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6 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday, December 4, 2002 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community I I Newspapers Association * y * Canadian Community Newspapers Association i J i E D IT O R IA L SA N DL E T T E R S 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 VERTOLLI Photography Director STEVE CROZIER Circulation Director ROD JERRED Managing Editor THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: THE TT E 4 6 7 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S 4 (9 0 5 ) 8 4 5 -3 8 2 4 Fax: 3 3 7 -5 5 6 7 Classified Advertising: 3 3 7 -5 6 1 0 Circulation: 8 4 5 -9 7 4 2 Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier. 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City of York Guardian H alton Healthcare W fe LC | oakville galleries | Jinge SeaF u n d I `f e s s i r S K Y k Suburban Newspapers of America It" W t v a u c t io n ~ <5 O h* © &/hnard$ FOR BUSINESS EXCELLENCE The Oakville, Milton and District ,W / /W m t tiM kW M Day makes public plea A letter to the editor in today's impaired driver. Oakville Beaver -- penned by He is likely to find himself pay Halton Hills regional councillor ing for this unforgivable lapse of John Day -- provides some sober judgment for the rest of his politi ing thoughts for anyone who still cal life. hasn't clued in to the don't drink We do not condone or excuse in and drive message. any way Day's actions behind the Since being charged with steering wheel. We also do not impaired driving last fall -- he necessarily stand up and applaud entered a guilty plea in November his willingness to go public about -- Day hasn't exactly been enjoy it. ing the warm spotlight sometimes However, some recognition is afforded public officials. warranted for the effort he is mak In addition to the unwanted pub ing to have something good come licity created by his legal troubles, out o f his serious mistake. By put Day recently found himself having ting his face out there as an exam to abandon two high-profile seg ple o f what happens when the ments o f his political career. police catch you driving drunk, Last month, he resigned his spot the councillor could prevent a on the Halton Regional Police tragedy. Services Board and also withdrew Although he may not totally his name as the Liberal candidate agree, Day is actually one of the in Halton for the next provincial lucky ones. He got caught before election. he could destroy innocent lives and In addition to these political sac is still alive to warn those at risk of rifices, Day's actions have cost repeating his offence. him financially, socially and most If you were to ask John Day assuredly in the humility depart about having his life to do over ment. again, there is no doubt he would To be a political figure convicted have regrets about his recent past. of impaired driving is today com Still, the regional councillor is parable to being forced to wear the fortunate indeed to be alive (as are scarlet letter -- people will hear the rest of the driving public) -- John D ay's name and almost and on the right side of prison's immediately conjure up the phrase iron bars to boot. 'oz- LETTERS TO THE EDITOR School closure breaks parent's heart On Wednesday, Nov 20, the Halton District School Board trustees voted to close Percy W. Meiry School (in rural Oakville), effective June 30. The whole process leading up to this vote, and especially Wednesday night itself, has left me feeling disillusioned, angry and upset. Parents devoted many hours working to save our school because it was important to us and we felt that we actually had a chance to save it. But it became abundantly clear Wednesday that we actually had no chance and we never did. By the things that were said and the questions that were asked during "the debate", it was obvious the trustees had made their minds up about Percy Merry long ago. The public process was, in fact, just a farce -- a procedure they went through only because they had to and not because they cared about what we had to say. All of the parent presentations, full of great ideas, information, alternatives to closure, and reasons for why closure would be so premature, went (with the exception of two trustees) on deaf ears. Percy Merry simply wasn't in the board's long-term plans. The bottom line is that financially, Percy Merry is worth slightly more to the board closed than open. This is because of the Capital Strategic Plan, and new pupil placement grants. But this dollar amount pales in comparison to the disruption, dev astation and sense of loss felt by our chil dren upon hearing their school will be closed. After all, Percy Merry is "their school." Much more than reading, writing and arithmetic goes on inside its walls. Our children feel a sense of ownership and pride for their school, and this is even more so for Percy Merry because it serves the rural community and is the glue that keeps us together. At a time when both Milton and north Oakville are experiencing unprecedented growth and most elementary schools in the area are at or way above capacity, it just makes no sense to close any school here. The trustees saw this wisdom when decid ing to delay the decision to close Martin Street Public School. Why not for Percy Merry as well? The reasoning used to delay the Martin Street decision applied equally to Percy Merry, yet was ignored when deciding our fate. The whole process was extremely unfair and discriminatory against Percy Merry. As an aside, the Toronto District cut 90 million dollars out of its budget without closing a single school, despite having some with less than 60% capacity. Why is it so necessary for the Halton Board to close schools, espe cially ones in such a high-growth area? I can't believe in seven short months, our beloved little school will be gone; 44 years of serving our rural community, gone forever. Percy Merry is the "heart of our community." In September, our children will board buses for Sam Sherratt, and we will make the best