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A6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER W ednesday May 17, 2000 T h e O a k v il l e B e a v e r Ian Oliver Publisher Neil Oliver Associate Publisher Norman Alexander Editor Kelly Montague, Advertising Director Steve Crazier Circulation Director Teri Casas OfficeManager Mark Dills Production Manager Riziero Vertolli DirectorofPhotography Metrotand Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, AJIiston Herald/Courier, Barrie Advance, Barry's Bay This Week, Bolton Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, CotthgwoocVWasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Post, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Huronia Business Times, Kingston This Week, Lindsay This Week. Markham Ecnomist & Sun, M idland/Penetanguishine Mirror, M ilton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirra, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Oven Sound Tribune, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever \bung, City of York Guardan OPINION RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association i W THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: A ... .... /S z r ' T c a y m O F O A K V IL L E I V E L C O M E ^ jtW A G O N im " Sin c e 1930 1 Strategies for iJLFfc .......... JTbhem Canadian Community Newspapers Association rban Newsp of America JiNqlc B eII Fund 467 Speers Rd., Oakville OnL L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax; 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 <J% w ard Oakville (sA/wirfts TV AUCTION O N T A A TH E BRONIP£ it UTTERFLY o"?e fftu t R I O | oakville galleries | E d it o r ia ls M o t h e r N a t u r e 's D a y In a scene that looked more like something you might see on the weather network about a southern U.S. storm, Friday night and early Saturday morn ing proved that Mother Nature will have her way. And how perfectly ironic that this intense The latest storm again storm front moved through town on M other's illustrated the Day weekend, showing once again that when advantages ofgood it comes to power, nothing can beat nature. If you looked to the heavens, you could planning and the have seen an incredibly beautiful, if terrifying, consequences of light show as fork lightning came down from development that the sky along with torrential rains. doesn' t take the natural But for many residents in north Oakville, environment the free fireworks was of little consequence as into consideration. they tried to keep ahead of flood waters that swept into their homes without warning. The storm again illustrated the advantages of good planning and the conse quences of development that doesn't take the natural environment into consid eration. Town officials say that when many of the damaged homes were built, regu lations were more lax with the reasoning that if a flood happens once every 50 years, that's an acceptable risk. That is no longer the case. Now, the plan is how to avoid all floods and control runoff in a worse-case scenario. W hat the storm did do, however, was to act as a test for the Town's Emergency Plan. And according to personnel involved with the emergency, just about everything went according to plan. Oakville is a town that attracts people because of the natural beauty of Lake Ontario and the various creeks that flow into its waters. But these same creeks can be ticking time bombs as homeowners found out over the week end. It again illustrates that a healthy respect for Mother Nature is needed if we are to live compatibly with her. Letters to the Editor The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be typed, signed and include the writer's address and phone number. Send to: Letters to the Editor, The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 At least we know where Stockwell Day stands R e: th e Wed. M a y 3, 2 0 0 0 O a k v ille Beaver colum n by D iane H art-'U niting the right not e a sy'. As a card -carry in g m em ber o f the new C anadian A llian ce, I was app alled by the treatment of my candidate, Stockwell Day in Ms. H art's column. I find his honesty and integrity to be a refreshing change. How often do we actually see a politician who doesn't shy away from the tough questions and is open and honest enough to let his opinions be known? W ould Ms. Hart and other Liberals like h er be h a p p ie r w ith Mr. D ay if he if he dodged the issues, or perhaps adjusted his stance depending on the occasion? Agree or disagree with his view s, at least we know where he stands, and he has given his word that his views will not be pushed on anybody. S tockw ell D ay's record as the A lberta treasurer is impeccable. The work he's done is already being used as a model internation ally. As a result o f his work, today, Alberta boasts an unemployment rate of only 4.8 per cent...and in my book, the best type of social program is a job. Fluently bilingual, tough on crime, com mitted to and already experienced in aggres sive debt repayment, Stockwell Day offers a sense of pride, hope for the future for our young people and a stab le today fo r our elders. Ms. Hart need not worry...when Stockwell Day is elected as our next Prime M inister, he'll cut her taxes too. Letter of the Week Sad days for Conservation Halton These are sad days for the C onservation H alton Foundation. Until a year ago, this was a w arm and vibrant group o f volunteer board m em bers w ho had, for years, worked happily and closely w ith staff mem b e r G ary H u tto n , to m e e t th e g ro w in g n e e d s o f Conservation Halton. They (C onservation H alton) had ju st celebrated a successful book launch and were looking ahead to a bright future. How quickly things change. C o n serv atio n H alto n c rea te d a new p o sitio n o f e x e c u tiv e d ire c to r fo r th e F o u n d a tio n and G a ry Hutton move on to new duties. New by-laws were written by staff and events were to be elim inated for five years. The board agreed to support the new strategic direction o f the new execu tive director, M elanie Wojick. It m ust be realized th a t the F oundation is not a fundraising com m ittee o f Conservation Halton. T his c h a rita b le , a rm 's le n g th , v o lu n te e r-d riv e n foundation has a board m ade up o f dedicated directors who are com m itted to