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THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2007 THE NEW TANNER 5 EDITORIAL GRAPEVINE Distributed to every home in Acton and area as well as adjoining communities. 373 Queen Street East, Unit 1 Acton, Ontario L7J 2N2 email: thenewtanner@on.aibn.com Frances Niblock Mike OLeary Angela Tyler Rebecca Ring Publisher Editorial Ted Tyler Hartley Coles Editorial Contributors Advertising and Circulation Composing Marie Shadbolt Bruce Cargill Danielle McIsaac with Mike OLeary The Way I See ItBy Angela Tyler with Hartley Coles (519) 853-0051 Fax: (519) 853-0052 Every effort will be made to see advertising copy, neatly presented, is correctly printed. The publisher assumes no financial responsibility for typographical errors or omissions in advertising, but will gladly reprint without charge that part of an advertisement in which an error may occur provided a claim is made within five days of publication. All articles, advertisements and graphic artwork appearing in The New Tanner is copyrighted. Any usage, reproduction or publication of these items, in whole or in part, without the express written consent of the publisher of The New Tanner is a copyright infringement and subject to legal action. As a fitting tribute to the late Ethel Gardiner, Halton District School Board might consider naming the large Mackenzie-Smith Bennett School playground in her honour. The playground extends along the length of the school bordering on Churchill Rd. N. It is used extensively not only by school children but by the community as a whole. Gardiner, a veteran Acton teacher and school board trustee played a significant role on saving the playground from a housing develop- ment when she sat of the board. Her pleas to trustees to save the playground from development was both eloquent and heart warming, swaying the decision at a time when the board could have garnered much needed cash for operations. It was a typical Gardiner advocacy on behalf of the children of Acton and similar to her teaching career when she placed the interests of children first. A quality much admired by her colleagues. Ethel Gardiner began her teaching career in 1956 in New Bruns- wick before teaching junior grades in Robert Little public school in Acton for over 17, until 1992. Retiring in 1995, she ran for school board office and served 11 years as Halton Hills Trustee on the Halton board, five of those years as board chair where she exercised considerable influence in a sometimes fractious period. Ill health forced her to retire before the 2006 election. Gardiners dedication and contributions to education earned her the prestigious Dr. Harry Paikin Award of Merit from the Ontario Public School Board Association as well as the Halton Boards Award of Excellence, honors well deserved. It would be fitting indeed if some permanent reminder of her positive legacy in education be preserved. Naming the school playground in her honour would be a tangible expression of appreciation since she, more than anyone, preserved it for future generations. Fitting tribute Motorist who welcomed some respite from high gasoline prices at the pump to just over a dollar a litre must still be wondering who is running this country Big Oil or the federal government? After the damning report release recently which alleged the oil companies were charging from 15 cents to 25 cents a litre more for gas at the pumps now than they did before Hurricane Katrina, based on a new formula, one would think the feds and province would sit up and take notice. Instead, they maintain theres nothing they can do to rein in excessive gasoline prices, which are caused by a rumour of terrorist strike against outlines in Nigeria, or maybe the start of a bad storm starting in the Caribbean which may or may not land near oil refineries in Texas. All of which sends the price of oil on the stock market up and the prices of gasoline higher. Not too much is said about the lack of competition, the foreign ownership of Canadas oil resources or the shortage of refineries which creates gasoline shortages. Not much is said about the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which ties our prices in the market to those of the U.S. while prices in the U.S. on Canadian oil are lower than ours. Its pathetic when the government says there is nothing they can do about price gouging when the very market was set up by political action. Theres lots they can do but they dont want to do it. Meanwhile, Big Oil continues to pile up excessive profits at the expense of those who must fill up at the pumps to earn a living. And prices for food and other commodities necessary for living continue to rise fueled by prices at the pumps. Whos running the country ? PROM RIDE: Groups of Acton High School students travelled in style to their prom in Milton last Friday. Frances Niblock photo LIGHTS, ACTION: Crews from a Toronto film school invaded Blue Springs Funeral Home on the weekend to produce a 10-minute short film for a project. The crew placed a Under New Management sign out front during the filming, sparking a number of phone calls to owner Ian Pasmore. Frances Niblock photo Things happen in life that make you step back for a moment. This was the case for me last week. It was another day of rushing around, busy with work and finding myself lost in what some have called the hurried woman syndrome. I was at Toronto airport awaiting a flight. The airport was noisy. It was a place also full of other hurried men and women. At any airport, I usually find myself people watch- ing. That day I was amused by a lady with a Cruella Deville hair colour combination, accompanied by a man wearing multiple shades of yellow. Across the way was the shoe shine guy. In between saying shoe shine? to almost every busi- ness man with dress shoes, he had a musical rhythm with his shining rag as he ran it across the