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economist suntribune whitchurch- stouffville saturday nov 30 2002 happy 15kh stouffville united church from page 1 there are not as many members as there used to be but the sunday school program is still as active and as lively as it always was said rev robert nightingale of stouffville united church the sunday school program centers around encourag ing children to explore bible stories and the churchs history through readings plays and a variety of colourful crafts this has created a more exciting and lively atmosphere for the chuv dren rev nightingale said the wesleyan methodists had other popular programs including their choir which was formed in 1877 under the leadership of david stouffer affectionately known as uncle dave with as many 20 members now it has become an outstanding senior and a growing junior choir rev nightingale said members range in age from their early 20s to their late 70s youm involvment was encour aged through groups such as the canadian girls in training cgit these teenagers were part of the church scene for many years with membership varying from 20 to 80 some of the girls did babysitting for the united church couples club members now called the couples club it evolved in 1970 out of the membership of the over sixty club it met monthly for events such as murder mystery games dinner par ties and scavenger hunts with his toric local themes youth activities are still encour aged at stouffville united the first stouffville scout troop received its charter in 1954 at the church while the brownies and girl guides were formed in 1962 a number of the girl guides have received their canadian cord the top award promoting them to rangers the church is at its doorstep of a whole new phase of its life and is ener gized to move forward the cgit recently bought bibles for the church library the explorers were created for girls between eight and 1 1 years of age at christmas the explorers go carolling make gifts for people in seniors homes and assist with church services currently there are two youths on the united church congregration council who assist in all aspects of running the church the more youth we can encour age to participate the better said rev nightingale forty years after being founded the united church women ucw is staff photobill roberts generations of church goers at stoufville united church include four-year- old bronte anderson and murray wagg the church is celebrating 150 years also a vibrant group meeting once a month their very active quilting group holds a bazaar every fall to auction off their handcreated quilts to help support massey center a center for unwed mothers and their children since 1962 the ucw has helped organizations such as yellow brick house food banks and camp big canoe a camp that is designed to bring youths together in a fun and exciting atmosphere it is a wonderful group that is very supportive towards the com munity involvment from the younger generations is always encouraged said myrna watson who has been a member of the ucw for almost 39 years the library was set up in 1964 with numerous childrens bible story books and a wellused audio visual system added to the collec tion over time stouffville united has been reaching out to the community for the past 43 years with its popular music mania variety show anyone who lives or works in whitchurch- stouffville can join the show to sing dance be in the band do skits and blacklight numbers or work behind the scenes rehearsals for the late april show begin soon after the new year music maniacs range in age from their 20s to their early 80s ninety percent of my wifes and my friends were met through music mania and are currently residing in stouffville it is a great way to meet people in your home town said jim brazier who has been with music mania almost since it began over the last few decades the church has had several additions constructed as the church member ship grew including offices the friendship room kindergarten class washrooms a kitchenette refurbished halls and choir areas and a new south entrance complete with an automatic chairlift the church is at its doorstep of a whole new phase of its life and is energized to move forward rev nightingale said health care community likes romanow report from page 1 improvements to the healthcare system under the plan canadians earn ing less than 31000 a year would pay about 180 a year for the tax those making more than 100000 would pay about 1500 annually some will call this another tax we look on it as a muchneeded investment mr kirby said when he delivered his report capital funding aside mr pilon said his group is pleased with mr romanows recommendations the thing that really kind of pleases us is his understanding of the need to stabilize the system first he said pointing to the reports recommendation ottawa boost healthcare spending to 25 cents of every dollar from the pres ent contribution of 14 cents mr pilon also supports mr romanows strong aversion to priva tizing delivery of medical services mr romanow lobbied the feder al government to invest 15 billion in health care over the next three years alone the changes i am proposing are intended to strengthen and modernize medicare and place it on a more sustainable footing he said when delivering his report thursday they are based on a vision of medicare as a national endeavour where governments work together to ensure timely access to quality healthcare services as a right of cit izenship not a privilege and they are designed to achieve a more effectively integrated and a more accountable worldclass system that helps to make canadians the healthiest people in the world mr pilon supports publicly funded health care arguing the public sector can provide less expensive and more efficient serv ices man forprofit businesses we can operate much more efficiently than the private sector its never been proven the private sector is cheaper or more efficient were much cheaper than us hos pitals he said were trying to pro vide the best patient care i dont think we need the competitive impetus to do that nurses in support mr pilon is not the only stake holder applauding mr romanows vision of health care chris steeves a surgical nurse at southlake regional health centre and a spokesperson for the ontario nurses association is pleased with mr romanows strong backing of universal publiclyfunded health care shes also delighted with the pro posal to create a national pharma- care program to pay for drugs need ed by patients with catastrophic ill nesses and the recommendation to bring home care under the canada health act but shes concerned mr romanow didnt address recruit ment and retention of healthcare workers im generally pleased with the report i think some areas could have been a little more defined like targeting funding for doctors and nurses she said we can talk about keeping uni versality but without the personnel to do it its not going to do much in the short term ms steeves is also worried the federal government will shelve the report i think the federal government has to take the initiative i think this only works if the federal govern ment grabs the ball and goes with it she said medicare is at a crossroads now and has been for some time profit is not the cure if we leave it to the provinces each province makes its own choic es and that doesnt give us what we want as a national system i think the federal government has the money i would hate them not to put new money in and take away from other social service spending simon collins is a york region spokesperson for the ontario health coalition a grassroots group representing patients residents community health groups labour organizations womens groups and others with an interest in health care issues he is happy mr romanow rejected private delivery of health care medicare is at a crossroads now and has been for some time profit is not the cure he said a singletier system has always proven to be cheaper mr collins believes mr romanows report will help put a stop to privatization in some provinces in ontario bc and alberta health care has been under assault he said we will certainly be using this report to fight tooth and nail with the province hhbiv visit our showroom 172 bullock dr markham 905 4728444 marxcville rllai 100 nytonhardtwut carpet 10 wearstain warranty 32 dottanor colours loel for uvlncydlnng rooms ifiii ciii caaim bedrooms hall and stairs virtually el nt footprint 0uturhmngvlu vacuum marks iniperoo cou by sutton i high density durable broedloom excellent appearance retention choice of styles and colours easily vacuumed and maintained superior stain resistance mstrong major mackenzie 1th ave bullock or nenrraqe hwv 7