Fire Cause Undetermined at 189 Main Street, Unionville

Markham, ON - December 4, 2007 ~ Markham Fire and Emergency Services (MFES) advised the cause of the fire at 189 Main Street Unionville (the Unionville Arms) will be ruled as undetermined.

In the morning hours of Friday November 30, a fire erupted at 189 Main Street , Unionville. The fire was brought under control by an aggressive fire attack by Markham Fire and Emergency Services personnel.

During this incident all-on duty Markham Fire personnel were required at the scene. In addition, Vaughan and Stouffville fire services provided backup support at several Markham stations. MFES support staff also responded for a total commitment of 46 MFES staff. No injuries were reported.

Due to damage in the area where the fire reportedly started, investigators were unable to determine the exact cause of the fire. Damage to the century-old building is estimated at $500.000

Key themes identified through Click with Markham

Markham, ON ~ December 3, 2007 ~ More than 3,600 people who live or work in Markham responded during last month's click with Markham innovative on-line review and questionnaire on the Town's proposed strategic priorities.

These priorities are: Growth; Transportation; the Environment; Municipal Services; Park, Recreation, Culture and Library master Plan/ Public Safety; and Diversity.

The response has been terrific. We've heard from far more people through this process than with any other public consultation program we've held in Markham or at the Region," said Mayor Frank Scarpitti." "The program has confirmed that we're moving in the right direction and has given us excellent feedback on our focus areas and emerging actions plans."

An initial review of the responses showed the following themes in each of the priority areas.

Growth Management
- Limit growth north of Major Mackenzie Drive, keep intensification within existing urban boundaries.
-Potential negative impact of growth on existing neighbourhoods
- Need to link growth with transportation improvements
-Need more investment in roads, public transit and alternative transportation
- Keep taxes down

Transportation/Transit
- Rapid transit one solution to traffic congestion
-Current service needs improvement
-Need for road improvement

Environment
- more emphasis on recycling, composting, waste disposal
- Preserve green spaces, limit development, protect woodlots,
streams and wildlife habitats
- Continue focus on sustainability
- Encourage local production

Municipal Services
- Provide one number to call and extended hours to access Town services
- Improved yard waste and snow removal, street litter and parks maintenance
- Improved by-law enforcement

Parks, Recreation, Culture, Library Master Plan, & Public Safety
- Provide parks and open spaces with connecting trails and bike paths
- Ensure excellent recreation programs and facilities with pools, arenas and good program space

Diversity
- Put the focus on unity and inclusiveness
- Focus on serious, youth and those with disabilities
- Hire the most qualified, regardless of background. Don't make Canadian experience a requirement

In addition to the above priorities, questionnaire responses identified Economic Development, Value for Tax Dollars and High Quality Education/Youth Focus as other important areas for attention.

''Once we have completed a more detailed analysis of the responses, Council will make adjustments to the action plans already identified," said Councillor Joseph Virgillo. "We will provide regular updates on the plans and actions taken and continue to keep the click with Markham public dialogue going.

Press Release - ROGERS CABLE HITS THE ICE FOR THE RICHMOND HILL FOOD BANK

Richmond Hill, ON (December 4, 2007): Join Rogers Cable for a good time and a good cause at the annual Charity Skate, hosted December 9 at the Tom Graham Arena, from 2:30 to 4:00 pm. Admission is free. Skaters can look forward to clowns on ice, great prizes, and a chance to meet players from the Junior ‘A’ Richmond Hill Rams. In addition to a $2,000 donation from Rogers, participants are asked to bring non-perishable food items or cash donations for the Richmond Hill Food Bank. The goal is to collect 500 pounds of non-perishables for community members who rely on the food bank this holiday season. Participants who make a food donation will receive a coupon for food and refreshments. “The Rogers Cable Charity Skate is an event I look forward to every year,” says Bill Doherty, Managing Director of Food, Richmond Hill Food Bank. “It supports the work we do to help those most vulnerable in our community and is fun for the whole family.” Earl Dusek, Regional President, Rogers Cable Communications Inc., is excited that Rogers Cable is able to give back this holiday season.“We are very proud to be able to support the Richmond Hill Food Bank, which helps maintain the quality of life for people in our community,” says Dusek. “It’s our way of giving back this holiday season.” The Richmond Hill Charity Skate is one of four charity skates that will be taking place across the Simcoe-Grey, York and Durham region.

