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\O Q a 11 ‘3 Wm 905-640-2612 Fax: 905-640-8778 EDITORIAL ADVERTISING 905-640-2612 ('lmlficd: 1'800- 743-3353 Far . is composed of 100 community publications across Ontario. The York Region Newspaper Gmup also includes The Uberal. sewing Richmond Hill and Thomhill. Vaughan Citizen,‘lhe Era-Bannev (Newmarket/Aurota). Matkham Economist York Region Madia Group community newspapers The Sun-Tribune. published every Thursday and Saturday. is a division of the MetmIand Media Group Ltd, a molly-mned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. Metroiand The Sun-Tribune welcomes your let - ten. All submlsslons must be less than 400 words and must Include a daytime telephone number. name and address The Sunâ€"Tribune reserves the rl t to publish or not publis and to edit for clat- lty and space. Classified Manager Bonnie Rondeau Sun. Gemgina Advocate. Yom Region Business Times. Noun of the City. yorkregioncom and York Region Printing. DISTRIBUTION Circulation Slle Carrie MacFarlane cmacfarlanefl’yrmgrom n1barwileg.cwn bromleauG’yr-mgcom dandmu:@yrmg.com Stouflvflle Manger Carolyn Norman mormanévyrmgrom Mi Ice Banuille jmasonOyrmg.com Mama" Dawna Andrews IMIIONOWMIJOM DISTRIBUTION 905-640-2612 Pnonucnou ADVERTISING 905-640-2612 Red: 1-800-743-3353 u: 905-640-8778 Lettm to the Edit“ The Sun-Tribune 6290 Main St. StoufMlh. 0" Lu I67 lETTERS POLICY MEDIA anerd-mg Enmm lim Mason It’s a great time to be a homeowner, especially here in York_ Region. _ The housing market continued to soar last month with 77 per cent more homes selling across the GTA compared to February 2009 and bidding wars are leading to homes selling for more than their list prices. The least expensive average home price in urban York Region last month was $375,932 while the 19 detached homes sold in Markham-Thoth] in February went for an average of $719,684 or 103 per cent of the asking price. Nationwide, we are experiencing a housing boom, according to a Scou'a- bank real estate study. Canadian housing prices in the fourth quarter of 2009 were up 19 per cent year over year and that has contin- ued into 2010, spurred on by a fear of rising mortgage rates. But as you glance with glee at your latest assessment from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, con- sider the other side to this golden coin. More than 54,000 of your neigh- bours turned to York Region food banks last year, a new report from York Region Food Network states. It dispels many of the myths sur- rounding 'poverty and its conclusions clearly point to the high cost of housing and the lack of affordable options as reasons for the rise at food banks. These aren’t people living on the street. Many have jobs and pay rent. utilities and transportation costs, yet simply don't have enough left for food. Mény own homes: just like you, though one-third said they were behind in their mortgage or owed back reer _ More than '70 per cent are high school graduates and many have col- lege or university ert, they struggleâ€"to put food on the table. Food bank visits have increased by 28 per cent since 2008. And, as housing prices rise, the gap between the haves and have-nots widâ€" ens ‘ The average monthly rent for a two- bedroom apartment in central and northem York is $974. In reality, people usually choose to pay their rent and other fixed expenses first, the food network report states. Food becomes a discretionary expense. resulting in a diet of poor nutritional value. 'As a region, we must do more to pro- vide more afiordable housing options to those who need them. Does this sound like an affluent region to you?- Other side of coin not 50 golden Editorial Paralympic athletes deserve more TV coverage Having watched nearly all of the CIV coverage of the 2010 Olympic Games, I was looking forward to the Paralympics. I watched the opening ceremonies and was amazed at the number of participants, many of whom were in wheelchairs. The sledge hockey was amazing. And Canada won three silver medals on the first day. . r no Eoverage for the week ahead on CW 1 called CW and was told to turn to TSN for coverage of the Games: __ That’s all wellvand good for folks with cable, I told them v we live in a rural area without cable. C'I‘V showed a few minutes of the Games every night at 11 p.mA.._ I think the Paralympic athletes are very brave and amazing young peOple who deserve as much coverage from CW, or maybe more, than the able- bodied athletes received. I'd like to see an Olympian go downhill on one ski or play a game of sledge hockey in the Paralympics. MARIAN DISSETTE WHITCH URCHâ€"STO UFFVILLE Hwy. 404 harmful to environment Looking though the Toronto Star's TV guide, I noticed there _was_ little or I believe Georgina Mayor Rob Grossi has pushed for the Hwy. 404 extension from the time it first appealed to him as the answer to the charge that development was going on ahead of the road capacity to 0 N “Too bad," was the response from Letters to the Editor PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot absorb the mushrooming of housing in Keswick. We were becoming a “bedroom community" of commuters. Who to blame? Why not put the onus on the prov- ince to extend the 404? The province had initially decid- ed, for various reasons but large- ly from an environmental point of View, against extending the 400 series highways. "These highways necessitate inva- sive and harmful changes to the envi- ronment. York Region was happy enough to turn to the province to fund the extension of the provincial high- way, instead of having to widen the regional Woodbine Avenue to accom- modate new commuters and so we passed the buck to the province. Now, we are widening Woodbine. Had that been the solution at the first, commuters would have had more lanes on which to travel south. and much of the environmental damage that is anticipated would have been avoided. ' All in the name of growth and development, no matter what the cost to the natural environment and our supposed green superiority over other York Region municipalities. b What do you think of these issues or others? E-mail letters to the editor to jmason@yrmg.com HAVE YOUR SAY :Ii'ibune CAROL MCDERMOTT SUTTON WEST Burma m Cnuul Debora Kelly Busuunss MANAGER Robert lazurko On the road again. And I can't wait to get off the road again: Luckily, I’ve got about a three- minute commute from home to office. I don’t know how you peo- ple who drive from Whitchuch- Stouffville to Mississauga every day cope. Or stay alive. 'On- Stouffvflle Road dur- ing a rush hour last week, an SUV steamed up behind me as I headed for Warden Avenue. I slowed down, the behemoth sped up, growing larger in my rear- view mirror by the nanosecond. l escaped to the shoulder. The problem is nothing new to you road warriors out there, in spite of legislation: A cellphone glued to the ear of the SUV's driv- er whose eyes were every where but on the road. York Regional Police cruisers are all but permanent fixtures on the Tenth Line near the Stouffville Country Market, their radar or laser guns shooting down south- bound Speeders. The speed limit, formerly 80 km/ h north to Bloomington Road. now ranges from 50 to 70. And there are none of the usual zones warning of speed drops. Still driving with me? We’re in downtown Stouffville, where finding a parking spot is not an issue thanks to three pub- lic lots. The problem can be finding a spot on Main Street. And with our “1 must see the store I'm shopping at from my parking spot" attitude, that ca'n be crucial. We Main Street merchants aren’t helping ourselves when we allow staffers to park on the street. sometimes for the entire day. It's one of the issues the new downtown administration should look it. Public education and tick- eting are a partial solution. Ii7n Masbn is editor of The Sun Tribune. Cellphone chatter, speed traps greet road warriors Off The Top with Jim Mason Daemon. Ammo. Dlmuwnou Nicole Fletcher Dim Oman: Barry Black