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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday November 4, 2006 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the 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 advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary Guest Columnist Wilma's on her way Wilma Blokhuis, retired Oakville Beaver Living Editor Wilma's Way. I was humbled, pleased and surprised to learn, at the retirement reception hosted for me by The Oakville Beaver at Ste. Antonio's Bistro, that the newspaper had adopted a trail in Bronte in my name. Bronte has been my home for 15 years. Wilma Blokhuis Soon a sign will go up in Riverview Park pointing to Wilma's Way, a trail leading from Lakeshore Road to Rebecca Street along the west side of Bronte Creek. I have walked this trail many times. It is tranquil and beautiful. You can hear birds singing, listen to the music of the rapids, the wind rustling in the trees and smell the freshness in the air. At Riverview Park there are swans, ducks and Canada geese nesting around the pond and along the riverbank. I have taken kayak lessons at this spot. The Oakville Beaver has received the blessing of the Town of Oakville in naming this section of its Heritage Trails in my name in memory of my Happy Trails series last year. I loved hiking Oakville's trails ­ a real treasure built by people with vision. Many have said I was the heart and soul and the face of The Oakville Beaver ­ I was proud to be part of a great newspaper, an award winner, proudly North America's mostawarded newspaper. It has been an honour to have worked at the best community newspaper in North America, and I confess to have always strived for excellence. But...The Oakville Beaver is not about Wilma, it's about the synergy of many people who make it happen, from reception to accounting, advertising and production, editorial and photography, distribution and of course, the publisher ­ there are simply too many people to list by name, however I would like to mention a few. Naming a trail Wilma's Way was suggested by my editor Rod Jerred. The reception was attended by most of my co-workers, people from the community who I've interviewed and interacted with over the years, my hiking, paddling, cross country and cycling friends from the Halton Outdoor Club, the Bronte Bunch ­ we walked every Monday night ­ and Joan Gibb's Pub Club ­ we met Fridays for a little libation and to solve the world's woes over dinner at the Coach and Four in Bronte and we celebrated birthdays, Christmas and Easter ­ all the special occasions. I was especially touched to see one of my journalism instructors from Sheridan College, Josephine Kleimeyer, and her friends from the Oakville Historical Society ­ and yes, I'll go on record in saying she was my favourite teacher. A tribute written and read by Jill Davis, director of editorial, was very touching. It brought a tear to my eye. A letter from the company president, Murray Skinner, read by publisher Neil Oliver, noting my nomination for Metroland's President's Award last year, was heartwarming. I have received many honours, among them a Paul Harris Fellowship from Oakville's five Rotary Clubs. This award, named in honour of Rotary's founder, is the organization's highest honour and I am humbled and proud ­ and speechless. I will continue to strive to live up the criteria for this award, service above self. Among the many gifts I have received from my coworkers are a birdfeeder and stand which will be prominently placed on my front lawn among the wildflowers I will plant to attract butterflies and birds. Another is a beautiful scrapbook of photographs of my years at The Beaver assembled by photographer Karen Newman. I will treasure the memories contained in these pages forever. One room at my house near St. Andrews-by-the-Sea in New Brunswick will be dedicated as my Oakville Room. The walls will be filled with memorabilia from my days at The Oakville Beaver. This will include a photograph of myself sitting on a bench with Wilma's Way in the background, signed by my co-workers and friends. Thank you for 31 beautiful and wonderful years...and Happy Trails. IAN OLIVER Group Publisher NEIL OLIVER Publisher TERI CASAS Business Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ROD JERRED Managing Editor WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION Warning! Hounds can be hazardous to your mental health E xperts say that dog ownership can make you happy and healthy. But what these alleged experts conveniently neglect to tell you is that it can also make you crazy. We have two dogs, a pair of Petit Basset Griffon Vendeens (French hounds), whose only saving grace is that they are irresistibly cute. I know everyone thinks their mangy mutts, their repugnant pugs are the cutest creatures on earth, but, in our case, it's an irrefutable truth. Every time I walk these hounds I see women pointing and whispering and I hear words like "cute" and "adorable" being bandied about. For a long time I thought these women were gesturing and gushing at me -- I'm cute and adorable, after all -- but my wife set me straight: they are commenting on the dogs. Now, cuteness is a pretty thin peg for a hound to hang his or her hairy hat on. Dogs are supposed to be more than just cute, right? Dogs are actually supposed to be useful. Dogs fetch newspapers. Dogs herd sheep. Dogs sniff out drugs. Dogs star in movies and TV shows. Heck, you read in the paper all the time where a dog actually went out and saved someone's life! I'm not holding my breath for the day either of our hounds -- not Franny, the oldest, or Zoey, the perpetual pup -- ever snatches me from the paws, er, jaws of death. I'd settle for them making a concerted effort to not make me loopy. I can't even say which dog is worse. They're both high-maintenance. And both are scrabbling at my sanity. But for the sake of this missive I'll focus on the oldie, I'll Andy Juniper focus on Franny. Fran has always been a bit of a diva but now, at 12, she's also gone a bit dotty. We estimate she's lost a portion of her sight, half her hearing and most of her mind. Hey, you do the math. Great, a partially blind, half-deaf, altogether dotty diva. Fran can be found at various times each day standing like a statue, an expression frozen on her face that questions: "Hmmm, now what was it I was going to do?" Alas, I work at home and Fran's day now consists of attempting to undermine any work I may intend on doing; her day consists of crying for no apparent reason. And my day consists of trying to determine why she's crying by bridging the communica- tion chasm that exists between us. In the end, I typically determine that what she wants is to sit at my feet, stare at me, and cry until I pull my grey hair out by the roots. At which point, seeming satisfied, she saunters off for a sleep. Oh, I jest. I know exactly what she really wants. She wants what any of us want: creature comforts, food and love. Only now she wants those commodities in vast quantities and she wants `em now! In the morning she cries for breakfast. Post-breakfast she tenaciously cries for a treat. In the afternoon she determinedly cries for another treat just before she begins whining for dinner. Lately we've been letting the dotty diva up on the couch at night. So now, every day, a few minutes earlier than the previous day, she starts crying to get up on the couch. Currently the couch cry begins at about 3 p.m. In recent nights she's added a new wrinkle to her routine. She's started crying whilst on the couch. I think she's setting me up for the next stage: that is, when I start bringing her meals and treats to her on the couch. It's a wonderful life. If you're dotty. And a dog. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com.