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page 6 the stouffville sun tuesday feb 25 2003 a weekly newspaper serving whitchurchstouffville a metroland community newspaper 34 civic avenue box 154 stouffville ontario l4a 715 905 640261 2 fax 6408778 ian proudfoot regional publisher steve kane advertising manager jlm mason managing editor susan berry cherryl steer sales reps pam nlchols production manager subscriptions canada 32year indudes gst elsewhere 8025 year includes gst reg no 05852 email edhorsiourfyiliesuncom ribbon editorial fouctt opinions expressed by columnisb confrtukxs and letter writers are not necessarily ifiose of fe stodfofea letters nok exceed 400 words must include name and phone number phone number wil not be published requests thai a name be withheld will be honoured only if fare is a compelling reason to do so errors wffl be corrected brought to the editors attention we reserve the right to edit or refuse publication of any material submitted advb01smg poucy publisher is not liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement the publisher is not liable for other errors or omissions in any subsequent issue or the refund or any monies paid for the advertisement all claims of error must be made by friday prior to the next weeks publication no daimwill be allowed far more than one insertion 1 editorial towns vision in less than 10 months whitchurchstouffville residents will vote once in a municipal election scheduled for nov 10 and probably a second time in a provincial election that is rumoured for this spring or fall to avoid confusion for voters we hope the ernie eves conservatives avoid the fall for their election all we need are two sets of lawn signs and advertisements to throw at voters remember the fall of 2000 with its municipal and federal elections just days apart the local municipal election means big change mayor wayne emmerson will not seek reelection and some councillors are at least pondering retirement from municipal politics vision is a word widely used when discussing leaders be they in the business world or the political arena it implies a future look at a community through a master plan what should the vision of whitchurchstouffville be what should a candidate say during the election campaign to earn your vote some rural residents with large properties tell us property taxes need to be lowered by the town york region and the two regional school boards is this possible without service cuts should it be a priority downtown stouffville looks pretty and has fewer vacancies than previously mayor emmerson said he wished he could have done more to assist the downtown does it need more help does it need a vision or a new theme how many residents shop downtown is the buildup of the west end of stouffville hurting downtown does stouffville need another arena a theatre for the arts a bypass of the downtown core a new medical centre all of the above have been suggested whats your vision for whitchurchstouffville tell your neighbours by writing the editor of the stouffville sun were most interested in original ideas keep your submissions to less than 400 words be a visionary b flashback think summer the weekend blizzard got you down dont think the winter of 2003 will ever end summer will arrive with its warm weather and outdoor sports above members of the stouffville league champs from 1933 from left front row pete clendenning norman baker and jack pennock back row harry stover reg button and lou lehman stourvnle1e71977hisowbocphoto 8 letters to the editor no council experience required by new mayor to the editor i disagree with your feb 18 editorial in which you argue that experience on council and thorough knowledge of the municipal act are prerequisites for the job of mayor the next mayor must in my opinion have two contradictory qualities on the one hand shehe needs a bold clearly stated vision and the willingness to defend and promote that vision on the other hand the next mayor must possessthe capacity to discuss and debate policy issues in a public forum and to listen to consult and respond to public opinion it is the job of staff consultants and lawyers to be municipal act experts it is the job of the mayor to lead jim priebe stouffville mayor failed to be towns spiritual leader to the editor business is indeed a part of being a mayor as your feb 18 editorial stated however a mayor is also a spiritual leader as is his council perhaps it is time whitchurchstouffville had a ceo- the role of mayor is part cheerleader part visionary part healer part knower part seeker our present mayor wayne emmerson is a good businessman not a great spiritual leader a greatsports leader perhaps he somehow failed to see his job was to heal the town rather than tear it apart perhaps for this reason his roof leaked his library flooded and the walls came tumbling down on his watch we lost valuable farmland to greed and suffered formidable threats to our water supply a wonderful opportunity for the community to create a- spiritual centre in the center of town was lost oh his heart was in the right place but his pocket book differed he somehow thought money was more important than feelings randy mole stouffville jivv ivrvi r letters to the editor can be mailed to the stouffville sun box 154 stouffville l4a 7z5 or faxed to 905 6408778 letters can also be emailed to editorstouffvillesuncom or you can hand rlaluiar tfvitr lta f s ii- clmi ftt mi cmt downtown stouffville please include phone numbers where- you may be verification purposes only org join the discussion at stoiiftvillesuncom your opinion is important to us in both letters to the editor and discussion groups on our web site stouffvillesuncom join an online discussion on issues that affect your town come back often for others feedback and more discussion on a variety of topics at stouffvillesuncom click on the stouffville link and read current and archived stouffville news hit opinion to read your favourite local columnists jim mason and jim thomas and please feel free to email editorstouffviilesuncom with your thoughts