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The Sun-THbune welcomes your let- ters. All submissions must be less (hm 400 words and must include a daydmc telephone number. name and nddnss The Sun-mama reserves the t to publish or not pu and to edit for clar- ltyandopaoe. momma-m. mun-M mama York Region Media Group community newspapers The Sun-Tribune, pubiished everyThursday and Saturday. is a division of the Metroiand Media Group Ltd., a molly-owned subsidiary ofTorstar Corporation. Metroiand is comprised of 100 community pubiications across Ontario. The York Region Newspaper Group also includesihe Uberal, serving Richmond Hill and Thomhili, Vaughan Citizen,The Era-Banner (Newmanret/Aurora). Markham Economist Sun, Georgina Advocate, York Regan Business Times, North of the City, yorkregionoom and Yom Region Printing. Carrie MacFarlane MA I? jmuonOyrmgxom mbanvilleeymtgcom brondaauOyrmgcom Bonnie Ronde Carolyn Norman cnomnaneymng.com DISTRIBUTION lETTERS POLICY Jim Mason jmnOyIWmm Pnonucnon DISTRIBUTION 905-640-2612 Mike Banuille ADVERTISING I 9056404612 Bed: 1â€"800-743-3353 us 905-640-8778 905-640-2612 uc 905-640-8778 EDITORIAL Fuelling more private clinics will only speed up diagnosh. treatment and Ontariocontinuestosu'uglewithwait times. Asoflastmonth, almost 140,000 peopleareonwaitlistsforCI‘smmand MRlsand,asofNov. l,moretmm5,w0 We’realxeadypayingforit, onewayor another. Whether the MRI is conducted malomlhospitalsixmonmsfmmnow or in aprivate clinic around the comer nedweekOPflP’scostforflmetestisme outside the province, it’s clear ourhealth caresystemisatacrossroads Sawheledowegofi'omhere? With assistance from the federal gov- ernment, Ontario can drastically ramp upfimdingtoourfaflingsystem orthe provincecanaoceptflrefactwealready have a twoâ€"tier system and go forward bymakingitmoreefiicient. While the province has had sucâ€" cess in recent years in reducing some wait times, such as those for knee sur- gery, these small victories simply aren’t enough, given how much the province is pouring into the system. Ourfirst priority must be to stop send- ing our health dollars out of the country, investing in health facilities in the United States and other nations. These funds must be spent here, investing in technol- ogy and funding innovation to benefit all Ontarians. It’s clear our health system, as it stands, cannot efiectively cope with the demands placed upon it by our grow- ing population. It’s time to open it up to allow wider private investment, under provincial regulations, ensuring every- onegemfliecamtneyneai,whenfliey need it. Couplethiswiflifliefactdlepmvince stated in October’s economic forecast it needs to increase health spending by $700 million to cover “higher than antici- Perhaps it’s time we look more closely at the latter. Our government is spending an increasing amount of our tax dollals â€" an estimated $164.3 million this year â€" to fund diagnostics and treatment outside our hamlets. As the Metroland Media group spe- cial report that wraps up in today’s edi- tion clearly shows, Ontario's health cane system is in need ofan overhaul. ownmomyonneededcamWhilesome dososeekingtoimprovetheirqualityof life, others arrange for treatment in the UtfitedStatessimplytostayalive. Don’t be afraid of public/private care - NI N PUBLISHER Ian Prou Editorial At this point Ms Doiron’s letter was published, so, although this is an M10 matter and not even in his ward, as a courtesy, I informed my councillor, Ken Ferdinands, of my actions. He imme- diately had a conversation with Mayor Wayne Emmerson and he informs me the mayor is looking into it. How did this situation come about you ask? The subdivision developer requested and paid for the light and Oct 7, I received a response saying, “I am looking into a different form of detection for the W/ B operation which will allow a delay on the call.” I heard nothing for a couple of weeks, so I que~ ried again on Oct. 30 and received the same response. Since'then, nothing. For the next year, I endured a litany of excuses and delays, from outright denial of the light’s settings, to bud- get concerns, holidays, the control box being struck by lightening, an intermit- tent