The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

6 stouffville suntribune m thursday july 142005 a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave 3rd floor stouffville on l4a 7z5 publisher ian proudfoot editorinchief debora kelly- business manager robert ldzurko director production interactive media johnfuthey advertising director- retail flyer sales nicole fletcher advertising director classified real estate events management gordpaolucci distribution director circulation barry black director circulation systems lynn pashko marketingpartnerships director t debraweller york region printing general manager bob dean editorial residents have to be more suspicious what if it happened here terrorists killed 52 people and injured hundreds last week by setting off bombs in londons transit system a city well conditioned to terrorist attacks due to years of conflict with the irish republican army what about canada now the only nation on the al qaeda hit list that has not been attacked how safe and pre pared is york region we are vulnerable there is no doubt about it ontario emergency manage ment commissioner julian fantino says at least 50 terrorist groups are operat ing in canada including al qaeda according to canadian security intelligence service i do not believe that canadians are as psychologically prepared for a terrorist attackas i think probably we all should be federal public safety minister anne mclellari told an international confer ence on disaster management in toronto monday theres no question she is right and if canadians in general need to be conscious of threats to our safety resi dents of safe suburbs such as york region really need an attitude adjust ment no this region isnt on the terrorist radar but its right next door to the most likely target and even if you believe international terrorists know and respect the munici pal boundaries of toronto the impact of violence there will be felt here as our police fire and medical resources would undoubtedly be called in to assist so what are we doing about it well york region transit workers are on heightened alert looking for aban doned packages when inspecting vehi cles but it would be difficult to take secu rity measures for every passenger getting on a local- bus admitted don gordon general manager of york region transit the region and most local municipal ities have emergency plans designed to deal with a range of catastrophes but a big part of- the regions emer gency preparedness campaign is public awareness and education thats because a big part of emer gency preparedness is in the hands of cit izens we are told to keep supplies of foqd water and medicine on hand in case of emergency we are asked to watch for and report suspicious activity people and parcels we must get used to be being more vigilant even a little more suspicious than we have been thats why we need to know our government police and public agencies are prepared to respond should something happen no running in the house son tribune letters to the editor park diamond our own field of dreams re grand old gal takes in another champi onship jim masons column july 7 i enjoyed mr masons tribute to the old baseball grandstand in memorialpark as he expressed the ball diamond and grandstand its pitted old gray boards ever in need of painting are dear to the hearts of many longtime stouffville residents when my family first moved to stouffville in the late 1950s the grandstand and outdoor pool had been newly donated by town benefactor art latcham my dad coached peewee baseball my brother played shortstop my mom and i sat in the grand stand and cheered now almost 50years later i can sit in the same grandstand and watch the tourna ment at strawberry festival or walk downtown on a summer evening and linger in- the park to watch some ball it reminds me of the scene in the movie field of dreams where james earl jones character predicts people will come to the magical baseball field in iowa to sit in the bleachers where the memories will be so thick theyll have to brush them away from their faces i attended the public workshops on the memorial park and bethesda park master plans last winter when residents were asked to discuss what they liked about memorial park the ball diamonds and grandstand as well as outdoor pool and bowl ing green were among the favourites for long- time as well as new residents in his column mr mason said the old ball dia mond is a town landmark as such it contributes to our sense of place and provides continuity amid the swirling changes in our community the ball diamond and grandstand are part of the towns heritage and culture as surely as the clock tower and main street and many other familiar and loved places in stouffville as the man said in field of dreams the one con- starit through all the years has been baseball and in 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 editfor clarity and space write letters to the editor 34 civic ave po box 1 54 stouffville l4a7z5 email jmasonyrngcom stouffville that includes the main diamond and grand old grandstand in memorial park jillmcwhinnie stouffville main st walmart cant thrive together re downtown main st need new ideas chamberjuly 7 i am pleased thought is being given to the revi- talization of stouffvilles downtown area which has been languishing for the 18 years i have lived here i certainly hope the meeting of local business owners july 14 generates gobd ideas however it strikes me as rather ludicrous to have this meeting now just after a walmart store south of the corner of main street and hwy 48 has been approved by council it is well known wal- mart has a long and shameful history of driving local business into bancruptcy once it comes to a town so to me it seems pretty simple if you want a vital downtown dont have a walmart then we could start thinking about some of the smart ideas european cities and towns use to be attractive to local inhabitants and tourists like making the downtown core carfree and creating interesting green spaces that also serve as meeting places the town square concept there is no shortage of optionsbut it does take political will and a council that is willing to think outside the big box store sibyllefoppa stouffville editorial editor jim mason l jmaspnyrngcom administration office manager vivian oneil- voheilymgcom events management shows manager- bonnie rondeau bmndeauyrngcom production manager pammchols pnicholsyrngcom advertising classified manager ann campbell j acampbellymgcom retail manager stacey allen sallinymgcom managing director new business flyer sales dawna andrews dandrewsymgcom new business manager steve kane skaneymgc6m managing director estate mike rogerson mrogersonymgcom editorial 905640261218668461889 9056468778 advertising 9056402612 classified i8oo743335jf 9058531765 distribution 90594 ocmbs3 toncirio pica cam suktribune a york region newspaper group community newspaper the suntribune published every thursday and saturday is a member of the metroland printing publishing and s distributing ltd a whollyowned subsidiary of tbrstar corporation metroland is comprised of 70 community publications across ontario the york region newspaper group includes the liberal serving richmond hill and thomhirvaughan citizen the economist sun marmtam the erabanner newmarketaurora stouffville suntribune georgia advocate region business times north of the city yortiregioncom and york regton printing off the top with jim mason when death revisits the small town its the absolute downside of life in the small town when you wished you lived at midland and lawrence the middle of mississauga or some other equally obscure address you chose to live in a stouffville a ballantrae or a vandorf because of their community feel small town values and friendliness theyre attributes new honie builders cant upgrade into a twostorey no matter what the catchy billboards slick radio spots or glossy brochures say strangers say hello neighbours know each others business the posi tive and the seamy people still care when death comes to town as we witnessed in spades over the last week a pall is cast over the entire vil lage we saw it so dramatically in the 1990s through popular junior hock ey player dan mcneilkilled in a car accident and beloved little courtney trempe attacked and killed by a dog these public deaths shocked and shook the community to its core last week it was sandy madigan and brad schell filling the visitation rooms at the oneill funeral home and sending people out onto the side walks of church street asking why sandy was a bubbly figure skating mom of three beautiful girls and the wife of the always upbeat patty mr hockey in stouffville if there ever was one cancer took sandy but not before stouffville rallied behind the madigans with a soldout benefit at rolling hills golf club this spring brad schell from one of stouffvilles most storied families was a 21 yearold funloving con tractor who died when he fell from a hydro tower while fourwheeling with friends near oshawa if you didnt know sandy or brad you knew of her children or his par- ents or grandparents your families attended the same schools played in the same sports clubs and shopped in the same stores 1 you were upset by the news of tkeir deaths thats natural here in the extended family stouffville remains the sign fat bridoh motors carries a message speaking to brad schells legend and his memory its so stouffville and it doesnt happen that way at midland and lawrence v jim mason is editor of the sun- tribune