st auction raises 10000 more than 10000 was raised for the community awareness bureau at the great rotary auction friday night i figured wed get 4000 to 5000 an ecstatic susan myers told the tribune sun day night i cant believe how well we did the top bid was for a threeday threenight stay at a collingwood chalet donated by cards hardware which netted 475 a total of 132 items were donated including 100 worth of advertising in the tribune bought by bob ancheril and the chance to be mayor for a day claimed by judith gaunt auctioneer terri ness remained unruffled through out the proceedings despite initial problems with the sound system three rotary exchange students stouf- fvilles jada myers catherine tfmmwmya2amf3a crime armed robbers hit mac f store salbommarito staff reporter photafcelia bronkhorst gord and terri ness auction off some diapers at fridays rotary auction hannofett from belgium and simone post from holland served refreshments to the large crowd susan myers said that the support received from the local community was incredible we started by calling people and asking for donations but towards the end we had people calling us well definitely be doing this again next year york region police are searching for three suspects who robbed a convenience store in ballantrae early last friday morning police say three masked men entered macs convenience store on fletcher boulevard about 335 am the men one of them wielding a 20inch long steel bar then forced a 40yearold male store clerk into the back room stolen were the mans wallet which contained 50 another 50 in cash and three baskets containing lottery tickets and an unknown quantity of cigarettes police say the men then jumped into a vehicle and headed north on highway 48 before turning east onto a rural road police have released descriptions of the three suspects the first suspect is 20 years old five foot eight inches 140 pounds and was wearing dark pants andjacket and a dark hood the second suspect is 24 years old five foot six inches 170 pounds and was wearing a creamcolored jacket with a black cloth over his face the armed suspect is 20 years old five foot eight inches 160 pounds and was wearing dark blue pants and a black jacket local lions staging las vegasstyle casino night las vegas comes to town next saturday night feb 15 from 730 pm to midnight when- the stouffville lions club presents its second annual giant casino at stouffville- place mall a 10 admission ticket entitles you to 10000 worth of fun money to freeze taxes hakonson from page 1 parks are ghost towns and the town is having trouble collecting taxes hakonson said however with all of this happening each and every day i understand that you people are recommending a 3 per cent tax increase for this year with more emphasis on business and corpo rate realty tax he said many businesses including his own have experienced a 30 per cent loss in business and have had to freeze salaries and cut the frills and he expects council to do the same hakonson said hakonson presented three resolutions for councils considera tion he said he wants written responses for publication on the three points hakonson wants to know if council increased the salary of the chief administration officer bob panizza department heads andor staff in the past two months if so hakonson has asked for the increase and salaries to be made public his second resolution deals with the portable flooring for the recreation center recently approved by council was there an attempt made by the recre ation director to reevaluate the necessity to maintain extended ice time based on the enrollment status of the figure skating club hakonson asked finally hakonson wants to know if coun cil has he will to hold taxes at last years level and cut spending to accommodate this goal in an interview hakonson said hes prepared to take his con cerns one step further if necessary his presentation was not a oneshot deal i didnt go to coun cil to grandstand i would like some action if action is warrant ed there are some stages to bring on next said hakonson hakonsons presentation received mixed reviews from council members mayor fran sainsbury urged hakonson to make a simi lar presentation to the region of york which will pay out 14-mil- lion in welfare payments this year theyre in a difficult spot she said sainsbury pointed out the town acts much like a tax collection agency for the school board as well as the region onethird of local taxes go to the municipality with the remaining twothirds going to the school board and regional government town treasurer ed blackburn echoed the mayors comments saying the town has no legislative authority over the school boards budget process ward 3 councillor nick tatone and ward 6 councillor ken prentice had words of praise for hakonsons pre sentation that was an excellent presentation i urge you to keep going i would like to meet with you separately to discuss resolu tions council is on the right track for budget and salaries tatone said prentice echoed tatones comments adding were going through budget deliberations well keep