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a} x (tl, C 'r/sr'; .' “A; l' l 5: - 1i(iit, "il" Cg Wu, r', _ .I= A “32.545455 .a:;'Li€/~;€‘ umvrh-wzziv “v NIH-Mn Hmui ‘thllw HIM 5er i‘wl 845-3824 Fax: 845-3085 (,Imwhml /\dvvll|‘.ul() 84'o 2809 (VIN whim“ 845-9742 HI M5-9743 W litics and fiscal responsibility go together about as well as oil and water. The very nature of politics usually precludes any thought or action that might actu- ally do some good for the entire country and not just one small sector. And yet our politicians, primarily those at the provincial and federal level. contin- ue to pay lip service to being fiscally responsible while at the same time, they contin- ue to make stupid decisions not based on sound economic sense but rooted in politi- cal expediency. In the long mn, such archaic thinking will do more to destroy the fabric of a province or nation, than anything else. The latest issue is the purchase of $5.8-billion worth of ship-bome military heli- copters. The multi-billion dollar deal has been universally condemned by most sides affected by the program. It seems the contract apparently stipulates the manufactur- ing of some components in Quebec (remember the air maintenance contract that went to Quebec over the west?). And then there's the fact that the helicopters won't do a heck of a lot for the armed forces. What we really need, according to first-hand press reports from Bosnia, are bullet-proof tanks and personnel carriers that have communications equipment more appropriate to the 1990s instead of the 1950s. If the government is so intent on spending billions of dollars we dont have, why not use the money for a better coast guard..for any real coast guard for that matter. Better to protect our resources here than have dozens of helicopters collecting dust in hangers for want of work...or pilots for that matter. But this whole helicopter issue has now been clouded by the Progressive Conservative leadership race. You see the new Minster of Defence is none other than Kim Campbell, the as-yet-unannounced frontrunner in the fray. Ironically, she reportedly was concerned over the helicopter purchase when she held another port- folio. Not only that, but apparently the Italian manufacturer, Agusta, SpA. is report- edly close to bankruptcy with more than $1 A-billion in debt. This is a good deal? r The exemples of this kind of thing" are Region and they show not signs of slowing in this age where every government is touting itself as the best keeper of the public purse. _ --_-..... . f..., ... . Whit}; than Falte 21 pkgressive move and kill the deal, even with its" as yet unputr lished penalty clause (another multi-million dollar sweetheart deal no doubt) our Kim will go blindly on, being tough and well, leader-like. Not a good start nyone who has experienced air travel knows the problems that can arise Aim going from one spot to another. But nothing prepared Oakville's Robert Banting for a business trip hom hell. His trip to Montreal started with the taxi getting into an accident enroute to the airport. He then arrived at the airport only to find his flight had been delayed due to a bomb threat He boarded the plane only to be told to identify his bag that was now on the runway surrounded by an RCMP police dog. It had sniffed something in the suitcase...it wasn't a bomb but a sandwich his wife had packed. The bag went on the plane but in the wrong spot so it went on to Halifax. Banting's Montreal hotel room had been cancelled at midnight. two and a half hours after he and a business colleague had arrived. Later the suit- case tumed up. For his efforts. Banting won the Frankenstein Travel Award' sponsored by a U.S. management training firm. Banting hopes he will not be a repeat winner of this dubious honor. Town still spending beyond its means Dear Sir: I read with interest about Town council's 1.97%millmteincmaseandmustsaythatldonot share the enthusiasm of your reporter at all. To me itseemsthattheoldgameofdemptionandspend- ing beyond our means is alive and well with our town fathersandthatourhighly unfairtnx system is leading us to the brink of bankruptcy. Why is it that everyone talks about restraint and we keep on getting hit with higher taxes the moment we step into a new year? We have reached a spending plateau which just about eats up the old age pension on receives at age " That is outrageous! The unfairness shows in that regard- less of the number of people living in a house the taxes are