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For most pe0ple in our community, Labour Day is quite simply the end- of-summer long weekend, a signal it is time to rush around and pick up any forgotten back-to-school items and leave the lazy, hazy days of summer behind. The day is related tb labour only inthatitsignalsitistimetorefocusour energies on our work, whether that be in a job or at school. , Even though the original connec- tion between the holiday and orga- nizedlabourhasfadedinourminds, labourDayisstillagoodtimetotakea moment or two and reflect on this cel- ebration of the “working class" and its contributions to society. Feisty battles by organized labour have given us much of what we take for granted today: the five-day work week, minimum wage and good sala- ries, unemployment insurance and safe workplaces With these landmark successes already well-entrenched, now it is more a case of negotiating individual con- tracts and starting salaries. But Labour Day is a great opportu- nity to honour the union movement, recognize what it stands for and what it has helped accomplish for all workers in our communities and beyond. While we do this, it is also important to note that for many hard-working men and women across our country, and right here at home, things are still far from ideal. That’s not to say that unions are the answer to. every problem in our com- plex world of work in the 2 lst century. but too many of our neighbours are still barely making a living in affluent York Region. There are still too many people in dead-end jobs with no job secuâ€" rity, too many older workers who are unemployed; and too many single par- ents whose opportunities are limited because they can't afford daycare. Many manufacturing jobs have been lost in Ontario, including right here in York Region. Many of these were the type of high paying jobs that allow people to assume mortgages or raise families. Working at the coffee shop or in the large retail outlet can never replace these lost incomes. Moving to Western Canada, where the jobs tend to be, may bring relief to young workers or people who have recently become unemployed, but is also a loss for our province. So, as we load up the car to take off to the cottage or stock up the refrigera- tor with the fixings for a long weekend, these underlying realities are worth consideration, too. [ETTERS POLICY The Sun-Nbune welcomes your letters. All submisshm must be less than 400 wads and must include a duydme hone number. name and a The Sun~1hbune reserves the right no publhh or not publish and to edit for clarity andspm Stoujfia'lle Sun-Nun: I Thursday Aug. 28. 2008 Reflections on a hard day’s work |masonOyrmg.com Editorial INTERACTIVE MEDIA Mam EDITORIAL Editor lim Mason jmasonermgcom We would like to bring to the attention of the people that reside in our community that we allowed our 19- year-old to have a birthday party on Friday, Aug. 19. Father’s ashes, hockey rings missing after birthday party This is,a warning to Stouffville and our community at large. We limited the pérty to 50 people and made sure we were home. A number of young people were in and out of the house for the use of om bathroom facili- ties. We thought nothing of it. As the evening wore on, we became aware that more and more young people were show- ing up and when an altercation occurred, we had no choice but to call York Regional Police and have the party broken up. The next day, we discovered a number of personal items were missing from our home. They included a heart-shaped urn that held my father's ashes, two sets of keys, a white iPod, a watch, eight championship hockey rings, the most recent was the Stouffville Dis- trict Secondary School’s provincial champion- ship ring earned by one of our sons, and other smaller things. We ask for your help by asking your teenâ€" aged son or daughter if they were at the party, if they saw anyone upstairs. (The um and rings were taken from our second-floor bedroom). Also, look in backpacks, beer coolers, bed- Cludfled Mange! Bonnie Rondeau brondeauOyrmg.com Anvmmsmc Stacey Allen sallenOyrmg.mm 'Sfifi'f-Tribune 6290 Main St. StoufMlle. ON. MA 167 mwmgon.m PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot Letters to the Editor Pnonucnon We know the vast majority of our young adults are good people and that it only takes one to do a deed like this. With text messaging today, word of a party can spread like wild fire, so the likelihood it could be someone outside our community is very real, too. rooms and vehicles. After this episode, our advice to those in the community is to say no to a party at your home for your teenager. If you do have one, our advice is: 1) house lock down; have it outside; 2) get a guest list and only let those in that are on the list; 3) consider port-a-potties so no one has to enter your home; 4) consider hiring security; 5) consider renting a hall and; 6) notify your neighbours. Let’s all help in keeping this community “Country Close to the City". Thank you. HAVE YOUR SAY, . WHflDHURCH-STDUFFVILLE D What do you think of these issues or others? E-mail letters to the editor to jmason@yrmg.com Bum men Robert Lazurko Elam: IN Cum! Debora Kelly hum MANAGE! Dmcmn Imus MEDIA a 'l‘namowcv john Haney LEAVE HER -â€" SHE COULD BE THE NEXT KAREN COCKBURN! ADVERTISING 905-640â€"261 2 Classified: 1-800â€"743-3353 Pu: 905-640â€"8778 Fax DISTRIBUTION 905-640-2612 905-640- 261 2 ‘x: 905-640-8778 EDITORIAL SUE GRAHAM WISE STOUFFVILLE A York Region Media Group community newspaper The Sun-Tribune, published every Thursday and Saturday. is a division of the Metroiand Media Group Ltd.. a whoiiyowned subsidiary oiTorstor Corporation. Metroiand is comprised of 100 community publications across Ontario. The York Region Newspaper Group inciudesme Uberai, serving Richmond rm and Thomhiil. Vaughan CitizenJ'he Era-Banner (Newmerket/Aurora). Markham Economist Sun. Georflna Advocate. York Region Business Times. North of the City, yorirregioncom and York Region Printing. museum. Cmcuumbu Sums Lynn Pashko Omicron. Anvu'rlsmc You REGION PluN'rmu Dxmuw'non ' (imam MANAGER Barry Black Bob Dean Professionally, socially and by pure geographic coincidence, I have come to hear a mega iPod full of bar bands. .I grew up across from a motel/ bar on Bob Dylan’s Hwy. 61 in Thunder Bay. Acts on the way up (Rush in 1973), down (the late Kurt Winter, ex of The Guess Who) and just getting by (most others) serenaded the neigh- bourhood from Finnegan’s. Nick Sinopoli knows the gig. Now 45, he has spent a career in the Cana- dian rock music industry. “Not bad for a guy nobody's ever heard of," he said laughing, as he heads into a Toronto studio this week to record cover songs for a solo album. He went from being a roadie for Frank Soda at age 17 to tour- ing with his own Alice Cooper cover band (lust Alice) over thousands of kilometres on North American black- top in old vans to get to places like Finnegan's. The current destination made it all worthwhile, he says. Nick is the long-locked front man for The Carpet Frogs, “Canada’s Premier Party Band”, according to thecarpetâ€" frogs.com. No argument here, or from no less than Guess Who leaders Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman. After the Winnipeg band's reunion ended, they hired the Frogs as the Bach- man Cummings band. The relationship started 10 years ago when they shared the stage with Burton at a benefit. They’ve played with and for Bill Clin- ton, Elton Iohn and Tom Cruise along the way. The 2008 tour that played to 115,000 people at a festival in Tennesâ€" see continues next month with dates at Casino Rama. There are gigs with Burton alone on both coasts later. To stay sharp, the Frogs play “only two bars,” as Nick says. One is Crossâ€" roads in Stouffville, as a thank-you to owner Steve Fitzpatrick who was behind the band from the start. Expect fans from across the GTA to pack the place tomorrow night to hear Led Zep- pelin and Beatles covers note for note. They close the CNE Monday. Bar band sounded right to Guess Who, too SEW-Tribune with lim Mason Off The Top