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>OPHVION It seems that everywhere you turn at the Halton Board these days, every request for information comes down to cloak-and-dagger stuff. These are our 'tax dollars, our employees. If trustees want financial information about any board operations they should get it. It's as sim- ple as that. ’- Scheel said he doesn't believe the board is acting 'deviously' but rather the procedure for financial information is too confusing. No kidding. Is the issue too hot for the board to handle? Are they afraid of what the auditors' report might reveal? If the board has nothing to hide, why is it making access to this information so difficult? Coincidentally, the board was questioned last week about the opera- tion of the ACT centres by an Oakville woman who conducts comput- er training. Arleen Reinsborough charged that the centres were being used to train personnel from area businesses which, she said, was con- trary to the mandate for the centres' operations. Since Scheel's earlier requests also concerned the bookkeeping practices of the centres, we see no reason why his request cannot be granted. Board trustee John Scheel sought some information on the board's Adult Computer Training Centres (ACT) late last year through the board's auditors. The auditors couldn't give out the information with- out full board approval. So you'd think that would be the end of the story-Scheel goes to his fellow trustees and they vote to permit him access to information from the auditors. That process would be too easy. Instead, the auditors contacted the board about Scheel's request which then went to the board's executive committee, a sort of clearing house for agenda items.and the like. And it‘s here where things get very interesting. The eXecutive committee is a four member group composed of the board chairman and co-chairman who are both elect- ed officials with the two remaining spots being filled by Bob Williams, the director of education and Jerry‘Jenkins, the board's busi- ness superintendent, both of whom are not elected. he great illusion in our democratic system, in this case on the municipal and regional levels, is that the people actually have some control over how their money is spent. That's the very basic premise of our system, that the electorate, through their elected representatives, have a say in how we are governed. We say it's an illusion because all too often, the desires of the peo- ple, through their elected representatives, are often thwarted by the system. Ian Oliver Publisher Robert Glasbey Advertising Director Norman Alexander Editor Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Cases Office Manager Tim Coles Production Manager EBITORIAL Too much secrecy 467 Spears Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 334 Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 or 845-9743 345-3824 Fax: 845-3085 AK. V“ ILLE BEAVER! DEM " ‘ tin’L'Idfirb "bvs’murban’ ’ ’rms’ ’papa’r'u’whléh Induda's': ' Picks ' News Advertiser. ante Advanes. Branptm mm. 30mm Colingwood Comedian. 2mm 6mm. G 0mm Imam AcanmePress,KmmnTmWed‘.Lhd kwaek.MaMtam Economist and Sun Swindle/Um Trhune. Canadlm . Mississauga News. Mum-Mm Eananner. Nam Yuk MW, lb Beaver. Orlla Toda . Gama/MM TH: Week Pom Tris WM Rldmmd Hllfl'han Waughm Liberal, Seubomugh Minor. All "Halal finished h the Oakvlle Beaver k waded mmAw raptudmfionlnmoleorhpmdnismbflaliskbfly nw he consem 0' M puulsha. I know where I was. And I know where Anne Shapiro was, too. Shapiro was from Hamilton, Ontario. She and her husband had moved to Florida in the early ‘605 after he retired. In the fall of 1963, she was watching I Love Lucy on TV to keep her mind off the Kennedy assassination. Right about the time Ricky was screaming at Lucy, and Lucy ,was wailing at the camera, Shapiro felt a small ‘ping’ behind her eyes. For instance, I could say “Where were you in ‘63?” and we could have a fine old time comparing notes. Everybody (well, every middle-aged body, anyway) remembers where they were at some time in 1963, because that’s the year some- body shot John F. Kennedy, And everyone who’s old enough knows exactly where they were when JFK was mur-‘ dered. She was in her living room in Florida, watching television. “Where were you in...” That’s the preamble to one of the more popular party games these days. It’s kind of a variation on Trivial Pursuit â€" without the board. Somebody names a year and everybody takes turns recounting where they were, what they were doing, and with whom, at that particular point on the calendar. It’s an amusing way to break the ice and get to know your fellow party-goers better. And that’s when the lights went out. Shapiro â€" just 494 years of age â€" had suffered a Latter day Rip Van Winkle emerges into brave new werld Shapiro appears to be on her way to' a complete recovery â€" insofar as a cOmplete recovery is possible. The 49-year-old woman who had the stroke in 1963 is now nudging 80 and learning to cope with a barrage of Buck Rogerish phenomena never dreamt of in 1963 â€" everything from microwave ovens and Cabbage Patch dolls to space shuttles and cellular phones. She stayed that way for the next 30 years. Last November, the comatose Shapiro was rushed to a hospital with chest pains. She was sedated and tucked into a hospital bed. When she came to, Shapiro made her first sound in three decades. It was a high-pitched scream. Her eyes were locked onto a television set. She was screaming because the picture was in color â€"â€" something she’d never seen. She thought the TV wasn’t working and might be about to explode. ’ Rip Van Winkle slept for 20 years. Shapiro stayed out half again as long. Shapiro didn’t die, but'she could no longer speak, walk, or even dress herself. When Shapiro suffered her stroke, Sonny Liston was the massive and utterly debilitating stroke. Just think of all the things that Shapiro slept through. Canada’s Centennial... Paul Henderson’s goal... all of Karen Kain’s career... heavyweight champ; Christine Keeler was making things hot for British Parliamentarians; people were flocking to the movies to see the new hit Tom Jones and Cleopatra, and a fresh-faced comedian by the name of Johnny Carson was nervously taking over the reins from Tonight Show host Jack Paar. Dan Quayle... a good half dozen of Liz Taylor’s mar- riages... all of John Turner and Joe Clark... and most 'of Trudeau and Brian Mulroney... AIDS... Jacques Parizeau... the Constitutional Referendum... How long ago was 1963? The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup that year for crying out loud! Vietnam... Richard Nixon... the Morton Downey Jr. show... Maybe Shapiro wasn’t screaming about her 1992 TV not working. Maybe she sensed it was working only too well. Martin Luther King and Governor George Wallace rep- resented the opposite ends of the Evening News spectrum. A hundred dollars a week repre- sented a darn good wage and with a five cent stamp, you could mail a letter first class anywhere in the country. And it would actually get there.