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8 + WATERLOO CHRONICLE + Wednesday, June 20, 2007 Peter WINKLER PUBLISHER Jennifer ORMSTON REPORTER ext. 203 jormston@waterloochronicle EDITORIAL Bob VRBANAC EDITOR ext. 229 editorial @waterloochronicle sports @waterloochronicle.ca Gerry MATTICE ext. 230 RETAIL SALES MANAGER sales(@ waterloochronicle.ca ADVERTISING SALES REPRESENTATIVES Norma CYCA ext. 223 neyca@ waterloochronicle c Bill PIHURA ext. 228 bpihura @ waterloochronicle Carly GIBBS ext. 222 cgibbs@ waterloochronicle.c Alicia DE BOER ext. 202 adeboer @ waterloochronicle CLASSIFIED $19â€"895â€"5230 CIRCULATION 519â€"886â€"2830 ext Canadian Publications Mail Sales Publication Agreement Number 40050478 International Standard Serial Num ber ASSN 0832â€"3410 Audited Circulation: 31,292 The Waterioo Chromcle is published cach Wednesday by Metroland Media Group Lid ONTARIO PRESS COUNCIL The Waterioo Chronicle is a member of The Ontano Press Council, which considers complaints against memâ€" ber newspapers. Any complaint about news, opimions advertising or conduct should first be taken to the newspaper Unresoived complaints can be brought to: Ontario Press Council. 2 Carlton Street. Suite 1706. Toronto. ON , MSB 113 COPYRIGHT The contents of this newspaper are protected by copyright and may be used only for personal nonâ€"commer cral purposes All other rights are reserved and commercial use is pro hihted To make any use of this material you must first obtain the permission of the owner of the copy right For further information con tact Andrea Barley, Editor. Waterioo Chromicle, 279 Weber St N. Suite 20. Waterioo, Ontario N23 3H8 LETTERS POLICY Letiers to the editor must contain the wnter‘s full name, signature. address and telephone number Addresses and telephone numbers are used only for verification purposes and will not he published Names will not be with held We reserve the right to edit. con dense or reject any contribution for brevity or legal purposes: Letters may be submitted by fax to §19â€"886â€"9181 WATERLOO CHRONICLE or by email to editorial@water loochromcle ca or by mail or deliv ered to Waterloo Chromicle. 27 Weber St N. Suite 20. Waterloo Ontano N2J 3H8 279 Weber St. N., Sune 20 Waterloo. Ontario N2J 3H8 519â€"886â€"2830 Fax: 519â€"886â€"9383 ww w. waterloochronicle.ca FAX 519. 886â€"9181 EMAIl editonal @ waterloochromicle ca 213 THIG IG WATERLOO REGION ... YOU CANT O 257. next tuespay ... ff _ _‘ _ e ‘?f; ¢ â€" § entinnths . s t v‘.(’*“»”"” * c oo Amai ie t _,.w;;i*-:li" » ;‘:“lfi‘f{“*‘g“ :‘%‘é‘;‘ e! flns 3 hSE :s sy > ~(an2 C o x css o‘ b d % e f «:.ifl + _R i%‘%,&\. o ] 2 \ 0 c mssA ~%, ,__‘:2-'-""'â€" @ 7 g a | Yss â€"â€" M / ‘ 9 ‘ P0 5 C3 c j f ‘! f :’ | : ;;/,/,7 80 [ ‘i A mmmeie f yka op Soel a /2 cA he City of Waterloo is planning to move forward I with trafficâ€"calming measures in the Northlake neighbourhood â€" and they‘re badly needed, according to a recent traffic study of the area. It found people are speeding through the community at high speeds, even though the limit is 50 kilometres per hour. Areaâ€"resident Andrea Paleshi predicts that some drivers hit double the limit while driving through the resâ€" idential neighbourhood. About 70 per cent of drivers don‘t make a legal stop at fourâ€"way stops. â€" And there have been many accidents in the area â€" 40 between 2000 and 2005, which is high by any standard. Meanwhile, young children â€" some of whom walk to the nearby schools each day â€" are on the streets. _ Coun. Angela Vieth said at Monday night‘s council meeting that she‘s bothered by the fact many of these reckless drivers actually live in the neighbourhood. And she‘s right. These people are putting other people‘s lives at risk, not to mention their children‘s and their own. The city is on the right track with these calming meas ures â€" which include miniature roundabouts, intersec tion narrowings and raised median islands. As