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A 6 - The Oakville Beaver, W e d n e sd a y, F e b ru a ry 6, 2002 EDITORIALS MID LETTERS the UAktiiM l i m n O T- 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 IAN OLIVER Publisher NEIL OLIVER A WK'iate Publisher TERI CASAS Office Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief MARK DILLS Prtxhiction Manager KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLU Photography Director STEVE CROZIER Circulation Director ROD JERRED Managing Editor M a m w K lP ra ttn a .P u b fc h n gI D ertiA n gH rl rauda b is jm Barm K Xrxx Bjrryi ft* ttw A d i* rte»A fe to n* w aM 'j.ut!* A rtu B a to n Irm pm .& trx * x >G unkm Ekrrgtr P as. 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S to u fM k v lM v K ta «T flh u n o , T a e y w y b u n o .0 « V o ltto kG u m fc in THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association / T T \ r A Canadian Community Newspapers Association /S p " ' fB i Y M C A : owmui -T O W fe L ^ CC CO »M h ^ P A GON`T n V ^ /r ag c M ijiirt/im d1 S llZ tS SU Jh&BeMFutKJ C fa /M fitu / | o akvllle g a lle rie s | SK Suburban Newspapers of America '- o r r t F - n AUCTI0H I M r IW it 1 J^thav yhzurd (9wo*tih Q © uBs J|| R u ^ T m ? 0U D POfiBuS^SSKCQlENCf Check your calendar Do you know which day is your garbage day? How about your blue box? Unless you've been away from Halton for a number o f weeks, or haven't opened your local newspaper recenUy, it has been hard to avoid hearing or reading about changes coming to the region's garbage and blue box collection system. The changes officially take effect this week and. now that they're final ly here, you may want to familiarize yourself with the dates that will mat ter to your home. After all. there's nothing more frustrating than taking your garbage to the curb, only to learn you have to haul it back until next week, because you missed the truck. Collection was taking place on each o f the five days of the week in different locations throughout Oakville. Our new streamlined col lection days are Tuesday and Friday. Blue box material is collected every other week on the same day as your garbage. "Once we get through the first couple o f weeks, w e're sure that everyone will become comfortable with the routine," said Rob Rivers. H alton's D irector of W aste Management. "T h e collection fre quency is staying the same -- regular waste once a week; blue box materi al once every other week -- it is only the day that is changing." Getting your garbage or blue box to the curb in a timely fashion is also im portant to ensuring waste gets picked up under the new system. All materials should be to the roadside no later than 7 a.m. on your scheduled collection day. If you don't already know which zone you live in, you can view maps and a calendar by clicking on the garbage truck icon on the region's Web site www.region.halton.on. ca. The region also offers a home ver sion o f its 2002 Halton Waste Management Calendar which con tains more detailed information about Oakville's collection. Unless you find the idea o f rotting garbage piling up on your property appealing, this is infor mation no resident should be without. W iM / LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be typed, signed and include the writer's address and phone number. Send to: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, THE OAKVILLE BEAVER 467 SPEERS RD., OAKVILLE, ONT. L6K 3S4 01 OPA 198 report ignores work of parks advisory committee The following letter, addressed to Lynne Gough. Director o f Long Range Planning fo r the Town o f Oakville, was submitted to the O ahille Beaver Monday fo r publication. I was disappointed to see that the submis sion o f the Parks, Culture & Recreation Advisory Committee (PCRAC) concerning OPA 198 (Development o f the lands north of Dundas) was not properly attributed in the Issues Report summarizing the public hearings into this matter. Our comments were attributed to Francoise Morissette and myself, who pre sented for the committee. Nowhere is the com mittee mentioned. Besides being something o f an insult to the committee, which devoted several meetings to the matter, it fails to give the proper weight to our concerns. The PCRAC is a duly constitut ed committee appointed by Town Council to review everything from department operations to the capital budget. Our prime concern - the need for sufficient property to provide for the recreational needs o f a growing town - fits right in our mandate. The late Bob Perkins, our former director, raised this concern informally, but regularly, in committee meetings since at least 1997, when I joined the committee. Indeed, I believe he raised the issue at the Open Space Task Force. In fact, it was the perceived failure o f that task force to deal with this concern that caused our committee to enter the discourse over the future use of Oakville's remaining agricultural lands. However this matter ends up. let it not be said that our committee failed to act. 1 was further concerned to see that another o f our main recom m endations - that an Environmental Strategic Plan be imbedded in the Official Plan by specifically requiring its completion before secondary planning - was nowhere mentioned. We felt this was critical both for North of Hwy. 5 and for the rest of the town. We share the same creek system and the same air shed. As a society, we have learned that when we develop new areas the law of unintended con sequences often results in damage to the envi ronment. I am happy to see that the Issues Report contains many recommendations supporting environmental planning. But our point - so far lost - is that it is a crucial component of the development process and should precede sec ondary planning. We also made explicit recommendations concerning conclusions that we expected would flow from a properly executed environ mental planning process, such as, the need to preserve existing trees and plant new ones, the need to secure a natural heritage system, and the need to set aside more publicly-accessible green space than originally provided. If you can't accept recommendations from a standing advisory committee then what hope is there that you will listen to an ad hoc com mittee like the