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A6 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday, July 30, 2003 EDITORIALS MD LETTERS THE (H kU lM m n 467 Speers R d,, Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (9 0 5 ) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified A dvertising: 845-3824, e x t 2 24 C irculation: 845-9742 IAN OLIVER Publisher NEIL OLIVER Associate Publisher TERI CASAS Office Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief MARK DILLS Production Manager KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLU Photography Director STEVE CROZIER Circulation Director ROD JERRED Managing Editor THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: w Mun>»«Mn>.wuii<n>Oui>.Mv u n n m > am AM n. bki) a» n» M. Boftcri Enttrpnoe. Brampton Guordon Burlington Port. Burtngeon Shopping News. C»y Pirwit. CattngwxxVWaupi Conrwctna E M Wnor. £fln AtNoctfo/Country Routs*. Etotoccto Guardian, Ftamtxxougfi Pmt. Georg*town m Pivw j. P K M irg I o a u a g i n . i t u > M «on Canadian Oiampion. MBcn Sfucprg N m Mtuizuuga Busman nmw. MfcesMuga Ham. Nnpona* Guttt. N*w<mortun/A*jrora Enj-Banrw, Ncfltan*M<iand News. N ot) to k Mrmr. Oukvtto Beaver Otf CnftavwNVrnrv oumgeon Port Pwry Thn V*m. Ovwn Sound tfOtfw. Prtmnnflcn Cbwver. Pn>tort>orou<*i T l* Wor*>. Plcton County Quid* ftctmond MVThomNliVaughan Ubarnl. Scaftorougft M ror. StouftvMMWDittOi M x i*. Fcrww >tx*ig. Qry c* Guantai M ap m fcn M d o nF rwP ro * .H n m a to nnm w ,H u rc n ta BuSnsa TVtkio. Krgaon Thn W MK LM H V Wucfc. MvWwnEoonomM&Sun. WdbndVanc<ai>guarww Mirror, Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association /^ . ^ A A Canadian Community Newspapers Association ' H alto n H ealthcare SK Suburban Newspaper* of America 4trrCf> TV AUCTION Just what the doctor ordered T oday's R olling Stones and friends rock and roll showcase at Downsview Park could prove to be the turning point for the postSARS econom ic fallout in Toronto. With an estim ated 40,000 U.S. tourists anticipated to be among today's 400,000 plus crowd there should be an infusion - albeit short-term - o f much needed dol lars to the hospitality industry. More importantly, the marathon concert sends a positive m arket ing message to the rest o f the w orld about Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (including Halton) being open to business, recreation and tourism. No doubt the star-studded con cert lineup should help replace spring's SARS fears with images of a world-class city putting on an event o f a world-class calibre. And when people from other parts o f the world see media cov erage o f such famous faces as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, members o f AC/DC and hom e grown Canadian talent like Rush and the Guess Who, it should begin to sink in that Toronto is a safe and exciting place to visit. In addition to the entertainers involved, event organizers should be applauded for working tireless ly to make this show happen. Despite early concerns about dealing with such a huge crowd at the conclusion o f the concert, organizers, sponsors and Toronto's public transit system have pulled together a plan that should see concertgoers have a great time and get home safely. It's a real shame so many fearmongers were so quick to suggest the concert would be a logistical nightmare and not much fun for those who planned to attend. Such naysayers have nothing to offer Toronto's econom ic recov ery and would better serve the com munity by simply remaining silent. Thankfully there appear to be enough leaders and people with genuine vision to more than ade quately mount a cam paign to revi talize Toronto's battered image. M ick and the boys had it right all along. You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you ju st might find, you get what you need. The Ford plant in O akville needs greater innovation in order to secure future jobs for Halton residents. Just as Henry Ford revolutionized industry with the assembly line, today's Ford should revolutionize the industry with alterna tive fuel vehicles. Investment in restructuring must be carefully evaluated. Consider that fuel prices will continue to rise as our nearly 20 year dwindling oil supply runs out. The SUV will become an expensive fad. The alternative fuel vehicles will become a preferred mode of transporta tion. While many o f the major car com pa nies have already designed and built LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dogs should be leashed Forward needed to save Ford jobs Stoplights not wanted when out for a walk in neighbourhood hydrogen cars, it is time for Ontario to feed the Global market. Evidence is clear by recognizing that countries have already affirmed their commitment to completely transform into a hydrogen based infrastructure (i.e. Iceland). The hydrogen infrastructure is obtain able. This is easily complimented by the knowledge that there are already cars that use both gasoline and hydrogen. Time to invest. Time to profit. Time to secure jobs while saving the economy and the environment. Look forward to your future, MATT SMITH, PRESIDENT, HALTON GREEN PARTY i n in tiii: Road closure is poor planning Residents o f the Town o f Oakville waited 20 years to have the bridge built across Rebecca Street to connect with New Street in Burlington and ease traffic jam s on Lakeshore Road. Less than a year after the bridge final ly opened, the road was closed again last fall for repairs. It remained closed for three months causing, long traffic backups. This week it is again closed, under repair, and cars are forced to detour around through the new subdivision on Great Lakes Road. Lakeshore Road cannot accommodate the volume during rush hour and traffic is horrendous. This seems to be very poor planning on the part o f the town. Surely when a new road is planned sewers and subdivisions