The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

’ OPINION he announcement Thursday that Shell Canada Ltd. was closing its Oakville Research Centre. marks the end of a long relationship between the town and the petrochemical company. The company came to Oakville during the boom years of the 1950's and first Tping what was then a state-of-the-art refinery with much of its product being transported to the Pearson airport. It gave over lands to form Shell Park and that site remains a well-used recreation area. But then came the oil crisis and a realization that there would have to be a rationalization of oil refining in the country. Various tefmeries closed, others were sold or merged with other operations. The oil business would forever be changed. Oakville did not escape those changes and Shell officials deemed the local facility redundant. Ironically, Shell operated the newer refinery of the two with- in Oakville boundaries yet it was the one dismantled. --_ BE: throughout these" changing times the Shell Research Centre continued to operate. But now it too has been declared an expense Shell can do without as it merges the operation with a similar facility in Calgary. -fiie- Gr/car; Jo this decision is tha?researck teams will be broken up and many highly-skilled workers will be thrown out of work. Most people know only of the facility as a sign as they drive past the Shell research property along Lakeshore Road. The heavily-treed site is in direct con- trast to the kind of high-tech work being conducted inside the building that was itself the winner of an architectural award. The Centre was also the site of the yearly Shell Fuelathon, which saw teams compete to see who could construct the most fuel-efficient four wheeled vehi- cles. In this way, the test track on the property acted as a catalyst for thought and inspiration to those who took part in the yearly contest and the Shell per- sonnel who used the tests to further their work on fuels and additives. The Shell refinery is gone, the Research Centre will soon follow ' ending a long-standing relationship with the town and its people. So now the focus swings to town council and the planning department who would do well to emulate the kind of sensitive land-use policy reflected in the research centre 7Mberf2 n trying to regain control of its finances, the provincial government has Idecided the best way to accomplish this is to pass the pain along to the municipalities. And in the case of Halton Region, one of the more direct implications of cutting funds, is how to provide adequate policing with $800,000 less cash. There are different ways the police can deal with this shortfall. not the least of which is looking at its own policing costs. The other, and this is the one being trumpeted by the Police Services Board. is for the region to give it a one- time bailout using the region's $2.3-million in reserve funds. Before the region deals with this request, it must look at other areas where provincial funds will also be cut and determine which services are deserving of assistance. While policing is important. the region shouldn't act too hastily in shelling out its reserve funds, Dear Sir: Your editorial of June 13th ('No Surprises') did not measure up to scrutiny because there was a serious distortion of the fact base on which it was premised. Whether this was a weakness in reporting skills hom a meeting, or whether it was editorial bias, matters little; the issue is that your editorial distorted a consistent and thoughtful point of view on the "social contract" talks which has been presented by Lyn McLeod. the Ontario Liberal Laden and l respect- Dear Sir: I haven't time to straighten you out on all the public issues with which you seem to be vaguely famil- iar.icannotletyouaway withthedis graceful editorial of last Friday attacking the doctors. Comments on province's doctors was disgraceful The very worst part of it was the implication that it is common for doc- tors to earn $400,000 a year. Even you ought to know what a small per- centage earn that gross amount. I am sure you also know that gross amounts earned by doctors include all their expense - tents, staff, etc. When one considers the length of time required by medical courses, intern- T On tpetiirriit {newt/i116 Unit of The My Winn ofCamda, I would like to thank the Oakville Beaver for its sup- port in publicizing our March fimd-raising campaign A spe- cial thanks is also extended to the community; specWally tho volunteers who donated their time to raise funds, and to the individuals, service clubs and basittesses who made financial eotttributions. Your support is greatly appreciated, Kidney Foundation drive was a success This campaign was especial- 1y gha11eagirag due to a difficult eeptiomie 213mm. However, despite there trhaVeages, $20,9X4 was raised in (hikvilk, Roy Hogs March Campaign Chair [,E,,s1?,sT,r,i?1t,yy,y_,_, Cutting ties In reserve fully suggest that to ensure the respect of your readership. a mom bummed report is in order. Let me quote from McLeod's response in the Legislature to the Premier's June 9th statement announcing that provincial legislation woukitterequiredasatesultofthe failure of the "social contract" nego- minions. She said: “We agree that the goeemment's budget targets must be met, and we have always taken that position, We haveneverarguedwiththeneedfor ship,ac.,betbeeeamingany deem! amount,ttndnota1ltheexpense of thaseyears,doamsaresxtuinlymot overpaid. 