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mts036kr 1 i i i economist suntribune thursday sept 12 2002 t 1 5 stouffville tribune a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave stouffville on l4a 7z5 publisher ian proudfoot editorial junior hockey teams could use support are york region residents hockey fans or nhl fans there is a difference the provincial junior a hockey league sea son opens tonight on four fronts the league a branch of the ontario hockey association has six teams in york region the markham waxers thornhill rattlers and vaughan vipers play in the south conference while the aurora tigers newmarket hurricanes and stouffville spirit are in the north conference its good hockey one level below the barrie colts ottawa 67s and other teams in themajor junior ontario hockey league its the best hockey played in york region the players often homegrown kids are aspiring to play in the ohl or for us or canadian college or uni versity teams but does anyone care many league games are played in front of fewer than 200 people on their drive to the north conference title last year the aurora tigers played in front of sections of empty seats during some playoff games only when the tigers met archrival newmarket did the aurora community centre fill up why the apathy canadian sports fans only seem interested in bigtime pro sports these days theyll spend more than 100 for a ticket to see the leafs and drive through a snowstorm to get to the air canada centre to watch it but they wont drive around the comer in their own community to spend 8 to see the hometown team play like it or not we are now living in suburbia or right next door to it many of our towns have become large and anonymous some residents think of themselves as toronto residents pride in their local community isnt what it was the league and many of its member teams must take some of the blame its not good enough to put a team on the ice and expect fans to pack your building with such a high concentration of teams in this area the league should market its product advertise and promote the large number of teams is part of the problem its no longer special to have a junior a hockey franchise in your community there are 10 provincial league teams within a 45- minute drive of richmond hill where officials have said they want another club located the talent level may be diluted thanks to the high number of teams but its still good quality hockey many teams have put a push on to develop and play local talent instead of import ing players that means youll likely be watching your neighbours when you go to a game the stouffville spirit hosts the collingwood blues tonight at 730 in one of four season- opening games in the provincial junior a hockey league on friday night markham is home to toronto st michaels on saturday ajax plays at thornhill why not consider going opinion letters to the editor many ways to conceive children re homosexual partners cant become par ents without cheating letter to the editor by ghcollettsept7 when we were married 43 years ago next week in an anglican church with an anglican minister the vows did not as i remember mention children we were to love honour and obey in sickness and in health for better and worse etc gh collett should be dragged into the 21st century there are such things as adoption in vitro fertil ization and artificial insemination there is no need for gay couples to cheat on each other apart from that we are familiar with sever al gay couples and would rather see them rais ing children than say that conventionally married couple the bernardos the only reality in marriage is love either between a couple of whatever sex or among parents and children whoever they may be diane bill dodds markham teachers tired because of criticism re what could possibly be tiring out york public board teachers letter by j shaw sept 7 teachers are tired because of individuals such as j shaw who undermine their relation ship with students and their communities through public degradation of their profession the economist sunstouffville tribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and address the economist sundtribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space write letters to the editor 9 heritage rd markham l3p 1m3 email letterseconsuncom how do we expect our children to show our teachers the respect they deserve if we as adults do not i have three schoolage children and have recently become an uncertified supply teacher it has been an eyeopening experience j shaw should spend a day in the classroom attending to the needs of 30plus students including those with behavioural and emotional issues make sure you extend your day for lesson preparation meetings report cards commu nicating with parents interviews tutoring and extracurricular activities oh and dont forget your weekends which are spent marking doing lesson plans super vising occasional trips and record keeping teachers put in a full years work and then some during the school year without complaint as for the comment regarding the 12 weeks they have off in the summer which is actu ally only eight many participate in profes sional development courses teach summer school and coach sports sharon smyth stouffville editorial editor jim mason newsroomeconsuncom advertising retail sales manager steve kane stevektheliberalcom sales manager new business development distribution dawna andrews dandreivseraliannetcom classified manager ann campbell anncerabannercom real estate manager mike rogerson production electronic communications manager john futhey jfutheyymgcom distribution distribution manager barry black bblackcrabannercom administration office manager vivian oncil voneileconsuncom york region events managing director debra weller divelleryrngcom shows manager staceyallen sallenyrngcom york region printing general manager bob dean bdeanyrngcom editorial 9052942200 fax 2941538 advertising 2942200 classified 1-800- 7433353 fax 8531765 distribution 9052948244 qeh canadian ontario press circulations audit council board member stouffville tribune a york region newspaper group community newspaper the stouffville tribune published every thursday and saturday is a member of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd a whollyowned subsidiary of torstar corporation metroland is comprised of 70 community publications across ontario the york region newspaper group includes the liberal serving richmond hin and thornhill vaughan ctoen markham economist sun stouffville tribune stouffville sun georgia advocate york regton business times at home good life yorkregkincom and york region printing editor in chief debora kelly business manager robert lazurko director marketing new product development brenda larson advertising director retail flyer sales nicole mathieu advertising director classified real estate events management gord paolucci debora kelly labour woes spoil idyllic picture of return to school whose heart was riot warmed by the sight of their bright- eyed and bubbly children merrily making their way back to school last week but alas did you cross your fingers behind your back as you watched their knapsacked backs bob off what parent did not hope for a school year free of nasty labour woes a year bereft of contentious wrangling between teachers and government by all accounts premier ernie eves tories are trying a different tactic while former premier mike harris was always up for a swipe at union bosses mr eves favours less dismissive terms optimistic parents can be cheered by this climate while the cynics in the crowd can hold their breath the eves tories are standing hard on changes made on mr harris watch such as allowing workers to cross pick et lines if they choose permitting a 60- hour work week and placing restric tions on union organizing drives in that vein unions are still pledging to bring down this government teachers unions remain wary despite the provinces move to review the funding formula the battle with school boards in toronto ottawa and hamilton shows it isnt afraid to get into the drivers seat while the tories say the ouster of balancedbudgetchallenged trustees is a move to bring stability to class rooms it gave many parents a pro nounced feeling of uneasiness mr eves more common sense revolution just could see chaos erupt in our schools with nearly every teach ers union without a contract contracts for both public board sec ondary and elementary teachers in york have expired the deal for catholic board teachers runs to 2003 negotiations this fall will be light on substance with the funding formula and its dangling carrot of a funding boost not expected until november mr eves has dropped hints grants may be in the offing to help boards boost salaries though that was before ottawa announced it would force ontario to make good on a 133- billion overpayment in tax revenues parents can voice their opinions on education funding by visiting the education equality task force website wwwedfundingreviewonca wendy van straten the head of the york region chapter of the elementary teachers federation perhaps has the best advice you just put on your pollyanna hat and hope for the best but prepare for the worst and keep those fingers crossed