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whitchurchstouffvile public librar- stouffville saturday feb 19 2005 serving the community of whitchurchstouffville h 52 pagessi including gst memories of super mario zij oldschool gaming is back opinion 6 total home 12 sports 19 classified 22 hockey hero sad as hell season axed both sides at fault exnhlers say byjohncudmore staff writer in a room full of former pros it is not difficult to imagine the sen timent concerning the cancella tion of the national hockey league season last week it may be a historic moment but it also may be the darkest in the history of professional sports as a major league was cancelled for the first time wednesday when commissioner gary bettman made the dreaded announcement in new york biggest black day i think its sad as hell said paul henderson whose own sense of history has been part of canadian hockey folklore since 1972 this is the biggest black eye hockey has ever had i really thought they would get it together mr henderson was among several former nhlers gathered thursday at national training rinks in newmarket for the inau gural hockey ministries inter national 3on3 marathon tour nament he is frustrated with both sides of the dispute i have 25 questions for every answer so dont ask me said mr henderson both sides are obviously at fault its like one side is talking french and the other in english and they dont province ordered 9percent increase in this years levy see nhl page s by roy green staff writer york region politicians took their cue from the national hockey league and its players union this week debating their own version of a soft cap versus a hard cap in the end they will deny ontarios request for a 9percent increase in the regions contribu tion to the gta welfare pool cap ping the hike at 3 per cent it means the region intends to send only 819 million to help fund social housing and welfare projects in toronto instead of the 866 million the province says it must pay in 2005 since 1988 the region has con tributed more than 515 million to the pool while its own social serv ice funding lags far behind that of toronto thursdays debate part of the 2005 budget approval process centred on if there should be a 5- percent cap representing the regions assessment growth in 2004 or tie it to the 3percent tax hike faced by toronto residents toronto council plays hard ball and were playing slopitch said markham regional councillor jack heath they put a limit of 3 per cent on tax hikes and then demand bailouts from the province and they get it were sitting here trying to keep our budget increase to 5 or 6 per cent while toronto residents are facing only a 3percent hike if toronto residents only have to pay 3 per see cap page 10 too close for comfort staff photosjoerd witteveen david oliver a hydro one arborist trims a tree along power lines on manitoba street in stoufrville thursday more than 9000 trees in stouffville and sutton are too close to wires and must be removed says the utility that operates ontarios power transmission network for more information see story on page 18 hot tubs 27 heritage rd markham 18030 botctcanoc honda 8220 kennedy rd markham 9054 7 7 24 51 wwwmarkhamhondacom ijiihvcrmii 88 winter v performance package iflui honda genuine st for peak performance this summer dont open your hood to strangers bring your vehicle home to hona for a comprehensive multipoint inspection plus a genuine honda oil and filter change bring it home to honda available for mom honda model taxes not included provincial environmental feev if any excluded