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A6 - The Oakville'Beaver, Wednesday, April 17, 2002 EDITORIALS M il LETTERS TH EO A K V ILLE B E A V E R 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax; 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 IA N OUVER Publisher N EIL O LIV ER A ssociate Publisher TERI CASAS Office Manager JILL D A V IS Editor in Chief M A R KD ILLS Production Manager K E L L YM O N TA G U E Advertising Director R IZ IE R OV E R T O L L I Photography Director STEV E CRO ZIER Circulation Director R O D JER R ED M anaging Editor THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Metroland P n rtn j. Pubtahng & D strbutng Ltd.. includes A^aa/Picfcenng News AdywUser Ajlsfcn Herald'Couv*. Amur Er*erpnse News. Banle Advance, Bany's Bay This Wtoek. Bolton Enterprise. Brampton Guardian. Burtngton Post. Burtnglon Shopprg News. Oty Parent. CoihnowoodAVasaoa Connection. East York Mrror. Eim A^vxatevCounry Routes. Etobicoke Guardian. Flamborough Post. Gaorgetown Independent/Aden Free Press. HarrWon Heviow. Huroma Busress Timas, Kingston TNs Week. Lindsay The Week. Markham Econcmst & Sun. Mdtonftf'enetangUsNne Mrror. Milton Canaden Champion. Milton Shcppng News. Guide. Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner. Norttxjmceriard News North York Mirror. OaM e Boaver. Oakvtte Shcppmg News. OWUmers Hockey Naws. OrUHa Today CisfiavvaV/hitby/Cfamgfcr Pert Peny TT* W#ek. Owen Sound Trtxne. Palmerston Oosth* PWertxrcugh The W e *. Ptcton Ccurty Guide. Richmond W T h crrM /V a jg fivi Literal. Scartxrough Mnxr. SaoufMteUOndije ftfe u v. Forewr * x r o . Oty & X xk Guardan Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association . V .;> A Canadian Community Newspapers Association YMCA ·^1 · RON fS B M J k tg e M fu n d G Tv*- © & iiki'illr c y tm a rlk 4 5 ^ 1 * * Sutxirtun Newspapers 4L ot America TV AUCTION The O akvfc. Moon and Otssxt R»W 5it$$0CaLENCE R IA L tSTA TI B O A R D | oakvllle galleries | |j |O ^ M e . < * Y^S^ T f^ F r N d ff Thank you for the support On the front page of today's edition you will notice that we chose to blow our own horn; publicly applaud our most recent successes at the Ontario Community Newspapers Asso ciation's awards night held Saturday. Please bear with us as it's not every day that one of our staff is named Photographer of the Year or that our newspaper has once again been named the province's top newspaper. We are proud of these achievements and believe they reflect staff's ongoing commitment to providing readers and clients with the best possible local newspaper. It's also a team effort. From the edi torial department to production to advertising to circulation to adminis tration, we are proud of the people who work hard to produce The Oakville Beaver. And, of course, we are forever grateful to our outstanding carriers. But all of us are very well aware that we wouldn't be where we are today if it were not for the support of our wonderful readers and advertisers. Yes, we know there are some folks who are not always pleased with an editorial position -- and they let us know. However, despite sometimes being on opposite sides of the fence, we have always allowed residents, groups and organizations a chance to express their own opinions. That's what being a newspaper is all about. If we can make you pick up a pen or punch the computer keyboard in reac tion to something printed in The Beaver then we have done our job. Getting residents to talk about issues that are pertinent to Oakville is an integral part of community journal ism. People often ask us where we get our ideas for the stories in the newspa per. While we get them from a lot of sources, our best resource has always been our readers. Whether it's a tip about a neighbour who deserves some praise or a con cern about their community, our read ers have always been our best source of information. Perhaps an article in The Beaver made you laugh or a picture made you cry. Maybe you cut out a coupon or headed to a local business because of a creative advertisement.Whatever your reasons are for reading The Beaver we appreciate it. Thank you for welcoming us into your home. We will never forget who helped us to the No. I position in Ontario. SQ MUCH TV WILL MAKE OUR KIPS DO Y o u T H IN K WATCHING SO WHAT VIOLENT? ft c DOES? $ .N r _ -T H E Y 'R E t o o R f lJ T o ^ f t b - g E T OFF THE COUCH^ & L E T T E R ST OT H EE D IT O R Teen says it's safe to walk the streets late at night In response to the letter about parents keep ing track of their children's whereabouts, I agree to a certain extent of what you wrote. Every teen should have a curfew. What time you set that curfew is up to you the parent. Having