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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Saturday, December 26, 2009 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 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 Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West DAVID HARVEY Regional 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 WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Delivering Halton's infrastructure Gary Carr, Halton Region Chair n a recent poll of Halton residents, you told us two of the top priorities facing Halton Region are maintaining current infrastructure (e.g. regional roads and water and waste water facilities) and planning for future infrastructure and growth. Halton Region is growing, as our high quality of life attracts new residents. As well, with the provincial Places to Grow plan, which mandates Halton's population to increase to 780,000 people and 390,000 jobs between 2021-2031, Regional council remains committed to finding sustainable funding solutions that ensure the responsibility for new infrastructure to support this growth does not fall on the shoulders of Halton's existing taxpayers. I am proud to tell you about the ways we are delivering infrastructure. Infrastructure Funding from Federal and Provincial Governments -- On June 22, the federal and provincial governments announced $103 million in funding for the expansion and upgrade of the Skyway Wastewater Treatment Plant in Burlington -- the largest single investment in municipal infrastructure by both levels of government in Halton's 35-year history. This amount is in addition to $44 million from the federal and provincial governments' Infrastructure Stimulus Fund to address Halton's infrastructure needs. Passing of the Financial and Implementation Plan for the 2008/2009 Allocation Program -- On Nov. 18, Halton Regional Council approved the Financial and Implementation Plan for the 2008/2009 Allocation Program, reconfirming council's principle that growth must pay for itself. The plan ensures there is sufficient financing to deliver the necessary infrastructure required to service growth in Halton and that the developers pay for these costs, not taxpayers. I heard from more than 2,000 residents on this important issue and I want to thank them all for their input. Transportation Master Plan - another project related to infrastructure that is set to begin next year is Halton's Transportation Master Plan. The plan is an extremely important document that will outline how the Region's transportation network will incorporate growth to the year 2031. Halton is committed to improving transportation and infrastructure in the Region. The capital budget for transportation will increase to $137 million in 2011, up from $53 million in 2004. These are just some examples of the approach Halton Region is taking to find solutions to the challenge of municipal infrastructure and the costs associated with accommodating growth. If you have any Regional concerns or comments you would like to share, feel free to e-mail me at gary.carr@halton.ca. Gary Carr RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America I THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION MICHAEL IVANIN / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER FOR MIKE: Sandra Fonteno and Greg Post view the newly unveiled memorial plaque for their son Mike `Prime Time' Post at the entrance of Petro Canada Park on Bronte Road. Post was a local boxer and fitness centre owner who passed away a year ago. Local artist Steve Hudak made a plaque featuring a picture of Post in his boxing outfit with the words underneath reading, Friend-Mentor-Warrior. When memory lane leads you back home for the holidays s Bing Crosby crooned in I'll Be Home for Christmas, "Christmas Eve will find me, where the lovelight gleams. I'll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams..." Over the years, there were a few Christmases when my prospects of getting home for the holidays seemed as slim as my prospects of not being murdered by my mother if I actually did not make it home. Not a cold-blooded killer by nature, my mother was a Christmas traditionalist who could not be held accountable for her actions if her offspring did not magically appear for my parents' annual Christmas Eve party. Fail to attend and you were just asking to be tortured with tinsel. One Christmas found me working in a clothing store on our hometown's main street. In those days, that meant working six days a week, 12-hour days, opening the store each morning at nine and being run off your feet until closing. Forget labour laws. Forget breaks. On a good day, you were lucky to steal 10 minutes for coffee. Not to make this a tall tale from the "good old days" ("and kids, after working all day, I had to walk home through snowdrifts, in my bare feet), but after a long December of such a grueling schedule, I was tempted to simply sleep through Christmas. However, A my mother convinced me otherwise, contending that it would be better for me to be at the party, in a coma, than to miss it altogether. Then there was Thunder Bay: my first job in newspapers as a sports reporter with three guys perched above me on the seniority scale. In November, I called home and explained that there was no Andy Juniper way I'd be able to get time off to come home when everyone in my department had me in seniority by about 25 years. And I wasn't exaggerating. One of my editors was Pentti Lund who'd won the NHL's Calder Trophy... in 1949. Well, come December, my bosses gave me an early Christmas present, saying they'd cover for me for a full week so I could return home and see my family. Ever the cool kid, I tried not to weep as I did cartwheels across the newsroom floor. Then there was the year I was working at The Globe & Mail. Alas, I drew the short straw and actually had to work on Christmas Eve (yes, Virginia, there really was a paper on Christmas morning). My string of not missing my parents' party was in jeopardy until a compassionate editor insisted I sneak out of work early. I rolled into my hometown at a few minutes before midnight. It was a bitter cold night, but the party was just warming up. So, each year I made it home for Christmas. Until one Christmas Eve found me at my girlfriend's house, a mere hopskip-and-jump from my parents' place. We dined with her family, then went to depart only to discover that, in the blink of an eye, we'd been socked in. A foot of snow. Roads impassable. Accidents everywhere. I took a deep breath and called home to tell mom that, like Bing, I'd be home for Christmas Eve, but only in my dreams. She took it well. Said she fully understood. Said that no one would be able to attend the party in that wild weather. And then my cousin Jimmy swooshed heroically up their driveway on cross-country skies. And I heard about it every Christmas forevermore. How Jimmy had made it to the party. And how I'd wimped out. Go home, dear readers. And happy holidays. Andy Juniper can be visited at www.strangledeggs.com, contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, or followed at www.twitter.com/thesportjesters.