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a4 tribune march 22 1989 editors mah town must battle butts dear editor im disappointed but not surpris ed at the problem of enforcing the no smoking policy at the town rec centre ive been there on several occa sions and seen people light up without giving their actions a se cond thought while the onus is on the in dividual i believe the municipality must assume some responsibilities also i offer a few suggestions make the no smoking signs more prominent also increase their numbers establish an area where smok ing is allowed at various times announce over the public address system that smoking is not permitted make sure all employees as well as the public abide by the policy give the rec centre manager permission to approach smokers and ask them to stop i feel the town needs to do some public relations in this area since the rec centre is utilized by more people than are most buildings under municipal jurisdiction sincerely- mrs katy geddes millard street stouffville s 2 txav- 7f yepz zbzaom 78 we ft famy tut ys ur- kb utfh rum dm mo trv akts s s cmma vsf got- s flouts of sdaps oa 7we j thelhbune v james thomas avvxo editor established 1888 patricia pappas deborah weller jennifer hutt publisher advertising manager distribution manager retail advertising susan berry manager charles canning real estate classified advertising joan marshrnan real estate manager dorothy young distribution sandy kitetey artene maddock business office manager chris bertram doreen deacon national sales representative metrotand corporate sates 4931300 the stouffvfe hxine pubfched every wednesday and saturday at 54 man st stoufmte ont 6 one ot the metrotand pmtjng pubfehog cfctrbutng group of suburban newspapers when rdudes the acton free press ajax pictenng news advertset aurora banner brampton guardian burtngton post etobcoke adveruser guar dian georgetown independent markham economtst sun mtfon champion mssissauga news newmarket era oakvie beaver oshawa whrtby the week rchrnond hi thomhi uajgnan liveraj scarborough mrror tope ftovsmagazna wiowdate mrror metroland pmging pubfejwg distrfoutng is a drvexxi ol hariequn enterprises ltd sngie copies 50 subsenptons s21 00 per year n canada 5500 elsewhere member of cana dian corrrnunrty newspaper association qitaro wseity rjevvspaper associate surban newspaper of american second class mai registration number 0896 6402100 6492292 guest columnist youre not jim thomas steve houston j editorials town partly to blame for rec centre brawl though the cleanup at the stouffville rec centre is complete following a teen brawl last week several questions still remain regarding the messy incident party crashers decided to begin sw inging fists and several other dangerous objects at a group of markham teens celebrating some friends birthdays and the outcome was a painful conse quence of minimum supervision where were town officials who should have been prepared for such a chain of events during all this evident ly the room was rented without a re quest for a liquor permit thereby dismissing the need for a towntrained bartender and what if not alcohol and hor mones would encourage teens to engage in allout handtohand combat with one another at a simple birthday party as a result of the debacle stouffville town council is going to review its recreation facility rental policy and is asking for a report from recreation department officials likely included in the review will be a calling 911 stouffville main st merchants are justified in their protests regarding the implementation of a 911 emergency response number that would do away with main streets across york region the change if put into place would see main st addresses turn into stouff ville rd addresses but despite pro test the rationale in york regions bid to eliminate street duplications is a wor thy one while york region officials grapple with the political hot potato that has raised the ire of business people throughout the area it must also con sider the greater good such a move will ensure the potential preservation of human life in emergency situations main street though given a new name on a map would still be the business core of stouffville simple let terhead changes though they may be costly are all that is needed in this case the 911 program should take precedence can human life really be included in an equation that involves business revenues look at the possibility of using hired- duty police officers for certain social events its a proposal that should be given serious consideration stouffville must as one source put it grow up as a town and take the lead in preventing future incidents the current policy with its lax securi ty and supervision will only invite similar events from occurring in future i couldnt imagine life around stouff ville without jim thomas at the helm of the tribune four working days in the last week saw jim somewhere other than his of fice or a crash scene or a community event or a fire anji i was left to fill the void he created when he decided to take a miniholiday me im just a young journalist who loves the newspaper business jim hes a local institution whose picture has graced the pages of the tribune since before i was a thought i knew when i arrived here early in the day on thursday that id be in for trouble while trying to fill jims jour nalistic shoes shortly after my arrival a gentleman dropped into the office to inquire about an antique photo he had in his posses sion he wondered if it might find a place in the newspaper upon greeting him i could see the disappointment that quickly registered on his face youre not jim thomas i kindly thanked him for his con sideration in providing us with the photograph but painfully regretted the fact that i wasnt jim phone calls from local residents were similarly frightening subliminal youre not jim thomas messages came across loud and clear as i spoke with readers consequently i subliminally apologized for my genealogical origins by dayend on friday i was reduced to considering a number of options that would preyent similar exchanges from occurring i thought i could pretend i was jim thomas with a bad cold insist i was jim thomas no matter what purchase a big old mamiya camera borrow a beige trench coat and hope people wouldnt notice who was ac tually taking the pictures ask jim to legally adopt me and call me jim jr in the end i dismissed all the possibilities and decided to stick it out until today when jim returns to work in he meantime jim was at home with his family listening to the statler brothers greatest hits and worrying about his newspaper anyway and as i rationalized the situation i came to the conclusion jim had an ad vantage over me in covering stouffville and the surrounding area hes lived and worked here his entire life hes within earshot of the fire siren 21 hours a day and his familiar face allows him entry into just about any newsworthy function and anyway everybody knows hes jim thomas editor of the tribune i would have to fumble with iden tification and bluff my way into such events and contend with yourenbt jim thomas types of situations j it doesnt matter id be there to get a story or a picture and by golly thats just what id do regardless of sideways glances and whispered hes just not jim statements being the stubborn paragraph ped dler that i am i decided to take the bull by the horns face the music stand up and be counted bite the bullet pay the piper and say to people im steve houston from the tribune steve who i know how joe clark felt editors mail wise move dear editor id appreciate space in your newspaper to comment on the of fice complex currently under con struction in stouffvilles memorial park it would seem to me the tribune i is making a mountain out of a mole hill in this regard true the building will cost up- wards of 60000 before its com pleted and youre right trespassers should not be permit ted in areas reserved for recreation however on the other side of the coin the structure is temporary a stopgap until something more per manent is available the alter native was an addition to the pre sent office museum that would have cost close to 300000 i believe the council in its wisdom acted wisely sincerely mrs freda allinson ironwood crescent stouffville no racism fishstory in the makin stouffville district secondary school students guy cowan and steve karlsson took advantage of last weeks springlike weather during their school break to get in a little fishing on wednesday the pair took a canoe and fishing gear out onto a pond in the soccer field across from sdss and tested the waters their field trip proved unsuccessful though nothing was biting jim thomas dear editor i resent the assumption that i will oppose the erection of a hindu church in my area personally i couldnt care less if its hindu moslem or baptist as long as it meets town requirements i can only presume our local council will deal with the applica tion in the same way yes theres a little bit of pre judice in all of us however i would like to think our area st johns sideroad is not racist to that extent sincerely mrs bertha ritchie rr 3 newmarket