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6 - The O akville Beaver W ee ke nd , Saturday January 7, 2006 THE O AKVILLE B EA VER 467 Speers R<±, Oakville O nt. L6K 3S4 (905 ) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, e*t. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is 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, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content o f the Oakville Beaver is protected by co pyrigh t Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentaiy Is it time for the City of Halton? The recent announcement by the Regional Chair not to seek re-election came as a surprise to many for she has provided very competent even-handed leadership during her term in office and was facing no serious political contenders. Chair Joyce Savoline is to be congratulated for her years of dedicated service and hard work on behalf of the people of Halton. As a result of her decision, after the next municipal election the office of the Chair will have a new occupant. That person will be assuming a very powerful position that encompasses the area and population of four federal ridings. Where that individual seeks to lead the Region will have consequences for all Halton residents and for our future taxes. The direction the Region might take can in part be determined by where we have been in the past, and where we are today. Prior to 1974 the county form of government, with its many municipal jurisdictions, had been in effect for more than 100 years. The creation of Regional Government in 1974 was in part an effort to respond to the forecasted growth and the knowledge that the old county system would be unable to cope with this growth. For 30 years Halton Region has been responsible for the provision of the essential services of local govern ment including police, social services, water, sewage treatment, waste management and others. It is,now time for a major change in how we govern the Halton area. For those who have studied the changes in municipal structures in the GTA over the last 50 years, it is obvious that, at some time in the future, Halton will become a single-tier city structure with one mayor and one governing'council. The question is whether our elected offi cials will consider the very substantial cost sayings that are possible with single-tier or will they wait until it is imposed by the Province, as happened with the City of Toronto and Hamilton-Wentworth Region. When Regional government was initiated, it replaced the county system, but at the same time substantially increased the cost of municipal government. As a result we have a very expensive political and administrative structure in Halton and now that the pro vision of regional'services has matured we can now not only consider, but demand, a structure that will reduce costs. Comparing the cost structure of Halton to other regions only compares with other similar costly municipal structures. However, let's look at municipalities with about the same population as Halton: Total Administration PoDulation Citv 16 Mayor Hamilton 500,000 15 councillors Mayor 360,000 London four controllers 21 16 councillors Chair Halton Region 400,000 17 16 councillors Mayor Burlington 7 six councillors Mayor Oakville 12 councillors 13 Mayor Milton 10 councillors 11 Mayor Halton Hills 11 10 councillors 59 Total in Halton Region See City page 8 IAN OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Associate Publisher Editor in Chief KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising Director CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution NEIL OLIVER TERI CASAS MANUEL GARCIA Business Manager Production Manager RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director RODJERRED Managing Editor Shopping News, Mississauga Business times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/ThomhillA/aughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian Metroland Prtnfing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian! Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Undsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: A ocna Ontario Community a Canadian Community Newspapers Association SKLJI Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: >«*vOle' rowNOfJo K T RVB U S IN E S S K T H E A P T S H aJtonH ealthcare United Way t h e Oakville, M ilfo il n | o a k ville g a lle rie s | ^ Y M C A tWJM. fm O N *T A R I O 353 I Taking down Christmas one pesky pine needle at a time 'm walking, trusty hounds at my side, sunshine spilling down over me, fresh winter breeze blowing in my face, tussling my enviably long locks - wow, not a grey hair in the bunch - and pine needles underfoot. Okay, it's possible that I'm painting a somewhat inaccurate, slightly false idyllic picture here: truth be told, I am not so much happily walking through woodlands as I am, in fact, grumpily pacing - through our family room, broom in hand. The damnable pine needles underfoot are from our Christmas tree which somehow managed to vengefully, spitefully divest itself of every last one of its needles when I hoisted it (to give it the old ignominious post-Christmas heave-ho), leaving a trail clear across our home and right out the front door. The hounds are indeed at my side, doing their best to spread their special love, and the pine needles, throughout the house. I will, by the way, fast tire of trying to coax all these needles from the business end of the broom up onto a dustpan. I will retire the broom and employ the more modern implement, a vacuum. Which will quickly clog, giving me another 30 minutes of labour and grief. And I will think that, unlike the vacuum, this day is starting to suck! Further, there may well be a light or two on in the house but, I alas, no sunshine spilling over anything; god hasn't graced us with even a glimpse of the sun in several weeks. Not only is this weather making me sad, it's giving me SAD. The breeze that's blowing through the house - the front door's still wide open - is damp and inhospitable (so odi ous that even the hounds don't want to venture out). I swear it was this same damp and inhospitable breeze that gave me the sinus infection, that forced me to go on antibiotics, that left my entire digestive tpct in an upheaval and that made my life an adventure of late. Finally, the completely grey hairs on my head are in jeopardy of being pulled out by the roots - that's how frustrated I am with the onerous, endless task of taking down Christmas. Suffice to say, right about now I'm thinking: it sure as heck ain't the most wonderful time of the year! Okay, okay, all Scrooge-in--me aside, we had a great Christmas. The season snuck up on us. One minute we were nav igating November, the next we were counting down the sleeps Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com. until Santa. While Christmas was a flurry of activity - you probably saw us, given we were here, there, and everywhere. But after we ushered my sister and her family out the door on Boxing Day, we quietly slipped (sank) into holiday mode. And for the next few days we could be found lounging in our jammies doing a whole lot of nothing. My wife fell in love again: no, not with me, you romantic fools, but, rather, with reading. After a spell of being too busy, or too tired, to crack the spine of a good novel, she went wild. By my calculations, she read three books cover to cover, but there may have even been more (I got the feeling that she was cheating here and there, reading more books under the covers by flashlight, and such). And me, in the vernacular of my offspring, I chill-axed! I ate enough to gain a few pounds. I built big, roaring fires, I donned headphones and listened to new CDs that loving, thoughtful souls had bestowed upon me. Honestly, I was sinfully slothful! Turns out I was simply recharging my old batteries for the burdensome business of taking down Christmas. Seemingly one pine needle at a time.