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economist sunsuntribune news saturday octii 2003 7 survive sightseeing flight crashes at markham ibm building bymikeadler staff writer a sightseeing flight from buttonville airport turned per ilous for four women who sur vived a crashlanding in markham thursday three friends and their pilot set but in a singleengine plane around 110 pm but the craft had difficulty gaining altitude york region police said the pilot a 33yearold toronto airways employee and instructor managed to land the cessna 172 beside the lawn of an ibm building in markham the richmond hill woman had turned the cessna around in an apparent attempt to return to the airport her competency is very obvious in how she landed this aircraft she guided the cessna down northeast of steeles avenue and pharmacy road- where it crashed through a double row of trees there and stopped in the middle of more trees i her competency is very obvious in how she landed this aircraft said derek sifton vice- president of toronto airways a 27yearrold stouffville resi dent received the most severe of what police said were not life- threatening injuries to all four occupants the womans lower leg was injured but mr sifton said the leg was not broken in the crash i police spokesperson const steve morrell said other passen gers were a toronto woman 59 and a resident of mansfield ont whose age was unknown everything went very well considering the turmoil that was happening upon arrival he said atthescene no one on the ground was injured in the accident said mike quinn a spokesperson for ibm canada the building was evacuated until firefighters from markham cleaned up the spilled fuel elect a strong voice make sure your views are heard elect john webster councillor a strong voice f o r wei r d fiy e wwwjohnvvebstercom to volunteer to donaflior for alawn sirin call 90547231 22 reelect khalid usman ward 7 councillor 9054708111 vynvwkhalidusmancom bridal show it october 1 92003 41 cardinal golfclubhvg l 10 a lit to 4 din i all inclusive holiday k superclubs br bahamas courtesy oft travel a3000 visit the cash carry gown sale by puette sposa for more information call 7054365066 reduce traffic gridlock as the largest municipality in york region markham is experiencing traffic gridlock today it is only going to get worst unless something done toronto and the greater toronto area will see their population grow by three million people during the next 20 years toronto and the gta are the economic engines of canada but we must realize thatwe are competing with chicago new york los angles and other american cities for economic prosperity r l an urban strategy that includes transportation and transit for the gta must involve allthree levels of government we dont heed a 3 billion dollar highspeed rail link between toronto and montreal until wecan move people at higher speeds in the gta planning for our growth official plans have to mean something when people locatein markham and yorkjregion there should be some degree of certainty that official plans and zoning are implemented as approved we must ensure that schools libraries and parks are in place as new residents arrive so that the whole markham community does not have to constantly deal with overcrowded and overused resources the town needs to be more vigorous in defending our official plans atthe ontario municipal boards all meetings should be open and accessible to the public keep our streets children safe york region has one of the highest concentrations of gangs and illegal drug activity in canada we need to support the york regional police force by giving it the tools and legal instruments to take action against these activities cost of growth rapid growth in region has created the need for additional sewerage capacity installation of the sewerage trunk line up the ninth line and along 16th ave has created a financial burden for our rural residents whose wels have gone dry the cost of growth v must include ensuring rural residents have access to a clean fresh water supply build regional rapid transit system we need york regions transit system to be totally integrated with the ttc and go transit at present a trip from markham to downtown toronto can take more than two hours on public transit transit system needs to be planned wellfunded and aggressively implemented we need to build a highspeed transit system that works for the 7 million people who make up the gta area plus the 3 million additional people who will arrive here during tne next twenty years the federal government collects between 7 billion and 10 billion annually in a gasoline excise tax very little of this tax money is spent on transportation infrastructure ontarios portion of the gasoline excise tax needs to be returned to the province and directed solely at funding a high speed integrated transit system we should demand nothing less ciciivwjtl ikisis we need to plan the future its where well live the rest of our lives email jimjoncsnjonesformarkhamcom 9054779929 www jonesfonna rkhamcom