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6 stouffville suntribune thursday july 19 2007 suntnhune 6290 main st stouftvilleonl4alg7 wwwyottaegioncom publisher ian proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly business manager robert lazurko director interactive media technology john futhey director advertising york region printing distribution general manager barry black bob dean director circulation systems lynn pashko editorial fields track school too valuable to lose its a win on the track and the soccer pitches for the home teams at the old stouffville district secondary school but not necessarily on the scoresheet whitchurchstouffville last week bought the ninning track tennis courts and two lit soccer fields between the school and stouffville arena the fate of the fields and school building has been a matter of extreme interest since plans for a new school were announced the high school closed last month and has been deemed surplus it is expected to be on the market with the ontario realty corporation later this year a new school will open on weldon road in september without a track the franklinconnell track is a jewel one of only two allweather facilities in york region meets and clubs travel here from afar because of its quality its also a fine example of community high school staff and students worked and raised money with local residents to build the track it couldnt be lost the fields too are crucial in a grow ing town soccer is hugely popular here as it is across canada unlike its inven tory of softball diamonds the town fell behind in construction of soccer pitches relying on schools and private property to fill the needs of a rapidly growing soc cer club the acquisition of the high school fields doesnt add to the stock fields at the new bethesda park and possibly at another property on bethesda road last week will the purchase guarantees their availability if the town didnt buy the school fields it would cost an estimated 1 million to replace the facilities plus the land hopefully council will have the same fortune with the school building and field north of it some members of council see the building as a possible site for municipal offices a theatre seniors centre emer gency services centre and police station among other uses whatever its too valuable not to be in public hands like memorial park the location is central in a rapidly expanding stouffville in hindsight the location of the poollibrary complex is also working with plenty of parking in a central loca tion resistance to switching the loca tions of both facilities came largely from announcing the move without public consultation the planing for bethesda and memorial parks tells us the town has learned its lesson christmas in july on stouffvi lies main street letters to the editor no one to blame in tragic drowning at musselmans lake re beach should have lifeguard letter to the edi tor july 14 lama resident in the area of musslemans lake and through reading the suntribune learned of the drowning july 2 the drowning was a tragic event but i whole heartedly disagree with the letter writers opinions which assigned blame i do not know anyone involved in this tragedy and i pray for the victims family and friends i am a strong swimmer with cpr training and i believe a lifeguard posted on the beach could not have prevented this drowning a boat on the beach could not have prevented this drowning the trampoline is 80 yards offshore in the time it would have taken a trained and qualified life guard to leave his observation perch and cover the 80 or so yards to the victim would not have been faster than joe dennis already in the water near the trampoline in addition a lifeguard may not have seen the victim quietly slip under the water due to the fact that he would have probably still been attending to the young nonswimming boy involved in this incident i commend the efforts of joe dennis paul macmurchy aaron morrison and mr jenkins in attempting to prevent this tragic death i respect janet davies of cedar beach parks compassion in travelling with the victims family to the hospital to assign blame just adds to this tragedy terry kerr ballantrae howard ratcliff at heart of mill re oldfashioned service still key 156 years later june 23 jackson hayes article on century mill lumber drew readers near and afar jack wilkinson and keith grose perceptively identified key elements of their operations enduring success customer appreciation good relationships with competi tors specialization and honest business practices perhaps a lack of time and space prevented these gentlemen and your reporter from further retracing the companys longevity the current owners have wisely branched out into exotic woods and custom orders they have broadened their clientele through technology and trade shows however this expansion and modernization stem from a solid base and deep roots patriarch howard ratcliff lived and breathed century mill long before it acquired its present name his knowledge and integrity together with the expertise of his brothers nurtured the seeds of success sown by their father material prosperity engendered donations of land buildings and lumber to community causes may i suggest a tradition of giving has contributed to the ratcliffs success dale martinez nice france jsji- jtlz ttm we- i aflbs 1 iff ia mljf m off the top with jim mason al will watch this ride from on high its only fitting al humphrey helped so many people raise a barn full of money for charity over the years now his friends and family are doing the same in the name of the late great ballantraearea man he was the al in als tack shop the vandorf road horse store barn and unofficial community centre more than 30 charity rides for cancer research to disabled riders have been held there allan stewart humphrey died last year he was 73 the al humphrey memorial ride goes aug 5 from of course the tack shop with his name on it the 25 kilo metre course heads through the york regional forest one of this towns natu ral gems funds raised this year will go to markham stouffville hospitals palliative care unit and princess margaret hospital foundation recipients will be named annually al was in both hospitals as he battled a variety of cancers including the last month of his life in markham stouffville those people in palliative care are just amazing said als wife norma i couldnt do their job knowing people are coming in but there is only one way they are leaving six months after als death unit staff ers still remembered norma by name she was truly touched local equestrian carin bacher is spearheading the ride gary bouw- meister is heading up sponsorship the humphrey family is all rallying around the ride theres room for 300 riders and hors es but organizers arent expecting that many at least in year 1 this is going to be a good ride norma said people will be doing some thing good and theyll have a good time and theyll tell their friends it will defi nitely be an annual ride al wouldnt have it any other way for more information on the event go to alhumphreymemorialridecom jim mason is editor of the sun- tribune 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 suntribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space letters to the editor the suntribune 6290 main st stouffville on l4a ig7 jmasonyrmgconi editorial editor jim mason jmasonyrmgcom interactive media marketing advertising manager dawna andrews dandrewsqyrmgcom advertising retail manager staceyallen sallenyrmgcom classified manager ann campbell acampbellyrmgcom assistant classified manager bonnie rondeau brondeauyrmgcom production team leader sherry day sdayyrmgcom fdsflgj rrttab editorial 9056402612 fax9056408778 advertising 9056402612 classified 18007433353 fax9056408778 distribution 9056402612 sixths m suntnbune a york region media group community newspaper the suntribune published 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 newspaper group includes the liberal serving richmond hill and thomhillvaughan citizenthe erabanner newmarketaurora markham economist sun georgjna advocate york region business times north of the city yorkregioncom and york region printing