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A6 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday, May 22, 2002 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 337-5610 Circulation: 845-9742 EDITO RIALS MD LETTERS T H EO A K V IL L EB E A M IAN OLIVER Publisher NEIL OLIVER Associate Publisher TERI CASAS Office Manager KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising Director STEVE CROZIER Circulation Director JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief MARK DILLS Production Manager ROD JERRED RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Managing Editor Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickertng News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier. Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance. Barry's Bay This Week, Bolton Enterprise, Brampton Guardian. Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Post. 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BeJt Fund it) c C> m ta ti b o ard SK Suburban Newspapers of America Oakville o/fw artk F Q ftE fU S IN E S S ^R C E lLE N C E fitu / \ oakville galleries | Driving should be a privilege The Ontario Provincial Police's annual Victoria Day crackdown on bad and aggressive drivers resulted in more than 2,000 charges being laid during the four-day blitz. Among the charges laid were hun dreds for speeding, numerous seat-belt infractions, a few hundred drivers ticketed for pulling unsafe trailers and a handful of drivers stopped for Liquor Licence Act violations. While officers laid a variety of charges, a wide assortment of excuses for speeding were also given. One chap, doing 220 km-h-- more than double the posted highway limit -- said he was "late for an appoint ment." Another driver, who just recently received his licence, admitted he was a bit on the sleepy side and was simply speeding -- at a rate of 185 km-h -- in an effort to get home before he dozed off. Driving at these excessive rates of speed is inexcusable and should be accompanied with heavy fines and lengthy licence suspensions -- much stiffer penalties than are currently on the books. W hile the overall number of charges laid indicates there are far too many poor drivers on Ontario high ways, individual cases confirm there are some drivers who have no busi ness being on the road at all and that perhaps it's time our lawmakers look at ways of getting these people off the road -- permanently. Case in point: A 20-year-old man with seven convictions on file already (remember he's only 20 so he's only been driving for three years) was stopped while weaving in and out of traffic at the rate of 190 km-h. To date, he has had two accidents and had his licence suspended twice. His latest insurance bill was just under $7,000. Do we really want this ticking timebomb on the road? It's fairly obvi ous that hitting him in the pocketbook is having little effect on his driving habits, so why not take his wheels away permanently and lock him up. Surely, our justice system can find some way to get a driver with seven convictions on his record off the road, or do we have to wait until he kills someone as a result of his reckless ness? As OPP Sgt. Cam Woolley said, "There are some people who just shouldn't drive." Perhaps it's time we rid our high ways of these people who clearly have no respect for the law, themselves or their fellow drivers. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Oakville needs anti-idling bylaw The March 14 report by Robert M. Nosal, medical officer of health, entitled: `Illness From Air P ollution-A Halton Perspective, ' spotlights a critical issue. The con sequences of air pollution, partic ularly that generated by trans portation and the production of electricity, is significantly affect ing the health and well-being of Canadians in general, and Halton residents in particular. Air quality throughout the GTA ranks as the worst in the country. That the GTA is Canada's eco nomic engine; that employment, educational, cultural and social opportunities are second to none provides small consolation when people are dying prematurely or suffering chronically from degrad ed air. What possible good is a decent standard of living if one's quality o f life is significantly eroded? Currently, our federal and provincial governments dither over the pressing matter of pollu tion. Under pressure from Washington, Ottawa shamefully shirks its obligations regarding the Kyoto Accord on greenhouse gases. Queen's Park pays similar lip service with respect to cleaning up Ontario's hydroelectric gener ating plants. Witness their collec tive failure to effectively fund public transit. The Town of Oakville can send a clear signal throughout the com munity and beyond by implement ing policies aimed at reducing air pollution. One such measure is a strin gent anti-idling bylaw, combined with a program of education aimed at responsible automobile use. Collectively, Canadians idle their vehicles 75 million minutes per day. If each motorist reduced idling by just five minutes daily, it would save 1.6 million litres of fuel. More importantly, carbon diox ide emissions would be reduced by 3,800 tonnes. In all good conscience, how can we delay a comprehensive program of education and enforcement on reduced idling? Arguments surrounding the diffi culty of enforcing such a bylaw law are specious, since the over whelming majority obey the law. Is Oakville content to remain part of the problem by dithering like Ottawa and Queen's Park, or are we resolved to becoming part of the solution? Surely, a tough anti-idling pol icy is a bare minimum step in addressing what has become a legitimate threat to the entire human race. Care of seniors receives inadequate funding An elderly relative recently passed away in hospital after being transferred from a nursing home. I totally put the blame on `lack of staff' in the nursing home. The relative developed many toxic bed sores caused by not being `turned' side to side on her bed, which should have been done every two hours and not being admitted to hospital ear lier than she was. She was in severe pain for two months because no one had the time to attend to her