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The Sun-Whine welcomes your let- tm All submissions must be less than 400 words and must Iude a daytime! number, name and addms. The Sun~mbune reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clar- ityandspace. momma-mt. "Iome (moms: W,M WK}? Sun,(_3eocgna Advocate,an Business Tunes. Noah of the City. meannom and York Region Ptinting. is 00W of 100 community publications m Omnmvom Regan Newspapot Gmup also mm: Ubetal, sewing Ridunond Hm and momhflLVaugnan Guinean» Eta-Baum (Newmanet/Mrora), Markham Economist York Region Media Group community newspapers jmuon.yrm¢.com (Stiff-Fibune lETTERS POLICY Mike Banuille mbantrilleOyrmgcom DISTRIBUTION Chcuhtlon Supervhor Carolyn Norman (normanévyrmgrom Pnouucnou Pu MEDIA jmasonOyrmg com DISTRIBUTION 905-640-2612 ADVERTISING 905-64046” icd: 1-800-743-3353 n: 905â€"640-8778 905-640-261 2 nu 905-640-8778 Eomm Iim Mason EDI TORML Later, I also went to school for a few semesters at Lake Superi- or State University (after getting a degree in Canada), which used We crossed the ditch quite a lot when I was young, in part because my brothers and sisters and I had teeth so crooked you'd think we'd been fathered by Mr. Grinch. And the only orthodontist at the time was on the US. side. The Americans would charge drivers $2 for the honour of travel- ling from Canada into the United States using their part of the bridge. Coming back, of course, it was free (translation: paid for by the taxpay- ers) because that’s how we roll here in the Great White North. ' The International Bridge con- nects the two sides and you can get across the ditch, as the locals would say, in a matter of minutes. The St. Mary's River separates the 'IWin Saults, as some of the radio stations on the Michigan side looking for Canadian advertising business like to call them. was born in Toronto but grew up in Sault Ste. Marie which, even though it’s in northern Ontario, is also a border city, like Wmdsor or Sarnia, Niag- ara Falls or Cornwall. If we didn’t ride dirt bikes, we would be sitting at home getting fat, doing drugs or get- ting into trouble because there is nothing else. Teenagers here get together and ride their toys because we have nothing else to do. lonlyseethebadstufi'inthe paper about we dirt bikers. Did you ever think that kids aged 14 to 18 have other things to do at the lake? I have lived here my whole life and never have had problems with people calling the cops about dirt bikers. Will HS T19 arrival drive up cross-border shopping? Yes, the warm weather has arrived and I’m very proud to say I’m the owner ofa dirt bike at Musselman’s Lake. 1 was very upset with the letter to the edi- tor about me and my friends. Re: Rula of road don’t apply to lake dirt-bike drivers, letter to the editor by Peter McNeil, May 1. Nothing to do at lake but ride dirt bikes filNION Sfifiifiibune 6290 Main St. Stouflvme, 0N. L4A 167 wwwyorkmfionmm PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot Eurmn IN CHIEF Debora Kelly Busmass MANAGER Robert Lazar/m memn, Ovuumous Barry Black Maybe if there was a park at lETTERS TO THE EDITOR Take the time tovlisten to our side. We need to live, too. CRYSTAL COOK M USSELMAN ’S LAKE We are only trying to live and maybe have a good time, I don't see how a little noise hurts anyone. Think back to your own childhood. To comment on our parents is even more selfish. If you had kids, I'm pretty sure you would want them to do something and not get into trouble. The complainers are being selfish and we need to take a stand. I would be happy to use my time and money to make them see what’s right. Everyone needs to enjoy life. Take the time and think how the teenagers feel, not just yourself. The people complaining should try to work something out before wasting the time of police oflicers, who just tell us to drive more slowly. the lake that we didn’t have to spend $3 to get in to, we would go there. The Canadian dollar has more or less reached parity with the US. dol- lar and was even valued higher earlier this month. It could stay that way for I mention all this as background to say I have personal experience with the highs and lows of the Canadian dollar and how it relates to cross-bor- der shopping and prices of US. goods sold in Canada. When you live in a border town, it's a constant topic. to call itself a college but changed the name so there's a U on the end, in part, because it relied heavily on Canadian enrolment and Canadians wanted a university degree, not one that sounded like it came from a com- munity college here in Ontario; Bernie O’Neill With the strong dollar, you'd think virtually every Canadian Would visit the US. for gas, milk, lunch at Den- ny’s and a new pair of shoes. But that's not necessarily the case. My parents. like many in the Cana- dian Sault, simply refused to shop in the US. because they viewed it as hurting their neighbours who ran businesses on the Canadian side and, for that matter, hurting themselves. As gas stations, comer stores and other retail outlets went out of business over the years, along with jobs and Gas is about 80 cents a litre. Milk takes advantage of agricultural subsiâ€" dies. Clothes are taxed at lower rates and, often produced in the US. Meals are taxed less and get their ingredi- ents from a subsidized U.S. agricul- ture industry. So what's going on in Canadian border towns as we speak? If it’s anything like years past. Canadians are driving to the US. to shop, in a big way. Lower sales taxes on the US. side already make shop- ping there a bargain for Canadians. Gasoline, milk, clothes and restaurant meals are all usually cheaper. a while, because of weaknesses seen in the US. economy and, in turn, its currency. Stamina resident Bernie O'Neill is 8 Yeti Region Media Group editon But if you see me at an outlet mall in Buffalo, remember ['1] be there for journallstic investigation purposes. and not the great deals on sneakers. Unfortunately, I think the, harmoâ€" nized sales tax coming into efiect may push more people than normal to the U.S. on shopping trips. But there's another part of me that thinks shopping is an act of patrio- tism, meaning both what you buy (was it grown in Ontario?) and where you buy it (am 1 shopping in York Region, where neighbours live and my taxes go?) come to mind whenever I pull out my wallet. Part of me says, hey, it's a free coun- try, both here and there. If some of us shop over there and some of them shop over here, it all evens out. We don’t have the same challenges here in York Region because we're a good couple of hours away from the US But I still hear of people planning shopping trips to Buffalo or beyond and I'm never quite sure what to make of it. tax revenues, they and others had the pleasure of saying, “I told you so". Duuacmn, REGIONAL Pnonucrs. Cussmm, Tomw’s Hones Debra Weller Dumcma, Ammo, Dlmunon Nicole Fletcher