified manager ann campbell production manager pam nichols retail sales manager stephen mathieu distribution manager barry black inside sales manager staceyallen electronic communications manager john futhey business manager robert lazurko office manager vivian oneil editorial nations future depends on health of municipalities hearts soared among municipal boosters earlier this week at the federation of canadian municipalities annual conference municipali ties had finally made it on to the federal agenda finance minister paul martin all but promised a new deal for cities while industry minister allan rock called for direct federal investment in infrastructure programs and an independent source of financing mr martin in particular inspired the crowd of 2000 municipal politicians with his acknowledgment of the burden they bear from housing and transit to water and sewers a burden they should not bear alone then the balloon burst with the news monday that mr martin had left the cabinet fired quit who knew the federation is calling on prime minister jean chretien to step forward to confirm a sus tainable revenue source for municipalities is on the agenda and so he should in the past six years as economic growth soared filling the coffers of the provincial and federal governments municipal revenues grew at less than half the rate its time to stop treating municipalities like secondclass citizens municipal politicians have been campaign ing to get that message across to the senior lev els of government that message includes the fact that not only do municipalities need a new deal on meeting basic needs but they must be able to compete with american cities failing infrastructure ails cities such as toronto while a lack of infrastructure besets burgeoning municipalities such as york region the tactic of starving municipalities has resulted in service and infrastructure gaps of monumental proportions and as other levels of government have downloaded responsibilities a trend occur ring across the nation local governments have had to act as city states its clear the complacency of the provincial and federal governments must end its time to prove these words are more than rhetoric with specific policy announcements old traditions must be set aside and replaced with a new structure that allows municipalities not only to meet the new demands placed upon them but to adequate ly prepare to meet future needs opinion ii letters to the editor many books besides harry potter have supernatural elements re stores shouldnt be selling evil harry potter videos letter to the editor may 30 jessie stott does not appear to have read the harry potter series broad generalizations are made regarding the novels labeling them evil and occult with little evidence furthermore heshe offers the simplistic solution of teaching children the bible i would like to point out classical childrens literature often contains an element of the supernatural whether it is the chronicles of narnia by cs lewis alice in wonderland by lewis carroll or even simple fairy tales it should come as no surprise contempo rary childrens literature follows this trend the use of the supernatural encourages young people to be imaginative and innova tive one must have the ability to envision a better world before it may be brought about with this in mind i would hardly call the supernatural themes found in harry potter evil and occult the specific book that is often referenced as occult in the harry potter series is the fourth book goblet of fire in this book the spirit of a villain is resurrected into physical form through a ritual performed over a cauldron time and time again jk rowling has made it clear goblet of fire addresses themes aimed at a more mature audience indeed doesnt it say something for the youth in our community when they can read and comprehend books that contain such material and even if children dont completely understand the material harry potter is still a good series indeed even the bible contains the theme of resurrection if the themes in the harry potter novels are a concern i recommend parents read with their young children so they can discuss the subject matter together if the books are considered dangerous there is something even more hazardous ignorance in the context of literature both texts are valuable contributions in their own regard and should be celebrated not ignored jason shim unionville give children credit for knowing difference between fact fiction re stores shouldnt be selling evil harry potter videos letter to the editor may 30 i read this letter with disbelief what non sense i read hardy boys mysteries as a child but i didnt think i was a crime solver i read tom clancy novels today but i dont think i can save the world give the children of today credit for being able to tell fact from fiction larry rowe 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 l3p1m3 email letterseeconsuncom stouffville tribune serving the community since 1888 hsa one canadian circulations 1 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 metrotond printing publishing and distributing ltd group of newspapers which includes the ajavpickering news advertiser alliston heraldcourier bame advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise srampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington post city parent collingwoodwasaga connection east yort mirror erin advocatecountry routes etobicoke guardian flamborough post georgetown independent acton 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 york mirror oakville beaver oakville shopping news orillia today oshawawhitbyclaririgtonport perry this week peterborough this week richmond hillthomhillvaughan liberal scarborough mirror stouffville tribune todays seniors uxbridge tribune and city of york guardian phone 95 0942200 fax- 905 2941538 classified 18007433353 distribution 9052948244 dxstributioneconsuncom telephone 905 2942200 416 7987624 fax 905 2941538 email newsroomeconsuncom dave teetzel its not where youre going its when you stop although most of the time i aim my columns at everyone in york region this is directed pri marily to one person frank chewier mr chewier is or was a resident of richmond hill one afternoon in late march 1988 he and his two dogs fell through the ice on a drainage pond at leslie street and elgin mills road fortunately frank george of sharon was driving by and saw the commotion breaking off a no swimming allowed sign mr george managed to rescue mr chewier from the icy water he kept trying to rescue the dogs eventually a town works truck arrived brought in the fire department and between them all they managed to save the dogs too in the process mr george got soaked according to our news story of march 30 1988 nobody even offered mr george a blanket after his heroics and he drove home sopping wet devel oping a serious cold as a result not surprisingly however mr chewier remembered the two men stayed in touch for years afterwards and mr chewier dropped by with a bottle every year for the man who saved his life mr george moved to scarborough and they lost contact a couple of years ago on saturday mr george was riding in a motorcycle rally for lions camp dorset a facility for children on dialysis when his motorcycle lost control on a curve in hwy 118 outside carnarvon he was pronounced dead at minden hospital his funeral was held yesterday his stepdaughter sent me a desper ate email trying to find mr chewier to let him know she had hoped we had contact information from the story mr chewier if youre out there i wish i could have passed on this news in time for the funeral for the rest of you maybe theres something to be learned from this too frank george obviously lived a full life he had 10 children and stepchildren and 17 grandchildren he died at age 69 behind the wheel of a motorcycle while raising money for charity no doubt many people remember him today but one of the most enduring memo ries comes from a few minutes one afternoon 14 years ago when he stopped to help a stranger im sure mr george had someplace else to be when he pulled over to inves tigate the commotion in that pond wherever it was i doubt anybody would remember anything that hap pened at that appointment today in a world thats always on the go were often best remembered for the times we stop