The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Canadian Tire Publicationmail agreement #40051189 STOUFFVILLE 3pc. Utility Kit Yukon Gear thursdAY, sept. 13, 2012 Serving the community of Whitchurch-Stouffville 40 Pages/$1 including hst NOW $ Reg. . $39.99 $39. $39. 39.99 99 1499 75-3502-0 75-3 Town `dropped ball' at schools But crossing guards not mandatory, board agrees BY SANDRA BOLAN end of their rope Teachers protest over legislation Unions encourage members to wear black, stop coaching By Teresa Latchford sbolan@yrmg.com The town is not required to provide crossing guards at schools, according to Denis Chartrand, manager of operations for Whitchurch-Stouffville's public works department. But as a way to assist parents in getting their children to and from school on foot, the town has eight crossing guards posted around six schools. Last week, however, when the school year got underway, the town's two newest academic institutions -- Wendat Village Public School and St. Brendan Catholic Elementary School -- had none. That's because a pedestrian traffic flow study had yet to be conducted, which, Mr. Chartrand said is necessary in order to know where to post the crossing guards. The study takes about a month, he said. It was a mistake, says the neighbourhood councillor. "There's just no excuse. The town dropped the ball," said Councillor Rob Hargrave, whose Ward 6 is home to the new schools. See PARENTS, page 12. tlatchford@yrmg.com STAFF PHOTO/NICK Iwanyshyn Adam Fisher, Murray Rundle, Joshua Rundle, Josiah Hanna and Owen McKnight pull together during Springvale Church's picnic and corn roast Sunday. See additional photographs from the event at the Stouffville Road church on page 28. York Region teachers paused some voluntary activities in protest to a recently passed law. This week, the province passed a bill that forces a contract on elementary and secondary teachers across Ontario as well as 50,000 support staff, including those in York Region, bypassing the traditional bargaining process. In response, teacher unions encouraged members to wear black and take a pause from extracurricular activities such as school clubs and sports yesterday to protest the recent passing of the bill. The York Region District School Board hasn't cancelled any scheduled events, according to board spokesperson Licinio Miguelo. He also confirmed the board has had a range of participation from union members across the region. "Those activities are anything that don't fall under the collective agreement," he said, mentioning the coaching of athletic teams and school clubs. "All of these activities are voluntary and teachers are not required to participate." He explained the new bill is still being reviewed by the board but some aspects of the collective agreement still need to be negotiated and those talks continue. "The passage of this law is undemocratic and unprecedented and was unnecessary," See TEACHERS, page 29. Read all about it! Breaking news & updates at yorkregion.com GOING GREEN AT 410 AUTO Volkswagen · Audi Hybrid · Porsche European & Asian 138 Sandiford Dr., Unit 5 · 905-642-2886 www.410auto.ca Jon St St Denis, Agent Jon Denis, Agent 5402 Main Street 375402 Sandiford Dr., #204 Main Street Stouffville, ON L4A 1H3 Stouffville, L4A 7X5 Stouffville, ON 1H3 Bus: 905-642-5400 Bus: 905-642-5400 jon.stdenis.pien@statefarm.com n.stdenis.pien@statefarm.com ar thau ewellers 5758 Main Street Stouffville (905) 640-4646 www.barthau.com (LCBO & Shoppers Plaza)