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Must beat sad ’74 vote rate Dragged down by the Thornhill area of Markham, citizens here in southern York Region set a dismal voting record during the local government elections two years ago. In Thornhill-Markham only 22 per cent of eligible voters cast their ballots. Richmond Hill citizens did the best with 42 per cent of ballots cast. The result has been that those governing our municipalities and schools since 1974 have really only Dear editor , King Township candidate for public school board Vince DeVita said at a public meeting this week he wants a switch to more emphasis on basic skills. Old Markham area did almost as well with 40 per cent of eligible citizens voting. Letters L Teachers qun‘ Hil/ falling behind neighbors We “must“ concentrate on our basic skills: reading‘ spelling. writing, arith- metic and grammap. We must begin in the junior grades to guide and encourage children with their education until they are old enough to make the proper decisions. We must stop promoting elementary school children when they havent satisfactorily completed work in their Dear editor: I believe The Liberal should be complimented on the importance that has been ‘placed upon the statistics provided by the Citizen Advisory Group on the subject of the council‘s voting record over the past two-year term. This you havé done bfil giving the story priority at the top of Page One in the Nov. 24 issue. The purpose of this letter isn‘t to criticize any member of council. But because it has become well known Richmond Hill isn‘t keeping pace with its surrounding neighbors. Perhaps some change is therefore necessary. Because of the development issue which has become of such concern to our town. it would appear we must elect (if for no other reason than to keep taxes from rising further) a man with many years of council and regional experience. We need a man who. if given the opportunity, will prove to be a forward thinking and progressive mayor â€" Gordon Rowe. Headline perhaps in ten tiona/ly misled In discussing the candidates for regional council and because of the Dear editor On Nov. 17 your newspaper carried the headlines “Roman won‘t reveal donation sources.“ This statement is both inaccurate and perhaps in- tentionally misleading. Nowhere in the attached transcript did I make the definitive statement that I would not reveal my sources. I stated emphatically: “I‘ve established a policy with respect to my campaign. I‘m establishing a budget of some 38,000 and have indicated to my campaign manager that donations in excess of $300 would not be accepted and be returned. “I have a broad base of support of financial contributions that I know will come. and they‘re coming from in- dividuals within the Town of Markham â€" from small businesses â€"â€" and an accurate list of contributions will be kept. “I have always set this goal for myself: that people who do contribute who would like to remain anonymous‘ I‘m not prepared at this time to reveal the contributions. . . At this point in time this is the case. I have to discuss the matter further with my campaign manager.‘: My hesitafion ioiards iota] disclosure is based primarily on the factor that those residents who choose PAGE A-4 PUBLISHER J.G‘ VAN KAMPEN al 15 published evevy mgr il‘ihtral 10101Y Wednesday I: d Hlll L4C 4Y6 Oma1 respective grades These promoted ones now are soon lost in our educational system and become our future drop outs. The provincial government must go back to its original grant system where school boards were paid by daily student attendance, not as they are now by enrolment. WPérents aren‘t aware their children are skippingrschoolyntil its too late. We must have closer liaison with home and school association in order to help when problems arise. “Due to the change schools don't telephone when students one absent. Jack Ashton . change necessary importance of the position they will hold in the community, I therefore return to the word experience and to the subject of development. to give financially have the right, if they so choose, to keep their names or businesses out of print. i (353; simply t6 reveal oné‘s con- tribution is to disclose one‘s vote. I hold sacred the rights and opirniAonsrof qthers. I have always opposed the funding of candidates with large cash reserves from one or more big corporations or individuals. To protect against this I had set up the above stated guidelines. What could be more concise than these statements! For a newspaper of your type to print only half of a story or to intentionally set out to damage the credibility of any one individual is indeed irresponsible. For the information of your sub- scribers, perhaps you should point out that my opponent in this municipal election will reveal his individual contributions only if the contributor cleared it. What on earth is the difference between our two statements? been responsible to a minority of not much more than one-third of the electorate. To rectify any damage that may have developed subsequent to your headlinm, I would ask for a full retraction on the front page. Your co- operation in this regard would be ap- preciated. We wonder just how many of those 1974 non- voters squalled and squawked about bad government since the last election. No doubt there were many. If the voting rate is no better on Monday, nobody but the individual citizen will be responsible. If this election is to be a good one, many more people are going to have to take time to pick their representatives and get out to vote. