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Su‘L'fi-Tribune WWW 905-640-2612 Fax: 905-640-8778 Hm: 1-800-743-3353 DISTRIBUTION l-855-853-56l3 Duuscmn. Busmass Anmmsmnon Robert L'azurkn Advertising Manager Anne Beswirk Dumcmn Cluumvn Salmons Katherine Purrheron All submissions must be less dun ‘00 words and include a daytime telephone number. name and address The gun-Tribune e l to pub or nm flush and to edit for clarity and space. E-mu Wtcom M published Mty. Them. Is 0 am 01 the WM Mean Group m. I my owned mm 0110mm York Region Media Group community «than 'u‘l ymm mm lnnacmn. REAL ESTATE AND (Zussmw (km! I ’unlun‘i pmmmflfiwmg.mm Circulation Oo-ordlnator Daphne Lawm- «lklu'ru-v-vnng mm Dlucmn. Dummmon Tanya Fathom Delivery Issues? Dlucmn. Ammmsmc Debra Weller lETTERS POLICY 00m.“ Mummies. WWI-com Fov all you! delivery Mums. pulse The Sun-Mbune Editor lim Mason Your new mayor will be on steep learning curve, Stouffville son and Justin Altinann will likely bristlc at the suggestlon. But you have to admit there are similarities between the out- going and incoming mayors of WhitchurchStoufiville. 'lhcy'll pcrfunn a hand-off of the chain of office Doc. 2. It won't be as warm and filmy as if Richard Bartlvy or Phil Bannun. both councillors under [immer- son during the pas! eight years. had wpn Monday night. But both limmersnn and Altmann are bom-and-brcd Stouffvillites. limmerson never left. Altmann did somewhat briefly. to attend university and work on the Albena ()il Patch. And while their circles of friends differ, thanks to almost 30 years difference in age. both attract that homeboy support. Altmann is big with the Kins- men and the Strawberry Festi- val. Emmerson in the sofiball and hockey crowd. Altmann lacks what no other mayor in my 32 years of watch- mgVWfltchumh-Stoufi‘vifle coun- cil has â€"-â€" experience on that council he must now lead. Sorry. mayor-elect. but you've got a l leaming curve ahead of you. I you haven't yet. I’d get audio copies of the Municipal Act. town bylaws and other pertinent documents and play them 24/7 during the next month. Cram hard. Then there's the matter of leading a council that includes four councillors who are also brand spanking new to munici- pal politics. Councillors Ken l-‘erdinands Sadly it was Called "another (Ward 1) and Rob Hargravc Pacific Mall" by others â€" as (Ward 6) represent Opposite cor- recently as last weekend. nets on the map of Whltchurch- NOW. it's Altmann's tum. Stouflville. But their combined What and how will he do 22 years on council should be during the next four years. resi- relied on heavily during the next dents are now asking. four years. Over to you. Altmann. It’s all you've got. Bart] and Bannon must ' ' bemuumng the logic ofboth Wm“? meM ee! the new boss. Same as the old Supporters of Wayne Iimnpvr- running. The marview mir- ror doesn't lie. Together they amassed 57 per cent of the vote to Altmann's 33 per cent. They. too. axé similar. lepre- senting the old guard. if youyvill. If you didn't like the handling of the downtown Rogers' coll tower. lhc redevelopment of Memorial Park or the $40 mil- lion addition to the library/fit- ness centre. you may have voted for a challenger. Like Altmann. I heard that chorus loud and clear. “We need change."_ > Then there was the whole- sale trade centre. the red her- ring of this whole campaign. Four years ago. it was the town debt that was tmtted out and pumped up into an election issue. Nice try. but it didn't reso- nate with voters The trade centre did. despite claims many of the concerns were racially motivated. Why was it important to continually call it Asian. eh. candidates? We should be trying break down walls as our community becomes more multicultural by the day. not building more. Numbers of anticipated visitors were inflated by some. Sadly it was called "another Pacific Mall" by others â€" as recently as last weekend. Now. it's Altmann's turn. What and how will he do during the next four years. lesi- dents are now asking. with Jim Mason Off The Top LETTER OF THE WEEK Town did right thing with Memorial Park park ’monument’ Re: War memorial deserved better. letter to the editor by Bryan Millsip. Oct. 16 It disturbs me when at damning editorial is submitted without first scan‘hing all the correct facts. Mr. Millsip, in his rant about the town's leisure services department and in particu- lar director Rob Raycroft. lists the removal of the "memorial" in the park as the third time the tovm has not followed the proper procedure. 