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6 economist suntribune thursday june 13 2002 s stouffvffle tribune a metroland community newspaper 9 heritage rd markham ont l3p 1m3 publisher lar t 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 electronic communications manager john futhey inside sales manager staceyallen business manager robert lazurko office manager vivian oneil editorial grisly crimes part of everyday life does the front page of your community newspaper scare you the subject matter too often lately has been murder or sudden death a 21yearold aurora man whose body was found in a small grove of pine trees on an upscale whitchurchstouffville culdesac died of gunshot wounds a toronto police officer has been charged with seconddegree murder in the death of richmond hill bookkeeper linda mariani a 24yearold musselmans lake man was stabbed to death at a field party friday night in uxbridge township jesse owen gray was buried yesterday the trial of four people charged with killing markhams maria wong continues in a newmarket court complete with grisly details the common unsettling link all four deaths are murders and all four took place here in suburbia this isnt a highcrime area its probably part of the reason you chose to move here or continue living here you didnt move here to have bodies dumped at the end of your culdesac or to find out the woman down the street was killed according to statistics from 2001 in general terms york region appears to be a haven for lawabiding citizens but it depends on which set of figures is reviewed compared to other municipalities for instance york region fared better in the national rankings than against southern ontario in a comparison with cities such as calgary edmonton montreal and halifax york region had the lowest incidence of criminal code vio lations in both 1999 and 2000 there were 38180 criminal violations not counting traffic charges in 2001 compared to 35576 in 2000 that represents a 73percent increase taken on the basis of crimes per 100000 population however the increase is only 15 per cent such variances leave the average citizen wondering whether theres more or less chance of being a victim of crime but when they see police tape cordoning off areas of their neighbourhood they know crime lives in our communities and that is a fact of life and death for many york region residents opinion letters to the editor schools cant be strong if students and teachers dont feel safe re opinion column by debora kelly liberal leader cheapens idea of character education may 30 i believe character education must be taught in all ontario schools character education means the teaching of values is woven into the curriculum in an english class students might be asked to write about their goals to teach perseverance a business class might include a case study where the employer demonstrated honesty a history class might discuss the role of the queen mother during the second world war to demonstrate courage the york region district school board which has an excellent character education program consulted with its school commu nity parents students and the wider com munity to come up with a list of 10 core values these include respect responsibility hon esty empathy fairness initiative persever ance integrity courage and optimism these are universal values everyone can agree on under my plan this process would be followed in all school boards in ontario the key goals of character education are higher academic achievement enhanced employability and safer schools i believe schools must help instill disci pline in our young people by teaching values and respect for others as a mandatory part of the curriculum the benefits of character education are clear schools with character education pro duce students with better behaviour better academic performance and better morale they have less tardiness less truancy and fewer discipline problems reading writing and mathematics are the most important things our schools teach but schools cant be academically strong if our students and teachers dont feel safe thats why i have called for video surveil lance cameras to help keep intruders out of our schools school safety hotlines and mandatory antibullying programs character education is part of this ontario liberal plan to make our schools safer and stronger some people are afraid to talk about char acter education and teaching values but i am not martin luther king jr once said we must remember that intelligence is not enough intelligence plus character that is the goal of true education i want to ensure all our children are provid ed with true education as envisioned by martin luther king jr the most important thing we can do for our families and for our future is to improve public education we must work with educa tors to ensure our schools are both safe and strong dalton mcguinty leader of the ontario liberal party mpp for ottawa south letters policy stouflville 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 letterseconsuncom stouffville tribune serving the community since 1888 he3 dpi canadian circulations audit board member ontario press council canadian publications mail product sales agreement 1403419 subscription rates by mall 1 year 6955 thursdays only stoufiville tribune published every thursday and saturday is one of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd group of newspapers which includes the ajaxplckering news advertiser alliston heraldcourier barrie advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington 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light sabre to destroy the code a hero clad in white storms in the back door youre forgetting one thing he tells the villain as he wades toward him through the children packed in the aisles youre messin with brooklyn this is sunday school im in the courtyard of a project in queens pitching to a lineup of eager boys when a kid who looks like an eight- yearold derek jeter cranks my sissy lob- ball through the tree over the play ground equipment and into a fenced area by the time i reach the ball a little tyke is holding it up to me a big grin on his face you yogi bear he asks well yes for a few days last week i and four other leaders at keswick kidz club were honorary yogi bears yogi bear is what everyone in new york calls metro ministries sidewalk sunday school run from a couple of brooklyn warehouses metro ministries presents the gospel to children in every corner of the city vans decorated with cartoon bears pull up in parks housing projects and roadsides the side panel opens out to form a stage and workers spill out to present music games and teaching on saturdays a fleet of about 50 school buses pick up children around brooklyn three times a day and bring them back to the warehouse for a loud er more elaborate version of the pro gram including the star wars skit more importantly the workers visit every child involved offering love and encouragement to the whole family kidz club leader patty lohnes terry prebble pat oneill sara webster and myself were in new york for training because our georgina program is based on the metro ministries curriculum theres no question the physical environment in georgina is a far cry from the roughest corners of new york but when the school boards try to explain georginas consistently low test scores they talk about social factors things like not getting breakfast broken families or parents who arent involved in their childrens lives those factors were far more obvious in new york the folks kibitzing on trucks in new york let the children know they are loved valued and capable of infinitely more than the ghetto has to offer do they respond well i had a five- yearold boy board my school bus from the foulest smelling street comer ive ever experienced he attached himself to my arm stayed with me throughout his pre school class and never stopped smiling just because someone cared if this simple idea can transform lives in new york i cant wait to see what it will do here