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I suppose we can consider our- selves fortunate the mill rate was held in check (this year). Was it because Mayor Mulvale had decid- What is this staff hiding and why are the Mayor and elected councillors (who were in office at the beginning of the recession) not challenging this staff to come up with savings and reductions? Stop talking about cuts, cuts are punitive and the public has been punished enough! When Pete Wagland presented zero-based budgeting with the 1990 budget overview, which politicians were responsible for killing its implementation? With the just concluded review of Oakville's budget, we have to ask, "Why did it have to take Bob Rae to get budget reductions that local taxpayers and citizen groups have been demanding for years now?" lan Croskell. President of FORG, made that especially clear when he referred Mayor Mulvale and Harry Henderson back to let- ters FORG had submitted in 1990 and SI. Who pays taxes here anyway? Is it Bob Rae or us? Dear Sir: Perhaps you said it best in the editorial. "Clear as mud" with the comment that "...today's multi- taxed Canadian has developed a siege mentality...." How can we be blamed for thinking that way when we look at the shell games being played by this Town's managers. Seeing how our leading Councillors, including Mayor Mulvale allow them to get away with it only feeds our mistrust. Taxpayers find shell games infuriating But through Harding's vision and commitment to proactive policing, not to mention the hard work and dedication of the members of the service, they have achieved a level of police service that is held in high esteem by their law enforcement peers Cit: "i'rsR'aer:i.:'iiok tt% 'c" it”s . Ive, H, T vi7?, MM Hpm‘l‘ Hum! (I‘lleHr “‘lll 845-3824 Fax: 8457301 ( Ida-Alum! Advmh'dvn] 84H '2" The community policing system, and numerous other innovative police programs encompassing victim response services to combating racism and wife abuse have drawn international recognition to the Halton Regional Police Service. But it hasn't occurred overnight. When Halton Regional Police Chicme Harding wasaipuedtothepostrnorethanadecakago,theformwasindisanay, Back then. notmewashegpirigIxaiseuptmthefoxe. Strong praise. but well-deserved nonetheless. Beinke's visit to Halton was not the first time a representative from another country's police force has come to Kam from our regional police service. Nor will it be the last, In truth, No. 16 may represent far more than just two colored rectangles on a piece of canvass - from where we sit it represents a grant lrhllll to every Canadian struggling to make ends meet. Beinke was in town last week specifically to take a first hand look at Halton's com munity policing system and see how it could be adapted by his force The visiting police chief described Halton's police service as "utopia" and said. "I hope the people in Hilton realize how lucky they are to have such an excellent police form. Literally, the Halton Regional Police are pace setters, internationally." ometimes it takes an outside to appreciate what we often take for granted. Take for Sinstance the Halton Regional Police Service. While we often complain about response times, lack of sp.eeding enforcement or the rising crime rate. the criticism is often made in isolation. Sometimes it takes an outsider like Clinton (Iowa) Police Department Chief Gene Beinke to put it into proper perspective. While those responsible for its purchase claim the painting was obtained at a bargain price, we don't quite see it that way. In case the gallery board members haven't noticed, the country is in a financial mess. While $1.8 million isn't going to reduce the national debt overnight, or reduce the financial strain of Canadian taxpayers to a great extent, it still doesn't make much sense to us to waste that amount of money on a painting few people will appreciate or even see. What planet do the members of the National Gallery of Canada live , on? Obviously not the same one we do. How else do you explain the National Gallery's recent $1.8 million aquisition of a piece of work by abstract impressionist Mark Rothko. This is fiscal restraint? This is spending our tax dollars wisely? This is art? In case you haven't yet seen the $1.8 million work of art called No to (maybe it took the artist 15 tries to get it right), it looks basically like a white rectangle on a red rectangle. By no stretch of the imagination is this a valuable piece of art. Prior to the National Gallery's purchase, No. 16 was apparently locked away in a New York warehouse seemingly forgotten forever. If it has remained that way, it's doubtful if the artworld would have suffered a great loss, and at least Canadian taxpayers would be $1.8 million richer. I INFO ALONE tiifEtfii CALL845-5585 [BEG EDITORIAL This is art? SPEAK YOUR MIND All callers are allowed 45 sec- onds to express their opinion and must provide their name, address and phone number for verirtcation. 