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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday December 6, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 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 NEIL OLIVER Publisher DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager Metroland Media Group 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 MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver is a division of A solution for all of our children Kevin Flynn, Oakville MPP s parents, we want to do all that we can to ensure that our children receive the best possible education. Our educaKevin Flynn tion system in Ontario is world-class; test scores and graduation rates are up and class sizes are down. The recent, yet long overdue, pupil accommodation review process for Ward 3 in southeast Oakville (PARC 14) has been a lengthy and emotional process and has resulted in the division of neighbourhoods. However the Halton District School Board (HDSB) should be congratulated for addressing such an important issue. With my full support, David Cooke an independent facilitator was appointed by the Ministry of Education to undertake an administrative review of southeast Oakville after receiving a petition from the community. Mr. Cooke visited with each of the schools subject to the review and met with members of the PARC, school staff, school board and others who participated in the process. Yesterday, Mr. Cooke released his report to the Minister of Education, to determine if the HDSB followed its board-approved pupil accommodation review process in conducting the accommodation review. Mr. Cooke concluded the HDSB, despite its best intentions, was unsuccessful in adhering to its board-approved pupil accommodation review process in conducting the accommodation review. The lack of an alternative accommodation plan from the board went against board policy and resulted in a PARC that proceeded without constructive direction. Mr. Cooke observes Clearview students need accommodation in their own community and any proposed plan should result in as few students being bussed as possible. The full report can be viewed at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/nr/08.12/nr1205.htmlwww.addlink.com. Decisions regarding the closure of schools are some of the most difficult decisions faced by school boards and their communities. Going into this process the community understood the status quo was not working and that changes, including school closures, would have to take place. I commend the HDSB, trustees, PARC and people involved that have participated throughout this process. I believe working together with Mr. Cooke's report that a solution that meets the needs of all students can be achieved. This process has been a new and challenging one but most significantly it has allowed full participation by the community. New provincial legislation introduced by the McGuinty Government allowed this review of the HDSB process to take place. In the past under previous governments, we saw schools closing in our communities with little or no consultation to those affected. I am confident the board can use the report as a vehicle to achieve a solution. It is my hope the board revisits the recommendations and advice given to them by the participants and Mr. Cooke's report and come up with an alternative solution for the betterment of the whole community. I don't think anyone wants to see us start the process from the beginning again. As clearly stated by Mr. Cooke, I would also like to encourage the board, the petitioners and the Clearview community to step back and consider what can be done to lead to a consensus for both Clearview and southeast Oakville. This consensus must put the interest of our students first. An alternative to the current conflict and division that currently exists in our community is in the best interests of our students. This has been an emotional and lengthy process and I expect all involved would like to see a timely resolution that meets the needs of our children. This is a great chance for our communities to unite. IAN OLIVER President Media Group Ltd. 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It occurred to me the other day -- as I spent 10 minutes of my life reading an article on why it's so difficult to distinguish between male and female polar bears -- that I might have crossed the line, I might be one of the zillions of lost cyber souls who has gone from Internet-interested to Internet-addicted. It's a fine line, you know. One day you consider yourself to be a casual surfer who enjoys a random perusal of, say, a sports website, an entertainment portal, a few news sites, and a rousing boo at www.strangledeggs.com, the next day you're wholly obsessed and in need of a fix: the first thing you do in the morning is web-surf, the last thing you do at night is go for a Google, and at assorted moments in between you find yourself on sites reading about things that you -- in moments of honest reflection -- really don't care about. I mean, the gender of polar bears? So, you may well wonder, is there anything inherently harmful with Internet addiction? Yes, everything. For starters, like any addiction, it eats at your soul and gnaws at your time. In the blink of a bleary eye, five minutes online becomes five hours. Which, of course, causes gobs of guilt because you've got a to-do list of infinite items and you're frittering away valuable time on reptilesrevealed.com. Initially you may rationalize that you're not wasting time. You're educating yourAndy Juniper self, becoming a Renaissance man. But then, as your searches become more arcane and more inane, you (hopefully) realize you are merely building in your already overburdened brain an encyclopedic tower of, well, useless information. You are not becoming a Renaissance man so much as a Ridiculous man. You are unwittingly turning into a real-life Cliff Clavin. Clavin, for the uninitiated, was the know-it-all goofball on the late-great sitcom Cheers who was forever offering up odd and unsolicited information (oftentimes misinformation) that he typically prefaced with the phrase, "It's a little known fact." For instance: "It's a little known fact that the tan became popular in The Bronze Age." Like any compulsion, Internet addiction offers up warning signs that most people conveniently choose to ignore, such as loss of control and an inability to log out, and feelings of depression and anxiety when you do log out, or when the Internet is unavailable (yikes!). Personally, my red flag was my perusal of the polar bear story, at the end of which I said to myself, `Well, there's 10 minutes of my life I'll never get back.' Seriously, when I'm on my deathbed, begging for time to spend with loved ones, I'll probably hit myself over the head with my laptop in memory of how I wasted those 10 minutes. Now, I'm sure you're wondering if Internet-addiction is even a real, recognized affliction? I can't say for sure, but I imagine half the people reading this will spend the next 24 hours looking it up. -- Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com.