toe area of shoes. It was almost hypnotic watching him. However, as much as I like to people watch, I was getting a little bored. The shoe shine guy was entertaining; however, watching that rag beat out a rhythm on the shoes was making me sleepy. That is when I stood by the window and looked aimlessly out on to the tarmac, where the big jumbo jets towered over the ground crews and maintenance vehicles. I was captivated by a large, what I think was an Airbus, which donned the new Air Canada 70th Anniver- sary logo. It looked nice and was different than the usual red maple leaf that used to be on the tail of the plane. It was then I noticed something that makes one stop. It was some- thing I had not seen ever before. On the tarmac was a large cargo container being moved toward the plane. The unusual thing was the container was clear, see-through plastic trimmed in red with an in- signia on the side. In the container was something not too tall, which appeared also to be red. As I squinted through the window trying to figure out what was in the container, I also noticed there were three men in fatigue-type clothing and two other men in suits. That was when I realized what the con- tents were. Inside the container was a casket, draped in a Canadian flag. As they turned the container and loaded it onto the aircraft by conveyor belt, the three men in fatigues stood at at- tention. Then it was fastened down in the front position in the belly of the airplane. The five men shook hands and watched as the plane was pushed back. The deceased soldier was heading to Montreal on the 2 p.m. flight. As I stood there, watching out the window as the plane disappeared from view, I felt sad and somewhat astray. I thought how sad it is we have so many deceased Canadian military personnel that Air Canada has a special container to fly them home. On the other hand, its important these men and women are treated with the dignity they deserve, even if I personally dont think they should be in conflicts that seem to have no conclusion other than another dead soldier. Gold EcoSchool In October, 45 per cent of the com- puters in classrooms at Robert Little School were left on overnight, wast- ing electricity. Eight months later, implementing energy conservation measures under the EcoSchools program dropped that number to 10 per cent. Now students and staff at Robert Little have achieved gold level cer- tification from EcoSchools Ontario, one of just three Halton schools to do so. Last year, Robert Little School earned a silver EcoSchools Award for environmental education. On- going work on energy conservation and waste minimization projects bumped the award to the highest level this year. The school is expected to receive its certificate at a board of education meeting in October. Fitness dedication Congrats to Actons McKenzie- Smith Bennett and Robert Little Schools, and Limehouse Public School three of 58 Halton schools that received CAHPERD (Cana- dian Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance) Quality Daily Physical Education Recognition Awards last Wednes- day for their dedication to physical fitness. Robert Little School qualified for the gold (the highest) award, and MSB and Limehouse for the diamond award. At the ceremony in Burlington, CAHPERD president Grant Mc- Manes said the fantastic programs and iniatives of the schools help deal with the physical inactivity crisis that plagues Canadian students. Safe swimming The first test results of Halton beach water quality showed it was safe to swim at all seven public swimming areas monitored by the health department, including the Old Beach at Prospect Park. The summer sampling began June 5 and will continue weekly until the Labour Day. Officials dont release actual bacteria counts, but water with more than 100 E. coli per 100-millilitres of water is unsafe for recreational swimming because of the risk of intestinal and respiratory infection. Beach water quality information is updated weekly, or as it changes, at 1-866-442-5866 or at www.re- gion.halton.on.ca/health A history of beach closures due to unsafe results prompted Halton to close the Boathouse Beach in Pros- pect Park after the 2003 season. Blood clinic Local Canadian Blood Services officials want to remind their faith- ful donors, and invite new ones, to book an appointment to give blood at the clinic on Thursday, June 21 at the Legion. To book an appointment 1-888- 236-6283. Free help Public health nurses will help new parents unravel the mysteries of par- enthood at a series of free workshops on infant care and parenting. Call 1-866-442-5866 for details. Power talk The air will be thick with talk of renewable energy at the Limehouse Memorial Hall on June 20 when guest speaker Jo Coombe, vice- president of Bullfrog Power, talks about a healthier environment at a meeting hosted by the North Halton Ladies Investment Club and Protect Our Water and Environmental Re- sources (POWER.) Bullfrog Power is the only elec- tricity retailer in Ontario that buys power generated exclusively from wind and generators that meet the governments EcoLogo standard for renewable energy. The free meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. Sunday concert The talent of local youth will be on stage at Bethel Christian Reformed Church on Sunday during a Living in Celebration service featuring the band More Than Conquerors. The concert will also feature a solo by Acton singer Stephanie Kroezen and a drama presented by church youth. There is no admission, but free will offerings will be accepted to the concert that begins at 6:30 p.m. Cheque, please On Saturday, the provincial gov- ernment comes to Acton bearing a big cheque for $100,000 for the Acton Agricultural Society. The Trillium Foundation grant will help pay for the state-of-the-art artificial turf in the new building the Society will share with indoor soc- cer clubs in Prospect Park. Although