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A 6 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday, June 11, 2003 EIIITO ItlALS A M I LITMUS tiii; oakville isK A t iis 467 Speers Rd.. Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 337-5610 Circulation: 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 M anaging Editor THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: (V rtrQ . I'x t a rn g A Ctattufrg U f l. r c t r im U rJ a i W u t -t m r n r W j A * s x » Barry* 8 r» r > « Me#. 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U siWwti (flra rm i A Suv Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community I Newspapers Association H a lto n H c u lih c u rc YMCA | oakvllle galleries | \ \ / \ LC (JM I % . < g N A Canadian Community Newspapers Association M F u rtJ 'M v m fs/im h turn «·** «in n i k M .S o r t* O 7V/r O » * · I « 7r* OoA.-ito MCon and Domct SK Suburt>an Newspapers of America Oaki'iHe RW 90SWCSS EXC&UHC* |O a L U C , r tfE NOS PI ' HLI C I IH R A R Y Age no excuse for law breakers "Everybod y does it" is hardly a ju sti fication many parents accept. It does, however, appear to be a solid portion o f w hy the Liberal government is drafting legislation that w ill decrim i nalize the possession o f small amounts o f marijuana. There is some validity to their view. Clogging the courts and demanding police time to enforce a law the popu lation does not stand behind in is an expensive waste o f time. People only obey laws they believe to be just. If public* opinion has indeed swung far enough around that outlawing m arijua na appears unjust to the m ajority, it is time the legislation was changed. Though the b ill is still a work in progress, a draft version would see a small fine ( S I00) levied for those found carrying less than 15 grams o f m arijua na, or enough for about 25 joints. Adults would receive more severe fines than youths caught with the substance. Heavier sentencing and enforcement w ill be redirected to growers and dis tributors o f the drug. According to Alternatives for Youth, an organization that aids addicted young people w ith offices in Flamborough. marijuana intake is tacit ly condoned by many parents, perhaps thanks to the nostalgia-tinged view o f their own babyboomer youth. This is a mistake. The potent pot grown today bears little resemblance to the lighter versions smoked by yester day's (low er children. A s w ell, there is the health damage that smoking any thing begets. And though it is often argued that cigarettes and alcohol are more deadly than pot, it is generally seen to be too late to make those illegal. This is clearly not the case with pot. The b ill also aims to rid youths o f crim inal records for what many see as a routine rite o f passage. This goes along with the social phi losophy o f the new Youth Crim inal Justice A ct. w hich also aims to ensure young people don't pay with ja il time or other unpleasantness for youthful indiscretions that happen to run afoul o f the law. It's true that a crim inal record is an albatross around the neck o f young people who have changed their ways and are trying to make productive lives for themselves. But it is equally true that young people bear some responsi b ility for staying on the right side o f the law. M eting out a stricter punishment for adults than youths for marijuana possession is teaching all the wrong lessons. Young people must not feel that they are above the law. They must not feel their youth w ill protect them if they w illfu lly choose to break the laws o f the land. Com ing down hard on growers to squeeze out the source is a good start if the w ill to keep pot illegal is still in place. Bu t we do the younger generation and society as a whole no favour if we fail to teach them that rules matter and their youth is no excuse for breaking the law. LETTERS TO TH E ED ITO R 0MB appeals an `abuse of process' Trafalgar Chartwell Residents' Association President Chris Stoate's response to my letter that was originally published on May 7 was greatly appreciated. To receive cogent feedback from apparently rational, informed and genuinely concerned people like Mr. Stoate and the rest of T C R A is refreshing indeed. W hile saying that, 1 do not know why T C R A thinks that the O M B process might result in the Town loosing control of the plan ning process for the lands north of Dundas to the developers. If O PA 198 had not been passed, I would have expected the O M B to hand control over to the developers. That is why 1 have been so critical of those Councillors who voted against O PA 198. To me. they were the ones w illing to see the Town loose control. To me. we do the Town a great disservice by electing any councillor who voted against O PA 198 for I can only assume that they are either totally opportunistic or utterly irrational. It seems to me the developers generally sup port O PA 1 98 as do most of the local residents and our own local residents' association. RA N D . Based on what I have read, it appears that the only parties to the O M B appeal that are substantially in opposition to O PA 198 are the Clear the A ir Coalition Inc., that seems to me to be not much more than a political platform for m ayoral candidate Rob Burton, and OakvilleGreep Conservation Association Inc. that seems to me to be little more than a politi cal platform for Councillor Allan Elgar. From what I have read, it seems to me that neither groups' proposals are even remotely viable and I expect the O M B to totally reject their appeals. Furthermore. I suspect the O M B w ill conclude these organizations have caused serious financial harm to the other parties and that their appeals constitute little more than an abuse of process. In the end. I see the Town working co-operatively with the developers and the local resi dents and the lands north of Dundas becoming a great place to live and work, like the rest of our wonderful Town. The "infam ous" 90 day rule may or may not be too strict but as I see it. it had nothing to do w ith our " predicament" since the appeals were launched many months after the 90 day period had expired. Had the developers been eager to launch an appeal. I might be convinced the 90-day rule resulted in undue pressure on some councillors. The fact is they made it abundantly clear very early on that they were willing to w'ork with the Town to try to identify solutions that would satisfy all the parties and they were in no rush to launch appeals. It was only once it became obvious that O PA 198 