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Tan Oliver Publisher Robert Glasbey Advertising Director Norman Alexander Editor Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Casas Office Manager Tim Coles Production Manager ing the decade of dropping back in. Taxpayers are no longer payâ€" ing the freight and letting government make all the decisions without public consultation. And that‘s a good thing. A glance at the past few months shows the level of public particiâ€" pation in the decisionâ€"making process on a number of different fronts. In some cases, the decision to seek public input was made in conjuncâ€" tion with government policy, in others, it was forced on government by citizens voicing concerns over various issues. If the 1960s was the decade of dropping out, the 1990s is becomâ€" The controversial concept of regionâ€"wide Market Value Assessment (MVA) is just one such example of the public wanting to have their say on an issue. Had not hundreds of people rallied behind those seeking a better deal for Oakville, the program would have been whisked through at the regional level. Only after a concerted effort by the Oakville Chamber of Commerce and citizens at large, do we have a committee looking at the whole process. If residents have concerns about having paediatric services taken out of OTMH and placed in Burlington‘s Joseph Brant Hospital, for instance, they‘d better make their views known as soon as possible. For contrary to the outward appearance of seeking community input on hospital use in the region, it seems that the head consultant in the project is already bringing a significant bias to the project. But the public meeting held last week gives us reason to be conâ€" cerned about the process.In his remarks to the audience, health conâ€" sultant Dr. John Atkinson said he came to the study with no bias or prejudgements. Yet in the next breath he told the audience how effecâ€" tive centralized paediatric care had been in Ottawa, where he had perâ€" sonal experience, and how that community had studied the issue of centralized care and ultimately "...wise heads did prevail." Are we to conclude that those opposing that view were unwise? Most recently, we have seen the Halton District Health Council (HDHC) hold a public meeting on the future of hospital services in the region. The theory here is that the people will have a voice in the outcome of the study and the HDHC is still actively seeking written input from Halton residents on their view of hospital services. Dr. Atkinson further noted : "It is often better to have one (medical care) site than two fragmented ones."‘ * Head of paediatrics at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, Dr. Gian Egger said it was impossible to compare the two communities and he‘s right. It‘s very much an apples and oranges exercise. We‘ll be watching the process as it unfolds and we hope we‘re wrong about Dr. Atkinson. The more violence we are exposed to on television the more we accept it and become desensitized by the visions. Violence shouldn‘t be glamorized. In order to have an empathetic and caring society we have to realize that violence is not acceptable; that guns, fighting, abuse is unhealthy and destroys our very human race and core. s What, if anything, should be done to reduce violence on television and the movies? Reason for concern 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809 Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 845â€"3824 Fax: 845â€"3085 The Oakville Beaver, published every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, at 467 fieevs RdL.”Oakvlle l“:b on':a of the Wmm :‘dmm. Publishing . group of suburban newspapers MW g ie Advance, Bran'omemn Guardian, Bu’r}mbn Pg Collingwood Conmabn Elobicoke Guardian, Independent Acion Free Press, n\oslon This Week, Linds IsWeek Markham Economist and Sun, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Milton Canadian Champion, Mississauga News, Newmarketâ€"Aurora Eraâ€"Banner, North York Mirror, ile Beaver, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby This Week, Peterborough This Week, VThom! iWaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror. published in the Oakvill lected by copyright. Any \QUESTION OF THE WEEK All callers are allowed 45 seconds to respond and must provide their name, address and phone number for verification. A sampling of the best answers will be published in the next Weekepd edition of the Oakville Beaver. / If Prime Minister Brian Mulroney steps down as leader of the Progressive Conservatives, who would make a good replacement? Give us your opinion on this topic by calling 845â€"5585, box 5012 . Marilyn Paterson All the news that‘s fit to print ...and then there‘s gossip Gossip: that‘s when you hear something you like about someâ€" one you don‘t. But did you ever ask yourself how it came to this? Now a species of life that could build the Taj Mahal, paint the Mona Lisa, write the music to Rhapsody In Blue, and put a man on the moon... did you ever with 12 dozenâ€"odd people every day. That‘s where gossip comes in. Contrary to its frivolous appearance, gossip has a purâ€" pose. It gives us information about others that we wouldn‘t ask yourself how is it that a Life . .get from.them,first hand.. We all love to hear gossip, whether we pretend to be above that sort of thing or not. We love to hear about buffoons like Donald Trump; we can‘t wait for the next installment of the Battles Royal (will Chuck divorce Di? Did that Texan boll weevil really suck Fergie‘s toes?); and we shiver with expectation over the latest rumor about Mulroney‘s wrestling match with the whiskey bottle. And we don‘t much trouble ourselves about whether the rumors have a shred of truth to them. h, yes, gossip. Dishing A the dirt. Alice Roosevelt 8 Longworth was an arisâ€" tocratic barracuda who haunted the shoals of Washington high society from the turn of the cenâ€" tury to the Rule of the Reagans. Rumor has it that Alice had a silk cushion that sat on a chesterfield in her drawing room. And on the cushion was embroidered the words: If You Can‘t Say Anything Good About Someone, Sit Right Here Next To Me. Earl Wilson The problem with crowds that size... is that it‘s difficult to have a face to face relationship with 12 dozenâ€"odd people every day. The answer, it seems, is more edifying than you might think. Robin Dunbar is a professor of biological anthropology at University College in London, England. He‘s been looking at the phenomenon of gossip under a microscope for years. His conâ€" clusion? Gossip was as necesâ€" sary to the evolution of humans as large brains, the apositional thumb, and the ability to walk on two legs. Professor Dunbar says that prehistoric humans gathered in rather largish groups â€" Stone Age Villages numbered about 150 people; while armies â€" from Roman times to modern times, insist on companies that number anywhere from 130 to 140 soldiers. Form that can do all this still; still trembles in anticipation of the latest rumor concerning the Queen‘s corgis, the Reichmanns‘ bank account, and K.D. Lane‘s sex life? "In other words," says Professor Dunbar, "by talking to one person (gossip), we can find out a great deal about how other individuals are likely to behave; how we should react to them; and what kinds of relaâ€" tionships they have with third parties." The woman‘s name? Oh. I can‘t tell you that. That would be gossiping.s==â€"s.> .: * "He was the only man who could get past the hallstand," she said in a Belfast singsong. The hallstand? "My brother would meet anyone who called for me at the hallstand just inside the front door and he would say to them. ‘Who‘s your father? Where does he work? How many brothers and sisters have you? Where do you work? My husâ€" band was the only one who didn‘t tell him to stuff it." Idle curiosity? Deadly seriâ€" ous curiosity, more like. The brother was making sure the suitor‘s intentions were honorâ€" able. Speaking of gossip, here‘s a morsel for youw. Last week on a hike, I met a woman whose charming lilt betrayed an Irish background. We fell to chatting â€" as hikers do â€" and pretty soon she was telling me all about her husband and how they met. Makes sense when you think about it. If I hear a rumor that an airline pilot smokes crack, I certainly want to check it out before I strap myself in for a flight to Sault Ste. Marie with him at the controls.