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6 stouffville suntribune thursday april 7 2005 stouffville suntribune a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave 3rd floor stouffville on l4a 7z5 publisher a2 proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly business manager robert lazurko director production interactive media john futhey advertising director distribution director marketingpartnerships retail flyer sales nicole fletcher advertising director classified real estate events management gord paolucci circulation barry black director circulation systems lynn pashko director debra weller york region printing general manager bob dean editorial series challenges educrats to act from the first oneroom schoolhouse in the 1700s to todays boutique schools specializing in fine arts or sports educa tion has changed significantly in york school boards are some of the biggest employers- in the region the two boards employ 12500 people 8300 of whom are teachers theyre also among the largest collectors of taxes the public board bud get for this year is 719 million and the catholic boards is 390 million talk to bureaucrats and elected trustees with our public and catholic boards and they talk a better game than they did 10 years ago there are significantly fewer portable classrooms in school yards meaning fewer bus trips for the youngest students and more room for outside activity they also talk about character educa tion and better relationships with employees and the community provincewide test results in the region are impressive that is all true but our system is far from perfect according to students par ents and teachers the threat of another strike this time by 3755 public elementary teachers hangs over the region this spring teachers are already working to rule making a less than ideal environment for students and parents tensions mount between employee and employer and the victim is the student left to fend with fewer resources and less assistance premier dalton mcguinty promised to restore labour peace to ontario schools its time for him to do that class size is a major irritant parents told us it has prompted parents to move their children to private schools many of the montessori variety that have popped up throughout the region the public board is not afraid of the private school boom it should be students moving to private schools are sending a message that families are not satisfied with public education a shortage of english as a second language teachers is a major concern in the south end of york region where many immigrants settle york boards blame the province which reduced the number of language teachers in 1999 mpps didnt consider the children of immigrants to be in need of english assis tance many york region residents would beg to differ we invite you to read more about our education system in our threepart series the state of education starting in todays newspaper wed also like your thoughts on die system go to our website yorkregionco and click on the state of education icon wow- were getting a tattoo parlour letters to the editor modernday tattoos not for youths gang members re tattoo parlours elvis festival not what downtown needs letter to the editor march 31 brian clamans letter said the freak ink tat too parlor would do nothing positive for our town and the town should spend less time on elvis festivals and bringing tattoo parlors to town and fix up the downtown core i find very little truth and reason in this having a business open in the downtown core is positive it brings business to a downtown in dire need of it and longtime residents are opening the parlour the days of tattoos being only appealing to individuals from gangs and criminals is no longer reality tattoos are a way of expressing oneself i have two tattoos i am no criminal i am an avid volunteer with many organizations and a student at york university majoring in crimi nology other individuals sharing my love for tat toos are superstar athletes and youth role models david beckham and michael jordan academy award winners cuba gooding jr jodie foster and peter jackson former talk show host rosie odonnell and musicians cher and rod stewart even winston churchill had an anchor on his arm these arc not individuals you would consid er criminals would you we all want to express ourselves in a world the stouffville 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 editor 34 civic ave po box 154 stouffville l4a 7z5 email jmasonyrngcom that chooses every product we buy and dic tates everything we see and hear you must grow with the times stouffville is a town on the move if we stop every business from coming in due to a few individuals prejudices then we will crumble as a town and as a society as to the statement the parlor will only serve as a hangout for local youth one can only point the finger at the town we do need more hangouts for youth how ever i doubt they will flock to the parlor con sidering the age requirements to receive tat toos it should be noted several government regulations ensure tattoo parlors are clean i welcome our new business and wish them the best to those opposed you must better educate yourself before being prejudiced toward our new entrepreneurs mike vandervoort stouffville editorial editor jim mason jmasonyrngcom administration office manager vivian oncil voncilyrngcom events management shows showsyrngcom production manager pain nichols pnicholsyrngcom advertising classified manager ann campbell ncamiilicllyrngcom retail manager st acey allen sallcnyrngcom managing director new business flyer sales dawna andrews daiulrcwsyrngcom new business manager steve kane skancyrngcom managing director real estate mike kogerson mrogcrsonyrngcom editorial 9056402612 fjx 9056408778 advertising 9056402612 classified 180074333531 905853765 distribution 9052948i44 ism onurto oreutmonshi- prm fas bom utmxi comd sunfnbune a york region newspaper group community newspaper the suntribune published every thursday and saturday is a member ot the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd a wholly oned subsidiary of torstar corporation metroland is comprised of 70 community publications across ontario the york region newspaper group includes the liberal serving richmond hill and thornhihvaugban ctocnthe economist sun markham the erabanner newmarket aurora stouffville suntnbune georgina advocate york region business times north of the city yorkrcgioncom and york region printing off the top with jim mason getting ink on main street our latest threat i would have paid significant coin to see a veteran member of whitchurchstouffville council lets say harry bowes stroll into last weeks special meeting of council his sleeveless shirt showing off a nice pair of tattooed biceps it would have been the most fit ting irony for a meeting called to deal with the horrors of a tattoo par lour opening on main street the whole scenario reminds one of kevin bacon introducing dancing to bomont in the movie footloose stouffvilles seen this film before residents protested the magic festival of the early 1980s the same way they opposed a store supposed ly selling the occult 15 years later and remember the letters of protest when the first pub was being built in stouffville a town that outlawed overthecounter liquor sales until the 1960s god save us all in the bluecollared port town in which i grew up during the 1960s tattoos were a souvenir acquired only at sea in the armed forces or in prison take a hard look next time you visit the beach or an indoor pool i was only admiring the artwork honey strictly for research purpos es tattoos are almost as prevalent as belly buttons youll see canadian flags hearts and the names of lovers past and present inked in some of the most unusual spots its not like we dont have larger items on the towns agenda try finding the best location of the three presented for stouffvilles conglomerate of big box stores also referred to as a power centre lets locate and landscape it so it doesnt make stouffvilles entrance look like that of every other community in north america grey and bland or lets try settling on a theme for downtown stouffville somehow the board and batten noneon look championed by mayor fran sainsbury in the 1980s was never embraced the tattoo parlour may live a long and licensed life on main street a proper business plan and demand for product will determine that not people trying to drum it out of town somewhere kevin bacon is laughing if not dancing jim mason is editor of the sun- tribune