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6 stouffville suntribune thursday nov 4 2004 opinion publisher ian pr0udf00t telephone 9056402612 fax 9056408778 email jmasonymgcom website wwwyorkregioncom editorial where will invasive rules end the government has no business in the bedrooms of the nation former prime minister pierre trudeau once said yet it seems for ontarios ruling liberals our basements are another matter forcing homeowners to install tem peraturelimiting valves on their water heaters to reduce incidents of child burns is a clear example of government over stepping its bounds weabsolutely support the idea of pro tecting children from potential dangers yet prior to the legislation enacted in september limiting the temperature of water to 49 c or about 120 f all a home owner had to do to ensure this was turn down the thermostat on his water heater but provincial liberals feel the need to police mom and dad so why stop with temperature meters when theres so much more to regulate after all its not just hot water taps that cause burns according to the canadian hospitals and injury reporting and prevention program chirpp burns from hotrange elements and oven doors boiling water and steam and hot cooking oil food and beverages all contribute to emergency roomvisits a review of the programs database found 343 per cent of children under two were burned by a hot solid object most burns were caused by youngsters touch ing or falling against hot oven doors wood stoves and radiators do we govern temperatures in these appliances as well and what about outside the home a separate chirpp study found acci dental falls and traffic accidents top the list of leading causes of injuryrelated hospitalizations among children conspiracy theorists who have decried other planned initiatives such as smart cards complete with biometric information would no doubt be quick to question where all this will lead and one has to question if this is com pletely about safety or if reducing energy use also factors into the equation the province says its serious about ontarians cutting back energy use at least that would be easy to enforce new legislation could be enacted allowing the use of those controversial infrared cameras on police choppers to determine how hot our homes are its not just for pot houses anymore letters to the editor other sources for flu shots re why no flu shots for stoujfville letter oct 21 i applaud alasdair campbells wisdom in knowing the importance of getting his flu shot i encourage all healthy adults and children over the age of six months to get their flu shot every year influenza is a serious respiratory illness and even healthy young people can become very sick and develop serious complications this is an ill ness you do not want to get and experts agree getting your flu shot is the best way to prevent that i must however speak to mr campbells con cern about community flu clinics not being offered in whitchurchstpuffville great care is put into choosing a clinic sched ule that makes the vaccine most available to the most residents within a defined budget and resources clinic locations are usually targeted to areas of higher population or by geographic area such as the north the province provides flu vaccine to local health units to distribute to the community in york region this is done in several ways family physicians and walkin clinics the majority of flu shots are administered by family physicians last yearhealth services provided more than 290000 flu shots to local doctors community flu clinics in comparison 12000 flu shots were administered through our clinics last season this year york region health the stouflville suntribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must indude 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 editor 34 civic ave po box 154 stouffville l4a 7z5 email jmasonymgcom services has scheduled 26 community flu clinics in 13 locations across the region from oct 13 through dec 8 hearing public concern we will certainly consider placing one in whitchurch- stouffville next year workplace clinics many local workplaces organiz flu clinics for their employees through health and safety initiatives with support from our health services workplace wellness program local pharmacies in addition to the above some pharmacies offer scheduled flu clinics many thanks to mr campbell for heightening awareness of the importance of getting your flu shot and getting it now from any one of the sources listed above for more information on influenza the com munity flu clinics or other healthrelated mat ters contact health connection at 1-800-361- 5653 or visit wwwyorkca dr k helena jaczek commissioner of york region health services and medical officer of health suntnbune a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave 3rd floor stouffville ontario l4a 7z5 phone 9056402612 fax 9056408778 classified 18007433353 distribution 9052948244 website wwwyorkregioncom email jmasonymgcom memberonunocommunrrynewsparbassocation canadian community newspapers association ontario press council editor in chief debora kelly editor jim mason reporters joanransberry hannelorevoipe sales representative sarah wilson casey weir production manager pam nichols office manager vivian ouefl business manager robert lazurko distribution directors barry black advertising director retail sales flyers nicole fletcher advertising director classified real estate events management gordpaolucci lynn pashko classified manager ann campbell general manager york region printing director of production interactive media john futhey managing director real estate mikerogerson bob dean director marketing partnerships debraweller saks manager new business development distribution dawna andrews shows manager yrng events management stacey allen off the top with jim mason big time change on horizon like snowstorms on the winter horizon we know development is headed for stouffville land on the outskirts has been scraped of all things growing billboards and designer sales pavil ions promote the new homes that will soon rise up where corn and soybeans grew last summer we know its coming we just dont know the impact some residents talk of it in excited breath theres the power centre and its mega chain stores proposed for hwy 48 south of ringwood and the shopping and job opportunities sure to come with it talk of a theatre for the performing arts has been resparked a shiny new high school will be built behind sobeys with minor hockey players on a waiting list and ice time fully rented there is immedi ate need for a third arena with proper seating sound and heating town council in other words the town is due for a remodelling job no home decorat ing tv show has ever seen thats the good news the dark side is a tad more nebulous but its definitely a topic of much discussion funny folks stayed away from meetings in droves in the late 1990s when the next phase of stouffville was being mapped out now its cool over chicken wings and imported beers stouffville talked about its future at the orange and black ball a charity event at the markham fairgrounds saturday oldtimers 45yearold stouffville lifers dated the irreversible growth back to the 1970s when land was bro ken south of summitview public school for new twostoreys relative newcomers spoke of mov ing to this hidden gem of a small town a combination of mayberry rfd and dawsons creek all agreed it would never be the same but no one could pin it down any more it will soon play out in front of all of them jim mason is editor of the stouffville suntribune