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1 )mmumly Newspape's anue1 'a Newmavkel The Woodb TONY ROMAN. Mayoralty candidate Markham, Ont. ED|TOR HAROLD BLAINE 1976 mge This is also needed to make associations aware of changes. Parents have tried for the last eight or 10 years to make educators aware of the need to return to basics. But our cries have gone unheard. This is very frustrating when we see education going down hill and aren't able to stop it Sofieone “has"' to éare. That someone is DeVita. A lot of barents have given up. I‘ve seen good teachers give up and qgit. Both regional candidates Lois Hancey and Lou Wainwright qualify in experience Both have past records that support the general feeling development is very important to this, our town. éecause of their past record, we the residents should cast our vote in their direction. As a resident of Ward 4 I find we must now choose between the incumbent Marylo Graham and contender Claude Henderson. Henderson is a man who has been most active in the town‘s youth ac- tivities for a number of years. During the past week it was my privilege to attend a candidates‘ meeting. I was greatly surprised to hear Mrs. Graham say she supported develop- ment. However, the figures supplied to your paper and to the meeting (and not disputed by incumbent Graham) showed she voted as follows: Dear editor I don‘t consider the manner in which Gord Rowe speaks is very becoming to anyone trying to seek election as mayor. Easy to developers I assume by his attitude, if he were elected he would be very lenient toward the developers and real estate brokers whom he would then be counting on for support Dec. 6. it; regard to taxation. I have my bills for 1975 and 1976. I find there is only an increase of $10.99 as far as the town is concerned. Rowe has evaded telling us it is the school tax that is killing us, Yet to see Rowe Dear editor Mayoralty candidate Gordon Rowe has promised full- time representation if elected. This would be a distinct improvement on what we‘ve been getting: Rowe position irresponsible I‘ve attended severe} wai‘d meetings of council in the past two years and have yet to see him; rApp'arently he walked out on a key planning meeting at Ward 6 community Dear editor â€" Richmond Hill mayoralty candidate Gordon Rowe will not get my support on Dec. 6. His absence at 50 per cent of council‘s meetings, his proposals to eliminate ward meetings and open question periods, and plan to fold local govern- ment in favor of regional rule. is in fact more letters pages D6-7,A School tax is more tfian half of the (MRS) CAROL SHEETS R.R.1, Kettleby, Ont. @Careening nags Dear editor: The Citizen Advisory Group has provided a most useful service in monitoring and compiling the atâ€" tendance and voting records of our Richmond Hill Town council members. The most meaningful in terms of philosophy and the most revealing in terms of attendance (i.e. commitment) are the figures concerning the two mayoralty candidates. Mayor David Schiller attended 212 of the 226 meetings of council and com- mittees of which he is a member. Regional Councillor Gordon Rowe‘s record was 80 of 134. For development 20, the lowest of all members of council. Against development 36, absent 4 and ab- stention 1. Taking into account this record and apparent contradiction to her verbal statement of support for development, it is apparent that if the business firms of Richmond Hill are to survive, if there is to be less unemployment, if taxes are to remain within a sensible figure and if the town is to move from a point of weakness to one of strength and respect among its peers â€" then we must accept the facts or figures quoted. total amount. The town council has no control over it. This year as an example, my total tax bill was $807.98. The education portion was $418.16 and $108.10 was for the regional municipality. To do so megns to Enark our ballot in support of bosines_srqgn Henderson. iii closing I would like to express an opinion ori the _sphool board .candidates. ‘They all, without exception, appear sincere. But again I suggest business experience is of utmost importance. _ V'T‘He balance 0? tai for the town was only $281.22. r I u rrrrr ‘4 __..|-- V--_.._. I therefore feel it would make common sense for the voters to forget about polities: They should take a good look at their tax bills and see for themselves where the majority of their money is going. STAN LENO. 10988 Bayview Ave., Richmond Hill, Ont. centre Thursday “He left the Ward 4 meeting at Rich- mond Hill High School early and missed the entire question period. Does Ronâ€"re find citizen participation unwelcome or unnecessary or un- palatable? an irresponsible position for anyone running for the office of may_0_r._ Mayor David Schiller shonld be re- elected to ensure the continuation of open and responsive local government. WILLIAMS VS GALE JACK ASHTON. Gamble Rd., Richmond Hill, Ont BARBARA COX 166 Millpond Ct.. Richmond Hill‘ Ont (MRS) DAISY MCGREGOR 160 Church St. 8., Richmond Hill, Ont. Opinion Engineering committee (town) public meetings to hear citizen representations were attended by Schiller 100 per cent and (ahh! wait all ye who love democracy) and by Rowe zero per cent. When it came to proposals for development. Schiller voted for 24 and against 37. Rowe was for 40 and against five, while being absent for 16 votes. Should Rowe be elected we can count on the nags careening madly to the east of us. roller coasters and rockets