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6 stouffville suntribune thursday march 25 2004 opinion publisher ian pr0udf00t telephone 9056402612 fax 9056408778 email jmasonymgcom website wwwyorkregioncom editorial federal budget lacks true grit paul martins first budget as prime minister is exacdy what the country expected after his liberals got caught cheating canadians and that speaks more to canadians low expectations than to his govern ments ability to meet them this budget is a sales pitch by a deeply damaged party hoping to con vince the country it has learned from its wasteful ways finance minister ralph goodale presented a choirboy budget full of good wholesome common sense and sheepish frugality a we wont waste your money document that smacks of political strategy the winds of a spring election are definitely blowing prudence accountability trust all terms the federal liberals hope to convey by offering a nominal sum of cash one of these days to key areas they know canadians would approve health care gets 665 million cities will see 7 billion over 10 years farmers rank high with 1 billion doesnt hurt to keep western farmers smiling now that alberta resident and conservative party leader steve harper is ready to try and wresde power from the liberals plus money for education military efforts and security but anyone looking for a document that reflects the vision and leadership of a new prime minister will be sorely disappointed tax relief significant help for cash- strapped municipalities anything that might make the canadian economy more competitive sorry no dice good luck grits funny grit is what this budget lacks there was a time when we would have been impressed just to see a liberal government pass a balanced budget but mr martin did that as finance minister 10 years ago now our expec tations are a litde higher and this time for the first time since shamed former prime minister brian mulroney decimated the federal tories the liberals will have to offer canadians a budget with substance if they want to win the election a lame but safe budget just wont cut it this time mr martin the liberals are clearly off their game and others are waiting to pick up the ball whatisalfel historicalsociety speaker will tell us i 8ej itsthat rust remover stuff maybe its a united empire loyalist letters to the editor council meetings moved to evenings for residents all citizens of whitchurch stouffville should know as of jan 13 all council meetings have been moved to 7 pm from the afternoon we implore you to make use of these meet ing times to address your concerns the agendas are available at the town offices at 37 sandiford dr from the whitchurch stouffville public library or from your local councillor on the friday before the tuesday meeting please make use of this service councillors harry bowes ken ferdinands clyde smith susanne hilton rob hargrave whitchurchstouffville service cuts to reduce tax increase werent in election platforms letter to mayor sue sherban i am writing to express my support for your efforts to maintain whitchurchstouffvilles cur rent level of public services as i understand the current impasse between you and other councillors you are prepared to raise property taxes in order to maintain our towns services the stouffville suntribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and addressthe stouffville suntribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space write letters to the editor 34 civic ave po box 154 stouffville l4a 725 emailjmasonymgcom some or all members of council are apparently of the view maintaining public services is less important than approving a budget that adheres to some arbitrarily determined percentage prop erty tax increase property tax levels were not a matter of concern among residents in the recent election nor are such complaints heard in conversations with neighbours the councillors were elected largely because they presented a platform based on protecting what we have and residents felt threatened by what seemed to be one development project approval after another by the previous mayor and council promises to cut public services to minimize property tax increases were not part of any coun cillors platform these sudden misplaced and inexperienced attempts to defend the taxpayer are a wonderful example of how quickly politicians lose sight of why they were elected as soon as they are in office please keep up your efforts to continue improving our town glen macmillan stouffville stouffville sunlfihune a metrbland community newspaper 34 gvic ave 3rd floor stouffville ontario l4a 715 phone 9056402612 fax9056408778 classified 18007433353 distribution 9052948244 website wwwyorkregioncom email jmasonyrngcom member ontario community newspapers association canadian community newspapers association ontario press council editor in chief debora kelly editor jim mason reporters joan ransberryrlannelorevoipe retail sales manager steve kane sales representative susan berry production manager pam nichols office manager vivian crueil business manager robert lazurko advertising director retail sales flyers nicole fletcher advertising director classified real estate events management gord paolucd managing director real estate mikerogerson director of production johnfuthey distribution manager barry black sales manager new business development distribution dawna andrews general manager york region printing bob dean director marketing promotions debraweller shows manager stacey allen classified manager ann campbell off the top with jim mason guide to your new hometown neighbours employees of new home sales offices those resembling light beer cases and others may post this column free of charge i could also teach an evening credit course in stouffyillease 101 if anyones interested consider it my bit of community service not handed down by a provin cial court justice just trying to help newcomers to our community of which i was one 22 years ago a few tips from the oldtimer youre new in town and cant figure out why everyone says hello to you at the grocery store and on main street is this mayberry rfd or jarvis and gerrard go with the former how do you pronounce the name of your new home town tip theres no e in whitchurch and fs are silent in stouffville could be worse this could be mindemoya or wabigoon someone recommends shopping at the sales barns they mean the recently sold stouffville country market aka the big flea market you get directions to an address on the 7th but cant find the street in any gta map book your director is old school from the day when all major northsouth roads were num bered concessions they mean mccowan road tip from the ninth line heading west count down by one at each road where is the whitchurch in whitchurchstouffville you ask everywhere but stouffville this town was amalgamated in the early 1970s marrying rural whitchurch township which used to stretch over to yonge street with urban stouffville if stouffville is landlocked why do local minor hockey teams parade around the province with the nick name clippers and a large sailing ship on their jerseys you ask id like to tell you that lake ontario once extended to main street or the stouffville creek was once the width of the st lawrence river but i cant how can a town with fewer than 25000 residents have two grocery stores open 247 when larger commu nities go without dont ask but be thankful when you run out of gua- camoieat4am jim mason is editor of the sun- tribune