1hearefiortunatetohavethehigh standardsthatwehaveinthemedical DearSir. GotoOakvilleP1ace.situuierthegmetomswithacupofcoffeeanda doughnut.LxAupattheglassasilingamiyoumayseealitilebinif1yingba:k andforthHfyoudm'tseeit,crumb1esomeofyourdoughnutonthef1oor,and the1ittksparmwshnuldaxneforit. Iaskedoneofthesecurityguanishowthebirdcangaoutside. Hesaid(ladythabirddoesn'twanttoescape.Thisishishome.Hehas livedhetefbrtwoyears. Weopenedthewindowsmanytimesanight.Inthe mominghewasstillhere.Hefindscrumbsonthef1oorforfo0d,andtakeshis bathinthelittlepool.)Amazingandtrue!! A bird in the hand worth one in the mall - -- Helen Brooks-Hill Mayor should give up her salary Dear Sir: Ann Mulvale, with typical an0gance, has announced that she will con- tinue to collect her various salaries as mayor even though she will spend all her time for three or four months campaigning for the federal election. While it may be acceptable for her to keep the job for ego-inflation reasons, she should forfeit her salaries so that the cash-starved town and region can maintain jobs for some clerks. ALONE CALL845-5585 IFO SE SPEAK YOUR MIND I 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. mstmintoithoughwettnveeotpmssai 'ndwii1cxmtinuetoeqeessourthts- otionthaitwoandattWyearsot Numb“ laugh: uottttepoimwttaedtegtwesttrrte" hasbeettsodespemtely looking to mkebacewhatitsohmlytpveaway inthefirstyearofthisgoverunem... Butsedobelievetuputtliesec- tor employers and employees must dotheirpertosdtoseintheprime sector have done... Wésuppoetihe searchmrwaystotnaketmiuctions intxtstsami)...baauseofthis,we Imstesskminthispeovirttr.iamsoety thatmtareareavingfiorotherfields. ourlossisthetpinmrthaseother The Oakville Beaver webomes your comments. All lama must be sitrted and include Ibo writer‘s address and phone number. Letters should be typed, ttoutge-sptteed and addressed lo Lunar: to the Edna. The 0.0M». m. A6t Spoon Rd., ammo. Ont. Lox 354 467 Saw Nytd,_Oakvil!y,, lhCLfr David Chamberlain E " Classllled Advertising 845-2809 Circulation: 045-9742 or 845-9743 845-3824 Fax: 845-3085 ws. Thomson IlLL ll have argued consistently for a reopening of local negotiations or pmvincial negotiations. whatever is the forum in which collective bar- gaining agreements ate normally reached. as being the only way in which it would be possible to meet financial targets that the government has set without completely abandon- ing the collective bargaining prams. Andapanfromthequeriesthatl make about the accuracy of your reporting on this issue, I would like to do a quick reminder that the pub- lic servants whose contracts will be opened, and who may be laid off, include the teacher and the school janitor, the nurse and the orderly, the police, fire and ambulance services, the environmental inspector and the librarian. They own property and buy goods in our stores and volun- teer in our community projects, and have children to raise, and your facile comment that they should be brought "into the world where the rest of us live" shows minimal understanding of the economic and personal issues that we face in Ontario. ...We truly believe that better too- olutions of the need to reduce costs can be found in this process than in the kind of discussions that have been taking place in the social con- tract talks that we believe were doomed to fail from the beginning." Mrs. McLeod points out that more than two tmntln wae wasted, along with significant public dollars, with a Royal York Hotel experiment, when municipalities and hospitals and Boards of Education needed statuary authority to reopen agreements, and when public servants were willing to discuss cost reductions and wage hm. She has indicated the need: "to put uncertainty. anxiety and instability behind us in this province so this government can concentrate some of its energies on getting this province and its people back to work. The message that Mrs. McLeod presented in the Legislature was the same that she presented on her recent visit to Oakville, and it should have been reflected in your editorial. She is supported by the Ontario Municipal Association and the Ontario Hospital Association, who are major provincial government transfer recipients, in her views. Barbara Sullivan, Halton Centre, MPP Robert Glubey Advertising Director Norm-n Alexander Editor Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Cllll 0er Manager Tim Colon Production Manager Ian Oliver Publisher Dear Sir: Two imam to the editor in your June 23,1993 edition dealt with different, but indirectly related issues. George Southey suggested ways to improve Ontario's "health care" system and his ideas seem reasonable. The one basic, underly- ing principle we need to focus on regarding health however, is pre- vention. We have a "sickness care" system where almost all of the resources are channelled into treating symptoms through drugs and surgery. With very little attention paid to the causes of illness, such as poor diet, stress, environmental factors, etc. Thernedicaldoctorshavetorealizethatapersonmustbetmated as a whole, such as a naturopath does. I truly believe that alternative forms of health care must be integrated into this system and when this is accomplished. we will have a healthier population which is obvi- ously the best way to reduce medical costs. Why does the parks and recreation department "exercise extreme caution" in handling these chemicals and why must the staff be prop- eriy trained and supervised and why must warning signs be posted after spraying? Because dangerous poisons are being sprayed about, that's why! The other letter I refer to, from Kenneth Argue, suggested that Oakville is using pesticides safely and responsibly, which is, no doubt, true. However, the point is that these poison need not be used indieamountstheyare-ifatall. Lobbying politicians to use safe methods in beautifying our parks is an excellent idea but pesticides do not fall within the definition of "safe" as far as I am concerned, These poisons are very suspect, and in many cases, are prove to adversely affect our health and are one of many factors contributing to poor health thereby adding to our esca- lating "health care" costs. We need to step back and look at the big picture to see what we are doing to ourselves and what can be done to improve and maintain our healthaswellasensurethegoodhealth offuture generations. - - Disease prevention crucial In 1992, the age group that tends to "always feel rushed" is people from 25 to M. People without children feel less rushed than those with children. and about two-thlrds of mothers who work say they always feel rushed. Egggg8ataugaamgt-aitgNM8mBliglNttMettMtSBttttg1tMtB-i" BI. . » tsl Characteristics Total (aged 18 to 64) 18 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 No children Children Working mothers Exercise less than once a week Low ”Hasteem Have less leisure time Work is more Important than leisure Spouse: Doesn't exercise o-----'---'-"""'-"""""'""""""-"""'", LETTER OF THE DAY WEEKLY FOCUS Dunning Let map ot “bum". "aw-pa Nam Adv/om: Bum Amman, Hump; culingwooa Carnelian, Ebbmkn Gum Anton Fm Pm, Won Thin Wonk Ecwmhl and am, ammo/mm m; E Lt 1992 38% 1985 32% Percent of people aged 18 to 64 who "always feel rushed" by selected characteristics, 1985 and 1992 Tim Chapin