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Knee ierlLs were the sounds of Stouffville council when Mark Carroll proposed what Phil Bannon called a snake pit. Most people respond with a knee ierk reaction when In close proximity to or at the sight of spiders, snakes, bats and most things creepy crawly. This I think is quite normal unless you're 8 years old. To the Editor: The pitfalls of a knee jerk reaction . “m uuw. STOUWLLE ~ ddbowoétfâ€" GORMLE BALLANIRAE - Mussemms [ME AND VANDORF MEMBER orma "' "‘ ocna ammo cowumry . uswswen 1 J ASSOCMT'D“ â€" ‘ ‘ ' a II :9 ol Wnllchulch-Sloullyllle Ihls MonlhiLalleIs must be mad and lhhllalwhfnoanu'm; :$:fimi2£o' b: :{unusm‘gy file-lam) 31m: £31.: "mafia”, be Poncflfdranly ll I?“ I; m 3 mal l I ml d. ADVEflIISING POU :m the: s n nae lyooa r- 6539 l ”'9" ‘9“ W” “'5 not mn, misufifilllg? glleagvanlgnalexbml tlglaalms at one! In publication mugube nude wlmln M) was“ ol nuollmllon. and. ll not mac, wlll no! be consldeved. No clalm will be allowed In: more "an one Insert 6111m1n8l..Stouflvllle.0nmo L4A3R4 M-WW Fl]: men-w E-rmil wiflmrlnklesmlomajl.wn EDIIORIAL POLICY: Opinions amassed by columnlsls. continuum; and Inner mum are ml necessullylfifi reason to do so Euovs will In comma ll human! lo tho callus Inanllon. We mom me "am lo call a: val one! errors OI omissions in connecllon lllh any amnlsunonl In any subsequent Issue 01 (he relund 0! any What did you do for fun when it was too cold to no outside? - 'WHITCHURCH-STOUFFVILLE THISVMONTH WHITGHIIII UROH-STOIJFFVILLE THIS MONTH A division 0! Star Marketinu/ 1460912 Ontailo Inc. Am Mm: oi ma Perl Perry set and meter sun Distributed Free by Canada Post to every home in the iollowing communilies: STOUFFVILLE ~ GOODWOOD - GORMLEY BALLANIRAE - MUSSELMANS [ME AND VANDORF Sounding oq'xc‘xal desigfia'tECVJVfiVâ€"fov:â€" Uh'ltchurch " Stouffville. .. here _\'\as been Some debate OVer I'll never forget my knee ierk reaction when my son came home with fur on his lips from the caterpillar he lust ate. He is older now and would only react with paésive curiosi- ty watching "Fear Factor”. I digress. A mature, thoughtful response to Mr. Carroll's pro- posal would have been a more knowledgeable reflection on the benefits of these creepy I did a lot of reading and cooking the more time cumin reapesl had wanted to gnake. The cold weather gives you the exam to relax and not worry about chores. 5mm See us on ‘www.stouflvflleonllne.wm' Iiimllea £ch Km! mm: M I went to the Stouflville Libra to do research on istory topics. I also stayed inside when it was so cold and just hung out Now I live with nature a lit- tle more since I built my first crawly things. i freak out when the first bat swings by during the summer mosquito hunting season. Then reason sets in and the thought of how infec- tion by a mosquito with the west nile virus could be mini- mized. Please turn to page 9 mem rd I games, and don: lndud- mg the latest union of me Seen It? game. I also ran aw to Miami Beach, West Pa m Beach and Los Finally, we hope that the five-year expansion plan recently announced by York Region Transit will include service to this com- munity. Although our GO Transit bus service has been upgraded in the last couple of years. local transit is urgently needed to give resi- dents an alternative to using their cars, which in turn will limit dam- age to the local environment. ’ - While we're on the subject of beautiful rural areas in our commu- nity. kudos to Ward 2 Councillor Phil Bannon for ne-instigating the winter carnival at Musselman's Lake on Valentine's Day. Have a Heart, Love the Lake will include skating and games, along with free hot dogs and hot chocolate. All residents of Whitchurch-Stouffville are invited to attend the carnival and celebrate winter in the great outdoors. need, more than ever. to preserve and célebrate what's l'eit of but natural heritage. Without a viable bypass which is not part of a residential area. this problem is becoming untenable, as those living on streets such as Millard and Rupert can attest. And as our community grows to become increasingly suburban. and trees and topsoil are removed en masse to make Way for vast tracts of pavement and pipes, we Some councillors eXpressed concerns about the habitat's proxim- ity to a new subdivision and Ballantrae Public School. but we're with reader Bob Lewis, who points out that the idea dovetails nicely with the town‘s endangered motto, Country Close to the City. In our view, a wildlife habitat containing garter snakes is a lot less threatening to long term health and safety than a Main Street choked-with exhaust fumes from idling vehicles. Mr. Carroll was not talking rattlesnakes or pythons, however, but the common garter snake, which is native to the area and harmless to humans. In fact its most dangerous attribute is its ability to pro- voke nightmares among people who are understandably phobic about these slithery reptiles. When former Ward 2 Councillor Mark Carroll attended a recent council meeting to present a proposal for a natural wildlife habitat 1n Ballantrae, his idea really put the snake among the pigeons. Included among the inhabitants of his proposed sanctuary were but- terflies, birds and. yes, snakes. Who would be a politician in a world where every utterance is subject to intense scrutiny and instigafing innovative ideas is fraught with fears about potential risks to life and limb, however remote? :Dlllll Habitat iin Cause For Missy Fit I wotked as much asl possibly could to save money for school (col- lege). I also hung out With my friends at their houses. GENERAL MANAGER . . CREATIVE MANAGER , . SALES REP, .......... CONTRIBUTING WRITER BUSINESS OFFICE . . V V “M NIIIMAN I took the 5 re time to work insi e on my computer desigfiing skateboard symbols and hun out at home with my ami|y. MatyAmI Flemim .86. Bell Bruce Slapley I Dale Didier .Nanq HOMES .Gayle Stapley FEBRUARY 2004