those points in mind and see how it comes out in the end he said sainsbury added staff salary increases have been on the decline since 1985 dropping from 95 per cent to 3 per cent or nothing depending on the final budget we are 14 per cent behind other municipalities in staff salaries she said she said the town has also been successful in setting money aside for capital projects but hakonson said when council gives its staff members 6 to 9 per cent increases you give a message you dont give a damn about whats happening in society council is expected to release a first draft of its budget on march 24 and a second draft on april 7 closeddoor preliminary budget deliberations began on jan 28 and 29 and are ongoing be used for guiltfree gambling as well as for bidding on a host of great prizes in the hourly auc tions fun money will be used for all transactions throughout the evening including the purchase of refreshments its our second annual event in cooperation with stouffville place mall and all the proceeds are for the stouf fville track project said organiz er cap cowan the stouffville lionesses along with the good wood and ballantrae lions are assisting with the event and stouffville district secondary school is helping with ticket sales well have blackjack tables wheel games video horse racing dean myers blind putting hall and several other surprises advised cowan last year we had maybe 400 or 500people in through the evening and they really liked it we hope to do even better this year call cowan at 6422422 david barthau at 6404646 for tickets bylaws the villager loses store sign sal bommarito staff reporter a sign bylaw is the subject of controversy between the towns building department and a main street retailer the controversy came to a head this week when the towns bylaw enforcement offi cer confiscated an aframe sign belonging to tom thompson owner of the villager thompson had been warned by the officer that his sign con travened the towns downtown sign bylaw which prohibits signs being displayed on town property but thompson who experi enced a loss in business after removing the sign from the sidewalk in front of his store decided to replace the sign thats when he was a paid a visit by the towns bylaw enforcement officer i dont have anything against the bylaw but sales being the way they are i need the sign said thompson he said the sign which he paid 100 for advertised spe cialty foods and coffees sold at the store which also sells mens and ladies fashions thompson who moved his business to the main street location in october said he relied on the sign to draw passersby into the store but sales already poor because of the economy took a plunge after the sign was removed he added visibility is everything if you dont have it you suffer said thompson thompson believes the town should change the bylaw to help businesses struggling in tough economic times theyre not doing everything they can to keep businesses here he said the towns chief building offi cer bob bennett said the sign was confiscated after the town attempted to negotiate solu tions to thompsons problem thompson was not fined and is welcome to pick up his sign at any time bennett said thompson has been advised on what sort of signing is per mitted under the bylaw including dis playing signs in the stores front display window he said bennett said the sign bylaw as it pertains to the downtown portion of stouffville is designed to keep main street from being cluttered with a thompson large number of signs like other bylaws the sign bylaw is for the good of the whole not for the individual if he can do it than every body can then its not going to look good said bennett the bylaw has been in place since 1985 he added bennett said the town hasnt had a need to review the sign bylaw in the past but in light of the tough economic times he favors revising the bylaw to be positive and sure its fair the bylaw is also designed to protect the town from any lia bility resulting from people tripping over signs displayed on town property and signs which blow onto the road and into vehicles the cbo said thompson should be working closely with the stouffville bia business improvement area and the chamber of commerce if his intention is to have the bylaw changed said bennett kids earn extra money become a carrier today call 6402100 stouffville 8529741 uxbridge or 2948244 markham wwwwwwm n a attention flyer advertisers we can deliver your flyers for as little as 4 a piece so i far this year we have delivered 3236768 flyers door-to- door in markham unionville millikcn stouffville i uxbridge claremont dickson hill locust hill gormley goodwood victoria square brougham whitcvale rrs markham unionville we can deliver your flyers on the day you want to the area you want any quantity from 6000 to 46000 call advertising at 6402100 6402874 8529741 or 2942200 distribution at 6402100 8529741 or 2948244 inserts for wed feb 1292 hy zels bargain harolds shoppers drug mart uncle roberts pizza big v pharmacy super wheels sears phoenix plus home expressions aikens pharmacy selected areas only