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w fe economist suntribune saturday march 24zodi stbuffville tribune a metroland community newspaper 9 heritage rd markham ont l3p 1m3 publisher ian proudfoot general manager alvin brouwer editor in chief brenda larson director of advertising debra wetter deputy editor debora kelly editor jim mason production manager pam nichols distribution director barry goodyear online publishing manager margaret fleming classified manager ann campbell retail sales manager stephen mathieu inside sales manager stacy allen business manager robert lazurko office manager vivian oneil f letters solving environmental problems means looking at the big picture ir seems every day i read some kind of environmental story in newspapers across the greater toronto area with that in mind i wonder when we will start to look at the entire picture instead of just our own backyard here are a few issues as examples we have a new trunk sewer going up the ninth line in markham the york region water pipeline is rproposedto run frbfrflake ontario through pickering andthe heart of the duffinrouge jagriculture preservejn markham up to the oak t ridges moraine in whitchufch- stbuffville and of course the eastern exten sion of hwy407 which was exempted from a full federal environmental assessment ifybu all add all these up they guarantee uncontrolled sprawl as the public outcry increases over the loss of farmland and green space the province is sellipgofflandhpldings to developers that takesmoreyarmsout of production and more farmers out of business in europe many birds fly from one coun try to another and even over the english channel which is only 20 miles wide at the narrowest point the virus is carried on the feet of the birds which have fed in the fields of infected herds in spite of the precautions taken how is it possible that parts of ireland have reported cases of footandmouth disease the obvious answer again is birds in the t early 1930s when there were outbreaks a a mis is happening at a time when inter- lesser scale in france england and germany national food supplies are being cut because it was then considered that birds played a lofuvestpck disease i j s this is a wakeup call to ustiiat we need c toprqtect ioci must also beginto practice serious conservation of major part in the spread adam johnstone markham erisureiinteuigent regional planning isin how many people must complain before jjlace instead bf municipality by municipality the town of markhahi does something about totehsurebur sprawl doesnt implode and the proliferation bf unleashed dogs at milne eayeuswithany styiebf life v i have nothing against dogs in general v jbernadette manning however as every responsible owner knows at yorkreaioilcoiti v v f markham even tlie friendliest dogscan never be com- j 3 pletely trusted around small children on another occasion i witnessed seven dog owners walking together in milne park none of whom had their dogs on a leash the bylaw signs are clearly posted throughout the park so ignorance is not an excuse milne park is large enough that the town should consider fencing in a section where dogs can legally run free this combined with regular enforcement and stiff fines for violators should minimize the problem at the very least the existing leash bylaw should be enforced some would argue that such restrictions violate a dogs freedom and dogs deserve the same rights as people i hate to break the bad news but dogs are not people if the choice is between the dogs freedom and a childs safety my vote will always be for the latter gerald blanchard markham join our online discussions 3 vfi every precaution lias been taken to ing afejtwb other unleashed dogs my son yu frjpfeventfurtkerou loves dogsbiithe was clearly frightenedby al europe themain causefor the the experience vi pisyt- how would ydii feel ifa giant dbg knocked ivvbyfepbrtsinthe nationaforibcal mediaybu dowriunexpectedlythenplaced its v- v su v cannotbe prevented and that is birds toothy jaws inches away from your face l e tte rp01i cy your opinion is important to us for our let ters to the editor pages and on our web site we invite you to join the ongoing discus sions at ybrkregioncom and youre welcome to launch your own discussion there too the site serves readers of the york region newspaper group which includes the economist sun stouffville tribune richmond hillthbrnhillvaughan liberal newmarket aurora erabanner georgina advocate and stouffville sun sv 1 submissions must be lessjhan siiaoo wowis and must include a 3 fxy v daytime telephone number i i5name and address theft saw vs r 0 newspaper reserves the nght to sfv c v i publish or not publish and to wps vs r ivf fedit for clanty and space aer email tteiseonuncomj- 9 j- oiiffmetribuhe serving thecommuriiry since 1888 -j- f canadian qflailattonshvy i t i audit boarf member n ontario pn i vul press coundl c9nadimpuucationsmailpnductsaleaereencm1403419- suftsofetiw rates hy if 7 o-r- v stoufmlle tribune published eveiy thursday and saturday is one of the metroland printing publishing and distnbutlng ltd group of newspapers which includes the ajavpickering news advertiser alston heraldcourier v barrie advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington ipdstf city parent r connection east york mirror erin advocatecountry jroutes etoblcoke guardian- flamborough post georgetown independentacton free press kingston this week lindsay this week- midjandpenetangulshene minor milton canadian champion milton shopping news mtsslssauga news newmarket- s aurora georgina erabanner noruiumbedand news north york mirror oakville beaver oakrille shopping news orillia today oshawawhltbyclarlngtonport perry tws week peterborough this- week richmond v hillthomhlllvaughan liberal scarborough mirror stoufmlle tnbune todays seniors uxbrldjje tnbune and city of yorkguardian j v tfff phone9052942200 vt -classified- distribution ti faxt905 2941538 1-800-743-3353- 9052948244 s- distnbutiorhatconsunxom j j telephone- 905 2942200 416 7987624 fax 905 2941538 email newsroomeconsuncom frank daggett children shouldnt have to suffer for parents childishness r ink rage where there are organized sports you are virtually guaran teed some level of rink rage whether it be at the hockey arena the soccer field or the ball diamond ask any referee and he will tell you about parents who spoil childrens sports widi their verbal abuse of coach es referees and other players displays of hostile behaviour at sports events have never been worse than last summer near boston during a minor hockey practice after verbally attacking the organizer a father was asked to leave following practice he returned and beat the orga nizer unconscious while four children including two of the victims own chil dren witnessed the horrifying scene the victim later died and the father was charged with manslaughter in york region there are referees who have been the targets not only of verbal abuse but physical abuse as well as a result of some of these incidents fences will be erected between the crowd and the playing field at soccer games in aurora there are several reasons why rink rage has worsened psychologists and sports authorities say society as a whole is to blame we are seeing an erosion of civility in society as a whole said fred engh president of the floridabased national alliance for youth sports and sports just mirrors what is happening all around us thats a far cry from what i remem ber growing up playing minor sports i played hockey at the house league level for most of my minor league career but i cant remember any fits of rage at any time sure there was politics but it never spilled out into a riot however when i played junior b hockey i noticed a difference with the increase in competitiveness on the ice came an increase in competitiveness off the ice fortunately my parents never pres sured me to participate in hockey or any other sport which is why when i didnt enjoy playing anymore i could walk awaybut not everyone has that oppor tunity professional sports has become a multibillioridollar empire where belowaverage players can make mil lions for parents who live vicariously through their childrens accomplish ments the dream of playing pro is noth ing more than a meal ticket- their chil drens happiness is forgotten as parents are driven to win children shouldnt have tb suffer for the childishness of their parents if t behave like adultejx they should take their ball and go home am- v i