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THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2006 THE NEW TANNER 9 GRAPEVINE with Mike OLeary The Way I See It GIFT SHOP ON MARKET Country Reflections owner Judy McDonald knows the right buyer is out there for her Mill Street gift shop, now shes decided to follow her husband, a trucking firm owner, into retirement. Just days after the business and building, including two up- stairs apartments, was listed at $579,000, prospective buyers were touring the building, but if it doesnt sell, McDonald said thats okay too. I am not real excited Im just contented. I know a buyer will come. I feel it, she said, adding she really doesnt have any retire- ment plans, other than to spend more time with her family and to have time to just think about what Id like to do. In just a decade, McDonald, a former flight attendant, developed a gift basket business that she ran from her Erin home, into a thriv- ing gift shop, known for its wide selection of unique items. YOUTH DANCE Spot dances, door prizes and DJ will be featured at a youth dance tomorrow (Friday) at the Acton arena/community centre, hosted by the Halton Hills Bulldogs Midget l Lacrosse group. The supervised dance for 10- to-15-year-olds runs from 7:30 to 11 p.m. Teens are reminded to leave their backpacks and purses at home. All proceeds from the dance benefit the lacrosse team. LIBRARY WEB SITE Easier to use, more interesting to browse and a source of useful information the new web site of the Halton Hills library system has a lot going for it. By going to www.library.hhpl. on.ca visitors can browse the catalogues, make selections and request and renew materials. All of the library programs and services are detailed with helpful links. The library wants to know what users think of the web site redesign and everyone who com- pletes a brief online questionnaire before June 16 is eligible to win an iPod. RESTAURANT RENO If the food matches the dr at the new family restaurant under renovation in the Glenlea plaza, it will be good. The former pizza place has been gutted and in its place is a freshly decorated beige/grey ceramic tile on the lower half of the walls and the floor, and butterscotch co- loured paint on the top part of the walls clean and bright space. No word what the restaurant will be called, but an earlier sign in the window said it would be home of the world famous Rallis burger, and would be opening soon. On the weekend, a workman predicted the restaurant, which belongs to a family from Missis- sauga, would welcome customers within weeks. NO SOLICITATION After a cluster of phone calls soliciting money for organ trans- plants, officials with the Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) are reminding people that transplants are completely funded by the gov- ernment in Canada and there is no need for any fundraising. Trillium spokesman Jennifer Tracey said shes had a number of complaints from the 519 area code, but none that shes personal- ly answered from Acton residents, complaining about either rude solicitation or to ask if Trillium is affiliated with the calling asking for a donation. FILM FUN Next month, Actons Dave Crook will see some of the film shot during his recent trip to Korea with a CBC crew working on a History Channel documentary on the Korean war. Crook, who served as a private in the Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry during Canadas Forgotten War said he enjoyed the filming, but also enjoyed being a tourist with his son, daughter and grandson who travelled with him as memories of his army days were captured. Crook said the best part of the project was seeing how much his children enjoyed the trip. The documentary airs in No- vember. When the bill came it was the scramble for who would pay. Ev- ery time we, as a family, go out it happens. Suddenly there are three hands trying to reach the bill. My dad will tell the server to give it to him. The Dude and my sister meanwhile try to snatch it before him. Tonight was no different. In the end, the Dude won and took care of it. Later that night after our four hour dinner experience, the Dude and I were still talking about the waitress as I was trying to get the Clamato stain off his pants. I felt sorry for her. Her boss obviously chewed her out, he informed. I was in shock. I mean I did feel bad when she started to cry, but I didnt feel sorry for her many mistakes and quite frankly her boss had ev- ery right to say something to her. Thats why I gave her a $20 tip, he said. Twenty bucks? Are you serious? I asked. At that point I realized there are some things husbands and wives shouldnt talk about. This was it for us that night. I went to sleep that night knowing that the Dude did a very nice thing being kind to someone having a rough time at work. And no mat- ter what my sister thinks, I did not make the waitress cry. BATTLE OF THE BOOKS: Nineteen teams from area schools battled against each other at