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economist sunlsuntribune police saturday jan 8 2005 men stabbed at karaoke bar police are asking for help catching those responsible for the stabbing of two toronto men at a markham karaoke bar boxing day york regional police responded to a disturbance at galaxy karaoke bar on woodbine avenue around 245 am dec 26 officers discovered two toronto men ages 26 and 33 suffering from stab wounds as a result of a dispute in the bar the victims were transported to hospital where they were treated for non lifethreatening injuries two men are wanted one is described as asian fivefeet eight- inches 150 pounds with short black hair the other is also asian fivefeet teninches 150 pounds thin build and short black spiked hair anyone with information should call 18668765423 ext 7541 or crime stoppers at 1800222tips purse stolen a vaughan woman had her purse stolen tuesday the 36yearold woman was walk ing along townsgate drive just east of bathurst street around 645 pm when she was approached from behind and assaulted a man stole her purse and fled west on townsgate then south toward the blockbuster video on bathurst a witness watched as he entered a silver twodoor vehicle driven by police digest another man a third man may have also been involved as witnesses observed the two speaking in the area before the robbery the woman suffered minor injuries the car was possibly a honda civic late 90s model silver sporty with bluish headlights anyone with information is asked to call 18668765423 ext 7241 or crime stoppers at 1800222tips pellet gun shooting york regional police have arrested an 18yearold georgina man wanted in connection with a driveby pellet gun shooting in georgina wednesday a 19yearold bradford man was walking with a friend through the parking lot of the ice palace on wex ford drive around 9 pm when a vehi cle drove into the lot circled around and pulled up near him the passenger window rolled down and two shots were fired from a pistol one of the pellets struck the victim on the right side of the head but he was not hurt the car was a green early 90s pon- tiac grand prix driven by a white woman around 18 to 19 years old a male was arrested thursday and charged with assault with a weapon pointing a firearm and possession of dangerous weapons new cops part of 1 16 hike by roy green staff writer the cost of keeping a first- class police constable on die job in york region in 2005 will be more than 108000 according to chief armand la barge he offered this information thursday as he outiined for the regions finance committee a 154million draft budget that represents an 116percent increase from 2004 in addition to 69193 in salary 17051 in benefits and 4500 in uniforms and equip ment firstclass constables also get a regional policing allowance of 6227 a bonus to encourage officers to stay here rather than move to another police service the 154million budget includes hiring 67 new officers and 35 support staff in 2005 the second year of a fiveyear plan to add 378 officers and 175 civil ians cop costs the full cost of a firstclass york regional police constable in 2005 is set at 108471 according to the police boards 2005 draft budget salary 69193 benefits 17051 retention allowance 6227 uniform and equipment 4500 training allowance 1500- 10000 in vehicle costs based on a ratio of one police vehicle to six officers police board chairperson richmond hill regional coun cillor dave barrow said the draft budget is 13 million less than originally proposed to the board we cant do much about growth and increased costs but we were able to find some cuts in operating costs mr barrow said police will hold off hiring 35 new officers until the region gets more details on the provinces plan to help pay for new police officers over the next three years weve budgeted based on the expectation well get 30000 each for up to 18 new officers he said but if that doesnt hap pen well have to go back to the board and regional council many of the new officers will be working in traffic enforce ment youth issues and increas ing police visibility in die region areas of highest concern to the regions residents according to a 2004 survey of 6000 resi dents chief la barge also cited 2004 statistics showing the service has the secondlowest cost per capita among comparable ontario services at 159 the highest policetopopu lation ratio 1 to every 817 citi zens the lowest share of taxpayer funding at 26 1 per cent sweat the pounds not the payments ssas tmmm mafkfia msmami aflishssssse sssgi dear neighbours we are all saddened by the recent disaster in southern asia i would like to join with the residents of markham and across our province in expressing our deepest sympathies to the people of southern asia during this time we have the opportunity to pull together and support our friends families and neighbours as they wait to hear from loved ones and friends living in southern asia in an effort to support the global relief efforts for southern asia your ontario government has pledged 5 million to the canadian red cross through the reactivated ontario disaster relief fund it is also providing our expertise in forensic identification and disaster management working with the federal government to identify any further equipment supplies or expertise necessary and asking all ontario public service employees to generously contribute any form of support to the canadian red cross during this time of need i urge you to provide whatever support you are able to for information on what you can do to help please call 18888863998 or log onto httpwwwpremierqovonca and click on tsunami relief how to help for those of you trying to reach friends and loved ones please contact the emergency operations centre in ottawa toll free at 18006065499 as we pull together the people of southern asia along with their friends and loved ones remain in my thoughts yours sincerely tony c wong mpp markham tjm iii iimmmui jlttt