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the stouffville sun tuesday march 4 2003 page 7 a canadian hockey town to be proud of w here players dash with skates aflash the home team trails behind but they grab the puck and go bursting up and theyre down across the line they storm the crease like bumble bees they travel like a burning flame we see them slide thepiick inside its a 11 hockey game the hockey song stompin tom connors ok so detroit is really hockey town and for good reason the toronto area lives and dies only with its beloved maple leafs detroit worships its stanley cup champion red wings but it also supports major junior and college pucks like no other city in north america at the same time toronto ignores university hockey and attendance at major junior games in mississauga brampton and toronto has been disappointing stouffville isnt about to lay claim to the crown there are hundreds of towns like it across canada with indoor rinks town teams and local hockey heroes still its encouraging to see the game embraced again in this town the way it has this winter saturday night it was standing room only at the stouffville arena for the stouffville spirit playoff game against the newmarket hurricanes the rink was abuzz the lineup for hot chocolate at the snack bar endless and the cheering for both teams loud and proud playing neighbouring newmarket in a playoff series that went the sevengame max didnt hurt the coffers of either franchise jtvafl bmk jim aaason off the top both have loyal fan bases that travel to visiting rinks to back their teams especially when theyre only 20 minutes away a large contingent of fans most spirited rang bells honked horns and generally made themselves heard at game 7 in newmarket sunday outside the ray twinney recreation complex the wind howled stronglyinside the hometown hurricanes were beaten back mostly by five unanswered stouffville goals give newmarket credit for fighting back and making a game out of it in the third but the spirit still won 75 the spirit also drew well almost exclusively from the local area for its first- round sweep of the couchiching orillia terriers not bad for an eightyearold franchise without a championship to its credit but all is not as well in some other markets in the provincial junior a hockey league there were sections completely devoid of fans at games in aurora and markham last week both communities have quality teams this year that finished first and second respectively in their conferences so whats the problem have these once autonomous communities merely become extensions of toronto are the new canadians that have moved to this area from other sides of the planet not hockey fans back to stouffville its not just junior hockey that ticks here check out youth hockey provincial championship banners won by boys and girls teams line both rinks in the stouffville arena a weekend tournament drew teams from across ontario the stouffville amateur hockey league is marking its 25th anniversary this season it has a lot to celebrate record numbers of men and more recently women have played in the association that is every bit a social entity as it is as sports association then theres the buttermakers pad an outdoor ice rink located at boyds source for sports in westend stouffville its a throwback natural ice with boards and a new roof no registration fees and no reservations just show up and join in or wait for the group in front of you to finish its version of the stanley cup final two weekends ago teams of all ages paid to play on the rink in a fundraiser for accident victim luke anderson hockey night in canadas ron maclean saw the stouffville hockey scene first hand earlier this year when 1300 jammed the town rink for keiths actons the game of our lives so ron if youre looking for locations for next years hockey day in canada the daylong look at the game on cbctv you know where we are jim mason is managing editor of the stoujfville sun and a director of the stouffville spirit junior a hockey league team bowes sets the record straight and more for several weeks whitchurch- stouffvilles ward 5 councillor harry bowes has been attempting to set the record straight with regard to a recent column of mine related to his alleged opposition to the opening of beacon house on church street in stouffville on friday he succeeded but i came prepared in addition to the above i had issues to discuss with him queries and responses follow question are you interested in the office of mayor answer absolutely not its a fulltime job id have to quit too many other things question school trustee or town councillor which is the most difficult answer a councillors position is five times easier theres less of a workload and fewer phone calls the area of jurisdiction is much smaller question should a mayoralty candidate have council experience answer by all means question how much is a councillor paid answer i think its 1800 or l900a year but im not sure because i give most of it back question what partof council life do you most enjoy answer getting things done baker street will be paved this year from main street to manitoba street with sidewalks constructed on one side following consultation with residents question the towns facing a sizeable budget increase what are the main causes answer road reconstruction is a big expense weve fallen far behind some of our roads are in bad shape garbage collection costs are way up hi ibi jim thomas ffesffl nf nfih mhjhib j roaming around question in your opinion has mayor emmerson done a good fair or poor job answer i think hes done a fair job his attitude towards people is bad in many instances hes too rough question who is your choice as mayor emmersons successor answer i have no statement i must work with him or her no matter who wins question do you favour the system of user pay answer i favour the system of adult user pay the arenas the one facility that makes money but ice time costs 200 an hour question is town residential development too much too little or just right answer residential developments being spread over 10 or 1 1 years if we dont add any more well be alright question financially is the town too soft on developers answer were not too soft development charges are high question in the beginning why did you oppose the group home on church street answer its not a group home and i didnt oppose it i received 32 phone calls about it i had to contact the people who contacted me i only wanted more information but a member of town staff wouldnt allow me to attend the meeting when the project was being discussed on july 25 i received the information i wanted theres no problem now i sit on the advisory committee of the whitby mental health centre question is a new stouffville fire hall in the 2003 budget answer funds will come from the sale of our hydro system two sites are being considered question is a theatre for the performing arts dead answer it seems the new arts and cultural committee doesnt wish to be involved i dont know why there are two sites in mind the missionary church and the skateboard park question what can be done to save stouffvilles downtown answer i saw the writing on the wall back in 1971 the downtown will remain small the west end will be the centre of town question is there a place for party politics in municipal council answer im absolutely opposed to parry politics in council look what its done to toronto question do you favour the move by the silver jubilee club to the old town hall answer im neutral what i wanted for the former library and the old town hall was rejected i dont have an opinion question is media coverage of council meetings fair answer yes i think its fair but all letters to the editor arent fair thats something over which i have no control jim thomas is a stouffville resident who has written for area newspapers for more than 50 years stouffville says by hannelore volpe h spring is just around the corner what are your thoughts carol wilson i usually spend part of the winters where it is warm and sunny i am looking forward to longer days warmth and getting out in the garden joanne stevenson spring is my favourite time of year i like to see the tulips come up the buds on the trees and that nice green grass i can finally wear my shorts murray wagg i am looking forward to opening up- the cottage we hope we can get in through the snow now we want to see green grass and flowers millie forrester lam looking forward to going on nice long walks this winter it was too icy and cold to get out too much everyone i know wants spring to come so we can get out more patricia schickedanz it has been hard on the farm animals we have to bring the horses in more because of the bitter wind and snow drifts it will be nice to get the horses back outside and it will be nice for the kids to get back outdoors