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6 stouffville suntribune thursday july 102003 opinion publisher ian proudfoot telephone 9056402612 fax 9056408778 emailjmasonymgcom websitewwwyoricregioncom editorial rip down intrusive ad signs if you drive a vehicle take a bus jog ride a bike walk or crawl youve seen them earn 1000 a week from home driveway paving for less need a job quick cash call garage sale saturday signs signs signs theyre everywhere and theyre pol luting our communities theyre stuck or stapled to hydro poles plunked into the ground at inter sections and pasted on fence posts there is no business credibility or advertising jee for the freeloaders who post these signs last year town of markham employ ees removed 21000 of these eyesores from streets and busy intersections and still cant keep up removal costs fall squarely on taxpayers most towns however dont have the manpower or the budget markham musters up to pay four people seven days a week to remove these signs towns across york region admit it is difficult to police the situation and even harder to enforce bylaws banning such postings phone numbers are often mobile cells that make it difficult to track down elusive owners one solution to stopping offenders is to ignore them no business no profit no signs while mr macleod insists the signs are illegal a supreme court ruling in 1994 determined an absolute ban on poster ing on public property was unreasonable and a limit on freedom of expression that rulinghas made it even more dif ficult for towns to end the problem civil servants admit their solution remove the signs yourself suggests bill wiles markham manager of enforce ment and licensing hes absolutely right the best way to deal with this invasion is for citizens to rip down these signs every chance they get this isnt to say people should throw their cars inf opark at red lights and jump to remove signs but to be more intolerant andvigilant the problem becomes worse because often signs are never removed by offenders even after the business or event has run its course adamant to end this pollution one markham councillor has set up a volun teer brigade in his ward as a pilot project where residents remove signs as quickly as offenders post them to give owners lit tle or no public exposure and make it more costly to print and post signs than the business they drum up if you dont brush your teeth theyll turn yellow i dont you brush your teeth grandpa m letters to the editor rupert avenue expressway accident waiting to happen the residents of rupert avenue in west- end stouffville are very concerned for their safety it is becoming increasingly dangerous to walk on our street to cross the road to pick up mail to even get your car out of the drive way why too many lights on main street and what better way to avoid them than to whip along rupert to the ninth line and vice versa the volume of traffic is extremely exces sive at all times and all days and the speed of a great deal of that traffic is to put it mild ly dangerous as for our property values who would ever want to purchase a home on the rupert avenue expressway those who created the problem are silent the solutions are simple and they are cost effective but still no response rupert avenue is an accident waiting to happen not if but when arthur d robertson stouffville motor boats not problem at musselmans lake re pesticides not the problem letter to the editor july 3 i applaud you letter writer hugo kroon the stouffville suntribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and addressthe stouffville suntribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space write letters to the editor 34 civic ave po box 154 stouffville l4a 7z5 emailjmasonymgcom you spoke out about some of the realities of health risks i am really tired of politicians who contin ually go after the easiest targets of any issue the practice of confusing the masses and taking advantage has got to stop i as a taxpayer in a time of elections want to know what is being done about my lake musslemans dying like many other residents and their loved ones i swim in this lake is this a a health risk if i recall correctly councillor mark carroll was of the opinion motor boats must be the cause of the lake dying i can assure you there arent enough motor boats on this lake in any given summer sea son to kill it you are more likely to see canoes paddle boats and the occasional pontoon boat and of course swimmers easiest environmental target mr carroll confusing the masses lisemlow musselmans lake 0 stouffville magpm suntribune stouffville i a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave 3rd floor stouffville ontario l4a 7z5 phone 9056402612 fax9056408778 ciassified18007433353 distribution 9052948244 websitewwwyorkregioncom email jma5onyrngcom memberontario community newspapers association canadian community newspapers association ontario press council r editor in chief deborakelly editor jimmason reporters joan ransberry hannelore volpe retail sales manager steve kane sales representative susanbeny production manager pam nichols office manager vrvfancneil business manager robert lazurko director of marketing new product development brenda larson advertising director retail sales flyers nicole fletcher advertising director classified real estate events management gordpaolucd managing director real estate mikerogerson director of production johnfuthey distribution manager barry black sales manager new business development distribution dawna andrews general manager york region printing bob dean managing director york region events management debra wetter shows manager stacey allen classified manager ann campbell off the top with jim mason trouble with teens in this neighbourhood mr and mrs x hate stouffville teens not all of them just the ones who for nicate in public egg houses and steal stuff in their neighbourhood dont get me wrong i am not lump ing all teens in this category i know a lot of great teens mrs x said as cool as the names may be they are really not mr and mrs x the couple with a unique last name and prominent home is afraid of repercussions if their name appears inprint last month our home was vandal ized to the point where we couldnt repair the damage she said a neighbour coming home from work at 2 am saw four teenage boys doing the damage on the weekend my husband and i were going for a late night walk and a young teenage couple was having sex in the pathway on another walk through the subdi vision a bottle of water was jettisoned from the moon roof of a silver car when the xs caught up to the car and told the girls inside that littering wasnt cool they were given the finger cute so in the past week i have had to teach my young kids why people treat others with such disrespect mrs x said i have to explain language both body and verbal and teach them why they shouldnt do it yesj am trying to turn these into teachable moments but i cant help but wonder why these kids think that they can treat adults and property with such disrespect moms and dads of teenagers do you know what they are doing and where they are and she offers some advice for fellow stouffvillites lock your car doors at night there are a bunch of teens going around checking cars to see if they are unlocked if they are unlocked you will be robbed that happened to us last month and it happens on a consistent basis around the neighbourhoods the upshot shortly after our interview a luxury car belonging to some neighbours of the xs was keyed and its hood ornament stolen two days later nearby houses were egged more advice follow the principles of neighbourhood watch keep an eye oh the property of others see something suspicious phone york regional police jim mason is editor of the sun-