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York Region Media Group community Wm Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mr Commation. Metroland is comprised of 100 community publications acmss Ontano. The Yock Regon Newspaper Stoop also induces The Uberal, serving Richmond Hm and Thomhiu, Vaugtan Citizen. The EraBanner (Narmada/Mm), Mama: Economist The Sun-Tribune welcomes yum let- tm All submhdom must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number. mm and eddies: The Sun-Tribune reserves the t to publish or not puin and to edit for chr- Itymd wane. Sun.Geom Advocate,MRegion Businessfim, m 01 the City. wmgonmm and Yuk Regan Printing jmuoniymgxom ADVERTISING 905-640-2612 Clan-med: LON-7436353 Farm-6404778 Carrie MacFarIane cnmdarlamfinngmm (Sari-Trim lETTERS POLICY Mike Banm’lle mbamdlleOynngwm Bonnie ROW brondmuOyrmgcom Pnonucnon 905-640-2612 Fax: 905-640-8778 DISTRIBUTION 905-640-2612 mm EDITORIAL MEDIA Butitisagoodreasontowondet Proroguing Parliament is not an unusual tactic. Liberal prime min- ister lean Chretien prorogued four times (once for four months) in 10 years. lt’snotaverygoodreasontodislike orcritidzeMr.Harper. To be sure, many Mi’s wouldn't turn down anopportunitytobeseenin the bleachers, patriotically cheering on our athletes or mbbing elbows with them. PUBLISHER Ian Prou The most obvious reason to pro- rogue is the Winter Olympics. With Canuck news outlets stubbomly focused on Vancouver's snowboarders. ski jumpers. hockey players â€" and not- so-secretly hoping for a figure skating scandalâ€"howoouldanybignewsday in Parliament ever compete? The Parliamentary break was to end Jan. 25, but has been pushed back to March 3. Much legislation is now dead and some bills will have to be reintro- duced, wasting MPs’ time and our tax dollars. What could the Conservatives possi- bly do in 22 sitting days to significantly improve their standing? A Nov. 29 EKOS poll showed the Conservatives with a lO-per-cent lead over the liberals. In a Nanos poll three weeks later, numbers remained about the same with34 percent ofCanadians polled stating Mr. Harper was “the most trustwoth leader” versus 11 per cent favouring the Liberals' Michael Ignati- efl. As for “the most competent leader", it was Mr. Harper again, with 35 per cent, versus Mr. lgnatieff at about 13 per cent. Asforthefirst theory, ifthere’seggon the government’s face, it will eventually end up there anyhow. As for the latter, current polls actually favour the Tories. Somethinkit'sashrewdtacticbythe prime minister to delay the hearings on the Afghan detainee issues. Others sus- pect it is to push ofl'an election in times of dipping polls. It seems few are clear exactly why he's proroguing or suspending work by ourMPsfllistimeâ€"andtheConserva- fives haven't explained it to Canadians’ satisfaction. There are growing number of Facebook sites and an outpouring of aneg letters to the media to show dlsapprovaL last year. he used proroguing to avert a confidence vote that mreatened to dissolve the government elected six weeks earlier. lsPrimeMinisterSteplgenHarpâ€" eromeagainplayingl’adnamentary Editorial (km Harper defend prorogue? The towns of Aurora and Markham. in contrast, olfer telephone registration. For your information. Mr. O'Neill. you can easily register in the neighbouring towns using either your land line or mobile phone. Mr. O'Neill, the grass is definitely As added frustration, municipal ser- vices can be accessed either in person or (you guessed it) online. Registering little Johnny for swimming lessons is doubly exasperating in the rather large Town of Whitchurch-Stoufi'ville and is doubly convenient for those residing in its southeastern comer. Mr. O'Neill, if you found working 03' your neighbour's Internet signal slow, dial-up will surely test your patience even further. Try the simple tasks of e-malling an attachment or filling out an online form with dial-up. It will take several hours. As a consolation, dial-up is readily available for the modest fee of $25 per