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economist sunsuntribune saturday jan 3 2004 suntnbune a metroland community newspaper 34 cmc ave stounville on l4a 7z5 publisher ian proudfoot letters to the editor better driving will help solve part of traffic problem do we really have a traffic problem in york region or do we just have a driving problem it does not matter which day or time of day you choose the driving is the cause of all the problems with all the gizmos on new cars cell phones cd and dvd players hiding seats back up buzzers satellite tracking cameras braking devices coffee makers computers i am sure car makers have forgotten to put directional indicators on their products maybe they dont include instructions in the handbook perhaps its not important to point them out during driving instructions or maybe they are not part of the new testing system not a day goes by i dont see drivers ignore other vehicles by not letting them know in which direction they will travel next yes they have already tailgated me swung out to the left crossed in front and changed their minds and turned in to the next conve nience store on the left yes i know there was an important tele phone call the coffee in the cup holder was becoming cold and the cd needed changing but this is the road if theres no communi cation here it could be lights out for both of us we all want to get to our destination so every time you drive use your turn signals and let us all know how you want to get there better driving will help the traffic problem and we can all enjoy the new year tonyibell markham more money needed for safety on york region safety i am deeply concerned with road safety in our community is it ignorance arrogance lack of respect for human lives or lack of police presence that is making some drivers behave in this manner 1 am looking for change every time i get into my vehicle i wonder if ill get to my destination alive imagine how i feel when my wife and children have to leave for school in the morning the number of occasions weve nearly been involved in accidents is uncountable we have been run off the road by drivers trying to pass on onelane residential streets tailgated for following the speed limit almost tbohed by vehicles running stop signals dri ven off the road by vehicles driving on the opposite sides of the road on nov 25 we lost a close friend in one of the numerous fatal accidents in our commu- opinion letters policy the maikham economist sun welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and address the economist sun reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space letters to the editor the economist sun 9 heritage rd markham on l3p 1m3 email letterseconsuncom nity another fatality followed the causes for these accidents could have been different but i strongly believe they could have been prevented how many people need to be injured or killed before we decide more money needs to be allocated to road safety where has our value for human life gone that we clean up the mess but ignore the cause why are people driving at speeds exceed ing 100 kmh on rutherford road could it be because we dont have enough police officers to take care of die laws and meet the demands of the growing population i have tried forming street safety commit tees on our street but we cannot deal with what occurs just outside our vicinity i also realize many residents are aware of what is happening but cannot find the time to be proactive escaping from our problems sheltering ourselves protecting ourselves with tanklike vehicles taking the law in our own hands and moving out of the community are not the answers julio prudant woodbredge put trash cans together to save time gas i have a good suggestion why not save time gas and pollution dis charge by doing what i have tried for months place garbage containers and recycling boxes in the middle between properties paired up instead of in two spots 15 or 20 feet apart no one will object and dont forget to put your house number on your blue box and garbage can george paivolgyi thornhill editorial editor jim mason newsroomeamsuncom advertising retail sales manager steve kane skaneymgcom sales manager new business development distribution dawna andrews dandrewsymgcom classified manager ann campbell acampbellymgcom real estate manager mike rogerson mrogersonyrngcom production production manager pam nichols pnicholsymgcom distribution distribution manager barry black bblackymgcom administration office manager vivian onell voneilymgcom york region events managing director debra welter dwellerymgcom shows manager staceyallen sallenymgcom york region printing general manager bob dean bdeanymgcom editorial 9052942200 fax 2941538 advertising 905 6421908 ext 221 classified 18007433353 fax 8531765 distribution 9052948244 canadian ontariopress ortulatfonjaorjit council board member suntribune a york region newspaper group community newspaper the stouffville tribune published evwy thursday and saturday is a member of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd a whollyowned subsidiary of totar corporation metroland is comprised of 70 community publications across ontario the york region newspaper group includes the liberal serving rcfirnorkjhiuandthomhillvugrian citian marwiam economist sun stouffvilesutvlribuneorgtfaaovocate yirtcregkx business times norrjiofthecrryyoflaegkxicomand york region printing editor in chief advertising director debora kelly retail flyer sales business manager nicole fletcher robert lazurko advertising director director of classified real estate production events management john futhey gord paolucci david suzuki diseases of poor badly underfunded with the flu season upon us canadians are naturally concerned about getting sick but for millions of peo ple in developing nations battling com municable and chronic diseases is a daily fact of life world disease patterns are sliifting for years it was assumed industrial ized society would suffer less from infec tious diseases as they were eliminated with modern medicines and more from chronic disease as the population ages however the recent emergence of new infectious diseases 37 new disease- causing organisms have been discovered since 1973 and the return of older ones shows the situation is decidedly more complex as every flu season tells us developed nations are far from immune to commu nicable disease the situation in developing world is even more complex by now most people know about the horror of aids in africa and the effect the disease is having on millions of families and entire countries there irs a problem that will continue to echo through the continent for generations but there are plenty of other diseases infecting people in developing countries from tuberculosis to malaria some of which you rarely hear about even though they affect millions according to a recent report pub lished in the journal science about 25 per cent of the worlds population is infected with roundworm 20 per cent with hook worm 17 per cent with whipworm and up to 4 per cent with schistosomiasis onethird of the planet suffers from at least one of these parasites together they account for 435 million lifeyears lost second only to tuberculosis symptoms of these parasites range from loss of appetite to nausea vomiting fever and weakness left unattended they can have serious health implica tions from malnutrition and chronic intestinal inflammation to impaired growth and development although intestinal parasites have largely been eliminated from developed countries the overall incidence of infec tion has remained about the same for the past 50 years in other words little has been done to control the problem in the developing world its estimated that at least one billion people will need regular treatment to start reducing the number of people infected with roundworm alone it can be done its a matter of industrialized countries finding the will to fund programs to bring the successes of parasite eradication to the worlds poorest countries to discuss this topic with others visit the dis cussion fotvm at wwwdavidsu2ukioig