The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

economist sunsuntribune news saturday jan 17 2004 u ftmss 1 wji ujjiv- v sfe oops coach cindy mcneil has her hands full keeping dylan cusack upright during a learn to skate l program at stouffville arena thursday wr staff photosteve somerville v i sss t shn rvosl csssaeskt kt 3 c 1 on york roads by patrick mangion staff writer a series of fatal collisions serve as somber reminder to drivers who spurn calls from york regional police to take precautions while driving five people have been killed on york regions roads this year com pared to one in the same period last year with the help of the forces air 2 helicopter officers stepped up traffic enforcement efforts on roads made more treacherous by blowing snow arid frigid conditions more officers were patrolling yonge street during friday evenings rush hour sgt brad bulmer said motorists can expect as many as 20 more officers patrolling the streets staffsgt tom carrique said police will use unmarked cars to ensure drivers are adjusting to road conditions and keeping their vehi cles in good working order this is the first time well be using the helicopter to track aggres- i sive driving usually air 2 can be used to catch speeders staffsgt carrique said even in ideal driving conditions drivers should keep a twosecond distance between themselves and the vehicle in front he saidthat should be increased to five seconds in poor driving conditions sgt bulmer said a vehicle that was nearly split in half after crossing the centre line into oncoming traffic along yorige street thursday morn ing had tires unfit for summer the driver a 23yearold richmond hill woman was not wearing her seatbelt he said as a result she was ejected from her honda civic into traffic where she was struck by a vehicle on friday the woman remained in critical condition at sunnybrook hospital in toronto after being air lifted from the scene that collision was followed by a fatal head on crash in vaughan winter driving tips 1 make sure car batteries are in top condition battery performance drops significantly as the temperature drops for instance at 18c available power drops to 40 per cent 2 check the oil as temperatures drop oil becomesthicker creating friction which can slow the starter 3 check engine antifreeze the fluid should be tested to make sure it cannot freeze in cold weather antifreeze gradu ally loses protection from freezing which can reduce the effectiveness of your heater 4 see where youre going check your windshield washer fluid before you head out on the road and make sure it is rated for extreme cold also make sure windshield wipers are clear of ice before drivingoff 5 test you tire pressure under inflated tires are a significant safely hazard especially in extremely cold weather tire pressure drops one pound per square inch for every 1 degreedrop in tempera- ture check tire pressure while the vehi cle is cold 6 stay wellback of vehicles stopping distances greatly increase in winter more than doubling on snowy and icy roads roads that appear dry make have a coating of loose salt or sand that can affect handling dont give rapist credit for dead time prosecution byjeffmitcheix staff writer despite michael farouks claims of hardship arid depriva tion the convicted rapist should not be given enhanced credit for the dead time he spent in jail awaiting trial the crown attorney has argued why should he be treated dif ferently from all his cell mates prosecutor rob scott said during a sentencing hearing for the markham man friday defence lawyer christopher hicks is seeking threeforone credit for the 30 months mr farouk has sperit incustody since his arrest in july of 2001 that time much of it spent at the metro west detention centre was made harsher by crowding and restric tions brought about by an eight- week public service strike and sars scares mr hicks argued mr farouk was convicted of sexual assault kidnapping and robbery in november after he abducted a woman in toronto and drove her to markham where he raped her in a school parking lot he was free on bail in connection with another sexual assault charge when the incident occurred court heard he is scheduled to stand trial iri peelregion for sexual assault arid threatenirig death in march mr farouk took the stand friday totestify he was often kept in his cell during lockdowns and was unable to pursue correspon dence courseswhile in jail we got locked down and i could not speak to my family mr farouk said at least seven days every month wed be locked down the strike in the spring of 2002 and thesars scares last year also meant fewer visits and recreation opportunities he said mr hicks presented superior court justice david stinsori with numerous examples in which judges have given enhanced credit to inmates who did dead time in remand centres such as metro west and the don jail the issue of credit for time in custody is crucial since it will have a direct impact on the time mr farouk serves the crown is seeking an eightyear penitentiary term if mr farouk is given the stan dard twoforone credit hell have five years knocked off triple credit would see him serve virtually no additional time mr farouk has spent more than enough time incustody mr hicks told the judge the prosecutor argued while jail is not a pleasant place and circumstances can make it tougher theres no proof mr farouk suf fered more than anybody else in custody at metro west justice stinson will hand down the sentence next friday its the people that make the 1 difference r- r jason ladd managing funeral director jason is a lifelong markham resident active in st patricks church and as a volunteer director of york region victim services program if you know jason you know that the words trust compassion and professional immediately come to mind ghdpel funeral h ojvi e 905 3058508 family owned by eric and susanne tappenden 891 1 woodbine avenue 3 blocks north of hwy 7 markham ontario l3r 5g1 infochapelridgefhcom wwwchapelridgefhcom ifrtft ff ft f 9 t f eft j f 5 fott