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6 stouffville suntribune thursday feb 19 2004 opinion publisher ian pr0udf00t telephone 9056402612 fax 9056408778 email jmasonyrngcom website wwwyorkregioncom editorial cameras protect police and citizens its all about accountability accountability for bad drivers accountability for frontline police offi cers and accountability is rarely a bad thing opp officers policing the greater toronto areas 400series highways now have two more tools at their disposal a digital camera mounted in their cruisers and a remote microphone to record con versations the threeyear 400000 pilot project announced by community safety minister monte kwinter tuesday is being billed as a way to protect police officers not target them mr kwinter and opp officers argue the cameras and audiotapes will also save court time because drivers will be less likely to challenge officers if every thing has been caught on tape the camera never lies and the audiotape doesnt hurt either under the opps system the digital cameras which record to a dvd mount ed in the trunk turn on whenever the siren or flashing lights are activated or if the cruiser is involved in a crash an offi cer can also turn on the camera manual ly at the end of each shift the dvds are taken back to the police station and downloaded in case video evidence is needed american police forces and the rcmp have used cameras in their cruisers for years so what has taken other canadian police forces especially those in thegta so long to put cameras in their cruisers it appears insistence by some of our top cops such as toronto police chief julian fantino and his york region coun terpart aimand la barge is partly to blame both chief fantino and chief la barge say placing cameras in cruisers suggests officers cant be trusted part of the hesitancy by chief la barge and chief fantino seems to come from the fact the latest push for these cameras comes from the human rights commission as a way to determine if racial profiling plays a role in policing of course that is only a small part of the benefit of recording interactions between police and civilians cameras in cruisers will help catch crooks too to chief la barges credit he doesnt appear to be as dead set against the idea as chief fantino as early as it is positive reports are coming from frontline officers who have used the cameras for about one week and thats the point it goes both ways york regional police and the citizens they serve deserve no less letters to the editor need for local food bank lives on it is with grateful hearts the executive of the whitchurchstouffville food bank says thank you to the community for the wonderful way you con- tinue to provide for our needs the donations of food and gifts of money enable us to generously care for those who seek help the need for food banks still exists in our com munity and we thank the volunteers who for the past 14 years have given of their time as well as the usual canned goods of soups veg etables fruit and meats we have a need for pow dered milk and cheeze whiz donations of food can be placed in the food barrels in the a p no frills sobeyis and giant tiger stores financial donations may be made payable to whitchurchstouffville food bank ro box 343 stouffville ont l4a 7z6 for further information call 9056404704 or 9056403222 esther powell ivhitchurchstouffvillefoodbarjk liberals dont deserve our support re emmerspn deserves support jim thomas column feb 5 i was astonished to read mr thomas will now get a liberal membership card in light of the auditor generals scathing report on an incredibly corrupt inept contemptuous and anogant liberal administration at the federal level what possibly could motivate someone to come out and publicly support these politicians bad timing jim his comments that wayne emmersori deserves the stouffville suntribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and address the stouffville suntribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space write letters to the editor 34 civic ave ro box 154 stouffville l4a 7z5 email jmasonyrngcom his support are extremely naive jim once mr emmerson gets elected dont bet the back 40 on that just yet he will be the nice gentlemanly member for markhamoak ridges sitting quietly in the back row of liberals nodding away in unswerving blind approval of whatever the leader tells him to do dont believe me just look at the record of federal liberals from ontario we have had almost 11 years of liberals in ottawa they ran the place like a kingdom because they had no viable opposition now mr emmerson may be a nice fellow with an honourable civic record however the political environment in ottawa is quite different from that of smalltown stouffville as we have repeatedly heard it reeks of corrupted political ethics no matter what his good intentions may be he will surely be swallowed up by the liberal tactics get elected do anything to get reelected voters in markhamoak ridges will soon have the opportunity to show their appreciation for all our liberal government has done to us lefs hope the voters provide them with the fate they so justly deserve tomritchuk ballantme suntnbune a metroland community newspaper 34 gvic ave 3rd floor stouffville ontario l4a 7z5 phone 9056402612 fax9056408778 classified 18007433353 distribution 9052948244 website wwwyorfcregioncom email jmasonyrngcom member ontario community newspapers association canadian community newspaperc association ontario press council editor in chief debora kelly editor jim mason reporters joan ransberryhannelorevolpe retail sales manager steve kane sales representative susan berry production manager pam nichols office manager vrvian 0neil business manager robert lazurko advertising director retail safes flyers nicole fletcher advertising director classified real estate events management gord paolucci managing director real estate mikerogerson director of production johofuthey distribution manager barry black 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 m efc bp t y wbsiisf r tfl wgff off the top with jim mason different kid tells it like it is for classmates theysaypublic speakingis one of lifes toughest chores tenyearold emily holt has no problem with it she could have been any other grade 5 md standing in front of fellow students at stouffvilles summitview public school in her pink gap hoodie blue jeans and hair band but shes the different kid as the title of her poem reads im emily im 10 1 have albinism and i cant have anything to get rid of it and im me she led off to a pair of classes in the main street schools lunch room tuesday morning she forgot to add perfect to her description if an association of albinos or the sightimpaired is looking for a youth spokesperson emilys the one im not sure why and i really dont care but lots of people like to stare my hair is white and so are my lashes iftlw light is too bright i sometimes see flashes shes straight up in her poetry her speech and the answers to her class mates questions no driving for me i cant see far enough she told them in short her eyes didnt form as they should have making her legally blind with 20300 vision theyre also super light sensitive forcing her to wear a visor and sunglasses on bright days she cant control eye shaking that often hits her in school she uses aids including largeprint computers and calculators and largeprint books stephanie sommer a vision resource teacher with the york region district school board makes regular visits stephanie isnt sight impaired but brought along angus a german shep herd seeingeye dog to the demonstra tion she also had goggles to simulate vision impairment and a brail edition of monopoly for the grade 5s to try i have no pigment in my skin you guys all have pigment emily said shes somewhat used to the staring some kids tease me but i just walk away she told me after her presentation received a loud ovation at school shes a b student away from it she takes dance classes and delivers the stouffville suntribune like a lot of other 10yearold stouffvillites in reality shes so much more im a special gift from god a little dif ferent from the rest but thats what makes me one of the best jim mason is editor of the sun- tribune