assessed on the property. As with us, we are just two people, living a 2,300 sq. ft. house, which is assessed 20% above the average of $7,600. That means, that there must be properties which are assessed 20% below average. That's what you call a good system? Thank you very much I fail to see the fairness in paying school Dear Sir: Declared Tory leadership candi- dates Patrick Boyer and Garth Turner and the undeclared front runner Kim Campbell have all made a point of the strong deficit- cutting measures that will be need- Dear Sir: I am a 77-year-old guy who loves to play snooker. I spend most of my time playing snooker at the Sir John Colborne Recreation Centre for Seniors. At Christmas my kids gave me a nice 21 ounce snooker cue, I was happy with it and my game improved. Snooker cue has special meaning Trip to remember But on March 7th I lost it, it was in a grey bag with my name on it. If somebody has found it and wants to keep it, there is not much I can do about it. If that person wants to use it, he or she is playing with stolen property since you know it is mine. It also has a secret mark on it that only the owner knows. I can buy a new one, but it will never be the same since it was a Christmas present. Thank you 'anada can no longer afford big foreign aid bill Mixed message EDITORIAL Frank van Nuland ed in the future. They're right Despite much humng and puff- ing about cost cutting, the govem- ment of which they are members, will sink another $32-billion into debt in the fiscal year just ending. In 1974, the federal government spent a dime out of every dollar to service the debt. Twenty years later, that figure has risen to 33 cents. We cannot continue this way. One area the government has taken a few tentative steps in par- ing is foreign aid. The candidates should seriously consider the pre- sent $2.6-billion foreign aid budget as a major candidate for radical surgery. Canada is spending way beyond its means. Even with recent cuts, aid consumes .4% of GNP. ALONE CALL845-5585 #5 I 80 taxes, paying for basing, and paying gltove aver- agerates!Whyshouldwebebmdursubsidim large familia and such who put a multitude of garbage bagsoul on the curbcvay weak without fail? Instead of addressing this ever-increasing garbage pmblem and offering it incentive to those whotryhaaitokepitatarttirtimtsrmyourpqer casually announces in the last sentence of that aforementioned article that at the savings of $250,000 the usual service of the Town's gross- clippingcxolkximwillbethzedoutaamespring! This together with reducing public library hours, threesunmtetactivity pmgmmsforumsamiGod knowswhatelseistn'mmeddown. surely should reflect in an adjusted upward millrate increase. don’tyouthink?ltseemstomethatwewillbe wellabovethe3%rateofinincrease.wellabove theinf1ationlevel. ltdoesnotseemtobother'l‘own council that the people who manicure their (and the Towns) lawns now will have to drive them- selvestothedmnp.Suchaoostasoomparedtothe SPEAK YOUR MINT)? Got a gripe? Give us a call. Readers are invited to express their opinion on a topic of their choice by calling 845-5585, box 5250. All callers are allowed 45 seo. onds to express their opinion and must provide their name, address and phone number for verification. A cross section of the responses will be published in next Wednesday's Oakville Beaver. Wealthy Japan spends .31%; Britain, .27% and the U.S., .l9%. Canada can no longer afford to act like the insecure kid who flashes money around in the hopes that others will like him. CIDA's most recent annual report, reveals that, in 1990-91, Canadians contributed about $200- million to non-governmental orga- Paying a few more dollars could get town -better snowploughing Dear Sir: I must agree with Betty McLean's letter of March 5th re "snowploughing". Yes, Oakville does an excellent job of keeping the roads clear, but... , f ES ETlM TH WI , " W i i; f '/ The Oekville Beaver wetoomes your comments. All letters must be signed and include the writer‘s address and phone number. Letters should be typed. double-spaced and addressed to: Letter: to the Editor. The Oekvllle Seem. 467 Speen Rd., Oekvllle. om. LMt MM ClassiMd Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 or 845-9743 THE OAKVILLH BEAVER $250,000 savings (if we can believe these num bers) will be staggering lo the homeowners thttservativeestitmsespatject at leastSl million ataiohehtxneowttetsof0akvilietodotitejott theyhaveinstitmedandsetupthepublic works departmenttode.thisthtaeabetterwaytoget