of it, but it will never be the same. Gone forever is the opportunity for our children to attend a small school in our community with its close, caring, nurtur ing and safe environment, where everyone knows everyone and I never have to worry about my small children wandering away and getting lost. I dread June 30. Once this day comes and goes, and Percy Merry's doors are closed forever, I will change my route to ensure that I don't drive by the school. To see its windows boarded and weeds growing in the playground where flowers once grew will break my heart. I would like to thank trustees Erica Andrew and Peggy Russell for listening carefully to what we had to say and sup porting us. To trustees Kelly Amos and Annette Kirk, two of the three trustees for Percy Merry families, I would like to say that we were very disappointed and angry at your lack of support for us. You both turned your backs on us, the people you were elected to represent. We will definite ly remember this next fall when we return to the polls to vote. Spirit is rancid* Your editorial, The spirit o f volunteerism? (The Beaver, Nov. 27) fails to address the most obvious point implicit in your own question. A volunteer, according to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, is someone whose actions are 'voluntary', that is to say, done "of one's own free will; not constrained or compulsory." Whatever the 40 hours of compulsory service are they are most certainly not voluntary. The more cynical or thoughtful school students observing this truly Orwellian-distortion of language by the Ministry of Education must surely draw two powerful conclusions: 1) any society that blandly accepts "compulsory" being relabelled `voluntary' by its government must be profoundly hypocritical and deserving of contempt; 2) any government that calls compulsion "voluntary" while at the same time bewailing the weak literacy skills of young people must be either dishonest or illiterate (or both). None of the above addresses the manifest unfairness that lies at the heart of this policy of compulsory "volunteerism". Many students, especially from single-parent or low-income families, have been doing their "social service" for years in their own homes, missing out on after-school activities to rush home and take care of younger siblings, or to earn a few extra dollars for the household. They've done their 40 hours many times over at great personal sacrifice. To add another forty hours to their load must seem like some sick joke. For other, more fortunate young people, the 40 hours will be a breeze. In some cases, no doubt, mommy or daddy will even be in a position to line up some social work for their child that's not too unpleasant. Only a government smugly oblivious to the problems of many of our less fortunate young people could have enacted this farcical measure! Photocopying for teachers, you say, "violates the spirit of the requirement." Good, say I, because the spirit is rancid. The government wants to dragoon youngsters into work and call it volunteering. That's just one more politician's lie. Our young people deserve, at the very least, honesty. LETTER OF THE WEEK Halton councillor offers public apology for driving impaired I am writing this letter to address three matters. As reported in the Halton media, I was charged with impaired driving in September and pleaded guilty in early November. Entering the Christmas season, I cannot help but empha size to all readers the perils of drinking and driving. The con sequences are enormous. Drinking and driving falls under the criminal code. Here is what one faces for a first offence; assuming no property dam age, injuries or loss of life: · Fingerprinting and file photograph; · Legal fees; · A minimum $600 fine and one year loss of licence from the date of judgment; · Successful completion of the provincially-administered Back on Track program, which can take up to 11 months to complete. Cost is $475 plus tax. · A breathalyzer device installed on your vehicle for one year which prevents the vehicle from starting if there has been any alcohol consumed by the driver. Cost is $ 1,500. · Increased car insurance premiums. Then, there are the other costs: stress, humiliation, career, life style choices, facing family, friends and yourself in the mirror every day and practical costs of finding transporta tion. The drinking part can be identified as a mistake or acknowledgement of a problem for which there are treatment programs. Be a true friend and stop those who have had too much. Please don't drink and drive, in any season! Secondly, I'd like to extend a public apology. As a public person, I have had the unique opportunity to touch the lives of many people in working to better our com munity. I deeply regret my actions and sincerely ask for your forgiveness. Finally, I want to thank my family for their love and sup port and the many people known to us and otherwise who have telephoned, sent cards, emails, letters, flowers or approached family members and myself, asking after our well being and offering encouragement. It is that support that is enabling us to get through this time and continue with our lives. Your kindness is overwhelming and we are very grateful. GEORGE PATRICK Volunteer work cannot be mandated Re: The spirit of volunteerism? (the Beaver Nov. 27, 2002). I'm surprised the Oakville Beaver continues to maintain the Tory fiction that the notion of voluntary work is something that can be mandated. The `voluntary' after all is defined in Collins English Dictionary as something, "performed, undertaken, or brought about by free choice, willingly, or without being asked." Any legislation that mandates volunteer work therefore violates the meaning and spirit of volunteerism. How can something that is not voluntary imbue the spirit of volunteerism? ANNETTE PAGE TOM KOPERWAS, WINDSOR Pud By STEVE NEASE JOHN DAY, REGIONAL COUNCILLOR, HALTON HILLS 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 o f the Ontario Press Council. 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