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6 stouffviue suntribune thursday april 1 2004 opinion publisher ian pr0udf00t telephone 9056402612 fax 9056408778 email jmasonyrngcom website wwwyorkregioncom editorial clean up process to attract voters elections canada is thinking ahead when it comes to future voters the national agency is borrowing an idea from ontario called kids voting canada that gets high school students interested in election campaigns by giv ing them a mock vote the totals are tracked to show how they would have influenced the real election the idea is to encourage stu dents to follow elections and vote after they reach the legal voting age of 18 its a good way to engage people in the political process and its not all elections canada is doing its also launching a hip ad campaign geared to bringing more canadians aged 18 to 25 to the polls but a slick advertising pitch and a wellmeaning civic project such as kids voting canada may not be enough to attract young voters voter apathy- among young canadians may be a symptom of adis- ease eroding politics at all levels insin cere campaigns mat at times turn nasty king city secondary school student kristine tran a student trustee said as much as she participated with kids voting canada just before the last provin cial election voter turnout and voter tumoff isnt only a problem at the federal level in fact it gets worse the closer you get to the people municipal elections gamer the least voter interest despite the direct impact municipal politicians can have on their constituents newmarket mayor tom taylor was so distressed at the turnout in his munici pality last year 31 percent he estab lished a task force to find out why few voters show up election after election mr taylor should be commended for not simply gloating voters are so happy with their municipal politicians they dont bother to show up at the polls to vote them out of office the truth is likely more troubling concepts such as kids voting canada and studies such as the one being con ducted in newmarket cant harm voter turnout they should be encouraged but it wouldnt hurt if politicians acted as though they cared about how many show up at the polls by showing some decorum during campaigns negative advertising personal attacks on political opponents broken promises they all contribute to voter apathy its time elections canada and its provincial counterparts played a greater role by policing the conduct of politicians during campaigns letters to the editor spirit junior hockey players great role models citizens on behalf of mrs mollers grade 5 class at summitview public school we want to thank the stouffviue junior a hockey team the stouffville spirit specifically players jake van allen michael lombardo and neil conway for being great role models and town citizens we appreciated their visit to our school and our classroom jan 21 thank you for shying the message to always do your best in school and to remember that school should come first we really appreciated the donated items a signed tshirt and goalie stick for our class silent auction the students in our class earn mrs mollers dollars for demonstrating initia tive cooperation with others and responsibili ty we then use our earned dollars to bid on silent auction items we can hardly wait to see who has the high est bid to win the autographed goalie stick and the tshirt kathryn alexandrowich miranda clayton amanda alexander madelynn heikens emily holt and ceilidh welch summitview public school stouffville the stouffviue 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 po box 154 stouffville l4a 7z5 email jmasonyrngcom translate technical information for public town councillors this year whitchurchstouffville council will be reviewing and updating secondary plans for stouffville ballantraemusselmans lake and gormley this involves massive studies of planning and land use issues i suggest that the information involved should be translated from technical jargon into common understandable english for the sake of councillors and the public how can council prepare itself for this major task should councillors consider setting up a spe cial committee to receive input from the public and to provide information to the public this would be in keeping with open govern ment policies margaret l may stouffville suntribune f stouffville i a metroland community 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 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 vivian cneil business manager robert lazurko advertising director retail sales flyers nicole fletcher advertising director classified real estate events management gordpaolucci managing director real estate mike rogerson director of production john futhey 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 off the top with jim mason rookie politicians breath of fresh air on my list of least appealing jobs id put town council member down there with professional diaper changer and toxic waste shoveller way down there not that theres anything wrong with any of those career choices kids just not for this guy latenight meetings laternight nasty phone calls all the ribbon and cake cuttings you want and never being able to satisfy all of the electorate all for a few thousand bucks a year priceless that makes the latest rookieladen edition of whitchurchstouffville coun cil remarkable articulate intelligent and open thats my mini review of the councillors ive encountered as editor dont mistake this as a personal shot at any of the previous councils at least the ones ive known here since 1982 butmany of those six packs of politi cians plus mayor were rife with discon tent councillors with their own agendas politicians who come on like gang- busters with community forums and monthly newsletters then all but disap peared bickering in backrooms and bar rooms let alone the council chambers grandstanding citizens groups often with one item on their agenda and a shelf life shorter than table cream all that was missing was a mel lastman cameo it was often not a pretty picture newsworthy yes good for selling newspapers as the critics would tell us but not a productive use of taxpayers dollars the 200306 edition of council could turn into one of these circuses but im betting against it aside from the bizarre questioning of a nature preserve that somehow became a snake pit the new council is showing both smarts and teeth it turned the towns operating budget back to staff for more paring councillors seem genuinely con cerned with informing residents be it through a revamped town advertising page in this paper or news releases sent to the local media good news because i can count the number of press releases distributed by the town in the last 20 years on my fingers and toes without taking my shoes off jim mason is editor of the sun- tribune