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t 4 tt r j economist sunjtribune saturday july 13 2002 stouffville tribune a metroland community newspaper 9 heritage rd markham ont l3p 1m3 opinion publisher ian proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly director of advertising debra weller editor jim mason classified manager ann campbell production manager pam nichols retail sales manager stephen mathieu distribution manager barry black electronic communications manager john futhey inside sales manager staceyallen business manager robert lazurko office manager vivian oneil letters sidewalks more important than trees when it comes to safety re residents protest sidewalk plan july 6 i am writing in response to the article concerning sidewalks being installed on drakefield road in markham near roy h crosby public school my children have gone to school there for eight years during this time i have seen the traffic in the area increase significantly as the schools population rises so does the traffic congestion due to buses and par ents who drive their children to class the danger to students who must walk to school also increases significantly there is no better answer to the traffic problem than sidewalks i believe the whole neighbourhood should have sidewalks many children walk on southdale drive as well as on drakefield road and other streets in the area the traffic is in the whole neighbour hood not just by the school cars park on all streets surrounding the school before during and directly after class sidewalks would keep our children and all pedestrians off of the road and out of the path of vehicles many people in the area might know the school just as a neighbourhood facility but this is no longer the case roy h crosby has neighbourhood chil dren as well as those who are in the gifted program and are from all over markham these students must be bused in many are from new housing developments in the area these children are also bused to the school i would rather watch my trees die than see a child hurt by a car or killed while walk ing to or from school wendy alexanderpenny markham skateboarding feature short on basic research re boarding craze in full flight july 4 as a skateboarder i was excited to see an article about skateboarding but as i sat to read it i was disappointed first it was gender specific uh0 skateboarding already has an image of being genderexclusive and such writing only strengthens such an obstacle second phrases like do you really want your kid sailing toptobottom down a flight of stairs in the name of expressing himself are detrimental do parents ask themselves if a child who boxes should get punched in the face in the name of selfexpression such negative descriptions could hinder the image of any sport and it is a sport not just a matter of selfexpression finally what is olympicstyle snow- boarding slalom or halfpipe someone writing an article on some thing they know little about should do some basic research vert skating came along far before snowboards were invented benconoley newmarket canada day television coverage neglected military contributions cbcs canada day presentation kept me in front of my tv from start to finish it would be hard not to feel proud of our peo ple and accomplishments when they are presented so accurately and in a profes sional manner maybe i was not watching or listening for brief periods but i did not hear or see any mention of canadas involvement in a couple of world wars and peacekeeping lets not forget young men and latterly women volunteered to serve in canadas army navy and air force volunteered they were not conscripted sadly more than 100000 gave their lives they did not return to see their country grow but they contributed greatly to canada being recognized as an indepen dent nation it would have been appropriate to acknowledge the military aspect of canadas success and the service men and women who fought to keep our country free bill scott thornhill no law can force me to be considerate to other drivers to the drivers of york region please stop harassing me im the guy in the blue sports car who parks in those new spots at shopping malls and supermarkets reserved for parents with children only or some such idiotic sign some genius decided it would be a good idea to paint a pink baby carriage on the pavement put up a sign and hope people would think its a new bylaw and sure enough each time i exit my vehicle some concerned citizen repri mands me because im without a child and warns me fiercely ill get towed or ticketed or tells me im a jerk i get it the spots are supposed to encourage courtesy and politeness but its not now nor will it ever become legislation its discriminatory so stop chastising me if the spots free im taking it no law can ever exist that forces someone to be selfless and considerate do you honestly think if you have kids and i dont that youre entitled to a special parking spot and im not how would they police that anyway give drivers with children a dashboard sticker with a stork on it and what about the remainder of us who have an identifiable circumstance seeing as the first row is already blue for the physically challenged and pink for peo ple with children i suggest the following additions just to be fair the second row should be painted white for seniors the third row ought to be green and reserved for those with mercedes bmws and porsches rich people shouldnt have to walk far theyve earned it the fourth row needs to be rustcoloured and allotted for people with nasty cars which probably wouldnt make it to the other end of the parking lot anyway the fifth row must be yellow and set aside for people who are more than 90 pounds overweight and the sixth row must be purple for those with a lousy sense of direction who may have trouble finding the store if theyre farther away rows seven and beyond can later be divided up based on marital status income education level religion sex and ethnic ori gin it sounds ludicrous but no more so than allowing people who chose to have children to park closer at least handicapped spaces are law and those who use them did not choose to need them its as if were equating the two saying having children is comparable to having a handicap heres the difference my right to be dis courteous and impolite is godgiven consti tutionally accepted and civilly protected your right to park in the first row if you have a kid is not get your cart and leave me alone eric a wolf richmond hill what do all those designations mean to average car buyer is the average consumer as confused as i am i am referring to automobiles i see advertised in the paper the 2002 rsx and the lx 4door hello what does this mean but there is variety ill grant you that you can get an le ce sd dx srs z24 ve or an ex take your choice but it is good to know if none of the above satisfies you theres always the se sle lx14 gl or glx i havent the foggiest idea what all these designations mean but hey i drive an lt ernest w booth aurora letters policy stouffville 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 nana one canadian circulations 1 audit board member ontario press council canadian publications mail product sales agreement d1403419 subscription rates by mail 1 year 6955 thursdays only how to get in touch with us telephone 9056402612 fax 9052941538 email newsroomeconsuncom distribution 905 2948244 distributioneconsuncom classified advertising 8532527 18007433353 9 heritage road markham l3p 1m3 tj stouffville tribune published every thursday and saturday is one of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd group of newspapers which includes the ajaxpickeririg news advertiser alliston heraldcourier 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