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6 stouffville suntribune thursday jan 1 1 2007 suntribune 6290 main st stouffvilte on l4a 7z5 wwwyorkregioncom publisher ian proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly business manager robert lazurko director interactive media technology john futhey director advertising distribution barry black director grculation systems lynn pashko marketingpartnerships director debra weller york region printing general manager bob dean editorial with growth come improvements who said you cant teach an old dog new tricks not the town of whitchurch- stouffville because not all things growth related are negative yes the building boom that has hit stouffville particularly has brought added noise dust and traffic to our once sleepy suburb but there are positive aspects to growth the first dedicated bicycle lanes in whitchurchstouffville are in place take millard street west of the ninth line for a look at our future now council must look at adding bike lanes to existing streets hightraffic areas including routes to schools libraries recreation centres and sports fields should be priorities the bethesda road fields being developed just west of the 10th line is a prime example as mayoral candidate pamela courtot said last fall soccer and ball players shouldnt drive to their games they should walk or cycle council critics have asked for such lanes to link communities including stouffville and bloomington via the ninthif we are going to encourage resi dents to get out of their cars and use pub lic transit and bicycles we must make the alternatives safe convenient and attrac tive the same goes for the extension of stouffvilles trail system linking the millard street reservoir with the down town core construction has been overdue the reservoir with its wildlife and wooded trails is a hidden gem all of stouffville should discover especially as our com munity becomes even more urbanized council has made our community a safer place by insisting developers install sidewalks on both sides of busy streets well done staying on millard the roundabout west of the ninth line is a brilliant addi tion to the local network of streets it makes sense for moving traffic and improving the environment now council must work to make sim ilar improvements in existing subdivi sions it can start with sidewalks in high traf fic areas where none exist the 10th line between north street and the stouffville country market and rupert street west of the ninth line are prime candidates residents literally take their lives in their hands walking along the side of these streets will it take a fatality to have sidewalks installed i z letters to the editor tim hortons commercial unrealistic there is no doubt the new tim hortons com mercial with sidney crosby is great but unfortu nately it no longer represents the reality in ontario and especially in our own community if someone can show me a place in ontario where a timbit hockey player or a young figure skater can have the ice for just a couple more minutes to practise their skills i will buy that per son free tim hortons coffee for a year perhaps with a new arena stouffvilles own budding sidney crosbys or kevin reynolds or cindy klassens could actually get those extra min utes of practice to hone their skills which could actually make a difference in the future in todays reality its the arena staff who unfor tunately take the heat as they marshall us off the ice at the exact second our time is up because the demand for ice far exceeds supply i wish the tim hortons oldfashioned canadian outlook was our reality here in stouffville greg smith stouffville no excuses for littering stouffville there is no denying the effects of global warm ing anymore the above average temperatures we have been experiencing this winter the news that a large section of the arctic ice shelf has broken off and the onslaught of information in the media about the very concrete science surrounding this issue is overwhelming yet today as i was walking my dog along rupert avenue i saw a young girl toss her coffee cup care lessly on to the grass of the park 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 my first instinct as a high school teacher was to reprimand the culprit and to point out the error of her ways but reason told me that lecturing a teenager on the effects of her actions on the envi ronment at that point in time seemed pointless but i am astounded that there are so many indi viduals who have no regard for the world around them how can anyone in good conscious throw garbage on the ground without a care in the world how can people give such little thought to the impact of their actions needless to say it is not just teenagers who are littering but people of all ages who are of the belief that this is not their problem and that someone else will take care of it in this day and age it is absolutely unacceptable to litter and this is something that we all must take action against there are many small and simple things that we all can be doing we do not have the luxury of excuses any longer so walk that extra 10 feet and throw your coffee cups into the garbage cans the town has provided this is everyones problem and it is time that we all open our eyes natalie gunn stouffville off the top with jim mason send our snow to vancouver please and thanks so that new snow thrower is work ing wonders as a dust collector in the corner of the garage eh in behind the shovels the tree and the boxes of decorations perfect you got tired of firing it up and walking it out around the driveway like there was a winter to deal with nice christmas gift meanwhile the children have ripped up that landscaping job of last summer taking the sleds and other gear where snow should be covering the good news is the money you were going to spend to take them to disney world this spring can pay for more sod and shrubs heck by march break it should be down right floridalike here in balmy whitchurchstouffville the skeletons of outdoor rinks lie neglected in parks and back yards around whitchurchstouffville that wayne and walter gretzkylike bonding you had planned for your future hall of famer will have to wait you will always have the chalk talk and post- game video review sessions not to mention the time talking on the way home from road games especially losses and theres always next years nhl draft peeved over the lack of winter hardly keep the snowshoes and the bala clavas tucked away pull out the flip- flops forget about new skis and an all- year lift ticket denver can have its snowbanks and road closures let vancouver know what winter is once in a generation keep mel lastman and the canadian armed forces at bay our soldiers have bigger fish to fry in afghanistan and other hot spots around the world than roadclearing in the big smoke jim mason is editor of the sun- tribune letters policy the suntribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and address the suntribuncrcscrves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space letters to the editor the suntribune stouffville on l4a7z5 jmasonyrngcom editorial editor jim mason jmasonyrmgcom interactive media marketing advertising manager dawna andrews dandrewsyrmgcom advertising retail manager stacey allen sallenyrmgcom classified manager ann campbell acampbellyrmgcom assistant classified manager bonnie rondeau brondeauyrmgcom new business development manager mikerogerson mrogersonyrmgcom production team leader sherry day sdayyrmgcom ontario press council tgne canadian ctroitatjonj 4fcpfad annboanl war- memtxy editorial 9056402612 fax9052941583 advertising 9056402612 classified i80o7433353 fax9052941538 distribution 9056402612 suntnbune a york region media group community newspaper the suntribune published every thursday and saturday is a division of the metroland media group ltd a whollyowned subsidiary of torstar corporation metroland is comprised of 100 community publications across ontario the yoik region newspaper group includes the liberal serving richmond hill and thomhillvaughan citizenthe erabanner newmarketaurora markham economist sun georgina advocate york region business times north of the city yorkregioncom and york region printing