month. That’s an exorbitant rate com- pared to urban areas. next, leaVing some in a technological black hole. Access to high-speed lntemet in agricultural areas is restricted to satel- lite, however, given the rolling terrain in this greenbelt, the stability of the connection and consistency of the sig- nal strength vary from one farm to the Much to the surprise of longtime residents and newcomers alike, the availability of high-speed Internet in rural areas of the Town of Whitchurch- Stoufi’ville islike a slice of Swiss cheese. Mr. O'Neill experienced a small dose of everyday reality for aWhitchurch resi- dentAâ€" life without high-speed Internet Re: Tough to live without elec- tric links to world, column by Bernie O'Neill, Ian. 2. life not so high-speed in rural area every day Letters to the Editor lglsnmwsmmcm OPEN MUSE ON WRON~~ I’LL sum up qusszs! ,r Prior to the light being installed, it was not uncommon to have at least a five to 10~minute delay waiting for an opening, just to takea chance at a left- hand turn. I think the equivalent of 5 per cent of the population of Stoufi'ville is deserving of one controlled intersec- tion through which we can exit safely without being accused of favouritism. Thetrudmkwehavemoremanm homes here and considerably more vehfleaAlldfismdorflyomoonuofled intersection During school bus hours and during “rush” hour. it was almost suicidaltryingtomakealefttumtome souflmbomadlaneofmehighway. She asked if we residents of the golf club have preferential trealment because Councillor Phil Bannon and MayorWayne Emerson live here. Ms Doimn’s main concern with the traficlightsatHwyttsandtheBallan- trae Golfand Country Club is that they incOnvenienced her on her daily trip updwlfishway- Re: Golf course community hurting traflicflow, Ietterto theaditorbySophie Doimn, Nov. 7. ' Ballantrae light much needed Waiting fdr the let century in Whitchurch... Whitchurch residents also deal with frequent, prolonged power outages andnoaccesstonamralgas,butthese issues may best be addressed in the future. Perhaps Mr. O'Neill may again be a kindred spirit, albeit a brief one. greener in you: 500-channel universe. But access to a high-speed connection is a necessity for the selfoemployed. including farmers, high school students and now even for primary children PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot -'li'i [NBS MARCHESE WHITCHURCH-STOUFFVILLE DENNIS GUY BALLANTRAE 0 Other properties aren't vacant and they aren't breaking any laws, but they are beyond butt ugly. The town can’t fine them or close them and peer pressure from respon- sible landowners in the neigh- bourhood doesn’t work.What's a community to do? Spruce it up. Jim Mason is editor of The Sun- Tribune. â€"- Nineteen on the Park) needs another boost, how about a per- manent farm market here? Let's build on the success of Year 1 of the outdoor market. 0 Further east, the old fire hall also sits empty, albeit for weeks and not years. If downtown (see new management group and multi-million-dollar Lebovic Cen- tre for Arts and Entertainment 0 The former Canadian Tire property on Main Street is well kept. But it's also vacant and tak- ing up a large chunk of prime realty on our main drag. But, there are areas of con- cerns. Corners that need tidying up as we modernize this munici- pality: It's going to be a tough act to follow, Whitchurch-Stouffville. And not just with the develop- ment community and the con- struction unions. 0n the private side, an auto mall is slated for Hwy. 48, just north of where the ultra-green Stouffville Toyota dealership is going in. And don’t forget the new Whitchurch Highlands Public School, the fourth new school here in three years, rising above Bloomington Road and Warden Avenue. Add the Continued four-laning of Stouffville Road/ Main Street. A new fire hall and downtown arts centre in 2009, with a twin pad arena and multi-sport park on their way. Ppnon IN Cum Debora Kelly Robertlazurlw Sprucing up what we already have with [im Mason Off The Top Nicole Fletcher