the an- nual Battle of the Books program at the Georgetown branch of Halton Hills Public Library. Students answered questions based on settings, plots and characters in familiar childrens stories on April 7. Then the top four teams competed on April 25 with St. Joseph School and St. Francis of Assisi School coming out on top. These two teams participated at the Regional level against winning teams from Oakville, Milton and Burlington on May 11. Photo is of the St. Joseph team. Submitted photo Past underfunding catches up Last week I wrote about Sen- ator Romeo Dallaire and his impassioned plea to send our troops to the Darfur region of the Sudan as part of a peacekeeping force. The Prime Minister last week decided that we dont have the necessary trained combat troops to support our mission in Afghanistan and tosend more troops to Darfur at the same time. We should also remember that we are scheduled to send fresh troops to Afghanistan when the time comes to rotate the existing soldiers home. In his speech last week Dal- laire kept referring to Canada as a middle power who could do much good in our world. Certain- ly our well trained soldiers would be welcomed in any of the several dozen hotspots where innocent people are being murdered. Our problem being that, in order to do that, we must commit to having boots on the ground. Our armed forces are spread so thin I won- dered if we could support two major missions at once and this was the question I wanted to ask the senator. The government has now made that decision. No doubt Dallaire is haunted by the carnage he witnessed first hand during his tour in Rwanda. The scenes coming from Darfur must be deja vu for him. But he has lashed out at the wrong people as far as I am concerned. Dallaire insists Canada must not trade off the Afghanistan mission for one in Darfur. He observes that such a trade-off would be unethical and perverse. He went too far when he said that he thought Canada was nearly a banana republic if we cant move forces in these two missions and do it with the responsible capa- bilities that we have. Hold it right there senator; what makes you think we have either the combat or logistical support to support two missions? Our Hercules Transport Planes are so old they should be getting a pension by now. Helicopters are a necessity in modern warfare especially troop carriers. Our Sea Kings regularly fall out of the sky and are not suitable for desert warfare at all. Ever notice that our troops in Afghanistan are airlifted around by Blackhawk Helicopters? Ever wonder why? If Dallaire is going to unjustly infer we are no better than a banana republic at least he should have the decency to lay the blame where it belongs. For most of my adult life successive federal governments have underfunded the military. My earliest recollection is of the Bomarc B Missile stationed in the north. Diefenbaker wouldnt have nuclear warheads on our soil so the nose was packed with sand. The same regime also cancelled the Arrow which shows how dumb they were. Remember the Bonaventeure, Canadas aircraft carrier and the tens of million sunk into refitting it just to consign it to the scrap heap? Soldiers forced to go to foodbanks, substandard rat- infested base housing, forest green uniforms in the desert, the list goes on and on. We wont even talk about our $800 million submarine purchase from our friends in Britain. If Canadas nearly a banana re- public what about the U.N.? The headquarters staff in New York dithered and farted around while almost a million poor souls were slaughtered in Rwanda. The U.N. brain trust couldnt even make a decision to act when their own blue helmets were overwhelmed and murdered. Now, inexplicably, the U.N. is the answer to the problems in Darfur? I dont think so. Not unless and until the U.N. brass stop being cowards and find some testicular fortitude for a change. The plight of the refugees in Darfur needs immediate and decisive action. It appears that the African Union cannot or will not do the job. They have 7,000 troops on the ground and have proven to be ineffectual so far. Canada has about 100 troops in Darfur and have contributed some armoured personnel car- riers. The answer to the Darfur dilemma doesnt lie with more western nations troops. It lies with resolute action from the African Union troops already there. Without a doubt the Americans could solve the problems in the Sudan. They have the manpower and firepower to do it. Theyre gunshy though, and who can blame them? Already mired in the quagmire of Iraq and look- ing at the dangerous situation in Iran the last thing the U.S. Administration is looking for is another military intervention in the Muslim world. The best hope is for the Arab/African states to step up and stop this genocide. It remains to be seen if they will accept their responsibility. The Anthony Eden blinders award surely goes to Canadas Continued on page 10 I didnt make the waitress cry!... Continued from page 8