detector on Hwy. 48 etc. As the technician insisted the light was working correctly, it occurred to me it was the timing parameters that were the problem and so I requested contact information for the person having that responsibility. I received no response. On Oct. 28, 2008 (yes, more than a year ago) I contacted the Ministry of Transportation’s central region electri- cal/ATMS (automated traffic manageâ€" ment system), which is responsible for the signal lights at this intersection. l was repeatedly told it was work- ing correctly. They denied it changed within approximater five seconds of an approaching westbound vehicle. I sent a video of the light’é perfor- mance to the M10 traffic people. On Re: Golf course community hurting tmjfi‘cflow, letter to the editor by Sophie Doiron, Nov. 7. Province giving runaround over Hwy. 48 traffic lights Letters to the Editor When people start thinking of our planet as a wonderful generous place, instead of a dirt ball torture chamber, who knows what will happen. Many people around the globe would benefit from a name change that reflects this is a planet with a great heart willing to help those people who are going through terrible ordeals. Which would you raffler call home, Dirt or Heart? So why not a prettier name for our planet? After all, Earth is just another name for dirt. How would you feel if you were named dirt? I wouldn’t name a dog dirt. No wonder we treat the environ- ment so bad. We put more thought into naming personal hygiene products. Let’s face it, we call this world Earth and as long as we do, wer most likely continue to treat it like dirt. When you eiamine the name Earth and you move the last letter, H, to the from it becomes Heart. Most of the planets have beautifully exotic names: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn and Neptune. I am unaware of any other light that operates in this manner. Travellers of Hwy. 48 experience considerable frus- tration at this intersection while creating needless pollution and a safety issue. What I find frustrating is the gov- emment’s apparent disregard for our community concerns and safety. Did anyone else have input to the controls? Either way, M'IO controls this intersection and, so far, has refused to respond in a meaningful manner. intersection improvements. Name change for our planet? PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot -1i'ibune O. L. BRASSEUR WHITCHURCH-S'I‘OUFFVILLE JOHN ALDEN WHITCHURCH-STOUFFVILLE Eamon IN Cum Debora Kelly BUSINESS MANAGER Robert Lazurko But, Helene is not most. She worked the chamber job like a full-time post but never took a dime of salary. The chamber hosts its annual Christmas luncheon today. A toast to Helene Iohnson is long overdue. With big box stores on Stouffville’s horizon, the cham- ber offered a seminar on how to survive in a Walmart town. The response from retailers was under whelming and the session never happened. Helene spoke out in the local and Toronto media. More criticism of the CEO ensued. Now, she's finally tired. And retiring at the end of the month. The business community has certainly morphed, too. Hard to imagine now, but there was little retail west of Giant Tiger (the old AP back in that day) then. She criticized downtown mer- chants for their uneven hours of operation. Letters to the editor poured in to respond and defend. She's now 82, two decades past prime retirement time for most. Shot from the hip. Called it as she saw it. No holds barred. A reporter’s dream quote. She has been with the Whitchurch-Stouffville Chamber of Commerce for 22 years, includ- ing the last 11 as CEO, president and lifeblood. Helene didn’t change. She can still be tough, unyielding and opinionated. Not everyone likes it. Iim Mason is editor of The Sun Dibune. Many a chamber board of directors has come and gone since 1987. (I know. I was half- way through a five-year stint on the board when Helene, then a self-employed accountant, joined the team.) Whether or not you agreed with Helene Johnson all of the time, you had to admire her. Chamber CEO always told it like it was with ]im Mason Off The Top DIRECTOR, Ammmsmc, DISTRIBUTION Nicole Fletcher Duuacron, Grumman Barry Black