the new $1.9-million facility doesnt officially open until Septembers fair, some activities are being planned for Canada Day. Dignitaries will be on hand for the Trillium Foundation ceremony at noon on Saturday, and to cheer at the first game on the new indoor pitch an exhibition match between the Acton and Georgetown Soccer Clubs at 11 a.m. Fastest female Congrats to Actons Marcia Baker, a Peel teacher who had a great finish in Streetsvilles annual Bread and Honey Festival road race on June 3 with a time of 1:01:53. Baker, 34, finished first among the women running the 15-k circuit and 27th in a field of 527 entrants. This was Bakers first meet after competing in the Boston marathon in April. Some controversial names have been in the news of late. Perhaps you will remember them. Splashed across the front page of the Star last week was a grainy sketch of Omar Khadr. He is the Canadian incarcerated by the Americans in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Americans allege he threw a grenade during a 2002 gun battle in Afghanistan. An Ameri- can medic, Sgt. Christopher Speer, was killed during the engagement. Another American soldier was wounded and subsequently lost an eye. Khadr was 15 at the time. What, you may ask, was a 15- year-old Canadian doing fighting in a foreign war? The answer may have everything to do with his family background. The CBC in a documentary a few years ago linked the Khadrs to Al-Qaeda. They are supposed to have a close personal relationship with key leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri. You may recall the father. He was imprisoned in Pakistan when then-Prime Minister Chretien intervened to have him released. Chretien was successful. The elder Khadr returned to fight with the terrorists and was subsequently killed in 2003, when a Pakistani military helicopter shelled a resi- dence where he was staying with senior Al Qaeda operatives. But the familys ignominious saga didnt stop there. Omar Khadrs older brother Abdullah was released from a Pakistani jail in 2005, but was ar- rested two weeks after he returned home. He remains in a Toronto jail, fighting extradition to the U.S., which accuses him of supplying weapons to Al Qaeda. I think theres a trend starting to surface here - dont you? Omar Khadrs case was abruptly dropped last week, not because he was proven innocent but rather because of semantics. Khadr had been designated as an enemy combatant in the original indict- ment. According to a law signed by U.S. President George W. Bush last year, only unlawful enemy combatants can be brought before a special war court. Its that kind of wordsmithing that drives ordinary people right round the bend. I grant you that one of the tens of thousands of lawyers should have caught this. (The law draws a distinction between those without rights on the battlefield and those who might be lawfully waging war against the Americans. As an enemy combatant, Khadr would have the rights of a prisoner of war). Khadr remains locked up while the Pentagon considers an appeal. But its not just the menfolk of this family who, in my view, ap- pear to have a screw loose. In a television interview last week, the mother readily admitted she would welcome them becoming martyrs by sacrificing themselves as suicide bombers. The daughter piped in that she would also welcome the opportunity to become a suicide bomber and martyr. The Liberals and NDP are telling the Harper government it has to take up the cause of Omar Khadr with the Americans. NDP MP Joe Comartin wants the U.S. to treat Khadr as a child soldier. In my view, that dog dont hunt. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why our government would lift one finger to help. A video recov- ered after the 2002 battle allegedly shows Khadr planting improvised explosive devices targeting coali- tion forces. We have a name for Canadian citizens whose loyalties lie with an enemy we are at war with. We call them traitors. Our government should treat them as such. The whole bunch. *** In a lighter vein, Paris Hilton is in the news again (still?). This time its over her jail sentence for vio- lating a probation order. My only question is: Who gives a snit? The Hilton saga is at least good for comic relief. Paris was in jail, out of jail, ordered back in and will be out again as soon as every ounce of P.R. has been wrung out of this soap opera. Hilton is reported to be crying, screaming, praying, not eating and not sleeping. Hell, thats not the sign of any severe psychological disorder. Shes simply throwing a temper tantrum. Her nanny should have nipped that behaviour before she learned to talk. Perhaps someone could explain to me why Ms. Hilton deserves so much attention? She has no appreciable talents. She is mildly attractive, but not in the same class as hundreds of other Hollywood types who can actually act. She has famous parents who own a few hotels, so I assume she has access to scads of money but so do thousands. She performed in an amateur porn flick, but I understand thats far from unique. Near as I can tell shes a poor little rich kid who should have been spanked more as a child. Ac- tually, scrub that idea. She might like it too much. I have to caution you again to be careful when using your debit cards in retail stores. Another of my daughters, along with her fian- c was robbed of almost $2,000. While they will get their money back, the disruption in their lives was traumatic. I keep telling the girls to only use their debit cards at the bank. It has never made any sense to me to take the chance of allowing someone to obtain access to their bank accounts. I use a credit card with a minimal limit and pay it off when the bill arrives. They give me the oh dad look. But Im not the one who was robbed. Sometimes reality hits like a brick Whats Your Beef? Put it in a letter to the Editor! Deadline is Tuesday at noon. Names in the news