a younger sibling, I have seen what my parents go through when she's out o f the house late in the evening and it is a lot of responsibility on the parents' part. On the other hand, I disagree with "our youth don't need to be walking the streets at 1 or 2 a.m., they need to be safely in bed." Well not all us teenagers can take out daddy's Mercedes to go to our friend's house. Turning 17 in a few weeks, I've become very independent on finding my own ways to get to places I want to go. With or without my parents help. I know a lot o f parents won't pick up their kids past 12. Does that stop me from going out? Not in the least. I've walked many times to and from my house late at night and never have I once encountered a problem with other teens. Living in Glen Abbey I can say that I feel fairly safe and that I can, without fear of being beaten up just by some guy who wants to look tough in front of his friends, walk any where I need to. Another thing that prompted me to respond to your letter was the last sentence. "Kids need parents who care enough to be nosy, they have enough friends." I think you got half of the sentence correct. Yes, kids do need parents who care about them. The other half disturbs me greatly. There is nothing worse than nosy parents to a teenager. Whether it's going through your room when you're not around, listening in on the phone, or going through your stuff, it is a com plete violation of our space and privacy and shouldn't happen. How would you feel if you found your kids snooping in on your conversations, looking in your purse/wallet and rummaging through your stuff? You'd probably ground them. If you just ask nicely where they're going and what time they think they'll be back, then there shouldn't be a problem. It's a little thing called trust, and if you have any in your children then you shouldn't have to sit up all night panicking. As for those teens who get attacked for no reason other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time, it's got to stop. Unless you are with a group of friends and you see another group of teens approaching, just cross the street. All it takes is one hot shot to make things turn ugly in a hurry. There's no point in pro voking an attack. And, yes, it is a sad world when you have to cross the street out o f fear for being attacked. So next time your son or daughter lets you know they're going out, try to be reasonable. It seems that a lot of parents today forget they were once a teenager as well. V. JEPPESEN W om en d e s e rv e re s p e c t ,0MB hearing costs should be kept in perspective In recent weeks the O akville B eaver has devoted much ink pertaining to the cost of an OMB hearing. In your article "R esidents w ant O M B fu n d ing talks in the o p e n " (April 12, 2002), you state that a full blown OMB hearing could cost $2-4 million dollars. However, I have objectively reviewed this information and seriously question this figure, especially when Toronto only spent $800,000 on the lengthy OMB hearing on the Oak Ridges Moraine. Therefore, I feel it is important to remind ratepayers that Oakville:s financial bill, in a similar hearing, could be significantly lower since much of the same scientific evidence could be used. Therefore, at this important time, your impartial and objective journalism is neces sary and o f utmost importance for our com munity, for it is essential to put the cost of an OMB hearing in perspective to other actual costs. For example, the cost of the addition to the Town Hall has been at least $14 million. The cost to fix the planning error that caused the M unn's Creek flood was over $3 million. According to the region report CS-30-01, the cost of growth to taxpayers over the next 15 years will likely be equivalent to a 50% tax increase on each and every taxpayer's bill. And most interesting o f all, according to a report from the region MO-02-22 by tKe Halton Medical Health Officer, Dr. Nosal, the total economic cost of air pollution in Halton for the year 2000 "was estimated at $290 mil lion, including $ 18 million to the health care system". It is unfortunate that the article (April 12, 2002) failed to mention this report and specif ically the dollar costs of unhealthy and filthy air that our children and elderly are subjected to breathe each day. However, I did attended the town hearings regarding the OPA 198 each and every night, and many times during these public meetings it was mentioned the Town of Oakville would be at the OMB regardless of how council voted, and we had to accept this fact. Therefore, it is beneficial to all concerned if we seize the opportunity for change, as it is important to fully understand the true costs regarding