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6 stoufiville simtribune thursday march 30 2006 i stouffvtte mmm suntribune a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave 3rd floor stouffville on l4a 7z5 publisher ian proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly business manager robert lazurko director advertising distribution barry black director interactive media technology john futhey director circulation systems lynn pashko marketingpartnerships director debra welter york region printing general manager bob dean editorial growth doesnt guarantee windfall whats wrong with this picture york region farmers drove their trac tors around queens park last week in an unsuccessful attempt to get more money from the provincial budget farmers cant make a go of it any longer they say low prices for crops and subsidies paid to their colleagues in the united states have them crying foul even though the industry has a 95- billion impact on canada the farms in serious trouble while many farmers pre dict the industrys problems will eventual ly threaten the availability and quality of our food governments dont seem to be listening this springs planting is the second grains and seeds crop that will be planted with no support programs in place farmers want the province to imple ment a risk management program that would see farmers pay a premium based on a set market price should the market fall below that price the former would be paid the difference one of the few crops that does rum a profit is housing farmers lucky enough to not be on the oak ridges moraine or greenbelt can sell their land and retire on the profits that wont put food on our tables and it wont be good for the environment replacing oxygenproducing greenery with houses fumespewing vehicles and garbageproducing people but farmers cant pay their bills it could mean the death of the family farm in 1991 there were 1210 farms in york region in 2001 the figure dropped to 1020 not so fast says premier dalton mcguinty the provincial places to grow act targets markham vaughan richmond hill and newmarket as areas where growth will be intensified during the next 25 years the growth business might make money for fleeing farmers land specula tors and home builders but it doesnt always mean a windfall for municipalities taxpayers put up with what seems like endless construction a sea of new homes and other buildings and well pay more at the end of the year either in service cuts or tax hikes growth does not guarantee monetary success for municipalities or taxpayers nor for all farmers those who cant or dont want to sell their land need help as large as the industry remains in york its tiny compared to its scope on the prairies and other areas of the country some farmers at last weeks protest said while canadian farmers may see 10 to 16 per acre in government aid some american farmers get 80 and 130 we need a nationwide program letters to the editor heat from park sewage plant could grow plants draw tourists im concerned with the planned removal of york regions sewage plant in stouffville memorial park to replace this structure could cost upwards of 30 million before throwing out this costly item it might be wise to consider alternate productive uses for it each year millions of dollars worth of energy are directed to the sewage plant in the form of hot water this energy is fully recoverable by proven timetested and easily maintained technology that recovered heat could be used to heat homes and industry or productive greenhouse food producing industries the sewage water with its thermal energy extracted for commercial use could be used to solve another pressing problem the cooled water from the sewage plant treated to at least the specifications of the toronto water supply could be pumped the short distance to musselmans lake and an equal amount of polluted water containing recoverable solar heat returned to the sewage treatment plant within six months the lake would be fully recovered and have a temperature range suitable forlake trout a small lake could be built in memorial park as a tourist attraction and the sewage plant itself might have touristattracting greenhouses com plete with exotic plants oliver lbrasseur whitchurchstouffville 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 or fax 9055137525 growing town could use two parks re ancestors donated land facilities for memorial park letter to the editor march 23 as a newcomer to town i have no memories or deep feelings attached to memorial park however i do feel strongly that this area of town needs to be preserved the elements of the park including latcham hall the outdoor swimming pool lawn bowling club ball diamonds and picnic shelter are quaint and lend charm to this section of town while the facilities might seem small and old fash ioned to some it is clearly a popular spot with many people both young and old it is not clear to me why the development of a recreational area on bethesda road translates into the dismantling of memorial park im certain there are enough residents particularly given our hous ing boom to ensure both parks will be used any changes to the park landscape would change the entire ambience of this neigh- bourhhood and the impact would surely be nega tive council should demonstrate leadership and preserve town heritage by allowing memorial park to remain so it can continue to be enjoyed toni wayne stouffville editorial editor jim mason jmasonymgcom assistant editor rick vanderlinde rvanderlindeymgcom interactive media marketing advertising manager dawna andrews dandiswsymgcom advertising classified manager ann campbell acampbellymgcom assistant classified manager bonnie rondeau brondeauymgcom retail manager staceyallen sallenymgcom new business development manager mikerogerson mrogersonymgcom production team leader sherry day sdayymgcom editorial 9055131717 f9055i37525 advertising 9655131717 classified l8oo7433353f 9058531765 j distribution 9055131717 canadian ontario ctajattarsqseld pre aiiaboanjmanbef council thle suntribune r i a york region newspaper group community newspaper the suntribune published every thursday and saturday is a rriember 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 liberalserving richmond hill and thomhlll vaughan citizen the economist sun markham the erabanner newmarketaurora georgina advocate york region business times north of the city yorkregioncom and york region printing off the top with jim mason cracking wise of the small town on big city radio john derringer refers to his home town of richmond hill as the land that time forgot on his website wait until the q107 morning show host moves to stouffville next month not that theres anything wrong with us but richmond hill has a mall movie theatres highrises and an extremely mul ticultural citizenry stouffville has none of the above as a friend from markham used to say when giving directions to stouffville go north on hwy 48 and go back 40 years what we still have is smalltown charm and friendliness people say hello to strangers more than 500 people cheered on a team of 10- yearolds in the provincial hockey finals sunday night its not quite cheers but many people know everybodys name that doesnt happen any longer in scarborough streetsville or richmond hill and it wont last forever here either given the fields of twostoreys on our horizon but derringer no mr required and his young family can enjoy the ambience while it remains the seventime canadian radio per sonality of the year is already into it he mentioned the stouffville spirits north conference championship last week then got into a back and forth on the value of having former mayor wayne emmerson working at schell lumber while picking up some shingles you can always give the mayor a piece of your mind figures derringer this is not new ground picking on our community as if it was the canadian version of podunk the mythical jerkwa ter town in the united states the late tom rivers nearly made a career out of stouffville jokes on cftr in the 1980s before it went all news same with jesse dylan ex of cftr and whats now am640 in the 90s he lived in a stunning home on vandorf road sent his children to local schools and cracked wise about the state of local politics here in the backwoods now its derringers turn hes been a regular on the charity golf circuit up this way for years he spoke at the spirifs golf event about seven years ago but i wonder if hes been to lemonville pleasantyille or ringwood does he know weve still got one of the largest flea markets in the land has he counted the number of traffic lights on main street if podunk has one we have 10 derringer welcome to the show jim mason is editor of the sun- tribune