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Vets ‘served country’ and deserve homes, legion says United Way to conduct homeless count this month BY LISA QUEEN
J
lqueen@yrmg.com
ust before Christmas, a 39-year-old homeless veteran living on the streets of York Region, and struggling with post traumatic stress disorder after serving three tours of duty in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan, committed suicide.
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STAFF PHOTO/MIKE BARRETT
Dave Gordon is executive director of the Royal Canadian Legion Ontario Command who says the number of local veterans who are homeless is a huge but hidden problem across York Region. The United Way will conduct a count of the homeless in the region this month and will ask if these impoverished citizens have served their country.
For more information, go to on.legion.ca
The death of the soldier who served his country for 20 years is a tragic indication of the considerable, but often hidden problem of homeless veterans, Dave Gordon, executive director of the Aurorabased Royal Canadian Legion Ontario Provincial Command, said. “They served our country, they served for our country. They wrote a blank cheque to our country and said we’ll serve our country. Our country expects folks to come for-
ward. They did. Men and women have come forward, many of whom have given their lives. The veterans have created the peace we have in Canada today,” he said. “A lot don’t come home. They have the Highway of Heroes. Their last trip in Canada was down the Highway of Heroes.” Canada should be ensuring veterans, many of whom are discharged for medical or mental health concerns, don’t live their lives on the streets or couch surfing with friends and family, assistant executive director Pam Sweeny, said. “The atrocities they have seen (while serving overseas) and then they come home and to think we’re not, as a country, equipping them with the ability to deal with what we put them through, so to speak, it’s the least we can do,” she said. See page A8.
GROWTH
Councillor calls for OMB reform, policy summit
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‘Municipalities should have final say on how town should be built’
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BY TERESA LATCHFORD
tlatchford@yrmg.com
urora could lead the charge in demanding municipalities have more power on how they plan and enforce the vision for their communities. Recently, the Ontario government gave the thumbs up to the Smart Growth for Our Communities Act, also known at Bill 73. Once rolled out, the act will allow municipalities to spend more cash collected through development charges on transit and waste diversion services, which previously wasn’t allowed, protect and promote green spaces and give residents more say in how their communities grow, according to Newmarket-Aurora MPP Chris Ballard. “What towns can spend development charges on is quite specific, but transit and
MUSIC
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What do you think about this issue? Let us know. Email tkibble@yrmg.com
waste is affected by growth, so the expansion of the list makes sense,” Ballard said. “Although Aurora and Newmarket have done a good job when it comes to public consultation, the province wants to see public input more formalized.” Most municipalities, with the exception of a few that have adopted a different system, receive a planning design or concept and then seek public input. However, these changes would flip the process and call for public consultation before a formal plan or design is submitted.
While the passing of the act is a good first step, municipalities should be looking for more, according to Aurora Councillor Tom Mrakas. “We (municipalities) need to have the authority to enforce our official plans that we have spent a great deal of money on creating,” he said. “Our communities are beginning to lose what makes us unique because every development proposed seems to be asking us to change the vision we have for the community.” In the planning process, a developer or landowner can request a change of zoning, for example from commercial to residential, as part of the development proposal. However, if the proposal does not fit with what the town See page A2.
BUSINESS
Guitarist hopes to Inventor braves Dragons’ Den for second time help young musicians Rick Washbrook has been in music biz for four decades BY TERESA LATCHFORD
R
tlatchford@yrmg.com
ick Washbrook is looking to help York Region youth break into the music scene. With four decades of music business experience, the Aurora guitarist is eager to coach local youth on the brink of discovering who they are as artists and assist in developing a demo album at no cost. “Youth are amazing to work with because of their energy, passion and eagerness to create,” he said. “Although it was very different when I found my way four decades ago, I’ve been at the same place they are trying to share their talent with the world.” Back in his day, budding artists and musicians would travel to Toronto and play in any hole in the
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For more information, email Rick Washbrook at rick@washbrookmusic.com
wall that would allow them a time slot on stage, he said. It was also a time when musicians wouldn’t even get the time of day unless he or she had an agent, producer and engineer to create recordings. “Times have changed, especially with the opportunities technology has created,” he said in the backyard of his Aurora home. “The access the Internet provides to an audience is limitless now and can reach around the globe.” Today, artists have access to any venue around the world by sending a email. They can now act as their own agents, recording coaches, See page A4.
Lose
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BY TERESA LATCHFORD
tlatchford@yrmg.com
n Aurora inventor has a second date with the dragons. Adam Pauze, in partnership with former Major League Baseball player Cliff Floyd and King City-based Spark Innovations, will pitch their new Ball Cap Liner on an episode of the Dragons’ Den, a popular TV show where inventors pitch their products with the hope of landing a deal with one of the show’s hosts, later this month.
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For more information on the invention, visit ballcapliner.com
This isn’t his first time the duo has braved the Dragons’ Den. They previously impressed during a pitch of Pauze’s Drywall Axe that landed him a $150,000 deal with Dragon Arlene Dickinson. He hopes this attempt will be just as successful. “My son-in-law (Floyd) has seen a lot of people hit with line drives during his career and he wanted to create something that would offer players, especially pitchers, more safety,” Pauze said. The Ball Cap Liner features D30 material featured in a number of motorcycle, sport, footwear, electronics, military and work wear products. The molecules See page A4.
SUPPLIED IMAGE
The Ball Cap Liner, pictured here as worn by former Major League Baseball player Cliff Floyd, will be featured on a future episode of Dragons’ Den.
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