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

trucks gleaming in the sunshine on its lot are on the west Vside. Funher south, northeast of Old Kennedy and Steeles, is a service station. A billboard advertises townhomes for about $389,000. Community needs leaders, police chief The low-rise plazas housing fast food joints, a barber shop and Asian groceries , , along Kennedy act as a bufler between the street and single family homes, most with a car or two in the driveway. The epicentre of Milliken now is the Kenâ€" nedy and Denison area, near the high school and community centre. It is a scene unimagined by Norman Mil- liken, a Loyalist from New Brunswick, who settled in the area in 1807 to supply lumber to the British Navy, according to the book Markham 1 793-1900. ‘ LommME unnowusns The neighbourhood derives its name from the Milliken clan, which owned a substantial amount of property, Lorne Smith, Markham's oflicial historian, says. The heart of the village was the general store and post olfice operated by George and Sarah Prentice, Mr. Smith says. In the early 19008, the telephone arrived and was oper- ated out of that general store. Keith Daunt, who lives just east of the Highgate Drive and Birchmount area, has been a resident of the neighbourhood for about 30:years.When theyarrived in the early 19805 frdm Agincourt in Toronto, there was nothing. he says, adding neighbourhood schools were a collection of portables. “It was a lot mdre welcoming in Markham than in Scarborough," he says. 7 7 , But close proximity to Toi'onto transit and amenities made up for it, he says. “Most of the residents are stable. We feel safe here.” . But the community has not been without its difliculty. Just south of Mr. Daunt’s home, York Regional Police Det-Const. Robert Plun- kett died in the line of duty in 2007. This past February, employee Chun Kit “Daniel” Cheong, 26, of Toronto was shot once in the head while working at XSITE Cell Phones inside Pacific Mall. LOOKING FOR HELP The people who do walk into the office are often looking for employment assistance, sponsorship and immigration issues and even figuring out auto insurance, she says. If it’s really urgent, she’ll assist with resumes and cover letters. - These days, many inquiries are flowing in about subsidized housing. And, in May 2007, Long “Owen” Sha, 19, of Whitby and a Richmond Hill man were attacked and beaten by a group of men packâ€" ing two handguns and microphones at MHQ Karaoke Box at the mall. But public safety concerns are no more prevalent in Milliken than any other devel- oped neighbourhood in the region, York Regional Police Chief Armand La Barge say By working closely and establishing part- nerships with residents and cultural groups representing people in the African-Canadian. Tamil-Canadian and Chinese-Canadian comâ€" munities, among others in Milliken, police have and hope to identify community lead- ers, Chief La Barge says. Inside the Milllken Mills Community Centre, Ms PBng gives her full attention to a woman at the library. “We think tha't is a_ good way to enhance community safety,” he says. “It’s a great community because it is such a diverse community. You can have such an anemer diverse area with shared values but not shared roots." One such-community leader is Emily As peoplé " " 56!. she flawiessly switches lam? ' 7 worker. Ms Peng, Who emigrated from China about three years ago, says she experienced difliculty with some aspects of settling into a new life in Canada. Almost every day she encounters people in the community experiencing problems. “I have the passion and the sympathy," Ms Peng says. “Thevprdblem is not employment â€" it’s stresa They come in with a high education and they have no way to find the informa- tion." Approaching people as they walk through the stacks of books, Ms Peng says she asks if they are comfortable conversing in Mandaâ€" rin or Cantonese and then tells them about marriage, nutrition and employment work- shops. she DoWn the road, Nazia Chaudhry is work- ing the telephone in her oflice in a plaza on Kennedy Road just north of iDenison. _ Ms Chaudhry, walks briskly to a col- league’s desk to relay some information before stopping for a moment in the board- room _of the Centre for Information and Community Services. The building is the agency's York Region immigrant centre. ‘ v location is very close to the pockets of South Asian people," she says. “Some can just walk here." Her specialty is assisting South Asian families-and seniors with family and settle- ment issues, made all the easier by her abil- ity to converse in Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi. While seeking job leads and services in her new homeland, Ms Chaudhry encoun- tered dead-ends and some frustration. So she knows well that some of the peo- ple who come to see her, while educated and familyâ€"oriented, are experiencing a shock â€"- both cultural and religious. “It’s very hard work, but at the end of the day, if you help someone and they are suc- cessful; that’s the payback," Ms Chaudhry says. Councillor Alex (Zhiu, a Chinese-Canadi- an, represents the Markham municipal ward that encompasses Milliken. He moved to Markham in 1981. looking ahead a decade or two, Council- lor (Zhiu wants to see Old Kennedy as the focal point for mixed-use shopping and some residential development. I n m For more information}: www.heortolcountry.ca ’ “It will be our own downtown,” he says. Competing with Unionville however, would be like “fighting a giant", he says with a laugh. But a downtown would be wel- come news to Mr. Daunt, who has seen his community change for the better the past 30 "-Vfithout passion, you can’t do this work." “It has become home.” PHYSIOTHERAPY 8: WELLNESS CENTRE fusifi feel better. live well. PAT ROBINSON TRUSTEE Pat Robinson Aurora (Head omce) 15105 Yonge St. #201 (21 Church) (905) 727-2577 Richmond Hill 9555 Yonge St. #401 (a: Weldrick) (905) 508-9493 Sutton West 100 High St. (at Middle) (905) 722-3170 Email: Pal@PatRobinson.com Web: www.P21Robinson.com Trustee in Bankruptcy [N 61 Rlngwood Dr. Unit 1 Stouflvlllo, 0N MA 861 Tel. (905) 640-9100 fuslonphyslmoom Call for afiee personal discussion.- 0Help with creditor problems 0Proposal to creditors oPersonal Business Bankruptcy Toll Free for any location 1377-7272577