About Rogers Cable:
Rogers Cable Communications Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX: RCI; NYSE: RCI), a diversified Canadian communications and media company. Rogers Cable's advanced digital two-way network passes approximately 3.5 million homes in Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland, with 64% basic penetration of its homes passed. Rogers Cable pioneered high-speed Internet access and now 40% of homes passed by its cable networks are Internet customers while 62% of its basic cable customers subscribe to Rogers' high-speed Internet service. With 57% digital penetration, Rogers Cable offers a leading selection of High Definition TV programming, a complete array of Rogers On Demand services (including Video on Demand (VOD), Subscription VOD, Personal Video Recorders and Timeshifting channels), and an extensive line-up of sports and multicultural programming. Rogers Cable now offers home telephone service (voice-over-cable) to approximately 92% of its cable territory and, combined with its circuit switched telephony subscribers, has 944,800 local telephony customers. Rogers Cable is a national provider of voice communications services, data networking, and broadband Internet connectivity to small, medium and large businesses. In addition it operates over 450 Rogers Retail stores.
Additional information on Rogers is available at www.rogers.com.

Sports Report

NHL: Toronto 3 Nashville 1

York Region Athletics

Sr. Boys' Hockey — Markham 9 (Scott Murphy, 3, Taylor Jones, 2, Jeff Skinner, 2, Jack Caradonna, Clay McCaw), Markville 1 (Michael Mound); Stouffville 2 (Jamie Wise, Sam Carrick), Brother Andre 0; Langstaff 5 (Tomas Richardson, Cody Sheriff, Cale Stein, Alex Gulino, Jamie Kornblum), Our Lady of the Lake 2 (Steven Wingrove, Nathan Vieira); Newmarket 7 (Alex Guptill, 3, Adam Giacomozzo, 2, Mike Keefe, 2), Mulock 4 (Andrew Nyman, 3, Ryan Parnell); Father Bressani 1, King City 1;

Jr. Boys' Hockey - St. Theresa Lisieux 9 (Tyler Ferry, 2, Brandon Basler, Jake Shiavi, Alessandro Campagna, Blake Vecchiato, Robert Angiallela, Nick Perruccio, Mike Rogers), Cardinal Carter 2 (Leo Napolitano, Jeffrey DiNallo);

Sr. Boys' Basketball — Sacred Heart 97 (Ben Garvin, 31), Keswick 23 (Enrique Benolzos, 8); Markham 94 (Adam Folker, 27), Middlefield 58 (Arafat Khan, 10); Mulock 60 (Devante White, 13), Denison 44 (Andrew Creek, 11);

Jr. Boys' Basketball — Father Bressani 44 (Mark Metallo, 11), Toronto District Christian 22 (Justin Olthof and Diego Gulizia, 6); Middlefield 48 (Masoor Siddiqi, 19), Markham 40 (Sami Shaban and Miki Antonijevic, 10); St. Theresa of Lisieux 68 (Charles Boampong,19), Thornhill 66 (Stefan Nastic, 27);

Varsity Girls' Hockey — Brother Andre 7, Huron Hts 5;

Sr. Girls' Volleyball — Vaughan 2, Brebeuf 1 (25-12, 24-26, 15-8); Toronto District Christian 2, Vaughan 0 (25-15, 25-22); Toronto District Christian 2, Brebeuf 1 (25-21, 29-31, 15-12)

Tonight

NBA: Toronto vs. Pheonix; 7pm, Air Canada Centre

OHL: Brampton at Kitchener, 7pm; Mississauga at Belleville, 7:15pm

With files from thestar.com