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economist suntribune saturday oct 26 2002 stouffville tribune serving the community since 1888 a metroland community newspaper 9 heritage rd markham ont l3p 1m3 publisher ian proudfoot opinion editor in chief debora kelly business manager robert lazurko director marketing new product development brenda uirson advertising director retail flyer sales nicole mathieu advertising director classified real estate events management cord paolucci letters to the editor right wing politicians unfairly criticized over character issues after reading the ann coulters bestselling book slander liberal lies about the american right i think the same situation exists here in canada only more so because here we have the new democratic party socialists along with the liberals and their unwillingness to engage in any honest debate the theme i am writing about is the absence of character in canadian politics especially from the top down this is the same character markham mayor don cousens is encouraging york region residents to exercise in their everyday activities if you mentioned immigration at a federal political meeting and your views dont fit in youre labeled a racist reform party founder preston manning is a man of great character as anyone who ever worked with him will testify this is the man heritage minister sheila copps compared to former ku mux klan member david duke as the old saying goes if you throw enough mud at someone or his party some of it will stick it seems to work with the liberals and the liberal media two years ago our immigration minister compared canadian alliance supporters to holocaust deniers now the same thing is tak ing shape in quebec provincial politics liberal party leader jean charest the for mer federal conservative is attacking action democratique part leader mario dumont because he doesnt want to be drawn into the old sovereignty debate and also his interest in closer ties to canada how does he do it by the old liberal trick of attacking his character what i find so fascinating is mr dumonts road to economic prosperity is so close to the canadian alliance platform bud oconnor unionville bullying experts markham visit a big financial boost to library on sept 23 author and parenting expert barbara coloroso inspired more than 1100 people from markham and the greater toronto area with a presentation on her latest bestseller the bully the bullied and the bystander heartfelt thanks to ms coloroso for donating her time and harper collins canada for cosponsoring this fundraise the library raised more than 13000 which staff will use to purchase library materials thanks to all the library staff and volun teers who make our library a world of infor mation and inspiration john vernon chairperson markham public library board thanksgiving food bank campaign had its flaws it is with grateful hearts that the executive of the whitchurchstouffville food bank thanks the community for its response in donations to the local food bank the generosity of the people in this town is always overwhelming the donations come regularly tliroughout the entire year and we really have no need to beg of you to give we are always sad however when tilings are printed in the local papers from higher powers that dont really know this community this year we became part of the thanksgiving food drive of which we did not wish to be and which we had asked not to be involved in the ontario food bank association along with the grocery industry foundation planned and executed the entire campaign the part that disturbs us most were the coupons in stores asking you to add 2 to your grocery bill for the local food bank what they neglect to say was the money was returned by the stores to the groceiy industry foundation then passed on to the ontario association of food banks this association deducted 10 per cent from each donation to cover the cost of administration of the food drive and another five per cent for the regional hub food banks helping to coordinate things in the regions eighty- five cents of each dollar was returned to the local food bank we are deeply disturbed over such cam paigns especially those for which we have no control whitchurchstouffville has been extremely supportive for the past 12 years and the food bank has been a blessing to many families in need if you wish to give cash it is best to send your donation directly to us we have no administrative costs send to the treasurer wliitchurchstouffville food bank eo box 343 stouffville on l4a 7z6 esther powell coordinator whitchurchstouffville food bank university education opens the mind to complexity of life re wliy go to university when shelters available letter to the editor byjeffschwalm oct 6 i might suggest mr schwalm simply skip university and head into alberta politics im not sure how a high school student from markham who so ignorantly refers to social policy advocates as bleeding heart left wing socialists can expect to be taken seriously a university education would obviously be of great benefit to this student but leaving the affluence of markham and seeing poverty firsthand is a good start i grew up in the comfortable confines of georgina in northern york region and trust me theres a lot more out there in the world than what you know from your limited life experience go to university and expand your mind free yourself from this reductionist thinking michael billinger edmonton alberta stouffville mayors town hall renovation estimate is correct re why is renovation bill so high letter to the editor by pam mandich oct 1 7 in response to ms mandichs letter ques tioning the estimated costs involved to restore stouffvilles old town hall the mayors estimate of 12 million is a reality not an fig ure thrown out by an uninformed source for the record and these figures are available to anyone who took the time or bothered to investigate the estimated costs associated with our original proposal to restore the building were indeed 770000 excluding taxes this was based on our analysis of the work which would be required and subsequently confirmed through estimates obtained from a general contracting firm quite familiar with heritage restoration work this estimate did not include any interior main floor renovations which would have been done through lease hold improvements it did not include an elevator to the second floor since the second floor would have oper ated independently and it did not include any design engineering and project man agement fees which we were planning on absorbing through our company further the estimates were based on a pri vate firm doing the restoration which would have permitted us to shop for the best possi ble prices for the various phases of the project and use local contractors it should also be noted the cost estimates obtained by the previously involved theatre group were very close to our figures during our discussions with the town dur ing the summer wherein it would retain pos session of the main floor it was determined the cost associated with the main floor interi or renovations and 50 per cent of the design engineering and project management fees would be approximately 205000 this figure is based again on our analysis as well as information obtained from a gener al contractor this brought the total to 975000 adding an elevator to the equation at approximately 40000 brought the total to 1015000 add taxes of 152250 onto that figure and the total is 1167250 as far as i can tell mayor emmerson has acted in a morally and fiscally responsible manner by providing the taxpayers of this community with these facts bruce arrowsmith arrowsmith associates letters policy the stouftville tribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than i00 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and address the tribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space letters to the editor the tribune 9 heritage rd markham on l3p1m3 email 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