rid of the grass clippings? Don't tell me about composting. because grass presents a different pmtoletc1nthepastihavepemmallybeettdrying mygmssclippingsforaweekbemtedisposingof them 0verthelasttwoseassxtsihave successful- 1ytuiuxdmyclippingsbyTW0THrRDS.The thing is that the Taxpayer has paid for all the equipment to do the job of collecting the grass c1ippingsforabout5rmmthsinayearandinoaier for an artificially good fiscal appearance of the managingofourtreasuryweareaskedtospenda milliminordcrtosaveSZSO,(XX).Whenontopof allthisonetakesintoconsiderationthatthevote was6to5thenooehastostopandthinkaboutthe fairness whichpushestlnough such big decisions. Euehardpfeifrer nizations for aid work. That's what Canadians think aid is worth. That figure should guide the Tory candi- dates in setting a more realistic fig- ure for foreign aid - a big ticket item Canada can no longer afford. G.C. Robinson Citizens For Foreign Aid Reform Inc. I have for some time thought there must be some attachment that could be put on a plow so they can clear a driveway end. Shovelling the driveway is hard enough for seniors like ourselves or anyone for that matter, but the end by the road is next to impossi- ble after the plow has been through. Also, it's hard enough walking along an unploughed sidewalk, but when you come to a cross street there is this mountain of snow to climb. The only alternative is to walk on the road, but who wants to walk on a two lane street. I'm sure most of us would pay a few more tax dollars for this badly needed service. Betty Shaw Robert Ola-boy Adm-rush”; Mrttlot Norman Alexander Editor Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Cull Qf/lce Manager Tim Colel Production Manager Ian Oliver Publisher - LETTER 9F TllfEPNf C""'"' Trip through storm of century showed best-worst of people Dear Sir: Our family was stranded for two days in Bland County, Virginia during the "storm of the century." We want to thank the men and women of Bland for their tireless efforts to rescue and comfort the 1,800 travellers, mostly Canadian, who became unexpected guests of their County. Like more families we were looking forward to March Break to escape to the sunny south. Our two teens had had it with snow - they want- ed warmth and sun. They even skipped the last "‘"" '""‘""' day of school at 0THS in order to get a head start on summer! We headed out not altogether ignorant of the impending storm. In fact, we had received a warning call Friday morning that a bliz- zard was rolling in over the Eastern Seaboard. But being Canadian we thought we were capable of handling a little snow and besides we were never accustomed to believing weathermen. With confidence we left Oakville and headed towards our cho- sen destination, certain that we would be smart enough to handle any weather trouble. In fact, that day we sailed through to West Virginia without a hitch and bedded down for the night. When the snow began to gently fall we roused our kin at 3 a.m. to hit the road again, congratulating ourselves for being foresightful enough to flee the mountains while there was still time. The snow fell steadily as we meandered through the mountains. We passed through the tunnel into Virginia hopeful that the further south we got the greater chance that the snow would tum to rain. But that was not to be. Transport trucks lined the roads. Some were in the ditch, others stuck on up-hill grades. Deftly we navigated the road blocks only to find ourselves in a five-mile jam approaching a second tunnel, a truck had jack-knifed at the entrance. It became apparent that we would be in this line-up a very long time. Not being the most patient people in the world, we turned around and started down the shoulder travelling against the stalled traffrc, found a spot to cross over to the North bound lane, and headed for the first exit and gas station. The station was filling up with travellers who had no place to go. People were munching on hot dogs and candy bars in the crowded aisles. We witnessed the best in people and the worst in people. One lady came in, stuffed her pockets with candy bars and Men were far more likely than women to think that dating a co-worker was acceptable behavior, according to a recent survey. No Yes Depends Depends _'3ll0, No [l-rl,-,] Yes CE Would you date a co-worker? Women Men WEEKLY FOCUS A; M (See 'Trip' page 14) 1am n ihe publl __ ubll N, Whllb WI trt RUTH CASSIDY M; MI March x Graphic Wonk, Maw rk Met co " 316mm At; W Week TI 199 [he -u.-