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economist suntribune saturday may 4 2002 stouffville tribune a metroland community newspaper 9 heritage ra markham ont l3p 1m3 publisher ian proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly director of advertising debra welter editor jim mason production manager pam nichols distribution manager barry black electronic communications manager john futhey classified manager ann campbell retail sales manager stephen mathieu inside sales manager stacey allen business manager robert lazurko office manager vivian oneil letters municipal funds shouldnt be used to fix broken fences re no more sitting on the fence economist sun april 23 taxes are for the upkeep of public property such as roads and parks used by all residents not for rebuilding private fences on private property did markham councillor alex chiu think of the hardships such as high unemployment and reduced wages faced by the many tax payers on whose backs he is trying to load this unjust tax burden or of elderly people on fixed incomes or the fact all taxpayers are suffering under the rising cost of food clothing heating hydro and transportation add the rising cost of mortgage rates and some families are at the breaking point of losing their homes for some families this fence burden may be the straw that breaks the camels back and it is not a legitimate tax if this unjust expense is ever included in the towns budget we will never get rid of it what next do we also pay for fixing other eyesores on private property such as pot holes in driveways and repainting and reshin- gling rundown homes it must be wonderful for someone to sit in a budget meeting and decide how much money the town needs for the coming year and then give the bill to the taxpayer and say this is what you owe and by the way i know some people whose private fences need rebuilding and i have decided you must pay for that also phone your councillor now if you dont want this fence giveaway on your back and if he or she supports it you know what to do at the next municipal election edgar corea markham cedar grove land decision leaves markham and ontario poorer well the politicians of ontario and markham finally let the toronto roman catholic cemetery board take over the ontario realty corporation lands in the heritage com munity of cedar grove thats what happened people here were promised the first right to purchase back but instead this week markham carried through with its plan to swap opinion lands on ninth line with land in cedar grove at the corner of steeles avenue and reesor road which the toronto roman catholic cemetery board was given permission to purchase and we werent also this week heritage families received eviction notices to leave the land their grand parents had from day one this week the people of markham and ontario are poorer and should cry again because this land will not be included in rouge park and could have been instead years from now will we have to buy back the land we now own like the proposed purchase of part of settlers park in thornhill liladeer markham thanks to all for kind words after whitchurchstouffville barn fire on the evening of april 24 a barn fire at my vivian road farm in rural whitchurch- stouffville claimed the lives of two quarter horses and six arabians i would like to express my gratitude to the friends neighbours horse lovers and strangers throughout york and durham regions for the flowers gifts cards letters and phone calls expressing sadness and condolences for the last 20 years my horses have added incredible pleasure and fulfillment to my life i feel privileged to have cared for them and took delight in simply watching them run and play in my paddocks it would appear from the letters and phone calls that many others during their daily com mutes also received enjoyment from watch ing them in the fields the knowledge so many others shared my gift and now share my pain has made this ter rible loss a little easier to bear athena dunn whitchurchstouffville same old faces policies in premiers new cabinet i was not surprised to see the newly appoint ed ernie eves cabinet this cabinet signals the same old faces and the same old policies with only a different face managing the roles appointing janet ecker finance minister makes little sense since she failed in her last role as education minister i fail to see how she is qualified to take ontarios most important role making thornhill mpp tina molinari asso ciate minister of municipal affairs and housing is another stupid move since her background is in education i fail to see how she deserves any role in cabinet since she has done nothing outstand ing for thornhill or the people of ontario ernie eves has simply shuffled faces but the meanspirited policies of the government remain the very same in the very short time mr eves has to prove himself to ontario before the next election he will have to make dramatic changes i look forward to the next election to see the eves government send a clear message larry israelson thornhill letters policy stoufmle tribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and address the newspaper reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space write letters to the editor 9 heritage rd markham ont l3p 1m3 email letterseconsuncom stouffville tribune serving the community since 1888 gpe cca canadian circulations audit board member ontario press council canadian publications mail product sales agreement 1403419 subscription rates by mail 1 year 6955 thursdays only stouffville tribune published every thursday and saturday is one of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd group of newspapers which includes the ajax pickering news advertiser alliston heraldcourier barrie advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington post city parent collingwoodwasaga connection east york mirror erin advocatecountry routes etobicoke guardian flamborough post georgetown independent acton free press kingston this week lindsay this week midlapdpenetanguishene mirror milton canadian champion milton shopping news mississauga news newmarket- aurora georgina erabanner northumberland news north york mirror oakville beaver oakville shopping news orillia today oshawawhitbyclaringtonport perry this week peterborough this week richmond hillthomhillvaughan liberal scarborough mirror stouffville tribune todays seniois uxbridge tribune and city of york guardian phone 95 2942200 fax 905 2941538 classified i8oo7433353 distribution 905 2948244 distributioneconsuncom telephone 905 2942200 416 7987624 fax 905 2941538 email nevvsroomeconsuncom roy green couldnt they strap batteries on backs of cute little bunnies t heres been an earthquake and you find yourself trapped in the rubble of your collapsed home youre trying to dig your way out when you hear a highpitched squeaking and something furry runs up your leg in thedim light it appears to be a rat with a ninevolt battery strapped to its back you grab a nearby brick and crush it you have just killed rescue rat im sure you saw the story and the photographs this week the pentagon is developing live remotecontrolled rats that could be used to detect land mines and find people trapped in col lapsed buildings the rats have electrical probes wired into their brains and respond to com mands issued by a researcher using a laptop computer and a mouse i assume they wear microchips and tiny wire less computers on their backs we can train and guide a rat to go over many terrains said dr john chapin the researcher in charge of the roborat project wed like to train rats to go toward the smell of a person at first glance it sounds like a great idea but then i got to thinking about how i would feel after an earthquake lying in the wreckage with only one tbing to look forward to the arrival of a rat id be hoping i was buried with my cell phone so i could call 911 and say i dont mind waiting a little longer dont send the rat isnt it true that rats at least some rats have a somewhat checkered past when it comes to their attitude toward people trapped in the wreckage of build ings kind of a breakfastlunchdinner altitude so if the pentagon is so smart why cant they wire up noncannibalistic burrowing animals to save trapped earthquake victims rescue rabbits for instance its probably a question of optics and being politically correct theyd come under a lot of fire if they put electrical probes on cute little bunnies as it is the animal rights groups have already registered their disapproval of the rat plan rats are not tonka trucks with whiskers said mary beth sweetland of people for the ethical treatment of animals this is just another way that people are showing how they really feel about rats has there ever been any doubt about how most people really feel about rats as far as im concerned the only place for rats is well underground except when im lying there under my rubble