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6 stouffville simtribune thursday oct 14 2004 opinion publisher ian pr0udf00t telephone 9056402612 fax 9056408778 email jmasonyrngcom website wwwyorkregioncom editorial ottawa needs to boost incentives as the price of crude oil topped 54us a barrel this week homeowners have good reason to look for ways to curb heating costs its time for the federal government to give both homeowners and the environ ment a helping hand by mandating stricter building standards energyconscious homeowners can retrofit their houses with better win dows insulation and furnaces and receive a government rebate in addition to savings in heating and cooling costs operated by natural resources canada the energuide for houses retrofit incen tive program offers 650 back on a 2500 investment but if youre in the market for a new home and want the same level of energy efficiency no help is available it means homebuyers are better off buying a standard home and upgrading later as long as retrofit rebates exist where is the incentive to build new ener gyefficient homes ottawa is sending a mixed message the r2000 program promotes the use of costeffective energyefficient build ing practices and technologies its a strict standard requiring builders to complete a certification program one that only a handful of builders in york region have undertaken the reality is it shouldnt be an option all new homes should be built with energy efficiency in mirid and buttding codes should be amended to make these upgrades mandatory precedents exist recognizing the problem of harmful emissions from aging vehicles ontario implemented its drive clean program in 1999 requiring regular testing and since the 1970s car makers have been faced with increas ingly stricter emissions standards while the upfront cost of buying an energyefficient home can be a tough pill to swallow it means cost savings in the long run eventually programs such as the energuide for houses initiative will no longer be necessary were not suggesting all homeowners should be forced to bring homes up to the standard yet the reality is we consume a mas sive amount of natural resources and if were are realistic about meeting reduc tion targets drastic measures are need ed its a small price to pay to extend sus- tainability of our natural resources not to mention cutting down oh pollutants letters to the editor wigs for kids event a success thank you for covering the wigs for kidscanadian cancer society fundraiser sept 26 we collected 29 pieces of hair and more than 1300 i received a number of phone calls from indi viduals and salons regarding hair donations due to the article by reporter hannelore volpe i would like to thank giant tiger for helping with the advertising maple leaf foods and ap for donating food robert spencer for donating t- shirts to the students volunteers who participated and earned community hours thank you to the anne milne school of dance jayne harvey and the members of the bradstock barid cris cuddy and robin edgar for performing a big thanks to colleen johansen who cut all that hair and people who braved donating their hair including john mccracken jr who raised 685 michelle julie mary tammy jim lyons jake goddard and kevin and blair there was a new look for everyone including me thanks to the salons first choice headlines salon 2000 massimo fame and no frills hair cutters for informing and collecting hair thanks to bill wallace for donating the public address system photographer greg king members of the stouffville royal canadian legion and of course everybody who made pledges it was a fun time and we hope to see everyone out to support this event again next year to find out how to donate hair or how to help call 9056425753 deborah leckie stouffville thestouffville suntribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and address the stouffville suntribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space write letters to the editor34 civic ave po box 154 stouffville l4a 7z5 emailjmasonyrngcom police chopper caught car thieves re police shouldnt use helicopter to pursue dirt bike thieves letter oct 7 i have to disagree with arlene reesor about when to use helicopters the resource is there to use and quite frankly you do not know whom you are chasing until you catch them yes maybe they were stealing a dirt bike today but what did they do yesterday when they left their fingerprints or faces behind you probably dont care much about the dirt bike because you donthave one thats understand able as i dont care much about them either but you might say it was ok to use the heli copter if they were trying to steal your car a few months back kids stole mine and several others in stouffville police used their helicopter to catch several of them i have the video and enjoy watching it ron boyd stouffville gm otouflvllle mmm f suntnhune a metrolarid community newspaper 34 civic ave 3rd floor stouffville ontario l4a 7z5 phone 9056402612 fax9056408778 classified 1r8007433353 distribution 9052948244 websitewwwyorfcregioncom email jmasonyrngcom member ontario community newspapers association canadian community newspapers association ontario press council editor in chief debora kelly editor jim mason reporters joan ransberry hannelore volpe sales representative susan berry production manager pam nichols office manager vivian 0neil business manager robert lazurko advertising director retail sales flyers nicole fletcher advertising director classified real estate events management gord paolucci director of production interactive media john futhey managing director real estate mike rdgerson managing directorr new business distribution sales dawna andrews distribution directors barry black mynnpashko classified manager ann campbell general manager york region printing bob dean director marketing partnerships debraweller shows manager yrng events management stacey allen ghlgg te jftr- h af l t k r off the top with jim mason hit the road in your home town fall seekers for many of us who call stouffville home the world goes no farther north than millard street we go south to work play and eat as if the world was tilted preventing us from heading north the go train stops here the go bus veers into durham region but trust me there is life north of stouffville as many of our good read ers will echo im sure i can feel my inbox filling up already truth is half of the 24000 of us here in wonderful whitchurch- stouffville live outside of stouffville were spread out in hamlets from gormley to vivian along gravel coun try roads and cushy estate cul-de- sacs and its a sweet ride especially at this time of year strap the kids in the suv throw a blanket and lunch in the back then put some blue rodeo and jackson browne on the cd changer lets cruise if southern whitchurchstouffville is being invaded by earthmovers and billboards selling new homes the north is not immune farm fields north and south of ballaritrae con hwy 48 five minutes north of stouffvillia for the newcomers are getting their own makeover complete with housing and pavement all signs point to the same action in bloomington on the ninth line north if theres a nirvana in our munici pality its the northeast corner east of 48 and north of aurora road espe cially come autumn trusting the new vrs its still new isnt it leaf colour guide were near prime time the hardwoods are alive with reds and yellows brighter than a calgary flames jersey enjoy your lunch in the regional forest on 48 or over in the vandorf park on woodbine avenue next to the town museum on the municipalitys west coast in between are farm markets apple orchards wineries and the cool waters of kettle lakes its not niagara the finger lakes or muskoka its our home town at its finest jim mason is editor of the stouffville suntribune