always, change can be difficult, and some residents are concerned about the impact roundabouts will have on their property value and lives. But a quick ll:ip over to Eastbridge shows roundabouts can be attractive, and not so hard to use once you‘ve gone around a time or two. Let‘s just hope they can find funding for this and other city trafficâ€"calming plans in the budget. The safety of pedestrians may depend on it. _ The city is certainly not proposing a large roundabout like the one Chevy Chase can‘t manoeuvre through in European Vacation. s Stop means stop VIEWPOINT ere‘s a lot [ love about T'he job I do, but there‘s also a few assignments I wish would pass me by. * They include pick ups. For anyone unfamiliar with the term, it‘s when a reporter is assigned to go to the home of someone who has recently passed away and get a few comments about the dearty departed, and maybe a photo. Thankfully, I haven‘t had to do a lot of that in my career. in fact, I think a tougher assignment is when you cover people who are struggling with a lifeâ€"threat â€" ening iliness and lose the battle. Their names still haunt me. Then there are stories like the ones that grabbed the headlines last week â€" a major drug bust in the Lauretwood area of Waterloo. The police dragnet pulled in a wellâ€"known name in local soccer circles, Igor Vrablic, who once starred with Canada‘s national men‘s soccer team. I never knew Igor personâ€" ally growing up in Kitchener, but I knew of him. And his story is one that got told to minor soccer players at the time as a cautionary tale. It was the other two names that came out of the drug probe that hit a little too close to home. Also arrested were Ralph Spoltore, 36, and his wife Andrea, a local teacher at Centennial public school. When I first heard that a "Spoltore" was arrested, 1 Sometimes this job sucks said it couldn‘t be. It wasn‘t until after we went to press that I heard it was Ralphic. For anyone who knows Ralphie, he always had a frat boy type name. He was always one of those lifeâ€"ofâ€" theâ€"party types since I first met him on the field at Seaâ€" gram Stadium in the 1980s. He was a quarterback with Forest Heights and I was a defensive end with the St. Jerome‘s Lions. My first contact with him came just after he released a pass for a completion. He said it was a late hit, but that‘s what quarterbacks always say. I told him to expect more of the same as we went on to win. But it was off the field that I got to know him well. He went to summer school with my brother, and he played ball on the Kitchener Junior Dodgers with some of my best friends. He was always a good guy A guy‘s guy. A popular guy His charm got him elect ed as student council presiâ€" dent at Forest Heights, and he later would become the Student Union president at Wilfrid Laurier for consecuâ€" tive terms. who never let it go to his head. L attended Laurier at the same time, and I think he ran unopposed the second time. He was that popular. It didn‘t hurt that he played for the Golden Hawks football team. And while he tried out as a quarterback, he made his mark as a receiver. He was fammous for wearing the Spiâ€" derâ€"Man leggings under his uniform, and while he wasn‘t a star on the team, he did all the little things to help the Hawks win their first Vanier Cup. After graduation, I‘d always bump into Ralphiec at Oktoberfest, which was an unofficial reunion every year I bumped into him more frequently when I joined the Chronicle and saw him at the Hawks home opener every season. He‘d always give me a scouting report on the team. The last time 1 saw Ralâ€" phie he was on the field playâ€" ing catch with the kids. And that‘s the memory I‘ll always carry of him â€" not his name in bold on a police blotter â€" but a dad spending time with his kids. That‘s the Ralphie 1 know, and l wish him and his famiâ€" ly all the best during this difâ€" ficult time. And that‘s why, sometimes, this job sucks.