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6 stouffville suntribune thursday sept 112003 publisher ian proudfoot telephone 9056402612 fax 9056408778 email jmasonyrngcom website wwwyorkregioncom editorial im accountability needed in sewage spills york region has an unfortunate histo ry of dumping raw sewage into our lakes and streams v in 1997 a lightning strike triggered a series of malfunctions at the markham pumping station causing nine million litres of untreated sewage to flow into the east don river in 2001 for reasons that still arent clear one million litres of sewage entered the black river in sutton after an alarm system failed to alert officials for70 hours last month 200000 litres of raw sewage flowed into auroras tannery creek when a backup generator failed duringthe massive blackout theres little doubt those in charge of making sure york regions waterways are protected from such spills were as morti fied by me envfronmental calamities as residents who live near the polluted lakes and streams but how do we make sure the region doesnt allow more sewage spills the provincial governments answer seems to be to hit the region with mas sive fines the region pleaded guilty in the 1997 spill into the don river paying the environment ministry 35000 and it is now battling a charge relating to the 2001 spill in sutton already spend ing more than 28000 on legal fees the cost will escalate considerably when the case goes to trial the taxpayer is the real loser in this scenario of one level of government fin- ing another and york region residents are especially wronged since they suf fered the environniental degradation in the first place surely the money spentori the blame game much of which will go to a private law firm hired by the region would be better spent on finding a permanent solution to these spills in fact citizens deserve a guarantee that human waste wont violate our lakes and streams again even though these spills were caused by unusual events blackouts and light ning strikes happen and the regions water works department should have been prepared thats their job punitive fines arerit necessary york regions officials must be held accountable for this disturbing chain of events and that accountability must be made public if there was disciplinary action to ensure this will not happen again the public should know sat sun september registration j hockey t letters to the editor help wanted with fundraiser for quadriplegic luke anderson is a 25yearold graduate of the university of waterloo in engineering who suffered a tragic mountain bike accident in british columbia oct 27 2002 luke is a quadriplegic as a result of his injuries and has undergone rehabilitation at lyndhurst lodge in toronto he has moved into assisted living in toronto and is working toward his adjusted future you may know this handsome young man from his days at orchard park public school stouffville district secondary school or the university of waterloo luke may have been a school mate of your son or daughter he was- class valedictorian an ontario scholar and a gifted athlete during his time at sdss your connection may be through his sister logan or his parents chris arid bill luke has spent the majority of his life in our great town and needs your help while his spirit remains high he and his family face an incredible financial challenge as they adapt to this life change a bid and bop for luke has been organized for friday nov 7 at markham fairgrounds the event will include live entertainment a live and silent auction and late night buffet we are looking for sponsors for the event and items for the live and silent auction please consider how you might assist this wonderful young man 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 gvic ave po box 154 stouffville l4a7z5email jmasonyrngcom proceeds from the evening will go toward lukes transportation requirements to pro- videhim with muchneeded independence we thank you on behalf of the anderson family for more information or suggestions on how you can help luke please call 905- 6404705 or check out lukes website at wwwlukeandersonca please keep luke and his family in your thoughts and prayers life throws some pret ty tough curves luke is one of those individ uals who will overcome adversity and make great contributions in the future by assisting with his physical needs we can all enable that to happen this is an ideal opportunity to help one of our own please consider being part of lukes future we are looking for five large live auction items as well as several smaller items for the silent auction anything you can do to help out would be greatly appreciated please call 9056401323 gary bouwmeister friends of luke anderson stouffville stouffville 4 btoutjvtile mmm suntnbune ametrolarid community newspaper 34 gvic ave 3rd floor stouffville ontario l4a7z5 phone 9056402612 fax9056408778 classified 18007433353 distribution 9052948244 advertbing905421908 ext 221 website wwwyoricregloncom email jmasonynigcom membenorncommunity newspapers association canadian commurfy newspapers association ontano press council editor in chief debora kelly editor jim mason reporters joan ransberry hannelore volpe retail sales manager stevekane sales representative susan berry production manager pam nichols office manager yrvianoneb business manager robert lazurko advertising director retail safes flyers nicole fletcher advertising director classified real estate events management gordpaolucd managing director real estate miterogerson director of production johnfuthey distribution manager barrybladt sales manager new business development distribution dawna andrews general manager york region printing bob dean director marketing and promotions debraweller shows manager stacey allen classified manager anncampbefl off the top with jim mason nothing corny about survivors love for lerry fox bob garfield gets choked up when he talks about a guy hes never met hes not alone terry fox brings out that kind of emotion in canadians they can cry and smile at the same time bob gatfield 62 has extra reason he was already a cancer survivor wheri terry ran halfway across canada in 1980 before the cancer that already claimed one of his legs hit his lungs terry died the next year the story of bob gatfield is longer if not as spectacular the chartered accountant was 34 when he learned he had testicular can cer extensive rounds of chemotherapy at suhnybrook hospital in toronto rid him of the cancer but only temporarily a tumour was found in his abdomen morechemo and ive been cancer free for 28 years he said this week at his gormleyarea home now retired his new passion is long distance running he did the prestigious boston marathon this year and will do another in columbus ohio next month they make sundays 10 jaunt through stouffville the towns annual terry fox run a sprint but ifs the message not the mileage that will make it special in my training i often think about terry he said it sounds corny but there is a spirit there -r- it still rings very clear aside from the millions raised for cancer research at the runs bob sees more good coming five years ago he was named to terrys team an elite group of cancer survivors committed to the vision of terry fox ifs terrific that schools in stouffville and the stouffville spirit junior hockey team are involved he said its impor tant that the kids learn about volun- teerisrri that didnthappen in my day the spirit hosts a terry fox car wash saturday at houston ford several schools are holding their own runs arid he knows the value of raising money for the terry fox foundation mine was a real lucky story he said but having gone through what i did you understand the importance research can have jim mason is editor of the sun- tribune