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E {mi-Tribune ADVERTISING 905-640-261 2 Classified: 1-800-743-3353 Fax: 905-640-8778 is comprised of 100 community publications across Ontario. The York Region Newspaper Group also includes The Liberal, sewing Richmond Hill and Thomhill. Vaughan Citizen,The Eraâ€"Banner (Newmarket/ Aurora). Markham Economist York Region Media Group community newspapers The Sun-Tribune, published every Tthday and Saturday. is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. Metroland The Sun-Tribune welcomes your Im- ters. All submissions must be less than 400 words and must includi- a daytime telephone number. name and address The Sun-Tribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clar» ity and space. Letters to the Editor. The Sun-Tflbune 8290 Main St. StouMlo, 0N HA IG7 Sun. Georgina Advocate,York Region Business Tunes, North of the City. yorkregion.com and York Region Printing. Classified Manager Bonnie Bandeau cmcfarlam®yrmg.com Stouflville Dlsmnumou Circulation Supervisor Carrie MaéFarlane Pu Ammsmc Retail Manager Mike Banville mbanuille@yrmg.com brondaauOyrmgcom dandmws@yrmg.com Carolyn Norman cnomum@yrmg.com Enrmnm Editor Iim Mason jmasonermg.com Manager- Dawna Andrews jmason.yrmg.com DISTRIBUTION 905-640-2612 Pnonucnon Manager Sherry Day sday@yrmg. com LETTERS POLICY 905-640-2612 a: 905-640-8778 [mauve .7._ MEDIA Marketing 8: Advertising EDITORIAL Don’t exaggerate divide at Musselman’s Lake Re: Musselman’s - A Lake Divid- ed, Aug. 6. I tlfinkyou missed the boat, so to speak, in your article. Newerhasthiscommunitybeen more united. You mentioned the Friends group has 10 members, but failed to mention the Mussel- man’s Lake Residents Association has more than 300 members. Also left out of your article was the fact the MLRA has the back- ing and participation from every street organization at the lake and the Friends has none. The issue here isn’t environ- mental â€" it's transparency and accountability. The Friends have collected tens of thousands of dollarsin govem- ment and private grants towards their projects. The residents of the lake have had no public input into these projects and there has been no public accounting for these funds, we feel. This is plain and simply not right. n the same way I often find myself almost taking up serious running whenever the Olympics are on TV â€" or maybe I'll take up race walk- ing in my quest for gold (I love the way they pump their arms and trot along, defying the judges to say they don't have both feet on the ground at all times) â€" I find myself fantasizing these days about what it would be like to run for Parliament, what with another election in the air thanks'to Michael lgnatieff, that smart guy from Harvard who’s returned to his homeland to save us from our own stupidity. Such as what I would say in my acceptance speech at the big gala cele- bration at the Pickle Pickle, the confetti and streamers raining down. Something like “Hi, mom!" or “Can I write this off on my taxes?” or “Would you like to see my $10-million happy dance?" Although the truth is, being a bit of a slow-talker, like lgnatiefi, (except that the thoughts I am trying to spit out aren’t as deep, just poorly thought out) with a bit of the foot-in-mouth syndrome like the one that used to hit Mel Lastman every threedaysorsoâ€"didlmentionlam occasionally clumsy, like Gerald Ford, the former president and one-time col- lege football star who fell down the stairs when he was getting off an airplane? â€"- I'm sure the media would fast on me like Crows on a dead skunk. This group pretends to be all It would all get rolling after my cam- LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Election talk gets some minds racing about the environment but when we had our biggest ever environ- mental disaster â€"â€" the massive crappie fish die-ofi â€" the Friends were nowhere to be found. Many of the residents suspect it was because there was no money to be made for the clean-up. In closing. every community is going to have residents that don’t work and play well with others. We have only 10 out of 2,000 resi- dents. Please, let’s not exaggerate their importance to the commu- nit!!- 'Musselman’s Lake is a great place and most of us feel very lucky to live here. b What name would you put on the newWeldon Road rinks? E-mail your suggestions to jmason@yrmg.com We’ll publish your suggestions next week WHAT NAME WOULD YOU PUT ON ARENA? paign headquarters alerted the press and I went down with my $200 and 500 signatures on my nomination papers, (or whatever it is you have to do to become a candidate -â€" win at a game of X5 and Os against the returning offi- cer, pass a breathalyzer test, get at least five correct answers while watching an episode of Jeopardy! The Teen Edition) â€"â€" only to find out it was not me that needed to sign the nomination papers 500 times, but rather 500 different peoâ€" ple. Who knew? CANDIDATE T] BEHIND HIMSELF Embarrassed, I promptly drop out of the race, only to have a clerical enor result in the names of only those who have dropped out of the race, put on the ballot. ‘I'll sign anything: confitsed Parliaâ€" mentary hopefid says, fearing he needs RICK WIGMORE MUSSELMAN’S LAKE Bernie O’Neill TH ROWS SUPPO R'I 'SiTW-Ti'ibune PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot Talk about bad luck. I’m elected in a landslide, beating out the spoiled ballots (which included scribbled comments such as, “None of the above," “Who allowed this guy to run!?" and “Has some computer virus left the names of the real candidates ofi the list?") by a 2â€"toâ€"1 margin. While the results are being chal- lenged in court. I have work to do. Ribbon cuttings are always impor- tant. You need to look good in a hard hat and also be able to wield a pair of scissors without falling backward into the basement that the backhoe has dug, just when the cameras flash. NEW MP PLUNGES TO HIS DEA'I‘H AT CONSTRUCHON SITE Developers undeterred: say they'll name new auto mall in his memory' Or I'd be chauffeer around in my limousine and see some poor citizen standing at a bus stop in the pour» ing rain (a Stouffvillian taking the bus? That's unheard of‘.) and roll down my window to offer a ride, only to be mis- taken for some kind of stalker. Later on I'm standing beside the police chief at a press conference as the two of us promise to capture the Limousine Loonie (or LIMO LETCH in the Toronto Sun), as the papers call me (him... I mean, the suspect), and go on about what the world is coming to, etc., the way a Conservative candidate might to get the law and order vote. Days later I decide to get rid of the 6290 Main St. Stouflville, GM. LM 1G7 wwwwm'sgimmm limo, and instead travel by bicycle. a bold move hailed by environmental- ists and the NDP. (They were going to shorten their name to the Democratic Party, but they should have Changed it to just the Party, a name young voters could get excited about.) My popularity shoots up, and I decide to continue trav- elling by bike from December through March, to avoid the environmentalists' wrath and save on car insurance. MOUNTAIN-BIKING MP FOUND FROZEN S'I‘IFF IN SNOWBANK Environmentalists want petrified politician packed in ice rill spring, then composted' Meaning to cancel the road through Memorial Park, I accidentally Sign a federal order cancelling the new hock- ey rink, which is torn down overnight. MP SENT PACKING the headlines read, as incensed residents descend on my constituency office and bum the place to the ground. Sensing a need for improved PR, I pledge to bring tranquility to Musselâ€" man's lake. I head out by canoe from Cedar Beach, waving in my remaining supporters, both of them, never to be heard from again. Citizens speculate as to whether I've ended up in the drink. or simply ditched the canoe and fled to Western Canada, where I resume my training as a potential Olympic athlete. Stoujfm'lle Incident Bernie O'Neill L: a York Region Media Group editor Emma IN Cum! Debora Kelly BUSINESS MANAGER Robert lazurko DIRBCIUR, ADVERTISING, DISTRIBUTION Nicole Fletcher Duwcmu, OPERATIONS Barry Black