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. A cross section of the responses will be published in next Wednesday's Oakville Beaver. . Parks Dept. should buy trees instead of growing their own because nurseries grow trees in five years while Town staff take 15 years. . review necessity of hiring con- sultants . tum off vehicle engines when not operating . cut uptown core park design award These are just some of the gems in the Task Force's 'Comments on . restrict Town vehicles for use on Town time . supervisors/managers better manage staff efficiency and budget erties . avoid duplication . review grants to special inter est groups Just look at the brainstorming ideas that were found by Councillor Liz Behrens (let's keep Budget Committee Chairman Flynn's com- ment in mind: "The Problem Solving Task Force met two times for two hours each meeting, so all this was accomplished in four hours"): . long-range staff planning . purchase no new cultural prop- For real evidence of how we are being hoodwinked. look at the places the Finance Dept. and the Problem-solving Task force looked to find the $426,000 needed to off- set the impact of the Provincial Budget and Expenditure Control Plan. edtonmforfedemlomceandshe had committed to being politically com for the times and "walk the talk" by not going back to the un- payer for extra monies?" It was indeed the fast time that I have seen my name trailing an air- craft.' To show hospitality in this fashion was very thoughtful and gener- ous. Kindly extend my compliments to your staff to all those involved. Peter B. Yeomans Mayor Certainly many of the improve- ments of refinements worked in to this year's Festival were initiated by observations, criticisms or sug- Please accept my personal regards for the welcoming gesture spon- sored by the Beaver during my visit to Oakville during the Waterfront Festival. . We have received many letters, photographs and calls from the general public since the Festival. Again, we are most grateful for the keen interest taken by the commu- nity. Dear Sir: On behalf of the volunteer organizers of the Oakville Waterfront Festival, I would like to extend a big thank you to the thousands and thousands of Oakville residents and visitors who attended this year's Festival. The happy faces, eager participa- tion and just plain fun had by so many people made all the 'work' of the festival more than worth- while for the volunteers. Dear Sir: Dorval mayor was impressed Waterfront Festival volunteers extend thanks to participants It seems these people still haven't woken up to the realities the rest of us have been living with for the last few years. Yet they're Titsks' found with the July 6 brief- ing document prepared for the Budget Committee meeting. (Easy. common sense. wouldn't you say?) And then. one of the more brilliant deductions was “Look at what we should keep doing and stop doing." If you want to find more. here's and example from the Fire Dept.: they're going to save $2,000 in gas costs this year because they bought new. more fuel efficient vehicles. What kind of sleight-of-hand is that? ltd? ti.,'.::...':,':;:...;,":;...)::.):..";,'::.,,::'::.-:'":. The Demise Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be sawed and Include the writer's address and phone numbel. Lemme should be typed, t$ouble-spaced and addressed to: Lotion to the Editor, The 0.0M". Boom. Mr Spoon Rd., Gentile. Ont. L6tt MM Nt's11 A; Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulallon; 845-9742 or 845-9743 W Ill - June 24, 25, and 26 - Oakville Waterfront Festival 1994 - you are all invited! So, mark your calendar now for our uniquely Oakville celebration The Oakville Waterfront Festival is an annual celebration of community; the goal - to highlight Oakville's harbors and heritage for residents and visitors. gestions by the participants, volun- teers, residents, Town Staff and sponsors from the Festival/92. The 200 volunteers sitting on year- round Festival Committees, thank all those who have taken the time to share their thoughts and ideas. All recommendations received this year will be reviewed most care- fully in planning Festival 1994. work: "The mal tragedy was... that the savings promised... were not permanent. The whole... process was a fame..." In fact. the 1993 Budget Committee Meeting document from July 6, 1993, should be care- ful reading for every Oakville tax- payer who want to see this for themselves (remember. our igno- rance is their bliss). Coincidentally. Gary Carr's crit- icisms could just as easily apply to the staff and budget committee's still trying to sake their way through. BEAVFJ Lisa Dodd Executive Director Oakville Waterfront Festival Simon Dann Oakville Taxpayers Coalition City of Dorval, Quebec .‘ 8t 4f .tiE'giir, Robert Oil-hey Admarltslng Dlrmlor Norman Alexander Edam Goof! Hill Circulation Director Teri CIIII Alice Manager Tim Cotes Produrtton Manager Ian Oliver I 'uhl ishcr ',4 Us We have been fortunate in having the co-operation of patients, doctors, nurses, administration and support groups in achieving these results. Although we are now below the Canadian average of 19 per cent for cesarean section rates we feel that there is still room for further improvement. Labour after a previous cesarean section has now become the standard of care for women with no other identifiable risk. This is a recommendation of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada and has been echoed by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. We have encouraged vaginal deliveries in women who have had previous cesarean sections (VBAC's) and of 64 women who attempted VBAC's 55 delivered vaginally. In general, statistics indicate that when a woman attempts labour after one previous cesarean section there is 77 per cent chance that she will deliver vaginally and a 70 per cent chance following two previous cesarean sections. Safety has been a major concern and we are not aware of any increased maternal or fetal morbidity during this 6 month peri- od. _ . Dear Sir: It was not too long ago that Oakville. was taunted with the idea of being the cesarean section capital of Canada. As you will recall, in 1988 to 1989 our c-section rate reached a staggering 28.8 per cent. I am please to report that there has been a significant improvement in our cesarean section rate. For the first six months of 1993 our average is 17.5 per cent. Fewer cesarean sections performed at OTMH 15.1% LETTER OF THE DAY Kb WEEKLY FOCUS orms Lab W tbeg G.N. Richmond-Peck, M.D., F.R.C.S.(C) Mid-age Nov Beaver, "Illa Tt Richmond Hlilnt All manual nub! 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