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OAKVILLE BEAVER · Wednesday, March 4, 2009 6 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: NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of Media Group Ltd. 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 MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager Try a little honey next time If Ward 3 parents upset over the prospect of their children's schools closing want to win public school trustees over to their side of the argument, they might want to reconsider their approach. Last week's information meeting outlining the board's community consultation process was marred by interruptions and jeers directed at Halton District School Board Education Director Wayne Joudrie. We understand that school accommodation issues are highly emotional and stressful, causing tempers to flare even with the calmest of parents. After all, next to health, there is probably no other issue more near and dear to a parent's heart than the education of their child. At present, the majority of the parents in Ward 3 would appear not to like any of the current options being proposed by the school board. They would like to see more schools remain open, even if the school populations are less than the 450-student population the public school board believes works best. We're not here to debate which side is right and which side is wrong. However, we don't feel it serves any purpose to attempt to shoot the messenger as some parents seemed inclined at last week's meeting with Joudrie. His request for parents to hold their comments during his presentation were ignored, Finally, after a 45-minute speech and 45-minute question-and-answer period, Joudrie called it quits saying he was tired. We have to wonder whether this would have happened if the atmosphere had been less hostile towards him. Perhaps, he felt there was nothing to be gained by continuing longer. Also in attendance at the meeting were five school trustees who will, ultimately, decide on the fate of the southeast Oakville schools. We suspect they may not have been impressed by the meeting either. In the future, the parents might remember the old saying: "You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar." Parents would be better off trying to convince school officials by virtue of the strength of their arguments rather than the loudness of their voices. 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 Embrace wildlife Re: Coyotes adapting to urban landscape, Oakville Beaver, Feb. 27. It is remarkable to me that someone who has bought a home which has great expanses of green space, natural forests and beautiful panoramic views, is upset that there could be wildlife in the area. I thought this is why we pay extra money for these properties. I would much rather share my space with the original inhabitants (wildlife) than home upon home of humans. If I didn't want wildlife I would have moved to a more densely populated neighbourhood. Why do people move here if it does not suit their needs? I, too, live in this same neighbourhood and embrace the coyotes howling and prowling. It doesn't get much better than this. WENDY FAIRFIELD Fund transit not parking spaces Re: Big Bucks promised for GO Transit relief, Oakville Beaver, Feb. 20 After all the publicity in the last few years on climate change, global warming, control of carbon emissions and the like, I was completely dumfounded at reading about the latest government initiative -- they want to spend $30 million to build a parking lot for 1,000 more cars at Oakville GO. Doesn't anyone get it yet? That will put 1,000 more cars on Oakville roads every day during rush hours. This is emphatically not an investment in "transit infrastructure that creates jobs and will get more people on public transit" as the proponents claim. More than 13,000 commuters pass through the Oakville GO Station each day. With increased parking, how many of them will stop taking the bus and drive to Oakville Station instead? I expect the new parking lot to be quickly filled to capacity, and accomplish nothing for commuters, but increase congestion on the roads. Facilitating the movement of people around town cleanly and inexpensively is important to both the environment and the economy and, no doubt, must have a high priority. Instead of a parking lot, for $30 million you could put 15 new hybrid buses on the roads, run them for the next eight years, and carry thousands of commuters from every corner of Oakville, far more than any parking lot could ever service. The prospect of actually taking a bus to the station has apparently never occurred to Oakville MP Terrence Young writing in the Oakville Beaver on Feb. 21. He recalls "trying to find a parking space, having to give up and head onto the QEW to Toronto." His concern seems only to see the government spend $30,000 per parking spot, to provide free parking for the convenience of a few more people like him. I am simply astonished at the head-in-thesand actions of a government, which proposes such an ill-conceived project in this day and age. NEAL REID This week's poll This week's question is: Should action be taken to protect residents from coyotes in urban areas? · Yes · No To vote, visit oakvillebeaver.com Last week's poll: Do you agree with the new green legislation that requires home sellers to get an energy audit for $300 before selling their home? · Yes 11.86% · No 88.14% Total votes: 59 votes 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 416-3401981. 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.