properly. We appealed to everyone involved to help, but they just did not have enough staff to care for her properly. An `unfortunate circumstance' was what I was told when she passed away. The bed sores had become so bad, she was medicated with morphine and had lost the will to eat or drink. The hospital staff told me they had never seen anything as bad and were `disgusted' with the result of the negligence. Nursing homes are supposed to be a place where seniors are taken care of in their last years, when family cannot help any longer. Their brochures all promise full care and friendly environments. Well, I have news for those of you out there who believe this. They don't. Not because they do not care and do not want to help, but because they just do not have the staff or time to fulfill their promises. These professionals work very hard and cannot be held responsible for the lack of proper care for their patients. Our government is to blame. I'm sure there would be changes if their relatives were in our under funded nursing homes, and they saw first hand what the reality of understaffing means. I am full of grief knowing this could have been avoided and my relative could have lived much longer than she did. It only took nine months after being admitted before she passed away. She was full of vim and vigor, mentally alert and active - until the bed sores started. I took care of her for her last five years until I was unable to give her the help she needed. I'll always regret not keeping her with me. To anyone out there who has family in a nursing home, please visit regularly and watch very closely for the quali ty of care they are receiving. I beg you to write or call your local MP or MPP for more funding for our seniors care to avoid any more `unfortunate circumstances'. PETER PELLIER Does DARE deserve funding? Your front -- page article (How DARE They?) and editorial in the same vein in the May 8 issue raise some interesting points. The budget shortfalls in education due to provincial government cutbacks have had a negative effect on our kids' learning experi ence, especially those children who need the most help. At the same time, forcing school boards to examine what are essentials versus non-essentials is in itself not a bad thing. This is not to be taken as an endorsement of the Conservative Party's actions; I ran against the Harris government in the last provincial election because of their policies. However, describing those policies as "just a lot of short-sighted penny-pinching" serves to cloud the issue rather than clarify it. Spending $80,000 on the DARE program makes sense, if it works. What your readers were not told is that there is no evidence that it does. This has been known for some time before it was alluded to at the Drug Education In-service that your editorial men tioned, which I attended as chair of Q.E.Park School Council. So would that $80,000 be better spent on textbooks, software or classroom supplies, or do we continue DARE as a public rela tions exercise? If the school board chooses to take money from academic curriculum for "feel-good" budget items such as DARE, or a "Diversity Officer" who has no measurable work to do, then the value of those items should be apparent enough to withstand scrutiny at budget time.% Whether the decision is to save or chop, as parents and taxpayers we should be able to feel reasonably sure that expenditure deci sions are based not on image, but on value. A round of applause for Oakville mayor I would like to publicly recognize and thank our Mayor Ann Mulvale for the stance she has taken by passing the No-Smoking Bylaw that is to come in effect May 31 st. There is no doubt that this sensitive and contro versial move has not been without considerable pressure and resistance (especially from local businesses), and most, if not all politicians would bolt from such potentials for career limitation. This is when true leadership becomes apparent. The easiest decision and/or path of least resistance is usually selected by the weak, and thus many of the greatest public interests and protection of rights never get the proper representation and sup port. In every leader's term she/he will be required to make those hard decisions that usually offer only two options. The right thing to do, or the most popular thing to do. Ann took some great risks by taking a leader ship role and passing this bylaw, but she made an informed decision based on the indisputable health facts and protected the well-being of our residents. Ann you are an example for the majority of political leaders to take notice of. I thank you. Your Opinion Counts 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 m ust contain the name, address and phone num ber of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, O akville 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. AUDREY BARNETT ADRIAN RATELLE DOUG LADOUCER Pesticides pose risk to human guinea pigs I would like to respond to two previous letters in support of pesticide use (Wednesday, May 8 and Wednesday, May 15). I have noticed that both writers used personal remarks directed to the people with differing points of view. (`Treehuggers" -- in the first, and "A clique of a dozen with exag gerated claims" -- in the second.) It makes me wonder if the writers are starting to realize they are about to lose the argument. The experiment which will show the effect of pesticides has been going on for many years, the experimental sub jects being you, me and everyone else. I believe the results are not in yet. If the people who favour the use of chemicals had a way of keeping them out of my drinking water, the rain which falls on my vegetables and out of the air I breathe, I would have no objections to pesticide use. I can understand how home owners may resent being told what to do with their own turf. However, I resent even more being turned into a guinea pig in order to prevent the existence of dandelions. Pud w hat 'chaY By STEVE NEASE PULUM6 POIN6, ,M O M ? I DAMPELIoNSl WHY? 'm 'R E 'W IS H IN G Because THEY R E.WEEDS, V FLOWERS". M AX Y r fT r? rai DANDYl\O H 6 > -- >! arem t W E E D S ,, JANA KREJCOVA, M.D.