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Wednesday, May 9, 2001 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER A5 P e s t ic id e o p p o n e n t s o ffe r e m o t io n a l p le a s f o r b a n (Continued from page 1) Flynn recalled a few years ago when the Town abdicat ed pesticide use. "The town started to turn to dirt. Crabgrass and weeds took over." Yet Flynn, a former mem ber of the landscape industry, said he took seriously resi dents' concerns about pesti cide toxicity. "Many of the products I used, are now banned," he admitted. "We need to make it so that we're not in the turf management business because turf requires us to spray," said Ward 3 Councillor Keith Bird. Residents urged council lors to use caution in the face of the unknown -- for the sake of young children who may be most exposed to risk of physical or neurological harm. The issue was debated for nearly four hours at the Community Services Committee level on April 24 and the speakers' list was long again Monday. Glen Abbey's Rod Borstmayer said, "We're missing some balance," and noted other local risks, from Stelco and Petro-Canada to the QEW and the Halton dump. Oakville author and chil dren's environmental researcher Bruce Lofquist presented a 17-page report Monday to "counter the mis information by the strong pro-industry presence" on April 24. Lofquist said he wanted to "debunk the myth of pesticide safety" and called some studies to that effect "junk sci ence." Karen Sandford related how picking up a garbage bag sprayed with pesticide led to neurological problems for her. Her doctors came to council to back her delegation. Cheri Bain asked if those concerned about pesticides ate barbecued food or used cellphones. "There's enough information to make even the most skeptical person proceed with caution. Pesticides are poi sons otherwise they wouldn't work," countered Deanna Beach. "It's too bad many people label envi ronmentalists, extremists. I believe the quest for a weed-free lawn is an extrem ist position," said Renee Lehnen. "A rectangle of grass wearing a crewcut is unnatural, deadly and a strain on our natural resources," said Tania Orten. Tom Scott called it all "subordination of science to emotion." "Most of us came here tonight with a highly toxic, flammable power strapped to our backside," he added. In 2001, 17 Oakville parks and six boulevards will be sprayed along with Town rose gardens at Shell Park, Gairloch Gardens, and the turf of the Oakville Lawn Bowling Club. Alternatives like com gluten meal (waste from com milling) will be used experimentally on cul-de-sacs and steam treatments will be used on side walk weeds. 928 WINSTON CHURCHILL BLVD. QEW ROYALW INDSOR LAKESHORE RD I 1 9 0 5 -3 3 8 -9 9 1 9 u s o u t! I C h e c k B f ig o h t t le t d d ru r iv e n k d h e lp s g t fie & i/ t o / 'f/ le a / tA J r iv in Oakville residents are asked to contribute, if not vol unteer, in the 2001 Bottle Drive on Saturday at Oakville's five Beer Stores. The annual event is supported by the M ayor's Special Committee Against Impaired Driving (SCAID) and part of the proceeds support various Oakville anti impaired driving initiatives. Organized by the Ontario Community Council on Impaired Driving (OCCID) and the Beer Store, half of the dollars raised are used to fund OCCID's "Arrive Alive Drive Sober Campaign. Volunteers are needed at Oakville's five Beer Store locations for the bottle drive that runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The Oakville locations include: Glen Abbey Plaza, 1500 Upper Middle Rd.; Hopedale Mall, 1431 Rebecca St.; 104 Lakeshore Rd. W.; Maple Grove Plaza, 511 Maple Grove Dr.; and. U pper Oakville Shopping Centre, 1011 Upper Middle Rd. In Oakville, proceeds have, in the past, supported the annual Drive for Life Conference, a one-day event for secondary students to see a variety of guest speakers and participate in a myriad of educational activities related to driving drunk. For information call Andrew Brouwer at 905-8456601, ext. 3093. FERRONE F IT N E S S C E N T R E A R E YO U R E A D Y FO R SU M M E R? » / Free W eig h ts % /Lifecycles » / S tep M ill % /N u tritio n a l C o u n s e llin g / B a b y sittin g E sth etician » / D aily A erobics Classes ^ R e g 'd M a s s a g e T h e ra p is ts > /S u n b ed s * / N o rd ic T rack */ H air Salon 'S a u n a s %/ Nautilus Stairmasters Tread M ills Liferower H elp u s topreven t blin dn ess in tfie develo p in gw o rld OPERATION EYESIGHT UNIVERSAL 1 -8 0 0 -5 8 5 -8 2 6 5 C h a rita b leR e g is tra tio n#1 1 9 0 68 9 5 5R R 0 0 0 I S tu d e n t R a te s a v a ila b le P e r s o n a l T ra in in g T A I B O E 467 SPEERS RD. ( w o f d o r v a d i 8 4 9 - 1021 " W h e r e t r a d it io n a n d v is io n m e e t" 0 T u m k y o u M a c L a c h la n C o lle g e MacLachlan College would like to extend a sincere thank you to all our parents, teachers and students (past and present) and our school community for their tremendous support as we have dealt with the grossly erroneous information about our school con tained in the Fraser Institute study and reported in the National Post recently. An independent study, conducted by Enterprise Canada Research (ECR), has proven, using accurate information and applying it correctly, that MacLachlan College is one of the top schools in the Province with a 9.5 ranking out of 10. The ECR study based on data obtained from original Ministry of Education Ontario Student Transcripts has confirmed that there were seri ous flaws in the accuracy of the Fraser Institutes data and methodology. We know we have a wonderful school. MacLachlan stands firm on its line reputation. Our school is a member of the Conference of Independent Schools (CIS), a network of distinguished private schools throughout Ontario, which promotes excellence and high quality in education. In addition, we hold sustaining membership in the Canadian Educational Standards Institute (CESI), an examining body which was founded to develop and promote high educational standards for elementary and secondary schools across Canada. 3 3 7 T r a f a l g a r R o a d , O a k v i l l e w w w . m a c la c h la n . o n .c a r e g is t r a r @ m a c la c h la n . o n . c a 9 0 5 -8 4 4 - 0 3 7 2 Member of | C E S I ®j Canadian Educational Standards Institute & (BtS Conference of Independent Schools