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

r 27, 1994 â€" 0 _ * Oakville“Beaver Sunday, Novem! [ \ \ i \ $ \ § "OPINQON) * THE OAKVILLE BEAVER 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 845â€"3824 Fax: 845â€"3085 Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809 Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 The Oamla Beaver, zubliohod every Sunda%odm :nd Fa’%‘ym Ian Oliver Pu-bllSher f“;mp of luburban nowupnpen vmicfl' inclu "flo Ajax-bymnm N“r:.q Robert Glasbey Advertising Director es oo hoh Free Norman Alexander Editor Kingcton This w.ok. LM“’XI T;l:'nc mcn:lk. Mc am Economist and Sun Nowmlrkcl Aurora Em Banmr Geoff Hill Circulation Director Today, OshawaWhitby This W Teri Casas Office Manager ThombhilWVaughan 1 Oakvm Be ied h Coles M * All matorhl phublbl:hdzl’n "';f:m 4 9 io Beaver |; prolod by copyright. Any eonunloflho North York Mirror, Oakyille Beaver, Onllla erborough This Week, Richmond Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a rypegrapfical error, that portion of the advertising space occupied b{ erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize nnd ‘in the event of typographical error, advertising goods advertising. or services at the wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advcnlung is merely an offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any time. Editorial Second chance TO Oakville firefighters out for some fishing Tuesday were more lucky than 8: mart when they were both rescued from the frigid Lake Ontario shoreline waters near St. Catharines. One of the men involved is a platoon chief with the local department and a seasoned angler with his own boat that he uses for fishing charters out of Bronte Harbour. Incredibly, the two tied their boat to an area clearly marked as a dangerous area. It warns of instantaneous watercourse changes when water control gates are opened. And that‘s just what happened. The gates opened, the surging water swamped the boat and both men are lucky to be alive. Instead of a story about misâ€" adventure, we could be writing their obituary. Both men will face charges over the incident and the St. Catharines Hydro (SCH) is conducting an investigation. SCH officials told the Beaver that it‘s not the first time they have had problems with anglers in the area and they have laid other charges this year. They also say there isn‘t much else they can do to stop boaters from ignoring the signs and putting their lives in danger. What makes this case so serious is that both men are firefighters, men whose very job revolves around safety, looking out for danger and even rescuing those who don‘t read signs and find themselves in peril. Somehow we expect something better from our firefighting corps. These men have been given a second chance at life, let‘s hope they learn from their error in _ A better way r too long our lawâ€"makers have dodged the issue of euthanasia but it‘s time Fhey dealt with this most crucial issue. The question was raised again with the recent conviction of a Saskatchewan farmer for the second degree murder of his 38 pound 12 year old daughter. The girl suffered terribly from extreme cerebral palsy and was in constant pain. Her father, Robert Latimer, placed his daughter in his truck and ran a hose from the vehicle‘s exhaust to the cab. She died of asphyxiation. The farmer has been sentenced to a jail sentence of at least 10 years for his ‘crime‘ and now his wife and other children will have no father and the family farm will likely have to be sold. Who is the winner here? How is society served by this man‘s incarceration? There was never a debate if the child would die but merely when and under what horrible circumstances. Suffering animals are ‘put down‘ but our ‘humanity‘ does not extend to our own species...we are, you see, a violent lot and not to be trusted to deal with ourselves. Euthanasia is fine for animals but not humans. If we act out of humanity in euthanising animals, do we not act as animals in not relievâ€" ing the suffering of other humans? A recent survey of 1,000 physicians found that 60 per cent favored assisted suiâ€" cides or euthanasia or both. A tormented life is now at peace but the torment of a family lives on. There has to be a better way WEEKLY FOCUS Hardware