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6 stouffville suntribune thursday feb 9 2006 pmon suntribune a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave 3rd floor stouffville on l4a 7z5 publisher tan proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly business manager robert lazurko director advertising distribution barry black director interactive media technology john futhey director circulation systems lynn pashko marketingpartnerships director debra weller york region printing general manager bob dean editorial are you posing danger to public the tragic drowning of cassandra read and her fouryearold son taylor in the holland marsh canal after their suv plunged into the icy water was heartbreaking but as is often the case there is a les son to be learned fromsuch horrible cir cumstances south simcoe police say they believe ms read was talking on her handheld cellphone when she lost control and slid into the inky canal indeed the story is confirmed by crystal pittman who is haunted by hearing her friends pleas over the telephone as the suv sank police of course know all about the dan gers of using cellphones while driving while hesitant to blame ms reads collision directly on a technology that has become as common as a car radio officers see cellphones as an unwanted distraction for drivers every week we investigate collisions or we see drivers out on the road that are crossing the centre line they are not paying attention being distracted south simcoe traffic sgt steve wilson said you dont have to point to horrifying collisions to show cellphones and dri ving dont mix especially in the hectic traffic mat crisscrosses the gta drivers would be far less likely to chitchat aimlessly on cellphones about such important topics as whats for din ner if they were banned if a police officer could pull you over and fine you more drivers might do the sensible thing and pull over if they need to talk durham conservative mpp john otoole is once again introducing a pri vate members bill to ban handheld cellphones in cars mr otoole believes deaths would have been prevented if his bill was passed in 1998 or again in 2002 its not as if banning cellphones in cars is an outlandish proposition more than 30 countries have done it in north america which is slow to pick up on the trend new york and newfoundland have bans in place still premier dalton mcguinty isnt convinced he seems to be more willing to rely on the common sense of ontario drivers we cant have a law for everything mr mcguinty said my advice to ontarians is if youre using a cellphone when youre driving be careful you have to wonder if mr mcguinty has driven on hwy 404 in rush hour lately his sentiments are laudable but arent founded in reality i pont see a giant e in here 2 h hiding j y a tror story letters to the editor big people spoiled fun at rink re vandals shut down rink feb 2 i am five years old i learned to skate at the buttermakers pad outdoor arena at boyds source for sports last year i was so happy there this year big people have spoiled healthy fun for me and many others whoever you are you are mean i promise i will never spoil things for others justin day stouffville are school buses safe on mail route re safety concerns stop mailbox deliveries feb 2 i live on warden avenue in rr 3 newmarket one of the rural routes that has had its mail deliv ery suddenly stopped by canada post it seems the safety concerns of one driver has resulted in this abrupt discontinuation of service we have lived at this address for about 30 years and at no time have we hadany complaints about mail delivery we are not aware of any mishaps on the route during this time either for more than a quarter of a century mail has been delivered very efficiently to this area i believe this can be attributed to the father moth er then daughter on whose able shoulders this task rested following their retirement another delivery person has provided dependable daily service in the article it states a delivery person was having trouble getting his vehicle to the side of the road to make mailbox deliveries why has this editorial editor jim mason jmasonyrngcom assistant editor rickvanderlinde rvanderlindeyrngcom advertising classified manager ann campbell acampbellyrngcom assistant classified manager bonnie rondeau brondeauyrngcom retail manager stacey allen sallenyrngcom new business development manager mikerogerson mrogersonyrngcom administration office manager vivian oneil voneilyrngcom production team leader sherry day sdayyrngcom editorial 9055131717 fax9055137525 advertising 9055131717 classified 18007433353fax 9058531765 distribution 9055131717 canadian circulations hselil audit board member ontario press council et suntribune a york region newspaper group community newspaper the suntribune published every thursday and saturday is a member of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd a whollyowned subsidiary of torstar cojporation metroland is comprised of 70 community publications across ontario the york region newspaper group includes the liberal serving richmond hill and thomhill vaughan citizen the economist sun markham the erabanner newmarketaurora georgina advocate york region business times north of the city yorkregioncom and york region printing 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 po box 154 stouffville l4a 7z5 email jmasonyrngcom or fax 9055137525 not been a problem in the past our roads were recently paved and our shoulders provide ample space for a car and an experienced driver to navi gate several days ago i helped to deliver notices to the residents of rr 3 apprising them of this situa tion i felt safe and was easily able to remain on the shoulder and reach each mailbox if our route is indeed not safe for a mail driver is it safe for school bus drivers and children who are picked up and dropped off along these roads if there are legitimate safety concerns why dont we address them and solve them all of the other routes just north south east and west of us continue to get mail delivered to their boxes at the end of their driveways are all of their routes so different and safer than ours more than 800000 rural residents in this coun try receive mail delivery to their traditional rural mailboxes it boggles the mind to know that one drivers complaint has resulted in the abrupt discontinu ation of rural mailbox delivery to hundreds of people where are the sane decision makers dr meena ramsinghani whitchurchstouffville off the top with jim mason goodhadugly ofstouffuilles past present future i have seen the future ofwhitchurch- stouffville and im not thoroughly impressed recent events can take their toll on ones optimism others renew your spirit in a com munity that has boldly maintained its smalltown feel in the face of change if whistle radio fails in its attempt to obtain a licence to broadcast over the airwaves the exercise will not have been in vain the fledgling station now operates via the internet whistleradiocom from the stouffville home of its founder jim priebe it features a variety of podcasts live broadcasts of spirit jr a hockey games and a nifty page of links to sites of an impressive number of local bands a whistle fundraiser at christ church anglican saturday night did more than raise money and the profile of the sta tion the sunset boulevard sanctuary was something between a conceit hall and a coffee house showcasing eight area acts and raising the profile of a bur geoning musical community well done not so much for the old stouffville memorial park or the front of the new stouffville high school memorial park is a special albeit quirky place with its collection of sports and waste recycling and sewage facili ties all in the heart of stouffville its hard to picture the park with a major road running through it and many of the amenities displaced as proposed new ball parks on bethesdaroad may yield truer infield bounces brighter out field lights and better dugouts but you cant replace the ambience of the down town park memorial park will take mem ories of so many softball championships and canada day fireworks displays to its grave stouffville district secondary school has memories of its own especially for its thousands of graduates but its looking tired and this community needs an upgrade of its only high school sue sherban who attended sdss agrees before she was mayor she pushed for renovations and upgrades at the school shes no fan of the proposed entrance to the new school as present ed to town council it looks very institutional like a hos pital or prison she told a council meet ing school board officials say an atrium will become the focal point of the school to built south of sobeys heres hoping theyve got it right jim mason is editor of the sun- tribune