should be fac tored into the initial building. DIANE McENTEE I am writing thus the day after 1watched the Town Council of Oakville make a decision on something that an over whelming amount of residents are opposed to. It concerns the installation of light at the interaction of Sixth Line and McCraney Street At present there Is a four way stop. My home Is situated right on the comer of this inter section and I am absolutely stunned at the decision to go ahead with this project when a petition was put forth with close to 200 names opposing this and two households that would like to see lights there. I have very strong beliefs that traffic signals will actually increase accidents at this location .,. there are many young adults that find it necessary to use Sixth Line a racing circuit and in considering this I honestly think it will become a game to see who can make it through the light as it turns red. I wonder if I will be able to make a left turn out of my driveway, so that I may use Sixth Line to take my little one to daycare? I wonder how my neighbour behind me, who lives on Sixth Line will ever get out of her driveway at all? I wonder how the foundation erf my home will stand up to the overly loud music that I will have to listen to while care wait for the light to turn green instead of jut a few seconds at a stop sign? I fear for the safety of the neighbourhood children when someone races the light at amber. I wonder do the residents of this relatively quiet neigh bourhood really have a say in anything? Jut wondering if other feel the same. TRACY GRANT Thanks for making garden tour a success The Oakville Horticultural Society can look back on another very successful garden tour and would like to thank the community of Oakville for their generous support. A lot o f credit must be given to the garden owners, who graciously opened their gardens to the public and made this tour possible. We would also like to acknowledge The Kensington for the hospitality they extended to all our guests. The following ticket outlets deserve a big thank you for their efforts: Bookers. Upper Oakville Card Shop, Cudm ore's Garden Centre. An English Garden Flower Shoppe and the Bulow Garden Centres. The Oakville Beaver did a wonderful job promoting our garden tour, which is greatly appreciated. The funds raised through this event will support programs of the Oakville Horticultural Society as well as the following community projects: Public Planting, the Town Greenhouse, the W hite Oaks School Horticultural Program, a Horticultural Student Bursary, Ian Anderson House, the Ontario Master Gardeners and the Junior Program. RENATE RODENBURG Pud Ul.UoN, WE'RE By STEVE NEASE I have been living in Glen Abbey for the past nine years and throughout my stay I have never seen the increasing number of dog problems in our area then I have this year. I currently own a 20-month-old Rottweiler who my fam ily and I have trained and socialized from eight weeks. Even though he is one o f the largest dogs in the neighbour hood because of his training and socialization he is very well behaved and enjoys playing with other dogs at any size. Once someone has met him their whole perspective on the "Rottweiler breed" changes and people begin to realize it really is the "owner" who raises the dog improperly to become a "bad dog." My family and I walk the neighbourhood twice daily. My dog is always leashed and generally never leaves our side while we are walking. When someone approaches with a another dog on a leash we make our dog sit and remain in a "down" position so that the other dog and owner may pass. The other dog may sniff and greet our dog but he remains in the down position. They continue to walk and we contin ue on our way as well. This sounds like a good situation, right? I think so. Unless the other dog is unfriendly and not on a leash. Even unfriendly and on a leash can be a problem. In the last month we have had four different breeds of small to medium dogs attempt to attack our dog while we are walking, a number o f them not on leashes. The situation is that we have our dog in the "down" posi tion and these dogs come charging in snarling and snapping, trying to bite our dog in the neck or hind quarters. We immediately tell the owner of the dog to get their dog away from our dog while our dog sits there looking up at us with this confused look on his face and unsure of what to do. He is never confrontational. We then tell the owner they should have their dog on a leash which we find they are generally carrying on their per son and then we proceed to explain to them that it wouldn't be their dog who would be forced to be put down it would be ours if he decided to fight back. It's very upsetting, we have done everything in our power to raise a great dog and now we have to deal with all these other people's dogs in our neighbourhood. Are the leash laws strict enough? Until someone actual ly gets fined, I don't think so. Are there other issues that need to be addressed? Most definitely. Will the day come when I can walk my dog down the street w ithout another dog trying to hurt him? Unfortunately no, because there are so many owners out there that think they are raising their dogs the right way. But are they? JAMES E. HARWOOD HOME/ We welcome your letters The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published, letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Road, Oakville, On., L6K 3S4. or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish any letter. The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario P ie s Council The council is looted at 80 Could SL, Suite 206, Toronto. OnL. MSB 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 te n . togeth er with a reasonable atow nce for signature, o il 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 adwrtoements or decline