heavies Top 10 computer hardware makers by sales, ‘93 Brand Total sales (millions) IBM Hewlettâ€"Packard Parading through the age of unâ€"enlightenment ike many readers, I took last Monday off work to «l celebrate Voltaire‘s 300th birthday. Honestly, my irresponsible truancy from all professional purâ€" suits had nothing to do with Monday‘s weather, which was depressingly bleak, cold, and wet. Nor did it have anything to do with the day‘s disheartening news â€"â€" that the union made in Neverâ€"Never Land between Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson is apparently on the rocks; and that (horror of horâ€" rors) an American team, Baltimore‘s Canadian Football League stillâ€"unnamedâ€"andâ€"don‘tâ€" callâ€"‘emâ€"Colts franchise, has earned a berth in our beloved Grey Cup... Nor did it have anything at all to do with the wild whirlwind weekend I‘d just endured; a reunion of my wife‘s family (an unruly collection of Kellys) in The Far North (Aurora of all places), and a Toronto Santa Claus Parade party â€" in my wife‘s downtown office overâ€" looking the parade route â€" for 30 kids sent squirrelly by an overâ€" dose of soda pop and MM‘s, and by the delicious prospect of Santa Claus coming to town. Overheard at Parade Party Central: A fiveâ€"yearâ€"old â€"his chocoâ€" lateâ€"coated face pressed against an office window â€"â€" announces to an older brother as another twoâ€" storey tall, oneâ€"millionâ€"dollar final glides by, "This is the most BORING parade EVER." Older, paradeâ€"weary brother replies, "No, STUPID, last year‘s was the most BORING parade EVER. This year, it‘s just DUMB!" Care for another MM boys? So, along came rainy days and Monday; and I decided, with surâ€" prisingly little difficulty, and even less guilt, to just shirk the heck out of my vast responsibilities â€" to put my feet up and mug a hot coffee in honor of the anniversary of the birth of Voltaire. Indubitably, some readers did not have advance copies of the final exams, and therefore, did not garner the great grades I earned in high school. These poor souls might not even know who this Voltaire chap is (although I seriously doubt that prevented anyone from taking Monday off to celebrate the old goat‘s birth). Born in France in 1694 â€" Frangcois Marie Aroucet, an intelâ€" lectual/writer â€" realized that if he wanted to be truly famous, he‘d have to adopt a mediaâ€"andâ€"fan friendly oneâ€"name monicker like: Homer, Cher, Socrates, Madonna, Plato, and Sting... Frangois Marie Arouet became Voltaire. I‘m not prepared to cough up Voltaire‘s entire impressive curâ€" riculum vitae. Suffice to say, in France, he is nearly as revered as American comedian Jerry Lewis. Voltaire made huge contributions to history, journalism, theatre, poetry, and prose (Candide); some believe his writings were the spark that ignited the French Revolution; many deem him the architect of enlightenment, or the father of the Age of Enlightenment. Father of the Age of Enlightenment? How could I not take a day off for this guy‘s birthâ€" day? Near the end of my little holiâ€" day â€"â€" after I‘d watched enough stupid talk shows to make me wish I‘d actually trundled off to work, or been hit by a bus â€"I began contemplating Mister Voltaire‘s Age of Enlightenment. Specifically, I began to wonder just when that Age, in fact, ended. After serious contemplation, I came up with no definitive answer, but some pretty good guesses. The Age of Enlightenment surely ended when Di married Chuck. When The Fox Television Network was formed. When the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers were created. When Eddie Murphy signed on for Beverly Hills Cop IV. When the Designated Hitter was instituted in professional baseball. When the National Hockey League expanded to Anaheim, California, and called the new team The Mighty Ducks. When Ontarians said "Yes!" to the NDP. When the very first talk show aired... On Thursday, when I was takâ€" ing a deserved day off all profesâ€" sional pursuits in celebration of the U.S. Thanksgiving, it dawned on me that poor, old Voltaire died in 1778, probably never having watched a single scintillating show of Regis and Kathy Lee. And he called himself enlightâ€" ened. o t o e s i Ni o o 2 P t M n t S o t PR Ts /A § P 2 § A . ! j y