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economist suntribune thursday june 27 2002 stouffville tribune a metroland community newspaper 9 heritage rd markham ont l3p 1m3 publishen ian proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly director of advertising debra welter editor classified manager jim mason ann campbell production manager retail sales manager pam nichols stephen mathieu distribution manager inside sales manager barry black stacey allen electronic business manager communications robert lazurko manager office manager john futhey vivian oneil opinion editorial york takes leading role in affordable housing despite little promise of cash from queens park york region released a strategy this week to create affordable housing for the more than 5000 people on waiting lists and recognizing theres a desperate short age of affordable housing from vaughan to georgina the region has initiated a close-to- home plan involving the private sector non profit agencies and municipal cooperation the strategy calls for each municipalitys endorsement lets hope each mayor will pass along their stamp of approval to council lors and involves two phases the first will be to make better use of units already in existence and to work with each of its nine towns to integrate mixed housing developments in future proposals legislation to ensure this happens will keep the plan on course with these moves it is clear york region is taking the lead in providing a healthy mix of housing in its growth plans and this shows dedication to keeping our communities among the top places in canada to live the regions successes so far include reducing development charges to builders who offer lowerpriced housing offering the lowest tax rates in the gta to developers committed to building a mix of housing in a single plan providing financial incentives to builders willing to develop housing in core areas and building or creating at least 100 units each year and the region is not slouching on that commitment it is already working on three projects including 60 units in vaughan while this is a positive first step the region knows it must take the heat off municipal tax payers this plan must be supported by more than just the municipal property tax base the region will call on senior levels of government to provide new support to increase the avail ability of affordable housing the strategy report states it doesnt appear that will happen any time soon however as finance minister janet eckers budget contained no funding for affordable housing the region appears to have embraced its new responsibilities and is proving a made-in- york solution indeed may work letters to the editor flippant comment belies serious nature of world youth day event re world youth day cross comes to unionville parish june 13 i was distressed your excellent story on the world youth day celebrations should end with the rather flippant quote we have guys that come because there are girls who wul be in tank tops our church was honoured to be asked to help carry the cross on its journey around unionville june 15 we were the church to launch it on its journey from the sanctuary of st justin martyr church some 1000 people joined in that minipilgrimage tank tops or whatever the love of christ extends to all people to gaze at him and con sider his love for us will fill us with the great est love of all rev ralph garbe central united church unionville jesse gray loved and respected by many in whitchurchstouffville re newspapers coverage of biker funeral inappropriate letter to the editor by percy barber june 20 it was absolutely necessary to run jesse grays funeral in the economist suntribune jess was loved and respected by many of the people in the town of whitchurchstouffville the article was not about the hells angels a young man was murdered that is the point coverage of the funeral was about people showing their respects to a friend not about biker gangs furthermore who are you to say that the eulogy was hypocritical you did not know jess he was a great guy with a big heart the article was not about district pride it was about saying goodbye to a member of the community who will be greatly missed katjagerstung stouffville as other ecosystems disappear value of moraine increases lush swamps clean lakes rolling hills and plenty of forestry can all be found in the oak ridges moraine these ecosystems provide homes for ani mals that migrate and move into the moraine because of habitat destruction elsewhere their homes are being destroyed for roads houses and new communities in the future many ecosystems in canada might disappear therefore the moraine should be protected so that in the future chil dren will see what natural ecosystems are like aricwu milliken mills high school 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 utters to the editor 9 heritage rd markham ont l3p 1m3 email letterseconsuncom stouffville tribune serving the community since 1888 he3 dde 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 metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd group of newspapers which includes the ajaxpckering news advertiser alliston heraldcourier barrie advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington post city parent colllngwoodwasaga connection east york 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 orillla today oshawawhltbyclarfngtonport perry this week peterborough this week richmond hillthornhlllvaughan liberal scarborough mirror stouffville tribune todays seniors oxbridge tribune and city of york guardian phone 905 2942200 fax 905 2941538 classified 18007433353 distribution 905 2948244 distributioncconsunxom telephone 905 2942200 4l6 7987624 mx 905 2941538 email newsroomeconsuncom debora kelly wambacks fight for victims rights they relive that horrific night over and over again every time a child in canada is brutally beaten or murdered rather than doing their utmost to avoid that agony joe lozanne and jon wambackhave dedicated themselves to helping the victims whose lives have been inexorably altered by violence you might think repeatedly plunging themselves back into that nightmarish time must help them cope with the changes in their lives since jon then 15 was viciously beaten june 29 1999 soon falling into a coma that left him barely clinging to life but mr wamback brushes aside any suggestion his familys passionate advo cacy for victims rights is part of their own healing process there is no such tjhing as closure for families of murdered children or seriously injured children the pain the panic is still as intense you never move on even though it takes a toll on them when the wambacks learn of another heartbreaking tragedy the newmarket family is compelled to get involved mr wamback cites a litany of names young people lying in hospital beds some in graves as a result of assaults by youths on weekends they visit families offering advice and the tangible support so lacking in the justice system it is perhaps jon who offers the most comfort by his presence at a time when hope is at its dimmest for these families now jon who has made unbeliev able progress is attending high school and playing golf with his dad again we feel we are the luckiest family in canada because jon is still with us mr wamback says his voice deepening in january 2000 with jon continuing his rehabilitation the wambacks launched a campaign to strengthen the young offenders act backed by a peti tion of 400000 supporters today the petition has one million signatures of the three teens charged with aggravated assault in jons assault two were found guilty and sentenced to a year in jail the third was acquitted the wambacks joined by the baranovskis and mcgloans whose sons were murdered rose to national promi nence in the bid to ensure youths face real consequences for breaking the law while still active in that endeavour the wambacks have emerged as pas sionate advocates of victims rights i would like the victims of crimes to have the same rights as criminals he says strongly once you become a victim of crime you essentially become a noncitizen you have no rights and no one to help you we find ourselves falling into that role were not trying to take away the rights from the accused but all we want to do is give rights to victims were just trying to create balance in our society mr wamback continues