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- ’Efifi.T,-ibune COLUMN Tnbu 6 M 38 : 3288 $8.2: All submissions must be lost. than 400 words and include a daytime telephone number. name and addresx The Sun-Tribune the righ! to publish or not publish and to edit » fur clarity and space E-mau jmasonfirmgcom Advertising Manager Anne Be‘su'ick ulwumrU-I \‘rmg (mu DIRH'Hm (Zuurm 8| mu lls Katharine I’un'hcnm ( ‘hu York Region Media Group community newspapers The Sun-Inbune. published every. Thursday, IS a dwnsaon o! the Metroland Media Gmup Ltd. a malty owned subsodlary of Toma: Comomion. To speak to) customer semce rap: lam-“13 DIRH‘IUR, Busm» Almmsnunm Robert Lazurku Eu [ETTERS POLICY Delivery issues? dim} 'r1.*(at{vrrplx. mm Circulation (lo-ordinator Daphm’ lawn"? Dellvery mqumes ymustmmem'ced yrmg. com [Imumm'rrmg rum 905~640~26l2 n 9056408778 35'. 1-800743â€"3353 DIS'I’RIBUTH )N 1‘855-8535613 DIRH'IHR. Run Es Hll WI) ()lAssmI n ( [on] Ptmlm‘t‘t' DIRI-‘FIUR. Dlsnunu mm limm Pacheco [)nm mu, Ammnsm. l )vhm Weller lidllor [I'm Mason The Kinsmen decided to abbleviate the procession even further this year. Made sense. There was apparently traffic We do know it's a huge and often thankless task to son and organize dozens of bands. com- munity groups, pickup tmcks and floats into some semblance of order. often in driving snow or rain. The parade entries are to line up in designated spots on the narrow streets in and around the Cam Fella subdivision in east-end Stouffville. Meanwhile. parents are dropping off kids at the last minute. congesting the roads with more traffic. Neigh- bours are trying to get in and out of their own driveways. It's like herding cats. 'lhe much-needed widening of Main Street fmstrated some drivers back in the day and shortened the parade route. It began at Tenth Line and Aintree Drive and ended way out there at the Cable Tech plant. which became the South- wire (Ianada plant and ~ Mayor and longtime Kinsman Justin Altmann aside â€" could become an intemational trade centre. 'l‘he Kinsmen Club of Slouffville has organized the parade for longer than anyone can remember. No one‘s exactly sure of when they took it over. Think wedding co-ordinator during the big day. Months of preparation must be executed in a matter of minutes. But them can be a flipside to every decision. no matter how well-intentinnmi they may have been. Even if you know Santa. For many years. the Smuffw‘lle parade was a mara- thon. especially if you were wearing a chipmunk suit or hoofing it on high heels. (I've done one of the above.) v on a munici council. 'l'here's an opportunity to brighten the lives of so many people with your work. Friends of Santa, councillors can’t please everyone rganizing a Santa (Ilaus parade must be a In! like sitting on a municipal IimMason is editorofflneSurrm. Follmhimonhvilterfitammr A gala and well-received inaugural over. the new edi- tion ofWhitchurch-Stoufiville council gets down to businm‘s 'lhesday afternoon. Five of seven members are new to (minim. 'Fhey. too. will have to get used to nmking deciâ€" sions that will not please every- one all the time. They couldn't see the parade this year due to the route change. Some. who apparently didn't know an audible had been called by the Kinsmen this fall. waited in vain for the parade Saturday afternoon. And the recently widened Ninth line â€" smother some- times controversial project â€" was a perfect runway to end this year's flight for Santa and the other parade entries 'lhe hockey heads may have been (unwasui. but at least some of the seniom who live in Parkview's apartments and long- tem1 care home acnm the mad from the rinks were displeased. trouble for hmkey teams trying to get in and out of tlw twu ice pads at the Stuufivillv (flippers Sports (bmplcx as the parade neamd its end point on Weldon Road in 2013. mad the sampling of letters we printed on this page during the ~ past month. But. not for all. as you know if you subscribe to Facebook or Real life begins. with Jim Mason Off The Top Taylor has a record of environmental advocacy (foundations. festivals. boards). He supported solar panels on town facilities. while limmerson frustrated similar efforts. His council killed the environmental advisory committee. While 'l‘aylor is an advrwate for local tran- sit. limmerson said residents told him to: "Get those empty buses ofi‘our streets". Taylor championed a regional rental and affordable housing strategy. including i labitat for Humanity initiatives. 'l‘aylor co-founded "Ride your Bike to Work Day" « Newmarket businesses must have bike racks -.