a `C ode o f R esponsibilities', and they take their duties very seriously. They are the eyes and ears, who m ust be accountable to the public tru st. T h ey m u st ask q u e stio n s and re c e iv e c le a r a n sw e rs, w h ite th ey d ire c t, m o n ito r and e v a lu a te financial management. W ithin this year, eight other directors have already disappeared; ch air Janet M itch elll, vice-chair, Ken M oore, form er chair, Roy W ilson, Bill Robinson, ken Brandson and honourary m em bers George Grum m ett, Alan B ennett and yours truly. Why, you m ight won der? Now, the others have been dism issed and they are being interview ed by those w ho in itiated th eir dis m issal. Curious. Conservation Halton is in full control of its arm 's length fo u n d atio n . T h o se now in ch arg e c e rtain ly d o n 't seem to know the d ep th o f the stren g th that made up that board, nor do they seem to care. S o m an y g if ts h a v e b e e n b e s to w e d on Conservation Halton over the years by these generous, hard-w orking volunteer board m em bers. T heir treat ment is a disgrace. It is time for `openness', the key to trust in all pub lic bodies. An inform ed look in to the co n ce rn s o f Foundation board m em bers is imperative. A look into Conservation Halton would be a good idea as well. Steven Sotnick M e e tin g on no rth O akville d e ve lo p m e n t c ritic a l fo r everyone There will be a public infor mation meeting regarding devel o p m e n t o f th e la n d s n o rth o f Dundas St. on M ay 18th at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall. Please join Oakville Green, a concerned group o f local re s i dents in its effo rts to preserve and protect natural areas north o f Dundas Street. O a k v ille G re e n in te n d s to make a presentation at this m eet ing to sh are o u r co n cern s and goals with Council and the pub lic. T h ere w ill be o p p o rtu n ities for questions during the m eet ing.Show Town Council m em b e rs th a t you c a re a b o u t th is is s u e by c o m in g o u t to th is meeting. There is power in num b e rs and o u r c o lle c tiv e voice m ust be heard. Here is a little background: -7 6 0 0 acres o f a g ric u ltu ral land in north Oakville have been d e s ig n a te d `u r b a n ' by the Region of Halton. The plan is to h o u se 5 0 ,0 0 0 a d d itio n a l re s i dents and new industry. -an environmental study iden tified 1250 acres of these lands as having significant en viron mental features and recommend ed that they be preserved. -th is stu d y re c o m m e n d e d linking the forests with natural green space to create a corridor running east/w est across north Oakville. W hy is Oakville Green con cerned? The town has stated it does not have the funds to purchase the lands. If the lands are not acquired, they will be developed. North Oakville is home to a significant number of plants and w ild life , m any o f w h ic h are already rare or endangered. This is the last o f O akville's u n d e v e lo p e d la n d ; o u r la s t opportunity to preserve a `living legacy' for future generations. Our Goal: To obtain from the Town, its commitment in an official policy ensuring its in ten tio n s to p re serve the 1250 acres identified and create a `w ildlife corridor' of forests connected by green space, to be left in its natural state in perpetuity. Your support is critical. The mayor and council need to know that you care. Soon it will be too late to intervene. W hen the bull d o z e rs s ta rt r o llin g an d th e forests start com ing down, our c o u n c illo rs w ill a n sw e r o u r objections w ith: "W here w ere you in M ay, 2000 w hen these decisions were being made?" K eep ch ecking the w ebsite fo r u p d a te s at <http://m em bers.theglobe.eom /o akville/?area=_II> Education changes punish students It just doesn't add up. The Harris government is trying to hoodwink the public with its new legisla tion expanding teachers' instructional duties that will not add one minute to our students' time with their teachers. The net result of the changes to the Education Act announced last week is to reduce the number of teachers in Ontario secondary schools by several thousand. The slight reduction in class sizes is cos metic, a public relations gimmick and despite their claim s, w ill not c o st th e g o v ern m en t one cent because the num ber of secondary school teachers w ill still have d ecreased once the changes take effect. The student taking six courses will still be taking six courses. The only change is in teachers' work load. The teacher who once taught six courses and soon will be teaching seven, will be faced with any where up to 35 more students each day to instruct, guide, evaluate and mark exams and assignments for. By any definition, that is a substantial change to anyone's work assignment. How can any person of good faith say that these changes will benefit students-which is supposedly what this is all about? These legislative changes have nothing to do with quality education and everything to do with saving money on teachers' salaries. I know that teaching professionals will continue to do w hat they alw ays have done, w hich is to devote themselves to making our education system work, regardless o f the provincial governm ent's appalling legislative efforts to the contrary. Renee Sandelowsky 847-9990 Jim Smith President, Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association Iris McGee 847-9018 e-mail: <oakvillegreen@ hotmail.com> Pud fS O W E GUY IN A PICKUPTRUCK \ \ IS G O IN G THROUGH T H E \ r V ~ P IL E O F S T U F F W E " P U T ON TH E O -IR B / by Steve Nease Anne Ptolem y Form er Conservation H alton director C atholic school marks decade This year marks the 10th anniversary for St. Thom as Aquinas Catholic Secondary School. On May 26th and 27th, a variety of events are planned, including a mass, sports activities, barbeque, wine & cheese evening, fashion show, Jeopardy game and beer garden. All former students, parents and staff are invited to share in the celebration. For further information and to register, call 842-9494 or check out our anniversary website {http://back.to/sta} You Wow W AT ,, THBfSAY-, ONE PERSONS GARBAGE IS ANOTHER'S,, TREASURE. 10th Anniversary Committee St. Thom as Aquinas Catholic Secondary School 124 Margaret Drive Oakville, Ont.