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uj v lw4 a x w i 6 stduwsimtntmnemwwiaug302007 tstouffvule suntnbune 6290 main st stouffville on l4a 1g7 wwwyorkregioncom publisher ian proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly business manager robert lazurko director interactive media technology john futhey director advertising york region printing distribution general manager barry black bob dean director circulation systems lynn pashko editorial playing tough with developers are developers running roughshod in whitchurch- stouffville or are the horror stories of devel opments gone bad mere hiccups in the big picture this town and specifically the community of stouffville is in the midst of a building boom as if you need to be reminded from a population of 24343 in 2006 the town will grow to 32343 by next year 42343 in 2013 and 62321 by 2026 the once sleepy small town will become a small city the upside is new facilities includ ing schools arenas sports fields fife halls and hopefully a seniors centre and theatre the downside is noise dust and traffic congestion especially during construction much of that cant be avoided other developmentrelated issues can be avoided the cutting of trees for an indus trial development behind novo- pharm and southwire company this summer has irritated residents questions linger were more trees than necessary removed if so why maintaining trees would seem to be a wise move environmentally and for community relations by a devel oper the presence of trees would seem like a good selling tool when a development goes to market this isnt the first time the cutting of trees has irked residents unfortunately it took until 2007 and this event for the town to begin writing a tree policy the town says it wants to regulate what trees can be cut it also says it will notify residents before trees are removed that makes sense so does read ing the riot act again mayor wayne emmerson met with developers to voice his displeasure with some of them and their subcontractors some have been caught working sundays others have taken equip ment on roads they are not supposed to use backyards have been flooded one cut off water to a corner of stouffville the town has talked tough with fines but even that doesnt always work developers often see them as a part of doing business better enforcement is part of the answer if someone is caught cutting trees illegally put a stopwork order on their development if you see developers operating illegally call the municipality or the police its still our town letters to the editor environment committee could have been councils treecutting watchdog re treeclearing by developer irks town resi dents aug 16 in response to the removal of trees at the end of mostar street i would like to express my frustration on this latest example of whitchurch stouffvilles lack of environmental leadership as a former member of the environmental action committee i was extremely disappointed this town council would view the committee as an unnecessary part of this community with its con venient dismissal by our current council the priority environmental issues have taken during the past 18 months is phenomenal and long over due yet whitchurch stouffville is content not to recognize the importance of this yes we are getting the green bin but thats only following on the heels of the other communities in this region why not take some leadership with our envi ronment i remember last year when a similar incident to mostar street occurred at the future location of the hwy 48 auto mall north of stouffville road where trees were cut unexpectedly and we on the environmental committee before our dismissal discussed taking on the role of an environmental watchdog within the town to help prevent this from occurring in the future yet here we are once again with developers hav ing a total disrespect for the environment i feel we have an opportunity to lead in the field of environmental protection we are still country close to the city although with the uncontrolled growth that is occurring it wont be long until it is city within the city growth is a part of life but we need to focus on sustainable growth where citizens have the ability to live work and play within our municipal boundaries lets be the first to promote a sustainable indus try sector where alternative energy and environ mental businesses want to come and set up shop for the quality of community we provide that includes enjoying the many tress within the heart of our beautiful town derek sawyer stouffville cartoon disrespectful to soldiers re editorial cartoon by steve nease aug 25 i am absolutely appalled by editorial cartoon highway of heroes the majority of people know editorial cartoons poke fun at news stories given this reality the cartoon leaves one with the impression your paper takes lightly the sacrifice of soldiers who do their duty with honour and dignity regardless of ones opinion of the war in afghanistan every canadian and especially our media should treat our heroes with the dignity they have earned the cartoon absolutely fails in this respect it is at best disrespectful to our soldiers in afghanistan those who have served at any time in the canadian forces and those of us who have great respect for the duties our soldiers undertake stephen huycke markham off the top with jim mason tour worlds disability crisis on stouffville ed dave mccomiskey was just like you and me he drove by christian blind mission international every work day while com muting from his home in port perry to a job in markham do blind people live there or what goes on hed say to himself it was just another building on his commute he said during a tour of the stouffville road facility last thursday following a chance meeting with a mission official while they were both on vacation in myrtle beach he took a job at the mission that was 22 years ago now executive director of the canadi an branch of the mission he must know what goes on in the building the basic motto is caring for the poorest of the poor as he puts it and not just the blind as the name on the lawn states there are 650 million disabled people on the planet or 10 per cent of the popu lation fewer than 3 per cent of them are cared for now mr mccomiskey admits with the international goal set at 10 their disability prevents them from working or going to school and keeps them poor the mission has worked to break that cycle for more than 100 years it cares for 12 million people a year with every disability imagined in more than 100 countries to perform its work the mission likes financial donations and boasts of spend ing 82 cents of every dollar on programs the remainder pays for administration and fundraising it also accepts medical equipment pharmaceuticals and volunteer hours you can learn more by taking your own tour in the life changing moments series theyre offered twice a month and open to everyone they last one hour and theres no hard sell call 9056403615 or 9056406464 for more information 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 suntribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space letters to the editor the suntribune 6290 main st stouffville on l4a ig7 jmasonyrmgcom editorial editor jim mason jmasonyrnigcom interactive media marketing advertising manager dawna andrews dandreivsyrmgcom advertising retail manager staceyallen sallcnyrmgcom classified manager ann campbell acampbcllyrmgcom assistant classified manager bonnie rondeau brondeauyrmgcom production team leader sherry day sdayynngcom rosflw cituwkw austinl w qcab editorial 9056402612 fax9056408778 advertising 9056402612 classified 18007433353 fax9056408778 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 york region newspaper group includes the liberal serving richmond hill and thornhillvaughan citizenthe erabanner newmarket aurora markham economist sun georgina advocate york region business times north of the city yorkregioncom and york region printing