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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday April 20, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS 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 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director TERI CASAS Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager Power struggle What started out as a difference of opinion regarding Halton Catholic District School Board policy has quickly escalated to an all-out power struggle among the board's nine school trustees. Last night (Thursday) a special meeting of the school board was to decide whether or not veteran trustees Al Bailey (Burlington) and Alice Anne LeMay (Oakville) should resign their respective positions of chair and vicechair of the board. (They would still sit as voting members of the board.) A motion tabled by first-term Oakville trustee Anthony Danko states: "... the majority of the trustees of the Halton Catholic District School Board no longer believe that the current chair and vice-chair of the board effectively speak on behalf of the majority of trustees ... (they) are hereby respectfully requested to resign their positions ... effective immediately and direct the secretary of the board to call for elections effective immediately." While opposing views are a part of any healthy democracy, it's unusual to see the leader of a group of elected officials asked to step down simply because others don't share his opinion. While Bailey has been excessively tenacious in ensuring that trustees are following board policy, isn't that one of the primary duties of the chair of any board? There's no disputing that Bailey's contention that a recent decision by trustees -- related to a pilot school uniform project -- may have violated the board's own policies and has been unpopular among some fellow trustees -- and most especially Burlington trustee Bob Van de Vrande. However, is that sufficient cause to demand the resignations of the board's chair and vice-chair? We don't think so. Catholic education stakeholders in Halton deserve to know what else has changed in the four months since this newly-elected board returned Bailey to the chair's position for a third consecutive term and chose LeMay to serve as its vice-chair for 2006-07. At press time the outcome of last night's meeting was not known. No matter what happens next, we think these trustees could benefit from a remedial course in conflict resolution. The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Parents upset by Day of Silence at Iroquois Ridge High School Ed. note: The following letter was sent to the principal of Iroquois Ridge High School and a copy was filed with The Oakville Beaver for publication. I am writing this e-mail to you with great concern regarding the Day of Silence on Wednesday in support of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders. It has greatly concerned both my husband and myself after having read the article in the Friday, April 13, Oakville Beaver. Although we realize that this is a public high school where tolerance is an expectation, we feel that it is wrong for any kind of sexual preference to be promoted in this way. Furthermore, the fact that teachers are able to participate is completely inappropriate since the students in those classes will not receive proper or adequate instruction on that day. We feel very disappointed that Iroquois Ridge would choose to be the first high school in Canada to be involved in this kind of promotion. It is not the kind of education that we desire for any one of our children. We fear for the students who choose not to participate that they will be labelled as homophobic or even persecuted by fellow students and teachers for not taking part. On a more personal note, as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is with great heaviness of heart that we look upon this path that Iroquois Ridge is about to journey down. PAMELA AND JIM THEAKER Heartfelt thanks in order On behalf of The Children's Bridge Foundation, I would like to thank the Oakville community, The Oakville Beaver staff and the Because Kids Grow Consignment Sale organizers for the generosity they have shown in the campaign to save the life of 10year-old Vietnamese orphan Son Pham. Our participation in the Because Kids Grow consignment sale raised approximately $1,000 of the estimated $50,000 needed to bring Son Pham to Canada for surgery to remove the life threatening tumor covering most of his mouth and the left side of his face. This brings the total amount raised to over $35,000. The organizers of Because Kids Grow and staff at St. Cuthbert's Anglican Church have received numerous inquiries from Oakville residents about how to make further donations. Your ongoing support is very appreciated and much needed as we continue to fund raise for Son Pham's surgery. Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com See You page 7 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.