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6 stouffville suntribune thursday july 72005 a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave 3rd floor stouffville on l4a 7z5 publisher ian proudfoot editor m chief debora kelly business manager robert lazurko director production interactive media john futhey advertising director retail fuer sales nicole fletcher advertising director classified real estate events management gordpaolucci distribution director circulation barry black director circulation systems lynn pashko marketingpartnerships director debraweller york region printing general manager bob dean editorial province should treat york like to at what point is a municipality big enough to make its own decisions as a joint provincialmunicipal task force reviews the city of toronto act with the view of extending broader pow ers to ontarios capital its a question york politicians should be asking while the province wont allow toronto to levy general sales or income taxes it has agreed to allow taxes for cer tain services such as a hotel rooms to boost city coffers the phrase fiscally sustainable autonomous and accountable is touted often in the media and in government circles when describing what this revamp is intended to achieve is this not what we want for york region a com munity outpacing toronto in growth what makes toronto so special espe cially when according to a report last month from the canadian urban institute higher taxes and traffic conges tion threaten to make toronto a bed room community for the 905 region during the past seven years just seven new highquality office buildings have been built in toronto compared to 102 in the 905 area the report says before calling for a levelling of the play- ing field when it comes to taxes sounds good but why stop there couldnt vaughan or markham also use the new political and financial tools being proposed for toronto after all they share a combined pop ulation of morethan 400000 people and many of the same economic transpora- tion and social issues critics may say granting city powers to suburban municipalities such as york would be dangerous given the tendency to promotefiefdoms and selfinterest over big picture thinking but as the song goesthe times they are a changin just look at the actions of a trio of local councillors serving three munici palities who have banded together to oppose construction of a sewer along 19thavenue protecting our water and air are cru cial arid i think that transcends any par ticular political boundaries or sphere of jurisdiction said richmond hul councillor elio di iorib who has teamed up with other municipal politicians to look at the bigger picture not a hint of parochialism there the purpose of revamping the city of toronto act is to make toronto more fiscally sustainable and autonomous and provide it with the tools it needs to thrive in the global economy all large municipalities in the greater toronto area including in york region would and should benefit from such measures as well look how the anlfs carry away these little bodies i ant invasion letters to the editor why pour toxins on lawns when air is already a mess re battle brewing over pesticide law story and toxic products add to our chemical burden col umn june 25 that was an interesting pair of pieces in your newspaper first joan ransberry described the looming conflict between markhams environmen talists and the pesticide business overleaf oh the opinion page you positioned david suzukis column about our growing chemi cal burden i hope most readers perused both pieces carefully the pesticide lobby is very well financed by the chemical giants and spreads around huge amounts of money to defend its business inter ests every year is the protection we receive from some levels of government compromised by this concerted effort i certainly think so had you published another article about our evermorefrequent smog days it would have cre ated a perfect trilogy why with so much junk in the air already would anyone want to spray deadly toxins into the mix ture purely for cosmetic purposes the annual toll of people succumbing to the effects of bad air is terrifying and growing more and more children become victims of breathing diseases such as asthma with each pass ing month most researchers credit bad air for the increases in these illnesses and the rising death toll from lung disorders the pesticide lobby does not make a good case we are not at risk from dandelions there are more jobs required when caring for landscapes in an environmentally friendly fashion than when using pesticides 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 725 email jmasonyrngcom torontos council deserves credit for facing down the pesticide industry groups and markham council should do the same glen e morehouse whitchurchstouffville all drivers need to share road re motorcycles need safety apparatus letter june 9 i think there is a very critical point the writer fails to point out all drivers need to drive safely and share the road according to the motorcycle safety foundation approximately twothirds of accidents involving a motorcycle were caused by the other driver violating the motorcyclists rightofway therefore it is not fair to make a blanket state ment that motorcycles are the problem but recog nize that everyone on the road particularly auto mobile drivers need to drive safely the number of people dying on the road is increasing in york region there have been four motorcycle deaths and 17 in automobiles in 2005 i agree if speed limits safety features and noise levels were changed fewer accidents would happen and the road would be a safer place for everyone yusufpatel unionville editorial editor jim mason a jmasonymgcom administration office manager vivian oneil vonellymgcom events management shows manager bonnie rondeau v brondeauymgcom production manager pam nichols pnicholsyrngcom advertising classified manager ann campbell acampbellymgcom retail manager siacey allen sallenymgcom managing director new business flyer sales dawna andrews dandrewsymgcom new business manager n steve kane skaneyrngcom managing director real estate mikerogerson mrogersonymgcom editorial 905640261218668461889 fax9056408778 advertising 9056402612 classified 18007433353fax 9058531765 distribution r 9052948244 pros com ttnfcaweheld shut- suntribune a york region newspaper group community newspaper the suntribune published every thursday and saturday is a member of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd a whollyowned 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 thomhid vaughan crtiknihe economist 4 sun markham the dabanner newmarketaurora stouffville suntribune georgina advocate york region business rimes north of the city ywkregtoncom and york regton printing warn off the top with jimmason grand old gal takes in another championship shes quirky shes weathered and shes a throwback but we love her madly the grandstand in memorial park is one of those- landmarks that says stouffville put the clock tower our kettle lakes and main street wests web of traffic lights on that list too but back to the ball park the grandstand and the main diamond it sits over are everything skydome isnt main diamond open air 247 grass that grows free admission plenty of parking zero concrete concessions that dont require a line of credit and trees skydome none of the above although that roof would be handy a few days every summer stouffvilles diamond doesnt have world series banners flying in the outfield but its seen more champi- onships than yankee stadium the latest came sunday in the most dramatic of fashions the stouffville peewee storm softball team captured the ontario elimination tournament with equal splashes of ropeadope and cardiac comeback in the mix a lastinning semifinal win saturday was followed by a stinker of a loss to the same napanee express team the next morning the mercy gods called it after six innings at 133 it was uglier than one of those stars- minustheir makeup tv shows past the right field foul pole some parishioners were praying for an early end to the strawberry festival church service or a second final in their beloved ball tournament they got their wish stouffville came off the ropes late in the last game scored the winning run on a basesloaded walk then struck out a batter from avril lavigne country with the bases jammed again for the title it was as magical as joe carters touchthemall blast in 1993 the fans rocked the stands while the players highfived and hugged the way only 14yearold boys can while talk of gutting the park with roadways and moving ball diamonds continues another championship was added to the chronicles the storied grandstand nodded in approval no flashy outfield banners required jim mason is editor of the sun- tribune