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The Sun-Tribune welcomes your let- ter: All submisdom must be less than 400 words and must include a daytim¢ telephone number. name and address. The Sun-Tribune reserves the t to publish or not pub and to edit for clar» lrynndlpece. mummy. mun-m noon-inst stoma-.0" “A067 (Wham ! 905-640-2612 E ' Fax 905-640-8778 EDITORIAL ADVERTISING 905-640-2612 (Ihmficd: 1-800-743-3353 1 Fax: I is comprised of 100 community publications across Ontario. The M Region Newspapei Group also includes The liberal, serving Richmond Hill and mm", Vaughan Citizen.The Eta-Banner (Newmanei/Aumia). Mandiam Economist ‘ York Region Media Group community newspapers The Sun-Tribune. published every Thatsday and Saunday, is a division of the Metroland Media Gmup Ltd., a molly-owned subsidiary of Tamar Corporation. MetmIand a. Sun, Geomna Advocamxom Rayon BusinessTimes, Noah of the City. )omregomcom and Yom Region Printing. jmuon.ytm¢.com Manager Dawna Andrews dandmwsél‘yrmg. com Mike Banuille mbanw'llerrmgwm cnomnané’yrmgoom lETTERS POLICY DISTRIBUTION Circulation Supervisor Carolyn Norman EDI'IORIAL Jim Mason jmasonOyrmgcom Pnonucnon Immmve MEDIA DISTRIBUTION 905-640-2612 Sherry Day That’s clearly not the York Region way and. for this. we can all feel proud to have contributed. It would be" all too easy with our hectic lifestyles and increasingly diverse neighbourhoods to resign ourselves to the fact we don’t have the time to get involved, make a dif- ference or begin a conversation with a potential new friend. One need only read about the contributions of the York Region Character Community award win- ners (go to yorkregion.com) to see there are more unsung heroes than there are awards with which to recâ€" ognize them. And that includes taking into consideration what causes people to get involved in crime, as well as the social and environmental issues at play. York Region has more than its fair share of happy and healthy neigh- bourhoods, with people who feel a sense of well-being, confidence and security as they go about their day- to-day activities. For example, there were 2,531 break and enters last year, compared with 2,858 two years ago, according to the latest statistics released by York Regional Police. What could be the most serious threat to our safety, given the amount of time most of us spend on the roads commuting to work, school and places of recreation are fatal vehicle crashes. But even they, too, are at their lowest in three years. Safety is, after all, a shared respon- sibility. Safe communities emerge when everyone works together to tackle crime and disorder. The downward trend in the num- bers means we don’t just feel safer, we are safer. And that's something of which we can all be proud. The region’s frontline police offi- cers are doing fine work. and, if there’s any doubt, one need only consider their high rate of solving cases, such as hate crimes, break and enters and offences against property. That’s certainly a testament of the absolute commitment to pub- lic safety amongst our police, fire, emergency and rescue service per- sonnel. It also speaks volumes about how generally safe we feel in our neighbourhoods. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to many of you that crime, in general, is down by about 5 per cent overall in York Region. We can feel safe living in York Editorial Once again, the community of Whitchurch-Stouffville has come through. So, thank you for making me feel so welcome and safe in my new home. The public library’s giant book sale raised more than $14,700 during the This is just one more reason for me to move, which is unfortunate because, for the most part, I like this town and I'm sure this behaviour is not indicative of the majority of people who live in Stoufl'ville. Book sale big on community It’s bad enough being woken up at all hours by young people yelling and fighting up and doWn Main and Park. Why is nothing being done to stop this? It is difficult not to take it because violating my property is like violating me. If you did, you would know I’m a very peaceful person and would never do any harm to anyone or his property. This letter if for the individual(s) who vandalized my car. It was parked in the lot just south of Main Street on Park Drive, hear my apartment. Sometime between 11 pm. April 23 and 4 pm. April 25, you thought it would be fun to kick in the passenger side front-quarter panel, stomp all over my hood and leave a rock on my wind- shield. Surprisingly, my car alarm did not go ofl. I haven’t lived in Stouffville very long and don't know anyone here, so you don't know me personally. Vandalism another reason to move out of Stouffville Letters to the Editor SHARON MUISE STOUFFVILLE The continued success of this event is due to your generous sup- port. Last but certainly not least, ou’r greatest thanks go out not only to the citizens of Stouffville, but to our friends in neighbouring communi- ties who came out in record num- bers. All this dedication and commitâ€" ment is most appreciated. I would also like to thank the many volunteers who gave so freely of their time, sorting, selling and packing and a special thank you to your newspa- per for supportin the sale through advertisement an publicity. They include the Stouffville fire- fighters, Lions Club of Stouffville, Richardson Masonic Lodge and the students of Stouffville Secondary and other neighbouring schools for their involvement in setting up and taking down the sale. Thank you also to Lindy’s Floral Boutique for donating balloons to the sale. ' These funds will go toward augâ€" menting the resources at the library, offering programs such as author vis- its and purchasing equipment. The book sale, mnd}aising com- mittee has many, many people to thank for helping to make this book sale so successful. 4-1/2 days of the sale this year. PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot > What do you think of these issues or others? E-mail letters to the editor to jmason@yrmg.com HAVE YOUR SAY Tribune JOHN RELPH CHAIRPERSON BOOK SALE COMMITTEE Burm- m Cmur Debora Kelly The new school they walked into in the mid-19503 closed three years ago and was replaced by the new SDSS on Weldon Road, with or without an amateur rocket club. “We used to have a problem achieving controlled burns with our home-made rocket fuel," Mr. McKay said. “Our rockets tended to go bang on the ground rather than soar aloft." A couple of them stayed in touch through the decades. Some visited each other. Another was tracked down over the Internet, once the idea of a reunion was hatched. Mr. Burkholder was a mechan- ical engineer. Mr. Avery was an astrophysicist with the National Research Council for 35 years. Mr. Stouffer was an actuary in Toronto and Mr. McKay taught at Pickering High for 34 years. Iim Mason is editor of The Sun Tribune. None became rocket scientists, but some came close. They could be poster boys for launching careers and families out of once tiny Stouffville High. Robert Lazarko “We were inseparable buddies in high school.” Mr. Avery, 68, said. “And we were well known at the time to our science teachers (including John Marshall) as ama- teur rocket builders â€"â€" an enter- prise that would probably land us in serious trouble today." Members of the class of '59 gathered with their wives near Guelph this spring. Lorne Avery lives on Vancouver Island. Gord Burkholder came in from Brant- ford, Gord McKay out of Ajax and Dave Stouffer from Thomhill. Isn't it ironic? Some members of the first Grade 9 class at the old Stouffville District High (now Secondary) School on Edward Street (now Bramble Crescent) reunited for the first time in 51 years â€" as their old school was being demolished. OPERATIONS Barry Black Busuusss Class of ’59 gathers while old school falls with Jim Mason Off The Top Dmcron, REGIONAL Pnooucn, Cummn, TODAY'S Houns Debra Weller Dunnu'nou Nicole Fletcher