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6 stouffviue suntribune b saturday feb 10 2007 stouffville mamrn suntribune 6290 main st stouffviue 0nl4a7z5 wwwyortregioncom publisher ian proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly business manager robert lazurko director interactive media technology john futhey director advertising distribution barry black director circulation systems lynn pashko york region printing general manager bob dean letters to the editor family memento irreplaceable i didnt bother writing a letter in 2000 the year we moved to stouffville and a bale of hay from our halloween display was set on fire in the middle of the night nothing was damaged but it was a hor rible feeling to see it halfcharred the bale was taken from the porch and burned in the street next to the dumpster we had rented for our renovations at least they were thoughtful arsonists we thought i also didnt bother writing in 2002 when someone went into the front seat of my car and stole my cellphone and a cassettes the cassettes were ditched at the end of our street but the phone was never recov ered this week i noticed the sweet inuk- suk my husband made out of flagstone was missing from our front walk it was heavy and frozen to a huge tree stump base so someone must have taken the time to kick it over and over again to loosen it from the base i scoured the neighbourhood hoping like the cassettes this person would see no value in the statue and throw it to the curb no such luck for this i am compelled to write a letter this flagstone creation actual ly means something to my family what makes it sad is my threeyearold daughter made it with my husband she helped him pick the stones and we know people liked seeing it as they walked by if anyone sees it around town wed love to have it back renee wilson stouffville services more important re growing pains for stouffville feb 1 yes stouffville is growing too fast for its own good there is more to a community than houses unfortunately money talks in certain circles were frequendy updated on the details council and town staff want us to know they omit talking about the necessary services that will not be readily available for all residents for instance we already have a shortage of family doctors some resi dents are having to use walkin clinics as their doctor we havent heard much about other necessities either such as extra schools additional shopping facilities in stouffville or a variety of leisure amenities and activi ties for all age groups what about the water restrictions most of us adhere to each summer and the cur rent hydro situation if we are unable to cope with these shortages now what will happen as the huge influx appears move somewhere else joan may stouffville for shame- hes un what would you do if you were prime minister i love canada our people our geography even the weather its a good thing too as im about to experience it all up close and personal as i embark on a crosscountry adventure to talk to canadians about the envi ronment throughout february i will be making stops in more than 40 com munities from st johns to victoria this isnt a book tour or a public ity tour for a tv show this is something i have wanted to do for a long time starting a con versation with canadians about our environment our children grand children and our future i believe there is a fundamental disconnect between our elected leaders and our people polls tell us environmental issues such as global warming are the na i concern of canadians yet most of our politicians offer up little more than window dress ings to address these issues its as if many are just hoping to lay low until this environment thing blows over so they can go back to ignoring it as usual thats not right and i personally will do every thing i can to make sure that does nt happen i want to make sure canadians concerns are heard in ottawa no matter what your political stripes we all depend on a healthy environment brian mulroney was recently voted canadas greenest prime minister and he is a conservative brian mulroney was recently voted canadas greenest prime minister and he is a conservative whether or not he was really interested in the environment is debatable but the fact is he had no choice but to go green because the public demanded it david suzuki in the late 80s and early 90s environmental issues were hot even george bush sr was elect ed by saying he would be an envi ronmental president corporations and governments set up new environment depart ments and started going green recycling was all the rage in the public eye the problem looked like it was solved people were recycling governments consistently talked about the importance of the environment corporations shined themselves to a deep green luster people breathed a sigh of relief and went back to their everyday lives unfortunately that green luster was only skin deep beneath the surface little had changed as a result we essentially went on with business as usual and it wasnt until global warm ing become a concern for canadians and reported on by the media consistently and accurately that the environment got back on the agenda thats where we are now only this time if we want to actually move our country toward a cleaner healthier and more sustainable society we have to do more than just brand positioning and image makeovers we need real change we need to have strong targets and timelines for our biggest pol luters to reduce greenhouse gas emissions we need to clean up our cars our homes and our businesses we need to build sustainability into the bottom line which of our leaders is best for this task will be decided by canadians come election time until then if you want to make our country greener and more sus tainable get involved and tell our elected leaders its not good enough to just smile and nod for the cameras tell them that you expect more canadians have the power to make a real difference and change the direction in which our country is heading thats what my tour is about were calling it the if you were prime minister tour because thats how we should all be thinking what would you do different if you were in change i want to know and i hope to see you on the road take the suzuki challenge at david suzukiorg letters policy the suntribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and address the suntribuncrcscrvcs the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space letters to the editor the suntribune stouffville on l4a7z5 jmasonyrngcom editorial editor jim mason jmasonyrmgcom interactive media marketing advertising manager dawna andrews dandrcwsyrmgcom advertising retail manager stacey allen sallenyrmgcom classified manager ann campbell acampbellyrmgcom assistant classified manager bonnie rondeau brondeauyrmgcom new business development manager mikerogerson mrogersonyrmgcom production team leader sherry day sdayyrmgcom fdsa lit ffmir r fdsac canadian circulations ccab audit boad w ksssf- editorial 9056402612 fax9052941583 advertising 9056402612 classified i8oo7433353 fax 90572941538 distribution 9056402612 suntnbune a york region media group community newspaper the suntribunepublished every thursday and saturday is a division of the metroland media group ltd a whollyowned subsidiary of torstar corporation metroland is comprised of 100 community publications across ontario the york region media group includes the liberal serving richmond hill and thornhill vaughan citizen the erabanner newmarketaurora markham economist sun georgjna advocate york region business times north of the city yorkregioncom and york region printing