our future if we develop north of Dundas; for we will have been presented with a choice to continue to further destroy our air, water and natural environment, or the choice to raise the bar and become the inspiration for others to seriously endeavor to implement a better way. So, in truth, an OMB hearing pales in com parison our current situation of the continual eco-mismanagement. The situation facing us all brings to mind the old adage that my Scottish grandmother would use, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". CAROLINE DAVINA BEST Call me crazy but I believe a woman should be able to walk down the street without being harassed, that includes being yelled at, whistled at or catcalled. Recently I was out for a walk, enjoying the beautiful spring weather, when a silver Honda Civic slowed down and stopped beside me. I thought nothing o f it until four teenaged boys, obviously bored and craving attention, opened the car doors and started yelling and whistling at me - "hey baby, looking good." This infuriated me. I just have one question for the guys out there - Why on G od's green earth do you feel the need to express yourself in such a manner? To scream, whistle and howl like dogs. Do you find this funny? Is it entertaining? Do you think we like it? If you want to ogle women and treat them like pieces of meat, go to a strip joint - those women deserve respect, too, but at least they get paid for it. I, along with many other women, do not find being yelled at flattering or funny, in fact 1 consider it disgusting and insulting. If I wanted to hear obscenities being yelled, I would go to a Blue Jays game. Why do you do it anyway? All you get out of it is a nasty glare, perhaps a rude hand gesture and one more woman who has lost her faith in the opposite sex. A few words of advice - 1 don't care how nice your car is, or how much money you have, if you want my attention try something different - like saying "hello" maybe. To the boys in the silver Honda Civic. Next time you feel the need to yell and scream at a woman and make complete fools of yourselves, don't. Just drive right by. You probably don't have a chance with her in the first place and you def initely won't have a chance after. Now I understand that not all males are like this. Some actually treat women right - and I thank you for that. There are guys who will actually come up to a woman and talk to her, maybe get to know her. I know they're out there somewhere-1 just wish it w asn't so hard to find one. SARAT Your Opinion Counts The O akville B eaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and gram mar. In order to be published, letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, O akville Beaver, 467 Speers Road, Oakville, O n., L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@ oakvilIebeaver.com . The B eaver reserves the right to refuse to publish any let ter. OMB costs must be made public Having attended last week's budget breakfast and the ensuing 2002 Budget Committee meetings, we are dis tressed by the lack o f hard information regarding the costs of the Town's upcoming Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) defence regarding the lands north of Dundas Street and their impact on Oakville taxpayers and stakeholders. Equally distressing was the budget committee's deci sion to discuss the financial options of what could be a pro longed and costly defence in-camera. In a year when tax payers are already facing a 9.2 per cent municipal tax increase, can we afford not to know the full financial impli cations of our Town's commitments? For a transparent and inclusive process such as that which fostered OPA 198 to conclude with taxpayers being kept in the dark about the costs of defending the Town's position (once it is deter mined) at the OMB is both disappointing and contradicto ry. Without any explanation of the strategies that might be employed to finance these extraordinary costs and the dura tion of their impact, the Town is asking taxpayers to take a leap o f faith. This is tantamount to signing a blank cheque. We, the members of RAND, continue to support the passage of OPA 198 as the solution to controlled growth in North Oakville while protecting the Town's natural her itage. We believe that it represents the most fiscally respon sible position to Oakville taxpayers and the most defensi ble position before the OMB. It is also the most economi cal option before us. If Oakville has the means to finance complex and expensive litigation, wouldn't the purchase of woodlots be a better use for these funds ? R.A.N.D. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Pud By STEVE NEASE °K A Y . WHICH O N ES THE W 4S H E R ?^£