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The Sun-Tfib'une welcomes your let- ters. All submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number. name and address The Sun-ltibunc reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clar- ity and space. Letters to the Editor, "to Sun-Idbune 8290 Main St StoufMIle, ON I.“ IS? York Region Media Group community newspapers The Sun-Tribune, published every Thursday and Saturday, is a division of the Metroland Media Gmup Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. Metroland is comprised of 100 community publications across Ontario. The York Region Newspapet Gloup also includes The Ubetal. serving Richmond Hill and Thomhill, Vaughan Citizen.The Era-Banner (Newmatket/Aurola), Markham Economist Sun, Georgina Advocate,York Region Business fimes, North of the City, yorkregionmm and Yom Region Printing. @fi-Tribune Carrie MacFarlane anadarlaneeyrmgmm Dianne Mahoney dmahoneyOyrmg.oom jmasoniyrmgxom bmndeauOyrmgcom Bonnie Rondeah cnorman @ynng.oom ADVERTISING 905-640-2612 Iificd: 1-800-743-3353 Fax; 905-640-8778 Carolyn Norman Disnummon lETTERS POLICY PRODUCTION DISTRIBUTION 905-640-2612 3. Advertising 905â€"640â€"261 2 L1: 905-640-8778 Ennom EDITORIAL The province has tabled legislation to merge GO Transit with Metrolinx, the agency mandated to improve the integration of transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas. York has a large stake in this, with the extension of the subway into the region, as well as enhanced GO By eliminating the politicians, the province is doing away with the MM- BYism and turf battles that naturally result from creating a group of people from across a diverse region to work on consolidation. As much as it is anticipated to speed things up, removing politicians from the mix creates a void. In doing so, it means municipal representatives on the ll-member board, including regional chairperson Bill Fisch, will get the boot and be replaced by provincial appointees. It's a good move, with one caveat. The intent, according to Transpor- tation Minister Tim Bradley, is to get planned transit projects up and runâ€" ning faster â€" to get things rolling, literally. Appointed in 2007, one of the proj- ects with which the board was tasked was the implementation of a smart card system, allowing riders to seam- lessly move from one regional system to another. It's important, however, public involvement remain a key part of the decision-making process. The series of public open houses Metrolinx hosted last year, for exam- ple, help achieve this and should con- tinue. train service on several local routes, planned. 9 Two-thirds of the way through their three-year appointment, board memâ€" bers have yet to make this happen. After the merger, a new lS-member board will include experts in planning, finance and development. No elected politicians are expected to remain on the board. ' They want service on time. They don't want service breakdowns and cancelled trains. Here’s hoping the new amalgam- ated agency will be able to deliver this in a timely fashion. But let’s face it, the average transit rider in Whitchurch-Stouffville isn't all that concerned about the process. They want a system that gets them where they need to go, at a reasonable rate. They want to get what they pay for at the ticket booth. Those bus and train riders want results. Change needed to get transit moving Editorial Some nerve to complain about police blitz, Mason Re: Police presence meant unwel- come presents for same, column by Jim Mason March 19. I am glad to see the police are doing a great job on the streets of Stouffville. I am sure that police blitz you saw in our town on that Saturday morning was in response to a complaint. Drivers in the town are out of hand. They speed, fail to stop for stop signs, don't stop or yield to the school crossing guards and think they own the road. The bad drivers are quite evident. The bad drivers were the ones stopped and ticketed on Hoover Park Drive. Motor vehicle accidents cause more hardship to more people in our counâ€" try than any crime, disease or medical problem. Motor vehicles are controlled by good drivers and bad drivers. Hoover Park is a 40 km/ h zone any day of the week. There is a large play- ground with children playing and peo- ple walking on the sidewalk. Hoover Park is an access street next to residen- tial. Hoover Park has been a major topic discussed by residents at town council. I can't understand that people like yourself and Mr. Grant in his previous letter have the nerve to complain that the police are doing their job. You are on a day oil with your family while the officers have left their families at home. They are out on the streets protecting you and Mr. Grant. Our community loves to see the police doing the job they get paid to do. If you check, there were no major crimes in Stouffville during the police blitz and hours after they left. lob well done. Thank you, officers. I N 6mm mm:me Letters to the Editor KEN WILSON STUIIFFVILLE Town’s money well spent on hard-working councillor PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot Re: Council saving money by not sending out newsletters, March 12. Reporter Sandra Bolan wrote in her story Councillor Richard “Bartley led the way for councillors by shaking $2,540 worth of hands". I've known Mr. Bartley for many years and I know he is a very hard- working individual who spends long hours working on our behalf. I feel that money goes beyond the handshakes. This money was spent on “attending functions on behalf of the municipality". The key to this statement is “on behalf of the municipality". Any questions or concerns that I've had have always been dealt with quickly. I believe the money paid to Councilâ€" lor Bartley is well spent. versus someâ€" one who only spent, say, $830. You can read letters to the editor. columns and stories on our website: yorkregion.com b What do you think of these issues or others? E-mail letters to the editor to jmason@yrmg.com - - ’NOT SURE WHAT AN “ANIMAL PALOOZA" is, BUT I ALWAYS WANTED A TOUF or BUCK\NGHAM wwoa HAVE YOUR SAY DAVID BROWN 8"]? )1 IHW’IH 1‘ Enmn [N CHIEF Debora Kelly BUSINESS MANAGER Robert Lazurko ‘My boy's gonna play in the big league, my boy's gonna turn some heads...’ â€" Tom Cochrane, Big League I shudder to think of the con- sequences every time we print a story on Keith Acton, Brad May or the next Stouffville kid headed for the NHL. ‘ It could very well be Ethan Werek, featured in today's Sun- Tribune. He's off to the world under-18 championships this week and could be a first-round pick in June's NHL draft. Problem comes with the expecâ€" tations created in some circles of our hockey community. For the record, your kid has about as much chance of a bigâ€" time paid hockey gig as you have of cashing in on 6/49 Saturday. It was terrific to see Stnuffville Clipper teams skate off with three Ontario Minor Hockey Associa- tion A-level championships last m0nth.'l‘he players made lifeâ€"lung memories and friends. The com- munity will celebrate and I don't want to rain on their parade. Barr ners will he hung in our rinks. A study of the 30,000 boys born in 1975 who played minor hockey in Ontario revealed their odds of making the NHL were 0.036 per cent. And that was the best year ever for this province. In other words. you've got to be exceptionally good and extremer fortunate to make it. But, let's not get ahead of our» selves. Kids from these teams are unlikely to play even lr. A let alone college or pro hockey. ,And that's fine, hockey heads. Coaches should he. and in many cases are. producing good Citizens who value team. family. school and community. The NHL will always ho thvrv for the next Keith Acton. Iim Mason is editor nf’l‘hv Sun 'I‘ribmm Headed for the big league, son? Don’t bank on it with Jim Mason Off The Top DIRECTOR, ADVERTISING, DISTRIBUTION Nicole Fletcher Duuscma, OPERATION 5 Barry Black