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ADVERTISING 905-640-2612 Clauificd: 1-800-743-3.‘ Fax: 905-640-8778 York Region Media Group community newspapers The Sun-Tribune. published every Thutsday and Saturday. is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. Memoland is comprised of 100 community publications across Ontario. The York Region Newspaper Group also includes The Liberal. sewing Richmond Hill and Thomhlll, Vaughan Citizen,The Era-Banner (Newmarket/Aurora). Markham Economist The Sunâ€"Nbune welcomes your let- ters. All submissions musi be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number. name and nddreu The Sun-Thbunc reserves the t to publish or no! publis and to edit for clar. ity and space. Sun. Georgina Advocate, York Region Business Times, North of the City. yorkregbonnom and York Region Printing. Classified Manager Bonnie Rondeau DISTRIBUTION Circulation Supervbor Carrie MacFarlane (‘InmfltrklneWIng.c'r)m mbanuilleevyrmgxam brondeaufi’yrmgrom dandrewsfi’yrmgcom Stouffvflle Manager Carolyn Norman mornmnevyrmg. mm Da wna Andrews Anvumsmc Retail Manager Mike Banville lmnon.yrm|.com jmasonermgrom DISTRIBUTION 905-640-2612 Paonucnon Manager Sherry Day Lotta: to the Edltov. The Sun-Tribune 8290 Main St StoufMlh, ON I.“ I67 LETTERS POLICY “5-640-2612 :1: 905-640-3778 MEDIA Marketing INTERACTIVE sdayfiyrmgrom Enmnw. Editor lim Mason EDITORIAL 9 /' NI'N Stouffv www PUBLISH! Fan of democracy? Cast a ballot The Opposition parties returned to the House of Commons this week to push for new rules on prorogation, in the wake of the protests of thousands of Canadians who took to the streets in cities and towns across the country Saturday to demand their MP5 get back to work. Prime Minister’s Stephen Harper’s decision last month to shutter PaIlia- ment during the Olympic Games and come back with a Throne Speech and budget in early March has continued to dog him. In York Region, a few hundred spir- ited citizens marched to Newmarket- Aurora Conservative MP Lois Brown's constituency otfice to decry the prime minister’s decision as undemocratic. The rallies were the latest avenue by which Canadians have voiced their disdain with the prime minister's move. The Facebook group Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament had 218,000 members as of yesterday. The latest EKOS poll has the Conservatives and liberals tied in popularity. while an Ipsos-Reid poll suggests the Con- servatives would receive just 34 per cent of votes if an election were held now, versus 31 per cent for the Liberals -â€" a seven-point increase from a few months ago. The Conservatives have dropped 3 per cent since then. I-n-Ontafio, the Liberals hold a l-per- cent lead, according to the poll. 7 H It’s clear many C5nadia'xis are follow- ing what happens on Parliament Hill and many oppose the“ latest preroga- tjon. Yet, if we care so much about democ- racy â€" enough for a few hundred of your neighbours to brave the January cold for a march and rally â€" why don't we demonstrate it at the polls? less than 60 per cent of eligible Canadian voters bothered to cast a bal- lot in the October 2008 federal elec- tion. Provincial and municipal votes, such as the one scheduled for the fall, attract even less attention. In Vaughan, for example, just 38 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot in the 2006 munici- pal election. We trumpet the importance of maintaining our democratic rights, but when given the opportunity to exercise them by choosing our political repre- sentatives, half of us. on average, fail to do so. In the late 19505 and early 19608, close to 80 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots in federal votes. The num- bers have steadily dropped since then. Ifyoucareâ€"reallycamâ€"about Canadian democracy. show it by tum- gfiout to cast a ballot each time you are ed upon to do so. Editorial Trip down memory lane at Stouffville singalong This letter is in thanks for the efforts of a small group of volunteers and the leadership of Al and Trudy Yetrnan who hosted a joyful afternoon at the Lebo- vic Centre for Arts and Entertainment - Nineteen on the Park Ian. 17. As part of the audience, I watched the glow on the faces of the rest of the audience. most of whom afiirmed