- while in Stoufiville residents have had to fight council to build safe bike routes for everyday destina- tions and racks. . Taylor has raised more than $250,000 fund- ing for arts and culture and is founding chair- person of Newmarket's arts gala. Emmerson and his council scrapped the cultural advisory LETTER OF THE WEEK Delivering dinners not enough Why Altmann may not vote for Emmerson tonight Altmann ran against limnwrson in 2010 and. while Emmerson did not run in this last election. the two have remained at odds. For example. Altniann critiqued a Picker- ing airport. while limnwrson embraced the 2013 fedeml announccnwnt and potential businesses “like around Pearson". linunerson wooed the Yiwu Trade (X‘nm‘ without public participation; Altmunn has boon its strottgvst critic. Nuw Newmurket's rvgionul council vot- eran John Taylor has launched his caunpaign for regional chair. 'l‘aylor's priorities are sig- nificantly different from limmerson‘s and perhaps closer to the mayor's. Re: Mayor unsure who by ix Ixu‘king [in York chair. Dev. 4. Mayor lustin Altmunn has not yet con- fimted his support for Wayne Emnwrson's bid for the powerful position of regional chairperson. The vote goes tonight. Who or when is "good" for Whiu‘hurchg Stoutfi'illc depends on political vision * and Altmunn won with a mandate for change. Ward 3 Councillor Hugo Kroon's response was sharp: a “lender cannot afford to he indecisive. l have not heard any convincing reason why Wayne iimnwrson should not xii in that chair". 'l‘o just feed the stomach of someone alone is not enough. There are plenty of fro- zen turkey dinners to he bought. but people Re: (,‘hrLthuLx‘ dinner (it'liwrv-only I M: 4. We will no longer be coming together around the Christmas table as strangers and leaving the table with new friends and at true feeling of Christmas in their hearts. I am saddened by this news as the true meaning of (Ihristnms is gathering mgothcr to share in the love of Christ's birth. PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot GENERAL MANAGER lohn Willems New members may not even know the candidates. How can this be democratic when 76 per cent of residents opposed the antiquatâ€" ed “back-slapping" system in a recent poll? Re: (Shainwrson dyrmmics in spotlight How shameful that 1.2 million York Region residents will not be permitted to vow for their choice for Chairperson of York Region. Only 20 mayors and regional councillors can vote tonight in Newmarket. Bill 42 would end this ugly, unfair system of candidates who spend four years win- ing and dining each other in wing for the $218,000 salary they will receive as chair. MUSH Bill No. 8 would bring all munici- palities under the ombudsman. who would finally make municipal governments accountable. Wayne limmerson. the ex-mayor of Whitchurch-Stouffville. is expected to be a shoe-in for the lofty. high-salariul position. but does he have any credentials or experi- ence other than being mayor of a small town plus 32 years as clerk in the local family-type hardware store? It is not obvious that Emmerson should bt‘ Altmzinn's preferred candidate for regional choir. Altmann has a mandate for change and John 'l'aylor as regional Chairperson might just enable the mayor to fulfill that new vision hotter than his old rival. Wayne Enimerson. Residents should have say 'l‘aylor spearheaded a university satellite campus bid (he is a PhD); Emmerson passed on talking with York U. 'I‘aylor initiated a highâ€" speed Internet â€"â€"- Gigabyte ( Zorridor â€"~ strategy to attract knowledgeâ€"lutsed industry; limmer- son wooed a trade centre and supports open- ing Class 1 farmland on Woodbine Avenue. north of Aurora Road. for employment. Both have strong econoinic visions and vmphusize minimal tax increases. but differ in substance and style. ARNOLD NEUFELDT-FAST NH )L 'H‘HI I 1-. Iidimris~ note: Arnold Neufeldt-I‘hst um 1: candidate fbr mayor in this‘ year's Median. wmminee and let library and arts and culture funding decline to record lows. Taken from the article is cited “the true intention is groups of friends / family gath- ered on (lhristmas day for a traditional din- ner." Dropping off a meal does not make this happen. There are plenty of singles or couples who have no family or friends. to share this dinner with are hard to find Please consider this again when you are making your plans. I )uffwllc' Sim-Tribune Sloufi'vllle 6290 Main St Stouflvme. 0N. MA 167 ww.yorkregion.com AL YETMAN WHITCHUR( .‘H~S‘I‘( )l ’I-‘I’VIHJ: HEATHER ANDREWS BALIAN’I’RAE