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

The purpose of my door-to- door campaign was not to drum up support for 3 Ward 4 can- didacy in the 2014 municipal elections. No. nothing that ludicrous. l was merely seeking dona~ tions for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. a mission of mercy in which He been privileged to participate for more than 25 years. This canvass takes place annually across York Region. including Whitchurch- Stouffvillc. during the month of February. c We me a break"; That's what many pt-nplv were candidly saying or maybe thinking as l trekked from house to house along two Stuuflville streets last week. Both lean and l are usu. ally assigned adjoining routes. This year. however. a mix-up occurred. 1 received two streets while lean had only one. Encouraged by this. plus the fact our second eldest son died as the result of a stroke two years ago. gives lean and I added incentive to play a part. be it a small part. in this mean- ingful ventured To complicate matters fur- ther. I waited until the lllh hour to begin. not a good thing with so many additional houSeholds on my call list. Still. even with a little extra legwork. l considered it an hon- our. even a dury. to fulfill this obligation. For it's due to the miracle of modern medicine and follow- up hean bypass surgery that I currently enioy a lifestyle free from pain. a problem I endured nearly two decades. Canvassing straight from heart “(mevch fut a multitude of reasons. all folks don't share my enthusiasm. While polite in their greet tngs. mostrlcft no doubts as to current changes in attitudes when it comes to handing out hard-earned dollan to a strang‘ or bearing a pen, receipt bunk and an irrelevant red badge on the collar of his coat In previous years. the nega- xive response was usually “sorry. but my wife gives at the ofice.’ And this. for me. was rationan enough. But. on one of the darkest and dreanest nights of the win- ter. I heard responses not tem- pered by Compassion. 'We don't giw at the door.” said one. “If we wish to donate. I raumed home wrisfled 14! (ht same firm, I understood or tried to understand the masons for donor reluctance. with hm 7710mm I returned home satisfied. A! thcsamc time. I understood or 'lrled to understand the reasons for donor reluctance. I concluded the following: 0 No. 1. February is municipal lax month. This takes a simablc vhunk from Wt-ryonv's purse or pocle "Every time I turn around. someone has thvir hand um. Give fllt’ a break." xaid yet another. E wv'll send il by mail “Times are tough." said number. "We have “no money mspaw." ()f 23 people contacted. only five contributed. And they did so generously. giving $135 to thwart. ‘ But then-'5. more. Hardly a day goes by that chanty appvah aren't received. some by mail, others by phone. The Heart and Stroke Foundation is equally guilty of this practice. 0 N0. 2. April is more of the same, plus income tax pay- mt-nls to boot. A duublv whamâ€" my to be sure. However. thanks to financial support. including the szruary campaign. heart attack deaths are decreasing. Requests for funds don't end in February. but conl‘mue all year round. As one homeowner put it: “Every time I turn around. someone has their hand out.” But mortal statistics are astounding. In 2012. mum than 16.000 Canadians died as a result of heart failure. Reason enough for (he can- vass to continue and rcawn enough for me to continue can- vassing. larnnmuasvsasnMresmmo Msmmnbrmmpm‘mbrmre manGOyears Straight talk from our controversial roundabouts Call it moan dn'm’ng Through the south In an'oul the valley lust like Mayor Wayne limmcrson. I love the round- ; ‘ about. And not just 19715 clas- 1 ’ sic rock standard. There it is; w Print it onaT-shm. a bumper with [im Mason sticker or a sign in the middle of ‘ ""9 "f "‘9 mwn‘fiwnm earlier this century. “nun I-lflfl H...“ In"! [he phrase is a lot like “don‘t try making your own fireworks or tequila" or "consult a physi- (:ianifwmbrmkoutmlinw green hives. stop breathing or Please add the “when used pmpcri'y'. become pregnant". It's understood â€" unlike the Much to the chagrin of some members of town coun- (flwehadmanyalenerâ€"a fittiemdmnayearfiover Mptoposedw-per-cempay The proposed roundabout at Hwy. 48 and Bloomirgton Road reporter Sandra Bojan Weaboutmlastmmy's Stm-Itibtmeisdrawingshnflat Aside from being scared by Rome’s crazy driving circles and somehtm navigating a massive one in Florida. I had little roundabout experience until they arrived in Stoufiville (There's a sampling on page 7 today. See Samlday's paper for more) 'U be the roundabout The wont will make you out an'out‘ You spend the day, your Without spoiling the end- ing of many of the tenets. that may explain the frustratmn drivers are having with our roundabouts ~â€" many dun't knowhowto usethem. I felt similafly unprepared on the sweats of Toronto after moving from Nonhwestem Ontario, where there are no streetcars or lit crosswalks to yield to A To quote that great Ameri- can philosopher. Ted Nugem: “It’s a free-forâ€"all”. That may also explain the glass and metal bits Some- times left in the roundabouts of my neighborhood. There was little warning in the way of primed infitruc- lions or explanatory signage. Roundabouts have made sense in many centres for cen~ um'es They improve traffic flow and decrease collist In Witchurch-Stouffvillc. many drivers aren’t gelling mussonrsemordfheSm