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6 stouffvillesuntribime thursday march 3 2005 stouffville mmjm suntnbune a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave 3rd floor stouffville on l4a 7z5 publisher ian proudfoot editor in chief advertising director distribution director marketingpartnership debora kelly retail flyer sales circulation director business manager nicole fletcher barry black debra weller robert lazurko advertising director director circulation york region printing director production classified real estate systems general manager interactive media events management lynn pashko bob dean john futhey cord paolucci editorial suv freebates from government hurt families its always a good tiling when govern ments recognize and reward conscien tious consumers especially when it comes to the envi ronment an issue once again taking cen tre stage on the national agenda having said that its a copout when added taxes read fees are slapped on consumers because governments fail to take an innovative leadership role last week ottawa snuck one such fee dubbed a feebate into its budget as a proposal that would see added costs placed on new slfvs and other large vehicles the idea is to steer consumers away from inefficient car purchases and lead them wallet in hand to smaller more efficient models the feds have chosen a proposal that would punish one segment of society the family to cover its own failure to make any real commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions prime minister paul martin has cho sen a plan to nickel and dime cash- strapped taxpayers rather than force big pollutioncausing industries to invest in environmentfriendly technology what makes this feebate proposal more maddening is environment minister stephane dion hinting at more emission reduction breaks for industries responsible for most of the countrys air pollution mr dion is sympathetic to industrial pollution emitters stating its certain that we mustnt penalize a sector that today finds itself in a situation where the technology does not yet exist to do much more is that right industries that pump half of the greenhouse gas emissions into our air cant do much more but cashstrapped families can while large vehicles may have a repu tation as being inefficient many york region families need vans and suvs to drive their children to events because education boards cant afford busing more than 80 per cent ofyork regions businesses are small with fewer than 10 employees these hardworking entre preneurs often use vans to transport goods and services across the greater toronto area while inefficient vehicles about 20 per cent of the 26 million cars produced each year in canada are big contribu tors to the countrys greenhouse gas emissions its not right to put the onus directly on the backs of canadian fami lies and small business sun tribune 1kn0w what all these do that turns i on the radio that cleans the window and you pu5h this hard and sayx letters to the editor gallery has confusing past re gallery wants more money from town feb 10 is the latcham gallery really 25 years old the latcham gallery association is clinging to the alleged 25yearold art gallery does this mean it is accepting responsibility financial and otherwise for what was done while the socalled gallery held exhibitions in the librarys multipurpose room requested and received funds from the ontario arts council and lived off the budget of the whitchurch- stouffville public library board the latcham gallery association was incorpo rated on june 1 1998 and reportedly had no previ ous existence under any other name why was the name latcham gallery chosen there was only one latcham gallery it was the name given for some obscure reason to the multi purpose room built in 1977 should it have been the latcham roomthere was another latcham gallery but it was unofficial it was the name used by the art committee of the library board there is also the question of the ownership of the sculptures in the sculpture walk in downtown stouffville where are the supporting documents its a confusing story a room in 1977 an art com mittee in 1979 along with an art gallery with no founding documents and public funding from the oac and town of whitchurchstouffville through the library board the publicly funded gallery dwindled into a pro gram of the library by 1996 again without supporting documentation in 1998 it ceased to be even a pro gram the art committee was not appointed in 1998 the room was renamed why what is it to be latcham gallery association responsibility for the past or your own independent path as of june 11998 margaret lmay stouffvillf the stouffville suntribune welcomes your letters i 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 editor34 civic ave po box 154 stouffville l4a 7z5 email jmasonyrngcom parade wear optional for council re build new stouffville theatre letter feb 24 just when i thought no one cared any longer for the community given the lack of letters from regu lar submitters of old david probert fred robbins etc bob lewis comes down from the mountain any thinking person must agree with his obser vations on constructing a new building for the the atre over the inherent and hidden problems and costs involved with refurbishing the old parking will be the least of the problems the whole exercise harkens back to the story of the emperor who wanting to look good hired a band of brigands to weave a new suit of clothes from gold supplied by the taxpayers suggesting those citizens lacked culture and would not be able to see the beauty right before their eyes the gullible emperor not seeing anything on the hanger went though the whole exercise of dressing prior to the parade i apologize in advance for the visual about to be presented one only the uncultured will get the mayor and most of council are not wearing any clothes the parade is about to begin and most folks to whom ive spoken think february is a good time for this to take place tom winters stouffville editorial editor jim mason jmnsonipyrngcom administration office manager vivian oneil iioncllyrngcom events management shows showsyrngcom production manager pant nichols imicholsyrngcom advertising classified manager ann campbell acampbcllyrngcom retail manager stacey allen sallcnyrngcom managing director new business flyer sales dawna andrews dnndrewsyrngcom new business manager steve kane skancyrngcom managing director real estate mike rogerson mrogcrsonyrngcom editorial 9056402612 lax 9056408778 advertising 9056402612 classified 8007433353 ax 9058531765 distribution 9052948244 caudan circuutom g33ij aash bowl montxr onuoo press council sx4frhi mm- mm suntribune a york region newspaper group community newspaper the suntnbunc published every thursday and saturday is a member of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd a wholly owned subsidiary of torstar corporation metroland is comprised of 70 community publications across ontario the york region newspaper group includes the liberal serving richmond hill and thomhillvaughan citizen the economist sun markham the era banner newmarketaurora stouffville suntnbune gcorgina advocate york region business times north of the city yorkrcgioncom and york region printing off the top with jim mason still in love with this place warts and all a new family moved in around the corner thats not really news the for sale sign disappeared the same day the moving trucks arrived boxes decorated the driveway wait ing for large lads to cart them to their appointed room indoors the owners stood proudly on the front stoop surveying their new home town i wanted to stop and talk to them as an unofficial agent of some quasi welcome wagon i wanted to tell them about the community they now call home i wanted to tell them about the local flavour about the stouffville country market down the street about the fruit and vegetable ven dors and the other folks selling dis count cds and movies i wanted to tell them about the strawberry festival and the crowds that will pack the downtown core of their town for fireworks food and festivities i wanted to tell them about local history about abraham stouffer and elizabeth reesor stouffer who moved here from pennsylvania in 1804 to pioneer in what is now stouffville theres more recent and funky history of note like the stouffville vinegar works and stouffville gold fish supply company i wanted to tell them about the great kids in this town excelling in the arts sports and the classroom at area schools the unsung heroes who quietly do their thing so well same for our service clubs who work so hard to build community spirit and help the less fortunate ditto for our numerous churches who care for their own but also for our local community and the world i wanted to talk about our warts too about the two marijuana grow houses busted in the neighbourhood this century about the construction of two arenas and a poollibrary complex that split factions of the community three times during the last 20 years and about the other newcomers to stouffville who will arrive in droves over the next two decades the new pioneers if you will discov ering a place we have come to most ly love jim mason is editor of the sun- tribune