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6 economist sunsuntribune saturday april 24 2004 s stouffvilie suntnbune a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave stoufmlle on l4a 7z5 publisher ian proudfoot letters to the editor hospital parking a ripoff on behalf of all hospital users and visitors i wish to put voice to the many complaints i have heard about the new system of prepaid parking at markham stoufmlle hospital no matter how you look at it prepaid parking is a ripoff particularly in this setting everyone reading this letter knows trying to predict the time needed for a medical appointment is a gamble the wait times vary so widely attempting to guess and pay for parking beforehand is similar to purchasing a lottery ticket should the patient become lucky and be seen quickly they are out the 8 they paid in anticipation of a long wait when visiting a patient the length of the visit is unknown as well visitors could arrive planning on a long visit with an old friend only to find out the patient has been recently discharged or their condition has changed and visitors are not allowed on the flip side a family member may arrive planning to quickly drop something off should they find their loved one in deteri orating condition or wishing to be accompa nied to a test they may decide to stay much longer prompting a return trip to the parking lot to purchase additional coverage many many people resent having to trek into the hospital for change then return to the parking lot to buy a ticket i have also heard complaints of payment terminals refusing valid credit cards i simply cant imagine what kind of ill will this is creating toward the hospital i only know the complaints staff must field i suggest the hospital a place i support in every other way picks a newplan for parking payment and the sooner the better diannediller markham ban ketchup from schools the toronto star recently published pic tures of premier dalton mcguinty visiting two schools in the greater toronto area mr mcguinty was promoting healthy meals for students on the tables in the lunch rooms right in front of the premier were bottles of ketchup if the premier was serious about chil drens diets he would ban ketchup from school cafeterias and fast food outlets there is no way a young child would eat a slice of tomato even thought it contains lycopene an antioxidant that may fight can cer so ketchup is saturated with sugar to mask its acidic taste no wonder children love it as a diabetic i am well aware of the prob lems with sugar children consuming too much may some day pay the price with obesity or worse an exhausted pancreas opinion editor in chief debora kelly business manager robert lazurko director of production john futhey advertising director retail flyer sales nicole fletcher advertising director classified real estate events management gord paolucci and diabetes i have watched mothers in eating estab lishments teaching babies the art of dipping french fries into ketchup purely for the sug ary taste as ontarios health minister it is incum bent upon george smitherman to educate education minister gerard kennedy about the danger of ketchup in school dining areas jshaw markham eggstravaganza successful oh behalf of whitchurch district guides and brownies i want to thank everyone who participated in our third annual eggstravaganza we had a record turnout this year although the weather was a little chilly more than 100 children collected about 3500 chocolate foil eggs in felcher park and many stayed to participate in the scavenger hunt there were lots of full baskets and happy faces at the end of the hunt as a bonus our mini fire truck was filled to the brim with food and cash donations for the whitchurch- stouffville food bank thanks to everyone who helped plan this successful event your time and energy were appreciated by all sharon burdette 2nd ballantrae brownies dalai lama tool of us britain re dalai lamas visit welcomed letter to the editor april 1 7 as a chinese canadian who has lived in this country for more than 12 years i am angered by suresh patels letter and the prime ministers decision to meet the dalai lama is the dalai lama just a religious person no absolutely not he won the nobel prize but this does not mean he is that great it is a shame the nobel peace committee has been used for dirty political purposes by some westerners the same is true for the dalai lama who has been used to serve the united states and britain should canada blindly follow i dont think so prime minister paul martins meeting with the dalai lama is for election purposes but it risks insulting chinese canadian communi ties the meeting has nothing to do with democracy before i came to canada i worked in tibet for about five years i got along with very well with local tibetan chinese the chinese gov ernment invested billion ofdollars in tibet to develop education the economy and to maintain tibetan culture and to my knowledge few tibetans think the dalai lama is their spiritual leader peter ma markham residents deserve flower boxes re town flower program insult to taxpay ers letter to the editor april 10 markham is comprised of main street markham main street unionville yonge street unionville and of course denison street in milliken mills the residents of these communities all pay municipal taxes and services provided by the town are available to all residents when flower baskets and planters are placed around the town milliken must be included so the baskets and planters maybe enjoyed and admired by all kudos to councillors alex chu and khalid usman whose representation at council ensures milliken mills receives the same ser vices as markham unionville andthornhill markham is a character community which means inclusivity tessa bennireland markham main street not dismal re betting on main street economist sun april 6 when i read this profile on leslie patterson owner of heritage champions betting shop on main street markham i had to put the paper down and calm my anger i operate a fairly new retail store in markham village and when i am asked to describe our street dismal the adjective used by mrs patterson is not the word i live in unionville but i wanted to open my store in markham village where there is truly a small town feel since i have been here i have had just that experience not a dismal one mrs patterson chose to set up business in markham village so how dismal can it really be whatever issues she has with markham mayor don cousens they dont need to spill on to our street as a fellow bia member i ask her to place a bet on markham village get involved and make a difference tracy xavier lilones markham veterinarian showed sensitivity i want to express my deepest apprecia tion to dr leslie brangers of village animal clinic for the way she handled the passing on of my beloved dog becky even though it has been devastating to me and my family she always held out hope and cared for my baby at last it was time for my becky to be put to sleep and dr brangers handled it with such love and care i find it consoling peggie forbes markham letters policy the stouffville tribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 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 ttio editor the tribune 9 heritage rd markham on l3p1m3 email letterseconsuncom editorial editor jim mason newsroomeconsuncom advertising retail sales manager steve kane skaneymgcom sales manager new business development distribution dawna andrews dandrewsyrngcom classified manager ann campbell acampbellymgcom real estate manager mikerogerson mrogersonyrngcom production production manager pam nichols pnicholsyrngcom distribution distribution manager barry black bblackoyrngcom administration office manager vivian oneil vonehymgcom york region events managing director debra weller divelleryrngcom shows manager staceyallen sallenymgcom york 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