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stouffville suntribune thursday jan 1 2004 11 community calendar cwruriunrty retrofit group in wh heasesendywrnotetotbmmunftycafeimjff of drop it offat the office 34 gvfc ave 3rd hoor deadline b mondays at 6 pja publication cannot be guaranteed but we will make every effort to ensure it is included please be brief volunteers crohns and colitis the crohns and colitis foundation of canada is looking for volunteers in whitchurchstouffville and markham to help with special event planning work with the media or coor dinate events call 4169205035 ext 18 email at slabrosseccfcca or log on to wwwccfcca notices christmas cheer winner the winner of the royal canadian legions christmas cheer basket draw friday dec 12 is lori hall of sunderland ont proceeds go to the legions building fund special events thursday january 1 new years levee president john mccracken members of the royal canadian legion mayor sue sherban and whitchurchstouffville councillors cel ebrate the traditional new years day levee from 1 to 230 pm in the legion hall 12278 ninth line north of main street a light luncheon will be served and all are welcome friday january 2 kids art the latcham gallery in stouffville holds two workshops candlemaking at 10 am and knit ting a scarf at 1 pm each activity costs 10 per person call the gallery at 9056408954 forfurther information saturday january 3 art workshops the final set of winter break art workshops at the latcham gallery in stouffville are a 10 am memory box workshop and a 1 pm phototraiisfer workshop registration is required call 9056408954 tuesday january 6 adult skating the stouffville adult skating club starts its new season at the stouffville arena all adults are welcome to skate from 855 to 945 pm admission is 4 per person wednesday january 7 music mania the first signup session of the year for music manias annual variety show is 730 pm at summitview public school 6551 main st stouffville everyone welcome but mens voices especially needed for information call 905-642- 2096 musical discoveries the musical discoveries chil drens program starts at the whitchurchstouffville public library and continues every wednesday until march 10 sessions are from 945 to 1030 am and are suited for threetofive year olds cost is 60 per child register in person at the library 30 burkholderst in stouffville book discussion the book discussion group begins its 2004 season from 7 to 9 pm at the whitchurchstouffville public library the group meets on alternate weeks to discuss a variety of topics no charge just drop in more information is available at the library 30 burkholder st in stouffville thursday january 8 early years the focus on preschoolers ii with the ontario early years centre program starts 1 to 230 pm and continues jan 15 22 and 29 the session is for four- to sixyearolds and is free of charge register at the library 30 burkholder st in stouffville tuesday january 13 christian coffee the stouffville christian womens club hosts a happy new year coffee hour at 36 eastern gate in stouffville from 930 to 11 am diane stouffer speaks on choosing to be cheerful and the venables a family musical ensem ble from holland landing entertain cost is 6 per person call in reservations and cancellations by jan 9 to 9056400791 preschool story hour a preschool story hour for chil dren three to five years old starts at the whitchurch- stouffville public library from 945 to 1045 am story hours continue until march 2 cost is 45 per child register in person at the library 30 burkhoider st in stouffvihe region defends actions at plants from page 1 youre supposed to be going through the chain of command but if youre going through the chain of com mand and it stops at your superior then what despite mr caseys claim a 15day probe was undertaken by the region richmond hill mayor bill bell chairper- son of the regions transportation and works committee said me- committee was not made aware of mr youngs con cerns in an interview at his home mr young outlined a number of troubling incidents he said he witnessed includ ing dumping of raw sewage at the treatment plant in mount albert sewage was trucked in from a nearby pumping station shut down for mainte nance in august 2002 and dumped into an effluent pond to be released into the environment several weeks later mr young contends there is no record of the material being treated before its release the transfer of material from a keswick station to mount albert and its subsequent burial on the property on dbane road near durham road 30 the material which contained sand and other solids caught in the keswick plants filtration system was buried in a shallow hole on the property over two days in november 2002 mr young said samples falsified falsification of effluent samples at a number of facilities during the release of treated effluent the process can take weeks a number of samples are required by the ministry of environment including a final sample when the effluent lagoon is nearly empty mr young said ifs com- mon practice to take a sample earlier in the process and label it with a later date indicating it was the final sample taken the earlier sample would provide a lower reading of phosphorous and other materials than one taken the day of release when sludge at the bottom of the lagoon would be disturbed he said mr young did not disclose concerns see our opinionpage 6 about testing to the region he said the practice is common in many jurisdic tions not just york region at the kleinburg station a pump that fed chemicals into the system failed and went unserviced for about four months mr young said the problem was not addressed until the standby pump went down and phosphorous levels climbed above acceptable levels dave rupke supervisor at the mount albert sewage treatment plant confirmed material from the keswick station was deposited at mount albert he said the material was left to dry and after it was dry enough to deposit in landfill it would be scooped up and disposed of there is no other place to put that material mr rupke said that is a routine operation no damage to environment test wells drilled during the investi gation revealed no environmental damage as a result of the material being buried mr casey said its not raw sewage its not waste its sand he said of material brought in from keswick mr rupke said he had no knowledge of sewage being trucked from a pump ing station to the treatment plant he said however that depositing material at the head of the plant for treatment would be more difficult than dumping it in the effluent lagoon at any rate sewage deposited in the lagoon isnt likely to have a deleterious effect on the environment he said it would obtain a natural treatment before itfs discharged mr rupke said the region has issued a directive that in future any sewage pumped from stations will be sent to facilities that accept trucked waste mr casey said while allegations of falsified tests were not raised by mr young mr casey said all the concerns he did bring for- ward were investigated thoroughly but mr young who has worked in the field since 1983 feels his attempts to shed light on problems with the sewage treatment system in york region were thwarted along the chain of command ms korolneks initial response to his allegations during their meeting aug 1 led him to believe swift and decisive action was forthcoming mr young said debbie was not aware of any of this she freaked when she heard it mr young said i honestly think that when i went to her she wanted to do some thing about it i believe she wanted to do the right thing regional staff told during a subsequent meeting at the regional administration centre in newmarket aug 25 mr young again related his concerns to regional staff and doug thomson the toronto lawyer representing the region over charges laid by the ministry of environment in connection with a massive sewage spill in sutton in may 2001 they basically downplayed every thing mr young said mr rupke said he had been made aware mr young had raised concerns about operations at the mount albert plant they did talk to me debbie korolnek specifically spoke to me mr rupke said there was a number of allegations mr young brought forward at the time he left the region of york he was obvi ously a disgruntled employee mr young was a fine worker during his tenure with the region with no problems on his record mr rupke said he confirmed mr young left the region of his own accord meanwhile mr young said he has also taken his concerns to the ministry but has yet to receive a response a staff member confirmed mr young has contacted the ministry and j that information he forwarded is being taken into consideration theatres of abridge call 852roxy 7699 for shows times urow thiiitrisioni junior a hockey aurora tigers new look spirit tshirts now on sale for 15 stouffville arena inserts for thurs jan 12004 price chopper sobeys canadian tire iga dell mm meats- town of stouffville ap 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