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6 stouffviue suntribune thursday oct 2 2003 opinion publisher ian pr0udf00t telephone 9056402612 fax 9056408778 emailjmasonymgcom website wwwyorkregioncom editorial lets hope liberals plan isnt more of same if one is to believe the polls heading into todays provincial election we are entering a brave new world under a liberal government liberal leader dalton mcguinty has promised a new focus on the greater toronto area the economic engine of our province and this country that has been idling under the tory reign in york region that means we can also expect funding for public transit affordable housing and major infrastruc ture projects as well as reduced sprawl and waste the liberal plan to do something about the gridlock that is draining more than 2 billion every year from the gta economy is particularly welcome they will create a greater toronto transportation authority gtta hope fully more than a newandimproved version of the tories scrapped greater toronto services board gtsb with the gta forecasted to add yet another two million residents by 2021 its vitally important the gtta doesnt become a beentheredonethat initia tive encountering the same pitfalls that hampered the gtsb the gtta has a clear focus identi fying and meeting the gtas longterm transportation needs unlike the gtsb which was armed with the huge mandate of coordinating gtawide policies for transportation tourism economic and social development growth manage ment and the environment when it was created in january 1999 yet transporta tion quickly became its focus the liberals have vowed to end the gtas infamy as one of the only urban centres in the world where the entire bill for transit is footed by property taxes they would put two cents of every litre of gasoline tax toward cashstarved public transit the tax however will be phased in over four years with mr mcguinty already promising the lions share to toronto if s barely a drop in the rain barrel mr mcguinty said he will demand that ottawa match our commitment on gas tax funding and investment directly in major infrastructure projects but that may hot come before a detailed coordi nated strategy is in place if the liberals are serious about the gta firing on all eight cylinders theyll need to quickly provide the details and most certainly the sustained funding needed to ensure the gttas success letters to the editor opp could help town with dirt bike troublemakers re noisy dirt bikes irk residents sept 25 as a licensed responsible offroad motor cyclist with more than 30 years of riding experience nothing irks me more than your recent headline kids and those old enough to know bet ter who ride dirt bikes and quads recklessly on public roads through residential areas and trespass on private or posted land like the vivian forest are breaking numerous laws in many cases the riders are underage and unlicensed plus their machines are unregis tered and uninsured imagine the liabilities and fines when theyre caught largely in response to public complaints the opp created a special squad of officers equipped with offroad machines to crack down on this problem perhaps a town offi rial could be persuaded to arrange for their help i encourage offroaders to check the ontario federation of trail riders website it has numerous links to organizations that offer rid ing opportunities information on legal riding areas and clubs that promote a variety of events for both bike and quads dave deeley stouffville the stouffviue suntribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and addressthe stouffviue suntribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space writelette5totheeditor34avicavepobox154 l4a 7z5 email jmasonymgcom communities came together for hospital event what a thrill it was to attend the markham stouffviue hospital tastes of our community event sept 14 in canadas most multicultural community it was good to see so many of the communities come together to celebrate and raise funds for the hospital we all need and use hats off to the volunteers staff donors and entertainers who made the event such a huge success not only for our hospital but for the communities of markham and whitchurch- stouffville thanks in particular to the organizing com mittee ably chaired by paula scala for its lead ership this was an event that made me proud to live in the markham stouffville area and to be associated with the hospital ericctappenden vicechairperson markham stouffville hospital foundation and memberboard ofdirectors of the hospital rm stouffville mm suntnbune r stouffviue i un- a metroland comtnunity newspaper 34 civic ave 3rd floor stouffville ontario l4a 7z5 phone 9056402612 fax9056408778 classified 18007433353 distribution 9052948244 website wwwyorkregioncom email jmasonyrngcom member ontario community newspapers association canadian community newspapers association ontario press council editor in chief debora kelly editor jim mason reporters joan ransberry hannelore volpe retail sales manager steve kane sales representative susan berry production manager pam nichols office manager vivian otieil business manager robert tazurko advertising director retail sales flyers nicole fletcher advertising director classified real estate events management gord paolucd managing director real estate mikerogerson director of production johnfuthey distribution manager banybladc sales manager new business development distribution dawna andrews general manager york region printing bob dean director marketing promotions debraweller shows manager stacey allen classified manager ann campbell off the top with jim mason tearyeyed farewell to mayors office mayor wayne emmerson broke a promise in front of 300 people monday night i said i wouldnt cry the nineyear mayor said at his retirement party at station creek golf club in gormley he wept like a baby mopping up afterwards with a dinner napkin mr emmerson leaves office later this fall election day is nov 10 hes not run ning after serving three terms and nine years in office york region chairperson bill fisch mayors don cousens markham bill bell richmond hill and tim jones aurora and police chief armand labarge were in the crowd so were neighbours and friends from stouffville former councillors and plen ty of town staff there were thankyous plenty of backslapping and some good stories he was called a straight shooter and good guy by several speakers ladies of evening ive had ladies of the evening in my office the mayor said and a lady breast feeding but i dont think weve had any crossdressers who would know mr emmerson said three terms is appropriate for mayor the first term youre learning the job and in the second youre planting seeds he said things happen in the third term he said 95 per cent of the time this job has been fun not so in his first year on the job he wasnt naming names but said two indi viduals at me town made things rocky i wouldnt wish them on anyone he said he admitted to putting town staff through hell in the late 1990s with con troversial plans for the lebovic leisure centre and library but im proud of what we did if he has a job to go to next month he wasnt saying but oak ridges mpp frank klees whose own future is on the line in todays provincial election told the crowd the mayor deserves some sort of appointment i dont think ive burned any bridges mr emmerson said i think ive built bridges ifs time for me to go jim mason is editor of the stouffville suntribune