1110 other two were the removal of the toboggan hill and the outdoor pool. He claims the residents were not consulted. I attended two public sessions at East- ridgo Church arranged by the town under then-mayor Sue Sherhan’s watch when all residents were invited to hear ahnut the pro- posed changes to the Memorial Park and express their comments/ changes. Links Panel should hold meetings again in 2018 â€" in bigger venues At both of those meetings. we were informed the. toboggan hill and swimming pool would be removed. It is unfair to say the residents were not informed. 'l‘heir absence simply showed a lack of interest or First oh“. I would like to congratulate the members of The Sunâ€"'h'ibune's Links Panel for bringing awarean to the Big 5-0. _ _ I would like to press forward. however. my concern following the Ward 5 candidate information night at Nineteen on the Park last week. I am a Ward 6 resident and have attended the Ward 2. 4. 5 and 6 information Q/A nights as well as the mayoral information session. plus countless council meetings this year. I am a stakeholder in this community as I pay taxes and have an invested interest in this town as l have been here since i was four. While trying to raise a family. 1 am trying to be infomed about the everlasting political candidate race. I would suggest to the Links Panel the following for the 2018 election: Hold all the meetings in larger venues. as l have seen countless seniors standing for two hours to be informed. Secondly. allow all residents to have a voice. I find it appalling that l was asked to sit down and my question about a particular build- ing in Ward 5 was not going to be answered because I do not live in that ward. I thank the Ward 5 resident who stood up and tie-stated the question. lf'you want to promote the vote. take into account all elected council members have a vote for whatgoes on it] all wards. _ GENERAL MANAGER lohn Willems PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot Not only did I wait for there to be no one an"l don't care" attitude. If you want to be informed. get involved. ()n the same vein. the Memorial Park plan has been discussed by the members of council on many occasions. Council minutes show the dates when discussion occurred. c As for the “monument”. it was a slab of cement. There was nothing memorial about it. If there had been any memo- rial significance. the legion would have included it in their Remembrance Day services. in line before attempting to ask my question. I alsu chvckod the time to make sure there was enough time for closing statements. as I am not new to the flow of these meetings. l have lived in Stouffville since 1956 and i don't ever recall the legion placing any importance to the slab of cement (and yes. i remember the gun that used sit on tnp of it). The plaque was removed and saved and will he placed in a more significant site/location acceptable to the legiun and all residents. If ward councillors are allowed to vote on all town issues. then everyone in town should have the right to ask fair questions. SHAWNA KELTERBORN 5'11 )( 'H’\ 111.!" Parkview residents will miss Santa Re: Shorter mutejbrStoufi‘uille's Santa Claus parade this year. Qct. 23 What good does a slab of cement situâ€" ated in the centre of the park do? leisure services did the right thing by removing it for safety reasons. To l‘enee it would only make it more unsightly. Every year my family and i enjoy the annu- al Kinsmen Santa Claus Parade in Stoufi‘ville. One of our favourite parts has been enjoying seeing the residents of the Parkview Home for seniors on Weldon Road enjoying the parade from their windows. ' Siva/[Valle Sun-Tribune Often. residents are not able to venture outside. especially during colder months and they seemed so thrilled to see not only the parade but the Children watching it as well. I know that change is sometinws neces- but I am not sure why cutting the parade those few blocks really makes a diffomnce? I know it will make a difi‘on‘nco to those residents who now will never be able tn expe- rience the amazing parade again. Send your letters to the editor :0 lim Mason via jmasonG'ynngmm 6290 Main St StoufMfle. 0N. L4A 167 www.yorkregion.oom BETH CULLINGTON m n ’H'VII.LF 'WILF MORLEY 51m 'I‘H 11 1+