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The Sun-Tribune welcomes your let- ters. All submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number. name and address The Suanribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clar- ity and space, Letters to the Editor. The Sun-Tribune 8290 Mnln St. Mlle. 0N LAM IG7 Classified is comprised of 100 community publications across Ontario. The Yerk Region Newspaper Group also includes me Liberal, sewing Richmond Hill and Thomhiil, Vauyian Citizen, The Era-Banner (Newmarket/Aurora). Markham Economist Sun, Georgina Advocate, York Region Business Times, North of the City, yorkregiomcom and Yom Region Printing. The Sunâ€"Tribune, published every Thursday and Saturday, is a division of the Metmland Media Group Ltd., a whoHy-qwned subsidiary of Tatstar Corporation. Metroland @Tribune 1mason0yrmg.com Manager Dawna Andrews dandrvu 'Sévyrmg. mm York Region Media Group community newspapers LETTERS POLICY mbanuille@yrmg. mm cnorman®yrmg com DISTRIBUTION Circulation Supervisor Carolyn Norman Pu ADVERTISING Retail Manager Mike Banuille PRODUCTION Manager Sherry Day jmasonfib/rmgx'om MEDIA Marketing 8! Advertising INTERACTIVE DISTRIBUTION 905-640â€"261 2 ADVERTISJ 905-640â€"24 :dayfi‘yrmgmm EDITORIAL Editor lim Mason EDITOR I! I: 1-800â€"743-3353 905-640-8778 Tribune V Stouflizille 0 640-2612 5 ' . , an In 6290M ,. V Stoufivillefl‘ HORIAL ’ www.yorkre ER'I'ISINU 640â€"2612 80 7 3 3; s PUBLISHER It â€" 0â€" 4_â€" -5, For future requests. council needs a baseline â€" Councillor Ferdinands’ l per cent is a good starting point for discussions. Mayor Emmerson agxeed, suggesting council deal with the issue in about three years, in advance of the nextelection. As Mayor Emmerson said, before voting in favour of the recount, every candidate in every ward could have legitimately request a recount, based on the Ward 3 request. That difference was 25 votes. It's a huge number when we’re talking hun- dreds, not thousands, of votes being tabulated in Ward 3. Unless a box of ballots fell off a truck between a polling station in Gormley and the municipal offices in Stouflville, it’s hard to fathom making up that many votes. Being disappointed or surprised by the results isn’t reason enough to grant a recount Council should have hard evidence, an extremely tight result or some other compelling reason before granting a recount. Numerically, what justifies a recount? Councillor Ken Ferdinands pointed out other recent recounts had a vote dif- ferential between candidates of about 1 per cent In this case, the difierence was about 3 per cent, or almost three times the norm. What justifies a recount? Certainly, questionable election day practices at polling stations fit the bilL And while that has been the case with other recount requests, it wasn’t this time in Ward 3. Councillors asked Mr. Kroon point blank at the meeting to consider the recount if there were irregularities. There weren’t. No offence to Mr. Kroon, who ran a solid campaign. His willingness to listen to the electorate was refreshing, vot- ers told us following The Sun-Th'bune debate in September. The process of requesting and grant- ing recounts in Miitchurchâ€"Stouflville requires finetuning, as members of council have admitted. As expected. the recount did not change the make-up of town council for the next four years. Clyde Smith retained the Ward 3 seat he has held for two terms. The same crew of six councillors and Mayor Wayne Emmerson will lead our municipality through 2014. A recount, requested by Ward 3 chal- lenger Hugo Kroon and approved by Whitchurchâ€"Stouffville council, was held yesterday. Barring court challenges, the results of the Oct. 25 municipal election are oflicial. Editorial Recount requests require rewind Good idea I’ve been a proud resident of Stouflville for six years. Last Saturday, my neighbours lost their dog. Being a dog owner myself, I joined the search without hesitation. I drove around the neighbourhood asking people along the way if they had seen the dog. giving its name and description. I made the rounds in the close vicin ity and moved on to the new subdivi Just looking for lost dog I understand research is necessary but we don't euthanize people when we take part in a study. The article raises many questions. It is our duty to protect the rights of those who can not speak for themselves in our community. Are the businesses in Beacon Hill Park awane there will be an animal test- ing facility located there? Have plans been made