6 stoujfville suntribune thursday nov 30 2006 suntnbune a meboland community newspaper 6290 main st stoufiville on l4a1g7 publisher ian proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly business manager robert lazurko director advertising distribution barryblack director interactive media technoiogy john futhey director circulation systems lynn pashko marketingpartnerships director debra weller york region printing general manager bob dean editorial election leftovers market doctors whitchurchstouffvilles new council will be sworn in tuesday we use the word new loosely ward 5 councillor richard bartley is the only person on the sevenmember council new to the council chambers the other five councillors were reelect ed and mayorelect wayne emmerson was a councillor and then mayor for nine years before stepping down in 2003 they know this town and save for mr bartley they know council procedure the learning curve will be short if any thing it will be councillors getting to know the new mayor and his style after the formalities there is plenty of work for all of them mr emmerson upon being elected talked of slowing down development and making sure infrastructure was in place to support it sounds good there are other issues some of which received little or no attention at the pre election debates this fall the stoufiville country market will close at its current location on the tenth line at the end of 2007 aside from some grassroots discus sion theres been little outcry as stouffville prepares to lose one of its land marks the previous town administration said little on the closure the market according to its web site has looked at four parcels of land to relo cate to this year none were feasible if the market goes with this collective whimper were hearing this town will have lost one its most identifying fea tures people cry for unique communities in which to live every town has wal- mart tim hortons and mcdonalds theres only one stouffville country market to lose it would be a shame we will only realize years later the family doctor shortage has afflicted almost every municipality in this province if not country whitchurch- stouffville for all its charm and commu nity feel is not immune mayor sue sherban championed the search for new doctors here like other politicians and bureaucrats have done in so many communities there is good news on the doctor recruitment front coming but does the new town council have plans to keep up the campaign whitchurchstouffville will build a new arena in the new fewyears and it will be paid for by development money how quickly can it be built where one ice pad or two what amenities will it include children on waiting lists for hockey teams want to know letters to the editor experience community involvement reelected bannon to council re only golfclub elected councillor bannon let ter to the editor by mark harper nov 23 i was surprised to read this letter i was not aware some people in the community feel as mr harper obviously does about the folk who now live in the ballantrae golf and country club let me first say it is a wonderful community full of active interesting socially active people who care about not only their own small community but the overall community we shop in stouffville frequent the restaurants support local charities use the public library pay taxes and generally behave like good citizens he asks why we voted for mr bannon that is simple mr bannon has exhibited these same qualities of caring for the community and by that i mean the greater community also he has had life experience as a police officer and has political experience as much as young justin altmann made a good effort in his run for office he has no experience in life or in office let him gain that experience and then return to the political arena people in this community know and respect mr bannon and therefore voted for him i am cer tain that as time goes on the rest of the ward 2 res idents will feel the same way of course for some it may simply be that any one who lives by the golf club doesnt get their vote i wonder if mr harper realizes mayorelect wayne emmerson also lives in our community brian birkness ballantrae golf and country club 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 6290 main st stouffville l4a 1g7 email jmasonyrngcom or fax 9056408778 congratulate losing candidates too yet another municipal election chapter closed in whitchurchstouffville congratulations and best wishes must go out to all of the newly elected coun cil members and mayor serve us proudly but let us not forget after congratulating those won one must congratulations those who were defeated they too deserve our best wishes thank you for having the courage to put your selves and your families in the line of fire and to be made an easy target although many talk the talk only few walk the walk i would like to congratulate all candidates who were defeated and their families and friends who have supported and loved them it is difficult for one to understand the sacrifices made by all unless you have done it so thank you thank you for your hard work to ensure that our town is a better place in which to live and for that you should to be commended going forward we need to support and work with our representatives to ensure they serve us well and have our best interest at heart together we can build safe and prosperous communities sophie angeus ward 3 candidate gormley editorial editor jim mason jmasonymgcom interactive media marketing advertising manager dawnaandrews dandftws9ymgcom advertising classified manager ann campbell acampbeuymgcom assistant classified manager bonnie rondeau brondeauymgcom retail manager staceyauen sauenymgcom new business development manager mikerogerson mrogersonymgcom production team leader sherry day sdayymgcom editorial 9056400612 fax9056408778 advertising 9056402612 classified 18007433353fax 9058531765 distribution 9052942200 ontario ftaat cound sufitribune a york region newspaper group community newspaper die suntribune published every thuisday and saturday is a member of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd a whollyowned subsidiary of tbrstar corporation metroland is comprised of 70 community publications across ontario the york region newspaper group includes the liberal serving richmond hio and thomhitl vaughan citizen the economist sun markham the dabanner newmarketaurora georgma advocate york region business times north of the city yorkregfancom and york region printing off the top with jim mason christmas season officially starts on parade day sorry big box retailers and your dis plays that went up the day after halloween not even close my christmas season begins this saturday call it hokey call it small town call it home the season can officially begin on the first saturday in december the date of the stouffville kinsmen santa claus parade after two dozen years of taking part in the parade or taking it in from the side lines of main street it is christmas its not the toronto parade or the thanksgiving blowout on the streets of manhattan with their slick but beautiful corporatesponsored floats its the kinsmen tiny in numbers but big on effort as they somehow pull off this very large undertaking in the small town every december ifs the scout troop that meets in the church basement down the street whip ping a flatbed trailer into something pre sentable the night before in a barn that belongs to one of the boys grandparents its the kid next door and his or her hockey team collecting nonperishable donations on the route for our food bank its the smell of candy coffee and whatever libations some people pour into their thermoses for parade day its shutting down the main drag for an hour or two as if we marked siestas on this side of the planet its trying to figure out if it will rain snow freeze sunbake or all of the above saturday afternoon its seeing familiar faces in the parade and on the floats its horses making a return to down town stouffville as if visiting from anoth er era its the sound of bagpipes and brass band its catching candies thrown from floats like they were mardi gras necklaces and this was bourbon not main street its warming up with a free hot choco late from the ballantrae lions or a hot dog courtesy of betz pools its exchanging verbal christmas cards with old friends and new neighbours its warming up at home after and exchanging parade memories with the children no matter how old they now be its santa calling you by name its stouffville its christmas see you there thanks for coming out jim mason is editor of the sun- tribune