would likely not be passed unless appeals were launched that they gave council notice their patience was finally running out. 1 certainly agree there is nothing simple about the situation but I see no reason to not lay blame for the preposterous waste of tax payers money that has resulted, squarely on the shoulders of mayoral candidate Rob Burton's Clear the A ir Coalition Inc.. as well as on Oakvillegreen Conservation Association Inc. and on those councillors who allowed the trav esty to continue for so long. I view Councillors Allan Elgar and Kevin Flynn to be the worst offenders.. Thankfully, M ayor Ann M ulvale was final ly able to convince the majority of councillors to do the right thing and we do have a voice at the O M B hearings. She has earned my vote. DAVID BAZAR Teens receive high praise for assisting with Fun Fair We are writing this letter with the utmost appreciation. We would like to thank the young " men and women" who helped out at Post's Comers Family Fun Night on June 5. With our annual Fun Fair only weeks away, our teachers were informed that they had to attend an unex pected very important meeting and they would not be able to help with the running of our activ ities. We were left w ith only a small parent vol unteer base to run all of the activities. Parents from Post's Comers with older chil dren asked their teenagers if they would be w ill ing to help out at the school and bring a friend. We had more than 20 teenagers come to our res cue. The weather forecast was not in our favour and all plans were changed at the last minute. Things had to be moved indoors and rearranged. They all arrived early, eager to assist wherever they were needed, they were ready and happy to help. These teens ran every one of the games, some not even taking a break all evening. Without their enthusiasm and dedication, the Fun Fair may have had to be cancelled. In a day when youth are regarded as "lazy" or "unresponsive", these wonderful teenagers broke all stereotypes. They worked as hard as any of the adults at the festivity. Some of them receiving five to six hours of their community service hours. Even w ith the stress of long line-ups. it seemed like they were enjoying themselves. 1 think the parents of these individuals should be commended for raising such wonderful young adults 1 hope that all the children that attended the Fun Night recognized that the games they played were made possible by these teens. I would like all of the Post's Comers families who attended die annual Fun Fair to recognize the tremendous efforts put forth by these young men and women. We thank you all again, we are proud to have worked with you and had such wonderful sup port. Without your help the Fun Fair would not have been the success it was. PARENT VOLUNTEERS AT PO STS CORNERS DEBI GREENE ANITA LORNE SUZ1E HOLYOKE DIANE LENNOX MARSHA DAVIES DOREEN REZANSOFF LETTER OF THE WEEK Closing neighbourhood schools is in conflict with Smart Growth principles l am writing to point out a conflict between two of the front page stories in the Wednesday, M ay 21, O ak\ille Beaver. One of those is an informative article about Smart Growth, which I support. Smart Growth, whether in new or existing areas, in part means enabling people to live and work in the same neighbourhood. On the same page is the notice that a number of Oakville schools w ill be considered for closure in the very near future. Do you see the conflict? Smart Growth promotes livable, pedestrian-friendly com munities. W hat's more pedestrian-friendly than a school you can walk to? Take, for instance, Oakwood school. It's on the chopping block again. Yet it's an integral and important part of the Kerr Street community that it serves. It's a stone's throw from the Speers Road area that Renee Sandelowsky of Oakvillegreen held up as an ideal place for Smart Growth infilling. W hy close the school now? Thai's just an example, but it highlights the conflict between Smart Growth and closing neighbourhood schools. The people in north O akville are probably fuming that I'm putting forth yet another reason for them not to receive their schools yet. I 'm not intending that. Every community should have to walk-to school. That's what Smart Growth is about -- allow ing people to live, work, and play w ithin their own com munity. And that includes going to school. W hat's the solution? W hy does the board have to consid er closing viable schools? Because the provincial funding for mula says so. So the funding formula must be in violation of Smart Growth principles. Is the provincial government seri ous about implementing Smart Grow th? I hope the Halton District School Board considers Smart Growth principles in its deliberations, and not just in obvious growth areas. I hope they consider this: how do we train our children to be pedestrians if they're not allowed the opportunity to walk to school? LISA SEILER 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 pub lished. 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.. L6 K 3S4. or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish any letter. No longer a pleasure to drive in Oakville, says pilot One second sooner and I wouldn't be alive to write this. I was driving west along Rebecca Street, one Saturday morn ing a few weeks ago. just east of Kerr Street. A driver sped right through a stop sign at 70 kilometres an hour towards me. We both slammed on the brakes and, thankfully. I wound up with only the dirt from his passenger door on my bumper. Had I arrived at that intersection a second sooner, it would have been a fatal T-bone collision. So. it was with great interest that I read both articles on the front page of this last Wednesday's O akville B eaver dealing with the pathetic driving habits and attitudes here in Oakville. I no longer enjoy driving and have often thought of tear ing up my licence and embracing a lifestyle of walking, bik ing and public transit. As a pilot. I have become acutely aware of how dangerous driving is and offer the following reflection to my fellow drivers. Licence Graduation: Learn to Fly! JOHN PICONE The Oakvllle Beaver ts a mem ber of the Ontario Press Coundl. The coundl ts 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, togeth er with a reasonable allowance for signature. w H I not be charged for. but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate The publisher reserves the nght to categorize advertisements or decline. P u d B y S TE V E N E A S E ' ' - I 3UST NEEDED J SoME " PICK-M E-U P MUSIC F IR S T / , ,