this was their first time at the monthly singalong, as they sang full-heartedly through favourites, including It’s a Long Way to Tipparery. ihe idea is â€"simple enough: invite seniors to come together, to sing together. All the music is from the 19405 and earlier, so it celebrates the lives and memories of so many of our older citi- zens, although all ages are welcome. Their smiles and musical gusto continued for much of the two-hour singalong. We even had a strong and melodic harmonizing rising from the back seats. The event was cheap ($3 gets you in and there are flee coffee and treats) -â€" simple old-fashioned fun. In this day and age, that is not such an easy thing to find. Al and Trudy Yetman managed to bring it all together with style. The next singalong is Feb. 28. CHARLENE JONES STOUFFVILLE How about more firefighters instead of fancy new hall? a beautiful building â€" the glass bay doors. custom light fixtures, rounded I often drive by the new Stouffville fire hall and I have to admit, it is Letters to the Editor ( OH NO ----- n’s HAGGIS TIME AGAIN! PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot pre-cast window ledges, esthetically and architecturally a true accomplish- ment. However, it has left me wondering: is an exuberant building such as this really necessary? Don’t get me wrong, I support council’s decision to fund full-time fire fighters and a new fire hall is certainly needed. mumnraIdlemmn'amdwlwnm fivm WSun-Muneatwflavgionmm But given the limited budget avail- able to municipally funded programs. perhaps money could have been allo- cated more efficiently. If the goal of the fire department is to increase safety in our community, would we not be better off with a plain fire hall and hire more firefighters or buy more fire trucks? 'Beautifying the town can be a good use of tax dollars. yet a fire hall can hardly be called a public spage. Perhaps the town could have used some of the money invested in the fire hall to alleviate the financial bur- den imposed on struggling downtown businesses, which will now be required to pay more for the upkeep of Main Street. The whole situation is a good les- son in trade-offs, a lesson I hope town council and Mayor Wayne Emmerson have learned when it comes to plan- nlng a new town hall. r What do you think of these issues or others? E-mail letters to the editor to jmason@yrmg.com 6290 Main St. Stouflville, 0N. L4A 167 www.mgonmm HAVE YOUR SAY Tribune WMMEIEK sou-mars. DREW COSBURN STOUFFVILLE Eamon m Cum Debora Kelly Busmnss MANAGER Robert Lazurko Murray ‘Mick' Redshaw was old Stouffville. Walk into Schell Lumber to quickly buy a plank and you could still be there an hour later, shoot- ing the breeze with Murray, a few one-liners tossed in with your pur- chase at no extra charge. He reféréed and cbached hock- ey, built a rink for the neighbour- hood kids and lived for family. No big-box stores and four- lane highways on this guy. ‘ Murray died Ian. 17. His funer- al was held last Thursday. He wasn’t a politiciah or a big wheel. He was people, the kind others enjoyed being arpuhq. One of 13 children in a blended family, he lived all of his 77 years in or around Stouffville. His dad died when he was 10. That forces you to go to workoearly in life. and stay late, apparently. Mur- ray worked for 59 years at Schell before retiring last year. They both worked at Schell. creating a father-son comedy rou- tine of their own at times. “He just fiked 'being around people and talking to them." said Phil, one of his three sons. More than 500 people visited the family at the O'Neill Funeral Home last week, some waiting more than an hour in line. Hun- dreds more were at the service at EastRidge church. Don Miller. who was fast friends with Murra since they were seven years 01 , spoke from the heart. So did Ron Schell, the third of four generations of Schells Marray worked with and for. Muiray Wagg, another child- hood pal, was in the crowd: “Evb one just had a nickname in Stou lle back then,” he said. “He was Mick. That's how it was." And the Stouffville of today better for knowing him. Iim Mason is editor of The Sun- Tribune. We’re better for knowing you, Mick with Jim Mason Off The Top DIucmn. Ammsmc, DIITIIIUI'ION Nicole Fletcher Damon, Gymnast Barry Black