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3009, 6 (Stiff-Wham ‘ ADVERTISING 905-640-2612 Classified: 1-m-743-3353 Pu: 905-640-8778 The Sunâ€"Mbune welcomes your let~ tem All submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number, name and address The Sun-Tribune reserveg the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clan ity and space. Lemma the Editor. mam-mm. 6290M8t. £19m The Sun-Tribune, ' published every‘lhursday ‘ and Saturday, ‘ is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a molly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. Metroland is comprised of 100 community publications across Ontario. The York Region Newspaper Group also includeslhe Liberal, j sewing Richmond Hill and lhomhill, Vaugian Citizen.1he Era-Banner (Newmarket/Aurora), Markham Economist Sun, Georgina Advocate,York Region Business Times, Notth of the City, yorkregionmm and York Region Printing. cmaqfarlaneOyrmg. mm Carrie Macl‘arlane LM I67 jmasoncyrmgxom Mike Banville mbanullleéyrmgcom dandme York Region Media Group community Bonnie Ronde 17qung com Carolyn Norman cnorman@ynng.oom Dawna Andrews DISTRIBUTION lETTERS POLICY 905-640-2612 Fax: 905-640-8778 Jim Mason jmaanynngaom Pnonucnou DISTRIBUTION 905-640-2612 Enrrom EDII‘QRIAL Thke it upon yourself to give what you can. That way it’s your choice. It’s a vicious cycle. As more people find themselves out of work, there is more use of food banks, which can’t keep up because there are fewer people who can afford to make donations. What’s the answer? There are calls for producer and processor tax credits to encourage grower donations, but the simple fix is your support. We need to take care of each other. This isn’t about an extra shopping trip to help fill the food bank shelves, it’s about picking up a couple of extra items on your regular shopping excurâ€" sion or going through your cupboards and giving away some of the extras you’ve collected. Start now to ensure pébple 'who need help don't have to wait for Santa’s arrival to get it. InfacL93peroentofOntario'sfood banksreportedanincreasemmenumâ€" ber of clients who have recently lost a job. Christmas is often called the season of giving. but don’t wait until the snow hitsAthe ground before doing your part. Ontario has lost 227,700 full-time jobs since August 2008, the report states. In York Region alone, food bank usage is up a whopping 35 per cent this year. In Ontario, it's up 20 per cent. “We’ve seen it in Whitchurch- Stoufi’ville, when: record usage by cli- ents led to a record community food drive last month. With just a little mone than two months before Christmas and 'the next regular food drive, it’s easy to be com- placent and forget about those in need. It’s not just a seasonal problem, though. More than 350,000 people turn to food banks every month in Ontario and one in three food banks reported its ability to meet the needs of its clients has decreased this year. Food banks have already been forced to reduce hamper sizes to fur- ther stretch the supply of food. The annual Thanksgiving drive to ensure no one went hungry over the holiday is over, but the need remains. SumitwasgoodtoseelastFriday’s surprising Statistics Canada report that showed a net gain of31,000 jobs in the country last month. But that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to the job losses ofthe past year. Just look at food bank usage if you're not convinced. Despite signs indicating the econo- my is starting to recover, now is not the time to forget about our most at-risk residents. let the giving continue Editorial However, it kept the kids off the streets, wrecking public property and from getting into tmuble. The old Stouflville skatepark was not a money-maIdng asset to the Stouffville community. Stouffville youths deserve better skate park It costs $2.50 to travel from Stouffville to Markham and another $2.50 to retum. More to arena community than just Clippers, council It seems a bit exclusive to name the arena after one group of hockey play- ers when there are so many teams that represent Stouffville so well. The mayor may not have ever been a Stoufiville Star or figure skater, but if he had, he may have considered them in this process as well. I think there was some excellent ideas put forth, but, in the end, the orig- inal name put forward by the mayor waschosen. Yes, 19 nap and select teams carry the Clipper name, but what about everyone else who uses our arenas? The Stouflville Stars girls rep teams. the Spirit Jr. A team. the Spartan high school teams, all the house league Spit~ fire teams and all the hard-working figure skaters. I'm sure they would love the arena named after their teams. What exactly was the point of asking the community to help pick a name for the new arena? Re: Clippers’ name on new arena. Oct. 8. I N WWQOL“ Wlien 1M3 14, I was at the skate Letters to the Editor HEATHER RISI STOUFFVILLE ’POOR OL‘ DID YOU SEE HIS FACE WHEN THE FARMER W CAME FOR HIM ’? Really, Stouffville, all I’m asking is for you to make a little effort into making a good place for your youth to practise biking. rollerblading and skateboarding. We have two arenas and not even one good skate park? Not all sports require an audience. Stouffville doesn’t offer much for youth and by giving them a pretty ter- rible skate park. you’re still not keeping them out of trouble. I met some really good friends at the old Stouffville skate park. Truthfully, there's_ not much for any- one between the ages of 10 and 15 to do here now. When I was going to the skate park every day, I would eat out that night, whether it would be at 2-4-1 or at The Pickle Pickle. Even $5 dimers add up. But to the kids who don‘t héve a drive or the money to take the bus to Markham, it would mean a lot. If the traffic the Markham skate park gets came to Stouffville, it would be a pretty penny for local business. The town could capitalize by opening a snack bar in the skate park. It’s also a pig pen. Like every 13- year-old’s room, it’s covered with gar~ bage. Some people draw terrible graffiti on the ramps, making them slippery. Sure, it may not be profitable for the town, and we’re not in a great time financially, but it’s a way to entertain the youth of Stouffville and give some of the businesses in town some money. park every single day from when it opened until I broke for dinner. And I was there to close up the place. Now with the public skate park. also in Memorial Park. it has no closing time and it’s free. Opening a skate in Sfohfivflle will not mean much to many people. PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot JUSTIN LAWRENCE STOUFFVILLE Barron m CHIEF DebOra Kelly As a periodic volunteer for the Whitchurch-Stouffville Minor Hock- ey Association, the parent organiâ€" zation of the Clippers. I declare a conflict in saying I don't mind the name. Clippers ties in the past (1952 Ontario Sr. B champs). the present (town-record three Ontario titles in 2009) and an internationally known brand (remember those MasterCard commercials?), as Richard Bartley said in making the motion. Robert Lazurko I'm tired of only paying tribute to people at funerals. Council seemed to want to duck controversy like it was an elbow to the jaw, but may have some of it on its face anyway. York school trustees had no trouble naming schools after liv- ing political legends Harry Bowes. Bill Crothers and Don Cousens. Still, council missed its shot at honouring a resident in the name. As I wrote this summer, I think Keith Acton’s road from Stouffville to the NHL and back is more than worthy. Other residents respond- ed big time. Most agreed with me, but others argued passionately for their choices. Fair enough. lim Mason is editor of The Sun Dibune. But the naming of the com- munity centre going up on Wel- don Road has nothing to do with hockey, as Mayor Wayne Emmer- son told us this summer. Coun- cillor Clyde Smith reminded all three taxpayers in the audience at last week’s council meeting. A pool, gym and more could be attachéd to the two arenas. Still, council voted unanimous- ly to name it the Stouffville Clip- pers Sports Complex. For those of you keeping score at home, Phil Bannon was on the injured/sick list and Mr. Emmerson only votes in tie games, er resolutions. If there was a hockey game, Whitchurch-Stouffville council missed a tip-in. An empty-netter. Busmzss Council missed shot at naming new centre with Jim Mason Off The Top Dmncmn, ADVERTISING, DISTRIBUTION Nicole Fletcher Dumcmn, OPERATIONS Barry Black