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York Region Media Group community newspapers The Sun-Tribune, published every Thursday and Saturday. is a division of the Metroiand Media Group Ltd, a Wily-owned subsidiary oi Torstar Corporation. Metroiand is comprised of 100 community pubiications across Ontario. The York Regon Newspaper Group also includes me Uberal. serving Richmond Hill and Thomhill, Vaughan Citizen,1he Era-Banner (Newmarket/Aurora), Markham Economist The Sun-Nbune welcomes your let- ters. All submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number. name and address The Sun-Tribune reserves the ri l to publish or not publis and to edit for clarâ€" ity and space. Letters to the mm. m Sun-Tribune 6290 Mala 8L StooiMIio, GM LM I67 (EFF-Tribune Sun, Georyna Advocate, Yatk Region Business Times. North of the City, yorkreglonmm and York Region Punting. Chained Manager Bonnie Rondeau cmadarlaneOyrmg.com Dlsmmunon Circulation Supervisor Carrie MacFarlane Mike Banville mbanulIWyrmg.c0m jmuon.yvm¢.com Manager Dawna Andrews dandrvwsé’yrmgcom brondaauOyrmg.com cnornmn®ynng.com Manager Carolyn Norman Anvumsmc Retail Manager jmasonOyrmgcom lETTERS POLICY Pnonucnon Manager Sherry Day sday@ym1g. com DISTRIBUTION 905-640-2612 MEDIA ADVERTISING 905-640-2612 905640-26 I 2 us: 905-640-8778 Enrmm Editor lim Mason EDITORIAL l: 1-800-743-3353 905-640-8778 . . @W-‘li‘ibun PUBLISHER Ian Prou he driver deliberate- ly moved his vehicle into the lane in which I was driving, drawing my eyes away from his screaming face to his SUV mere inches away from my vehicle. As we stopped at the red light, he leaned across the passenger seat, his face twisted and red, spittle flying and despicable Obscenities spewing from his mouth. The light turned gem and he sped ofl. leaving me shaking in shock and disbelief over the sheer force of the toxic rage that was an out-of-the- the-ballpark overreaction to a minor incident in a parking lot. I had pulled out from a lane in the parking lot to join a line of cars waiting to turn onto Yonge Street, seeing his approaching car but, admittedly, misjudging â€"-â€" actually, not expecting â€" the careless speed at which he was tearing through the lot. Our vehicles hadn't even come close, but as he pulled up behind me, he was blaring his horn. ges- turing wildly and shouting. I had raised my hand to genu- inely acknowledge his "courtesy" in allowing my vehicle a place ahead of his, but quickly dropped it as he continued to honk. Take a pill, Have you observed the trafâ€" fic outside the U2ch Leisure C‘efitre lately? It’s worse than ever and sometimes just plain chaotic. That didn't work and either does the solution to the prob- lem. Hardly anyone pays attention to the army of traflic signs that have been erected in abundance. Drivers 1 spoke to are paying more attention to the children darting in and out of the build- ing than the signs. You might see a parking spot and make the legal turns and stops to get there, only to be beaten by a driver who ignored the rules and made an illegal turn. This is wrong and danger- ous, especially for pedestrians coming from the pool or library in the centre. School bus drivers also appear to be having trouble navigating the entrance and It started with a roundabout, which failed to direct traffic into the parking lot. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Keepitsimplefitoufivil'e HAVE YOUR SAY Honour good character in our communities D What do you think of this issue or others? E-mail lanes to the VQWIQJ'WW'CW , . parking lot. They are dropping children and disabled adults at the centre. The new turns are too tight for their stretch vehicles. Please, consider others when p tting up barricades, Town of Whitchurch-Stoufl'ville. A suggestion? Remove our sign-adomed island. Get two gallons of white paint and two gallons of yellow. Keep it simple and don’t waste ourtaxmoney. The simplest ideas always work best. Cutting the parking lot in half with barricades last year proved very frustrating for patrons. It was most challeng- ing for pedestrians, especially those pushing strollers. - buddy, I thought, what's the big deal, and waved him ofi dismissiver. As my car moved to the front of the line, he got out of his SUV. 1 let this ticking time bomb stomp his way up to my door before I drove off. That’s when he chased me, trying to run me off the road, endangering not only me but the other drivers around me. His road rage was the most extreme 1 had personally experienced â€" the icing on the cake of the aggressive cutting ofl", tailgating and thirdâ€"finger raising behaviour on our roads that is now so common that it’s expected, if not accepted. We al] make mistakes, with nei- JACK VERHOOG STOUFFVILLE Debora Kelly ther intention nor spite; do they really merit this contemptuous disregard for common courtesy? In the week following, the guy’s ugly, spittle-marred face came to mind each time 1 observed yet anoth- er roadway discourtesy. It’s dispirit- ing to see this onslaught of rudeness, impatience, frustration and general lack of manners â€"â€" and not only on our roads. It seems as if we’ve resigned our- selves to this coarsening of our cul- ture. After all, what can we do about it but live our own lives and raise our children with civility? it’s too easy to feel helpless â€" if not frustrated and angry ourselves â€" against the barrage of rude; angry, mean, disrespectful and hurtful behaviour. But we can do more. We can hon our the good‘in our communities. Compassion, courtesy, responsi- bility, courage, integrity and optimism abound â€" in the political arena, in nei bourhoods and schools, at malls an grocery stores, on TV, at hockey rinks and the workplace. And even on our roads, sometimes. We see it in the political arena, in neighbourhoods and schools, at malls and grocery stores, on TV, at hockey rinks and the workplace. Not to mention MTV awards. ’bama’s first year Leme PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot Tribune The event honours individuals and organizations that have demonstrated attributes such as courage, inclusive- ness, fairness, integrityy optimism. compassion and initiative. Please join the celebration by spon- soring an award or making a nomina- tion â€" there are 22 categories. includ- ing the citizen of character, business leader, neighbourhood of character and Wendel Clark sports award. Nomination foi'ms, available at www.charactercommunity.com. must be submitted by Feb. 12. Dobommllylsadlmnnchiefolthemmglon ModIaGmup It's important to recognize what is right about our communities, which is why the York Region Character Com- munity Foundation hosts an annual awards celebration in April. EDHOI n: Cum Debora Kelly 8mm Robert Lazarko It’s dispiriting to see this onslaught of rudeness, impatience, frustration and general lack of manners - and not only on our roads. \\\ DIIBCI’OI. Dims Nicole Fletcher