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Sunday August 6, 2000 Oakville Beaver Weekend 3 Virusmore harmful to adults than children ( C o n tin u e d fr o m p a g e 1) Oakville Town Crier Burkholder hosted his first event recently at the Heart and Stroke Foundation's Big Bike For Stroke. Photo by Ian Ross By M ary Collett SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Oyez. Oyez. Oyez. `It is hereby officially proclaimed that the honourable position of Oakville's Town Crier, newly vacated by the esteemed Dame Betty Kading, hath been conferred by acclamation upon Master Ian Burkholder at ye olde Oakville Waterfront Festival, on June 24th, in the Year of our Lord 2,000. Felicitations to both, and God save the Queen!' Ian Burkholder freely concedes that his vic tory in the selection process for town crier was an easy one. "I was expecting a real ding-dong battle, but since I was the only one who showed up for the competition at Lakeside Park, I won by acclamation," he laughingly admits. Burkholder may have had no problem securing the town crier title, but the road to his current success has been a checkered and bumpy one. A lifelong resident of Oakville, Burkholder's passage into young adulthood was fairly straightforward and unremarkable. Bom 44 years ago to parents Jack and Joan, Ian and his younger sister Bari enjoyed a care free childhood. The senior Burkholders are familiar faces around town as both actively engage in a variety of community projects and causes. Bari, now married to firefighter Dan Atkinson, and the mother of three young chil dren, also continues to live in Oakville. Ian attended Linbrook and E. J. James When Ian cries, everyone smiles schools, before moving on to OakvilleTrafalgar High School. Following graduation, Burkholder successfully completed his post secondary studies at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, earning an honours degree in commerce. In 1978, prompted by an urge to see the country, work with his hands, and, as he puts it, "sow his wild oats," Burkholder headed west to Calgary, where, for the next five years, he undertook a series of jobs on the oil rigs of Alberta. Then disaster struck. Burkholder was hit on the head with 60 feet of 3.5-inch steel tubing. He survived his life-threatening injuries, but not without cost. Burkholder was dis charged from hospital six weeks later, with a plastic plate in his head, suffering the perma nent loss of sight in one eye and reduced mem ory capacity. Damaged but undaunted, Burkholder refused to be broken by his disabilities. Today, he works out regularly at a neigh borhood health club, maintaining a high fit ness level through swimming and exercise. An avid reader, he tackles a broad spectrum of eclectic topics ranging from philosophy to economics. He's also a dedicated environmen talist, a Red Cross volunteer, and the notable collector of over 190 hats. When not buffing his beloved AustinHealey sports car that he's owned for 21 years, Ian enjoys listening to blues music and attend ing local events such as the annual Waterfront Festival. Burkholder, who saw the notice for a new town crier in the Oakville Beaver, says, "I wanted to try out for it because I thought it would bring some structure to my life." Now that he's been awarded this prominent position, Burkholder proudly dons the distinc tive tricorn hat, demonstrates his cry, and rings the trademark brass bell with boyish enthusi asm. He's renting a uniform until one in the town colors of green and gold can be made to measure. Burkholder knows that he has some tough acts to follow, and not just that of his prede cessor, Betty Kading, who served Oakville well as its town crier for the past 11 years. The concept of a town crier originated in classical Greece, where an individual was cho sen to announce the beginning and end of the workday. In medieval France, the role of courier evolved into categories from `King's crier' down to `the people's crier.' For his part, Burkholder says, "I don't intend to be a champion, but I'll represent Oakville and do the town proud." He expects to be called on about 40 times this year for both private and public functions, and plans to conclude each of his individually written cries with the signature sign-off, "Have a great day and a better tomorrow!" · Remain in well-screened or com pletely enclosed, air-conditioned areas. West Nile Virus is spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosqui to. A mosquito becomes infected by bit ing a bird that carries the virus. The virus is not known to spread from per son-to-person nor from bird-to-person. Symptoms in the majority of individu als can be unrecognizable to mild. Three to 12 days following the bite of an infected mosquito, symptoms may appear and range from a slight fever headache and mild flu-like illness to rapid onset of severe headache, high fever, stiff nick, muscle weakness, and disorientation. Illness is more severe in adults than in children. While no positive human cases have been reported this year, West Nile Virus has been detected in dead birds and mosquitoes in New York City (Queens and Richmond), surrounding counties in New York State (Orange, Rockland, Suffolk, Westchester), Connecticut (Fairfield county), New Jersey (Bergen, Hudson and Middlesex coun ties) and Massachusetts (Suffolk coun ty). West Nile Virus has not been detected in Canada to date despite of active surveillance. For more information about West Nile Virus, contact Halton Region Health Department at 905-825-6060 ext. 7 8 17; or visit its website at www.region.halton.on.ca/health. Beaver offices closed on Civic Holiday M onday The offices of the Oakville Beaver will be closed on Mon. Aug. 7th in recognition of the Civic Holiday. The offices will resume business as usual on Tues. Aug. 8th at 8:30 a.m. For those wishing to deliver materi al to the paper, there is an exterior dropbox at the offices at 467 Speers Road. "Just for the Girls" an in-store FAKrnS! ITALIAN C M & J H A C K WCE,.. o -- C D |-T3 C D , - E r> e C Z 13 E 8* ·5 _cc c 3 v . -- o o az 4 ^ E ro E - « 9 e < V ©Z © -- ·5.c 3c H O M E P A R T IE S AOV Tuesday August 8 2544 Speers Rd, Oakville (905) 825-8268 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm I I I Door Prizes 2 0 % O ff Purchases Refreshments Expert Product Knowledge Now featuring a new summer menu with a unique combination of regional Italian favourites and southern U.S.Crabshack specialties. -- on on v fa 9 U *"o h « ^ > az « =£ e7 Sb S * - £ < X 3C D s i® ! t o a.« 2 " lU O S ·D N ew K id sM en u ! 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