and noise whirling away to the west of us, as mayoralty candidate Rowe provides us with unnecessary over and under passes that propel us (12 lanes wide) straight to the land of topless taxation without representation. But I digress. Sincere thanks and much appreciation to Dawn Osmond for those vital statistics and to an editor whose judgment is sound in assessing their importance (MRS) RUTH COOK, 79 Centre St.. Richmond Hill, Ont. During the programs on cable television it appears candidates are being pressured into stating who they wish to have with them on Rich- mond Hill council. There seem to be a lot of nit picking questions which have little to do with who is most capable of looking after the town's affairs. The incumbent mayor is con- tinually stressing that opponent Gordon Rowe stated at one time he felt if things didn't progress better we may be better off under regional council. Hill in bloody mess I can readily see Rowe‘s point when you consider how long it takes some of our local councils to make up their minds on such things as official plans, etc. I‘m confused Mayor David Schiller is forever quoting figures, which according to Mr. Rowe are exaggerated and not true, such as how much taxes have risen, how many building permits etc. have been allotted. I and a good many others are really confused as to whose figures we should believe, and how much difference it makes. The main thing we know is that it isn‘t right â€"â€" so lets change it. Regarding regional council, if they‘re taking over the police of this area or region is any example of their work, then I feel like Mr. Rowe that the region should take over a few more departments of this town; as we have one of the best Police and Fire Depts. in Ontario, Paying double For example, last winter town workers were observed sanding roads all night. ploughing them 10 minutes later, and then sanding again in the morning. Too bad they don‘t take over the roads in our community and cut down on the cost of maintaining our streets in Richmond Hill. The taxpayers are paying double for the same type of government. York Region now growing sophisticated By Harold Mills I‘m beginning to notice something in York Region that may indicate our growing sophistication. When we first moved to the area nine years ago the concerns we expressed to municipal representatives had to do with getting a traffic light at the corner, or finding out which side of the street got the sidewalk. 7 When election time rolled around, these were the kinds of issues cam- paigns were built on. Now I notice. particularly in the mayoral campaigns throughout the area, a kind of broad philosophical outlook on concerns. And that‘s good â€" up to a point. It‘s nice to see local politicians lose their parachialism and consider the areas they hope to represent in terms of their place in the total sphere of things. On the other hand, a lot of the can- didates seem to be vying to seewho can get the most mileage out of an appeal to no-growth, or to growth as limited as possible. And I wonder if this way of looking at things hasn‘t gone too far. It seems to be part of a global nostalgia kick, with everyone trying to conserve. preserve. get back to basics, get back to older. simpler ways of doing things. This is a reactionary philosophy. and one that might be okay if it was tem- pered with some kind of confidence in the future. Instead, it seems to close both eyes to the fact you can only conserve and preserve so far. There are generations coming along who‘ll need somewhere to live. and who'll need services. And a lot of them are going to opt to live right here. We can't ignore the fact, either, that we live right next door to a major North American city, and that we're going to have to accommodate its overflow. But why the fear? Growth doesn‘t have to spell disaster if we go about it sensibly and with a more positive attitude than the one that says ‘we hate to change.‘ The decision is even more important when it comes to choosing a mayor. The mayor, after all, is leading the parade. When I go to the polls to vote next week I‘m going to cast my ballot for the candidate least likely to march us bravely pack into the past. It is time a realistic view is talgen as to whether our tax dollars wouldn‘t be better spent on one government covering the whole region; or forget the region and have one administration looking after the town itself. (Harold Mills of H. J. Mills Limited has been a citizen and leading businessman in Richmond Hill for many years. â€" Editor) Let's get at least some of these projects under way immediately â€" not two years from now. Fresh ideas This whole town is in such a bloody mess that as far as I‘m concerned any new candidate with some new fresh ideas cannot possibly do worse than what has gone on for the past two years. I urge all residents to get out and vote, and let's clean the slate and start fresh. Both the mayor and Rowe speak of doing something about Yonge Street and the sad state of affairs it is in with empty stores and dirty street. The Scotia Bank at least have provided their area with greater parking facilities. Why hasn't the town done its share in this respect and stop saying “something should be done"? It makes me wonder why the concept of securing more parking areas between Yonge and Church Street hasn‘t been carried out. Global nostalgia Board out/00k Why the fear Place to live By Lynda Nykor lynda's lashes A lopuul :ommn or upungon by on! rune" Submns-ons would be nu move Inn :00 worm. typed prcluably