for an outdoor area for these dogs and cats? What does Jonathan Hare mean when he says, "The dogs and cats used at IGng- fisher are from a specific breeder, which helps cuts down the number of subjects Does this mean he breeds the dogsandcatswithinthefacilitysohe doesn’t acquire animals from outside? How ddes one find out about adoptâ€" ing dogs or cats from this facility? Are the dogs allowed any outdoor time or are they kept in cages 24/ 7? Is there an independent agency monitor- ing this facility to ensure animals are not sufiering? It is disturbing to hear this type of facility exists next door to a restaurant in Stoutfville. Speak for animals, residents Re: Stoujfville lab helps pets phar- maceutically, Nov. 13. Letters to the Editor CAROL KlDD STOUFFVILLE I have always felt Stouffville to be a safe town with fn’endly and helpful people. Be forewarned: if a neighbour's dog goes missing again, I will still help search for it; . And lady, sometimes someone look- ing for his dog is really just someone looking for his dog. I am a father of a young daughter and a firefighter in Toronto who pro- motes and practises safety. Her insinu- ations were offensive on every level. She was rash in her suspicions, quick to judge and slow with her rationale. I couldn't help but feel insulted and wronged. This woman questioned my intentions and integrity based on her own unfounded suspicions. On realiz~ ing the truth of the situation, she didn’t apologize for her accusations and gave her two cents on what appropriate neighbourly conduct was. The conversation ends with her declaring the world has changed and is no longer the place it used to be. She marches away self-righteously. She tells me I “terrified” her daugh- ters by asking them if they had seen the dog. I am surprised at this revelation because I remember the kids I as acting normally. The woman then says rudely, “FYI: maybe you shouldn't go around the neighbourhood stopping to talk to children.” “One week later, while getting a cof- fee, a woman rushes out of a business asking if I found the dog. I let her know the dog is fine. I realize she is only concerned about verifying the truth of the story. By the time I got baEk, the dog had been found in the yard of a neighbour, stuck in a raccoon trap but safe. sion area, the thruway roads of which had recently opened. I went home after 20 minutes of searching. PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot 6290 Main St. Stoufivme. 0N. MA 167 'wwwyomregionmm Tribune CRAIG MCGUIRE STOUFFVILLE But does anyone in Stouffvillo care? Or would you rather just sit on the couch and watch Nashville play Columbus? There are four local kids on this year’s roster, including names with fine hockey pedigree like Acton and Carrick. After a couple of off years, they are in the upper echelon of clubs in Ontario again. NHL prospect Brennan Serville and others will move on to play at higher levels, be it big-time U.S. college hockey or the Ontario Hockey League. Flashback five’yearis and the Spirit were averaging 285 paying customers per night. lim Mason is editor of The Sun Tribune. Of note, the storied Markham Waxers, with one of the best teams in the country this season, are only drawing marginally better. It costs well over $100,000 a sea~ son to put a solid Jr. A team on the ice. And the Spirit are just that. ‘ Emma m Cum Debora Kelly Ironically, the biggest crowd of the year was 247 â€" on the Spirit’s only Thursday game to date. And fqr all of the glitzy improve- ments made to the 25-year-old Stouffville Arena and its grounds during the last two years, Spirit fans still have to sit on backless bleachers in one of the most frigid ice boxes in the province. Competing with the Terry Fox Run, the NFL and Halloween hasn't helped. The team is averaging 160 fans per'game, tiny when you consider there should be at least 100 family members in attendance when two area teams meet. Owners of the Stouffville Spirit Jr. A hockey team hoped moving the majority of their home games from the traditional Thursday nights to Sunday afternoons would result in higher attendance. It hasn’t happened. The Spirit ranks 15th out of 31 teams in the Ontario Junior Hock~ ey League when it comes to put- ting warm bodies in cold seats. BUSINESS MANAGER Robert lazurko DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Barry Black Where have all the hockey fans gone? with Iim Mason Off The Top DIRECTOR! REGIONAL Pnonucrs, Cussumm, TODAY’S HOMES Debra Weller Dmscmn, Ammnsmc, DISTRIBUTION Nicole Fletcher