Stakeholders Advisory Committee? It would be nice to see a more active buy-in to the Town's mission and values statements on inclusive decision-making. W ENDY B U R TO N . C HAIR TOW N OF O A K V IL LE ' S PAR KS, CULTURE & RECREATION AD VIS O R Y C O M M ITTE E Ford worker wants to know what government has done to protect jobs in Oakville The following letter, addressed to Oakville MP Bonnie Brown, was submitted to the Oakville Beaver Monday fo r publication. The letter, however, was written prior to F o n l' s announcement that it plans to close the Oakville truck plant. I write this letter to you today, not just as one o f your constituents but as an employee with the Ford Motor Company. It wasn't that long ago that the Ford Motor Company was flourishing and making profits due to the hard efforts of the people of Oakville. About seven years ago. the federal and provincial gov ernments gave the Ford Motor Company a substantial amount of money -- I believe it was in the area of millions o f dollars combined. This taxpayer money was given to Ford as a long-term investment that would keep the work force in Oakville and help the economy. Throughout the last few months, all we hear through the news media is that there is a potential for closure of the Oakville Truck Plant (OTP). Over the last two years. Ford has implemented a pro gram called the Ford Production System (FPS). This is a lean manufacturing system set up throughout the Ford chain. The FPS audits were done and OTP scored the high est score in North America. We, in Oakville, produce a No. I quality vehicle that feeds the whole North American mar ket. We are the sole producers of the SVT F150 Lightning and the Harley Davidson F I50. These two models alone are in so much demand that they sell out every year, reaping high profits for Ford. We, in Canada, have a low dollar value that makes sense for American companies to invest in Canada. Yet. we still see jobs slip away from our grasp. Just wilhin the last year alone, in the automotive sector, we have seen the loss of a shift in the chain at Chrysler Bramalea. We have seen an announcement of the closure of the St. Therese GM plant in Quebec. And now, by the media's indication, we are about to hear Ford will be shut ting down the operations of the OTP. 1 am sure I don't need to tell you about the ripple effect that this would cause our local economy -- from employ ees to suppliers who lose contracts. What I would like to know is. does the Canadian gov ernment hold any dialogue with these companies in which they invest taxpayer money? And what talks, if any. have gone on to protect our jobs in Oakville? Seeing that we are at risk of losing hundreds of good taxpaying jobs, and creating an economic ripple effect in the economy. I ask that you take immediate action and inform me and my local union CAW Local 707 (475 North Service. R d .) of any resolve or meetings that have occurred between our government and the Ford Motor Company. Further to this, I would only be too glad to meet with you on this issue. t Please reply to this letter. PAUL TAGGART Residents upset by inclusion of Burnhamthorpe Bridge in OPA 198 The Town's Official Plan Amendment (OPA 198) presented to council in June 2001 stated that the need for a Burnhamthorpe Bridge crossing Sixteen Mile Creek would be studied in the future. The residents did not like it. They clearly voiced their opinion during the many council meetings that they wanted the road system north of Dundas designed in such a way that there would be no need to have another bridge, costing maybe up to $40 mil lion (which will buy a lot of woodlands), across one of the most pristine natural areas still exist ing in this Town. Town staff convinced council more input was needed. So a special round-table session was held in December to deal with the Burnhamthorpe Road issues. Many people showed up and again there was overwhelming agreement on the issue: No bridge! Even the developers seem to agree this time. Guess what? No changes were made in the revised OPA presented to council on Jan 28. It still states that the need for the bridge will be studied in the future. When questioned why the text was not changed to reflect the input from the residents, one of the responses from staff was that it might be needed some time in the future to accommo date people from Burlington and other outlying areas. Well too bad for them. If they want to drive through our town they will have to abide by our rules. Who is running this town anyway? We said: "No bridge". H A N K RODENBURG Fire victims grateful for community support Recently, my family and I survived a fire which swept through our home while we were sleeping. The mere thought of the potential loss of your precious children can be a devastation in one's life, but also a blessed miracle, as we soon realized. We were truly fortunate that night and were given a precious gift -- the gift o f life. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the many strangers, friends, neigh bours. the amazing firefighters and our won derful family, who have touched our lives with their outpouring of love, comfort and unending generosity. My extended family at the Oakville hospi tal and the Oakville Health Centre have been a constant source o f compassion, love and support. You have all given us the strength to move forward each day -- this would not be possi ble without each of you. Mere words are so inadequate to express our deepest and profound gratitude. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. JU LIE , JO D I, A S H LY N , D A N IE L A N D PAU L DAW SON Pud WHOA? Lo o k Ho W ^ SCHOOLS GONNA MUCH IT SNOWED I 66 CANCELLED L A & T NIGHT// FbR s u r e / By STEVE NEASE ANYWAY, rris A RD. DAY, REM EM BER? THERES N OS C H O O L D O ES THIS M EA N THEyOWEUSA SNOW PAY?/ Em ergency workers deserve thanks I would like to commend the Oakville Fire Dept, cap tain and crew who responded to a noxious fume call in am industrial unit on Wyecroft Rd.. Tues. Jan. 15. Your professionalism and courtesy were outstanding. Also, while treatment by the ambulance team turned' out to be unnecessary due to my resumption of normal breathing, your presence was most reassuring. Thank you to all involved. JUD I W AND ERS A N D CO-W ORKERS