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Wednesday July 23, 2UU1 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER A7 COMMENT DISCOVERY STATION NURSERY SCHOOL Two locations Kerr Street Sixth Line Designed for children 18 months to 5 years Low child-adult ratios Mornings A fternoons Must summer camp be rife with relevance? The sum m er day cam ps I w ent to as a kid were filled w ith boisterous bus rides, corny singsongs, pesky bugs and m acaroni-glued crafts that never looked like the sam ple we w ere supposed to copy. It was sw im m ing in often-icky water, scary snakes and rain-sodden sleeping bags on overnights. Food was w hat you brought in a paper bag, stuffed alm ost flat in your knapsack with tow el and sw im suit. Hats w ere flung out o f the bus in the m orning; no one wore sunscreen. Today's kids order o ff the m enu at the golf course and conform to a dress code on the links. They speak about the crucial art o f get ting their clubs into the exact spot on the cart; it m akes w alking the course that m uch easier; a tow el to w ipe the balls and properly-fitting gloves are thought to be essential. L unch is ready for them at the clubhouse. Being dropped o ff in the com fort o f an airconditioned car in the early m orning is part of it all, very unlike the days o f the past. There, you'd be sent o ff by your m other to w alk to the bus stop on the first day o f cam p and w atch, in mass confusion, as counsellors shouted out the list o f cam pers. Little kids cried their eyes out, older boys elbow ed each other out o f the way to get onto the bus and m ass chaos ensued no m atter w hat session, July or A ugust. K napsacks got care lessly flung about, bus drivers stood around having a last smoke. Kids m ostly wore old Tshirts, shorts and running shoes. The odd tim e you m ight m ake your ow n tie died shirt, alw ays bone ugly no m atter w hat colour or style. One day I rem em ber tw o boys bashing each other in front o f the bus driver w ho ju st told them , over his new spaper, to knock it o ff and get onto the bus. Only a bloody nose stopped all out w arfare. K leenex was handed out. N oses w ere pinched. No one seem ed particularly upset; life w ent on. I have to say I never gave any o f it a thought. It was sum m er after all, better than school. So who cared about a bus that was alw ays late and n ev er had w indow s that w orked properly. The only ones that opened properly w ere at the front o f the bus and w ho'd ever want to sit there? Your bus driver practi cally killed everyone trying to m ake it there in under 15 m inutes and you'd get out to start the day. Som ebody w ould alw ays forget their lunch on the bus. You m ight, if you w ere lucky, have a choice: play baseball or capture the flag. That was it. If you didn't like it, too bad. The big 9:00-11:30 a.m 1:30-4:00 p.m. For more information about registering or space availability please call Kim at 905-849-6366 D IA N E H A R T event was the overnight. On the overnight you'd learn to cook K raft dinner w ithout m ar garine, eat hot dogs w ith flies, figure out how to ham m er tent pegs into rock hard ground and then be told to m ove it across to a flatter spot, far away. Parents w ere never part o f the pic ture. It was your day cam p, after all, not theirs. Today's kids are luckier, I guess. They have a host o f choices: canoe cam p,tennis camp, co m p u ter cam p, arts cam p, m usic cam p. T hey're m ostly driven there; they get picked up too. W ithin each cam p, there are choices: canoe or kayak, choose an instrum ent or theo ry, build a space ship or learn a new language. G od forbid kids over the age o f five do som ething in the sum m er that isn't a skill or a vital piece o f life long learning. These kids accept the list o f choices their parents have com e to expect: and then at the end stick their hands out for som ething tangible to rem em ber it all other than distant m em ories: a card of accom plishm ents, certificates o f success, a list o f im provem ents for next year. Fun? W hat's that? I recall, vividly, two years ago when my th e n -12 year old daughter told me go lf was w hat she w anted to learn. G olf? I said. W on't you die o f the boredom ? "It's a social skill," she pointed out to me, a determ ined glint In her eye. Oh. I see. A social skill. T hing is, she actually likes the gam e. Yesterday, at the end o f a long hum id day, she cam e into the house and plunked her clubs into the corner, grum bling about some o f the shots she m ade. I think I'm im proving, she said, a look o f concentration on her face. I'm sure you are, I answ er, soothingly, not that she w as even listening. Already, her m ind was on the next day. But are you having fun? I persevered. O f course, she said im patiently. How could I not? One problem , though. H er younger brother likes the gam e too. A nd he's not h alf bad. But as I told her: the m ore, the m errier on the links, right? G olf is a social skill, rem em ber? OAKVILLE PARENT-CHILD CENTRE rBEAMi&tt One P rice Package ` R e fu rb VACUUMS P o w e r u n it a n d e v e r y t h in g y o u n e e d in c lu d in g n e w e le c tr ic p o w e r h e a d , c r u s h p r o o f e le c tr ic h o s e , c le a n in g to o ls a n d h o s e h a n g e r! lfH g 2 QRBAT LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU BETTER! C ^ O E A N W L IF E TIM E L IM IT E D W AR R AN TY 6 POINT S E C U R IT Y S Y S T E M D rl 111 ................. . . . . . . . . . , , Plus... F R E E O A K V IL L E V A C U U M 198<S.PeersRd^pakvi lie -- I 2 6 ]| C A N A -V A C S U P E R S TO R E ^ nC C D n iln n n in Y e a r s _ In O a k v i l l e ! T""" m\mimi,mijiiiMHiHu.in^i»ijiiii,niiiniiiiii^«jiii'.ii,iimii\T u,iiiTgi u n n i . M ississauga 905-844-4736 QfUi-R9fi-139R « iu w u t u iw f c u a a h a a a ma a « H O T S U M M O N SAVINGS! F IN A L FEW D A Y S R e fre s h in g Splash o f F ru it Raves getting bad rap unnecessarily Re: `Raves: a p rim er fo r youths and p a re n ts ' O akville B eaver Fri. Ju ly 20, 