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-----t_-.-----"-----.----..--.- Fight predicted over St. Mildred 's construction Dear Sir: The news that St. Mildred's is planning another expansion must be deja vu for many residents who live around that property. It points up the need to provide for separate zoning control for private school as was proposed and defeated sev- eral years ago, rather than the resi- dential designation under which they now oper'ate.We must remem- ber that after wiping away all the platitudes about excellence in edu- cation, maintaining a school in operation requires that it operate as a business. Businesses, while they may exist within residential areas, have a separate zoning to control when, where, and how they operate. More disturbing is that in all likelihood this proposal has been informally talked up by its propo- nents at the Town of Oakville. I wonder what gems of comment came from our 'enlightened' town planners. I doubt that this proposal would be made public if it hadn't received some signal of possible favorable response depending on a few technical and community hur- dles. The school should be quietly told that no expansion proposals will be entertained and that they are to restrict their enrollment to the numbers agreed to in the last development approval. ith Ontario Premier Bob Rae's new-found enthusiasm for hscal responsibility. also comes some problems. And one of thosc prob- lems comes in the form of Bronte Creek Provincial Park. The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) approached the Halton Region Conservation Authority some time ago with a view to divesting itself of the park...and its associated costs. . When it first heard of the idea, HRCA officials were enthused. After all what a great asset to add to the recreational facilities operated by the conser vation authority. But as they looked deeper into the workings of the park, they found some operating practices that were not in keeping with HRCA guidelines. Translation? The park has not been operating as efficiently as possible. _.___ H"' _eeNe. H .__ -_'" _ ,, If the government ehooxes to spend mono) ttnptonng the park. ll utll ultimately saVe mtlltons of dollars In operattng expenxe~ In the turning: L years. The HRCA report predicts the park “I” low SNnnllton met the new "a 'iiiiii, the years alone. if the park mt't turned over to the ConsirNiilIOn .tnthotm lel " ee" NE' . That's not chicken feed 'gEiMEe _ (irt So Queen's Park has to make a deetston It can xhell out wme taxh no“ /,/ 7 A - 5..er-=-g-r-rrCrc-r "rx"-'?,-,":'?:?-' sae 'MEI in} PA, . . . with a View to rtddtne INC” of a erenntal monm loser or elme the wk 'v' ‘ ‘ Psa 'tte; , -- ’7‘ / - - - __ 1tF,filCt / - qEMitth Given the current eco"nomic travatlps oi the p-ice. it's unhkeh thathhex MIMIM2f Fgr,j51.',P-'-'--r- ’ 1”. I " . tiirtaiiiiWllii.!E er' . , " : ' é” - - - i"L.1TCc , t.2C' , will want to eonttnue operattng the park aux b"f8E _ ,. The sad part of thts whole t'herclN0 ts that tn a \xorxeeeaw \eenarm the / Q " t 6 park could be closed permanently as a cost-cutting, Ctcrc'lu' p P Q ts g7 / When the park opened tn 1975. It “as heralded as wmethmy \PClel .llltl . t __ 0 - 7 ca C _ _ it was. The enttre idea of an 'urhan park' was unltlue' tor the ttnte and \hmxetl INN ale' il a “A‘W' N f f 'E..P, Ast some all-too-rare vision on the part ot governntentx cscryishcu' lurncnd at 99 Y Lu '. t V d" [VS 2t 'is / A':. fo Ta" .) l ' . people clogging roads to get to uulderness areax. “In not hung the ullcr " ‘9' " '2 f N 'lt)),,. T. l' , OP"... ‘ A 'iii) Ty sC'_J,-.i, ness and other acltr+ey, to the pcoplc" What a concept tf . , _ _ _ (f? its!) (i [I % i ' I r A master plan was produced that “ould haw went the park 's ptm'ratw I ['. s . ' ii) ' N , § "ily q I r " , ’~. and facilities expand but the Niisl matont) of these protetts retnam on the tl ' ‘g L f El I M C? i?, L © l , I /* drawing board. VIculms of thwnterest on the part (\l a \ertLW m ptmmtml td).) Cd ifi' l I ll': ADSWS/j 'tll . a; ' governmentx , a --. Cd l N". \ Ill 4:: I: ' it9 _ I The HRCA says if the MNR wants it to take over the park, the province must be willing to kick in about M-million in construction and other updat- ing of facilities. including the building of new parking and a water play areas along with an expanded road network in the park. Given the terms set out by the HRCA, the MNR has only three options: go along with the conservation authority, continue operating the park on the status quo basis or lastly. close the park. If the government chooses to spend money improving the ultimately save millions of dollars in operating expenses it years. The HRCA report predicts the park will lose $8-million five years alone, if the park isn't turned over to the conservat That's not chicken feed. Regrettably St. Mildred's is try- ing to operate on a site that is sim- ply too small for the long term objectives of the school. A plan- ning department and elected repre- sentatives who were seeking to provide leadership and were sensi- tive to maintaining the quality of life in existing neighborhoods might point this out to the direc- torship of the school from the out- set. But, here we have the school out doing the public relations dog and pony show. Let's see, they probably need the usual consultant blessings; traffic study that shows that another 'marginal' increase in enrollment won't be noticed, shad- ow study for the height increase, The park is truly an oasis in a sea of development. an oasis that must remain if we are to maintain living in south Halton on a human scale. ' Already there have been significant changes to the areas adjoining the park and there will be increasing development pressures in the future. The whole idea behind the park was sound 18 years ago and it's still sound. People in an urban area need the kind of recreational areas that only a park like Bronte Creek can provide. The coming discussions between the HRCA and the province will reveal if the Bob Rae New Democrats have any of their 'people' policies left or in an attempt to cut costs, squander a natural resource whose very existence is a monument to what a government can achieve if it has a human vision. \gég’i‘um‘ "/v CF l Save the park EDITORIAL comparisons to other schools. etc. etc.... Few will buy it. A large number of families in Oakville send their children to St. Mildred's and the school has been a very positive cotttribution to the Time to cut government spending Dear Sir: It is sad that the big provincial unions appear to over plans to try to bring the provincial deficit undei feel for the many public servants who were Chili unsustainable public endeavors - from unproductive public education to planning for non-existent progi diesel engines, many of these white collar iobs have evant to society's requirements for today. Some of It now a professional dead-end for many talented peor personal responsibility required in private sector em; Successive governments have been led by their b levels of staff employment. remuneration. and pet simply impossible to maintain now or in the future. ees cannot represent the largest percentage of wage t combined with the highest comparative levels of re now spearhead various pay equity and equal opport of established white male seniority is a financial be start from a base zero clean slate. Yet many of our original public objectives were essentially good. We must choose between meeting the fundamental service needs or trying to make an entire government-generated economy. We will either save the essential programs at the lowest possible cost or lose it all under the weight of trying to do a little of everything for everyone. Yes, we have failed to achieve a simple, equitable taxation system. Yes, the Bank of Canada has borrowing and interest rate practices that have accelerated our downward fall, but that does not alter the present disastrous circumstances. Think of this... a $12 billion yearly deficit means there is over $30-mil- lion that is spent every day in Ontario alone, that we simply have not received in public revenue. It is very true that we are paying the heavy price that was predicted when we initiated consistent overspending with- out a strategy for timely debt payment. Every day, pan of every facility and service that we consume simply does not pay for itself; some to a ii'ii2il)i) CALL845-5585 (See Cuts' page 7 '_'f?EAr_rtlprrlrrNp ':, 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 sec- 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. endeavor case we are well past tha mly strttctut abnc If St. Mildre le te cit bum velopmer The Oakville Beaver webomes your comments. All letters must be signed and include the writer‘s address and phone number. Letters should be typed, mutate-spaced and addressed to: Letter: to the Editor. The Oelrvllle Beaver. ‘67 Spoon Rd., Oekvllle. Ont. Lax MM O DH “C ie lone ceased nuneram n n UbllC se er " " n ers In prepared for tr, 'per erm ale. We nee I here rc 845-3824 tt WNMEE%DEA%§+?I advisers ire ITIE OAKVILLE BEAVER " R d Ad resa be re 4 Fax: 845-3085 Adverhsmg: 845-2809 845-9742 or 845-9743 It" n " Dear Sir: I cannot believe what Ijust saw. There was a Town Worker driving a small sweeping-machine to clear the sidewalks in my subdivision. Cleaning sidewalks totally unnecessary I called the Town Offices to make sure that I understood the pur- pose of this work and was told that it was indeed to clear our sidewalks of dirt and gravel accumulated over the winter. I find this ridiculous. In this time of cutbacks and tax increases I feel this task is an utter waste. Does the Town assume we are all so lazy and pampered that even this small responsibility is done for the homeowner? What ever hap- pened to the cleaning power of a good spring rain? Next time leave the portion of the sidewalk in front of my house and I will sweep it. Cut my taxes or give my money to the foodbank mste If they slay the com Mildred's should plan on divisive fight which wil attend the school nt i J Incial government. they d likely jump at the chance to have to commit to an 1C operate a re ith adequate h Trafalgar Hi h would givi ties that are if n aucqu imiled re their present several priv ent " upa cons 1 ill defined future the OTMH. if they ttl lilies for :ld plan on a king. which will be an to both the admin- the families who luanons en bout o, they m Karen Beanie Carol Hobbs In tt Mildred ate COUCH stru Robert Glnlbey Adm'riLs'ing Director Norman Alexander Editor Geoff H111 Circulation Dirvrtor Teri CIIII Qljice Manager Tim Cole. Production Manager Ian Oliver I’ublishm SI sue area ill h I site and a healthy if they nillion mth ttti rf the NT hoo 'ld and l NI lir St h _..-.-....-- LETTER or THE Pt, T-- Parents neglecting their duty As parents, we all have a responsibility to educate our children as to the consequences of their actions. We must show more interest in our children's whereabouts and with whom they associate. We must become more involved in our children's activities before these petty crimes develop into more serious offences that could threaten our com- fortable, small-town way of life. Murray and Gaye F amcombe Source I wag", F bi'tiirgl I Michael J. Fox Julia Roberts Harrison Ford Tom Cruise Bill Murray Mel Gibson Arnold Schwarzenegger Michael Keaton Eddie Murphy Slgourney Weaver 1M WEEKLY FOCUS 5101' $11.2| St ml $12.a| 3121' 3723] $1421 Wag/rs $15.2 315.4] 516.9. Graphic M Wu