2001. H aving p re v io u sly read m any articles about raves in o th e r new sp ap ers and the general m edia I knew I was going to get another negative perception on the w hole rave scene. This article doesn't at all accurately describe any thing about raves. A nd I w ould like to at least give my perspective: -"because they are unsafe environm ents"- W hat sources where you getting this from ? M ost raves that those "15%" o f teenagers go to are com m ercial parties run by profes sional com panies that have to follow certain law s. A fter the rave ban was lifted last year, Toronto passed a recom m en dations that production com panies now have to follow. Including a certain am ount of u n ifo rm ed and u n d e rco v e r cops that are paid by the p ro d u ctio n co m p an ies to be there. A s w ell as having proper ventilation and ru n ning water. -"d ru g s are easy to access"- O f course there easy Letters to the Editor to access, there even easier to access at school. You name the drug and it can be avail able at school in m atter o f m inutes or hours. This is not a rave issue but m ore o f a society issue and it is not fair to blam e raves for that. -"fire safety is questionable"- B efore any event fire m arsh als have to com e to inspect the venue for any pos sible hazards. A fter passing the inspection is when they get their perm it. -"th e risk o f assau lt is greater" & "crim inal activi ty"- I p e rso n a lly feel that raves are one o f the safest places, though this has been in question for the past year, m ost people are there to have a good tim e and have the rave spirit that everyone alw ays talks about. N ever have I run into som eone th a t's th reat ened m e w ith anything or never seen a fight. A lso upon entry you are searched for w eap o n s, dru g s, and o ther things. I w asn't allow ed to bring in pens or m arkers as a safety issue. -"lighting is poor"- Yes the light would be poor because when do you ever go to party w ith 200 w att light bulbs blaring in your eye. A nd how would you see the visual effects if the w hole place was properly illum inated. If for some reason you would want a p ro p er lig h t source you w ould ju st leave the dance floor and the vendors have their booths illum inated. I did not feel that this arti cle reflected anything about the rave scene but only things that w ould w orry parents into thinking the rave scene was bad. To get an accurate reflection you should talk to som eone th at's been to them or actually attend one. I like to attend these parties once a m onth and I like them a lot. I w ould like to help give my perspective to anyone that's w illing to hear. I got pictures as w ell as many experiences. And I'll probably be look ing fo rw ard to this "rave inform ation session" to see w hat they have to say. Any One Batch of Wine, Fruit Wine, Beer or Cooler £fn Urtin $teu* Stouf? B o o k y o u r b r e w t im e n o w ! % *15 OFF i (2 3 3 7 ) i N/alid u n til J u l y 3 1 / 2 0 0 1 . IXIot v a l i d w i t h a n y o t h e r o ffe r. I prep 8 2 5 -B E E R lEin intern 3Bteu> $>ou;se | IM M I H O IR S :M O N .-F R I 1 2 8 , HOI RS: MON.-FRI. 12-8. SAT. 9-5. S I N. 11-3 " 4HI IWorth S ervice Mil. (just west o f Dorval) A T R U S T E D N A M E IN O A K V IL L E S IN C E 7 9 P 2 HOT SUM M ER NEW FROM Gas Barbecue Grill Available in natural gas or propane SAVINGS Rom an Soler New quarry plan should be killed As members of the citizens group KEEP (Keep the Escarpment Environment Protected), we, along with many organizations successfully fought a proposal for a quarry expansion atop the Milton Outlier. Once again, a large area inside the Niagara Escarpment biosphere is in danger of bing lost to mineral extraction. Dufferin Aggregates, with its recent purchase of 245 hectares, has increased its existing holdings to 713 hectares. Their present proposal is to redesignate 83 hectares of the newly-purchased lands that lie within the Niagara Escarpment Plan from more protective zoning to mineral extraction ensuring them operation until 2023 _ which represents a life extension of 10-12 years. This is despite the fact that there's a vast amount o f excellent dolomite (limestone), the same Amabel formation as within the escarpment, available outside the Niagara Escarpm ent Plan area - including deposits between Acton and Hwy. 401. Using limestone readily available outside the plan area would no longer necessitate the permis sion for additional limestone extraction from within the boundaries of the biosphere. Not only would Dufferin's proposal fracture the escarpment into a north and south section, but by allowing this expansion, the floodgates would open for all other quarries on the escarpment with expansion proposal aspirations. If this should be permitted, the biosphere would be rapidly eroded. At present the biosphere is a source of pride for all. We need to preserve it as an inheritance for future generations. It must remain an area of undisturbed landmass with all its wildlife and beauty intact. This is our biosphere, a delicate eco-system that needs to be protected by everyone. By voicing our opposition to the Dufferin Aggregates Milton Quarry expansion proposal, we can make a difference once again. Please direct your letters to- The Niagara Escarpm ent Commission, 232 Guelph St., Georgetown, Ont. L7G 4B1. Att: John Pisapio, (905) 877-5191, ext. 286. Copies of your letters can be sent to the may ors and councillors of Milton and Halton Hills and to Halton Regional Council. Attendance at the public meeting Sept. 5 would also be o f help. Only together can we keep the escarpment environment protected. It's an oven. It's a grill. It's a rotisserie. It's a stove-top. The New Vermont Castings Barbecue Grill does it all. With unique styling and constructed of the finest materials, the Vermont Castings Grill is the perfect combination of style and performance. With three models and choices in color, it's a great addition to any home. 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