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6 Oakville Beaver W eekend Sunday October 22, 2000 T h e O ak ville B ea v e r Metrotand Printing. Pubishng & Detrbutng Lid. reticles: Ajax/Pcicmg Ian Oliver, Publisher News Adrertoec Alston HerafcVCouner. Same Advance. Barry's Bay This Week. Bolton Enterpnse. Brampton Guarden. Bulngton Po3, Bcrtngton Nefl Oliver, Associate Publisher Shoppng News. Oty Parent. CoingwoodWteaga Comecfton, East >tork Mrror. Erin Ad^ocato'Country Routes. Etobcde Gcarden. Rantiorougfi Norman Alexander, Editor P o st. Georaefcw/n Inctependani/Acton Free Press. Hurone Business Times. This Week. Lindsay This Week. Markham Ecnormst & Sun. Kelly Montague, Advertising Director Kingston Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror. Milton Canadian Champion. Milton Shopping News. Mississauga Business Times. Mississauga News. Steve Crazier, Circulation Director Napanee Guide. Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner. Northumberland News. North Mark Mrror, Oakvile Bearer. Oakvile Shoppng News, Otdtmers Ten Casas, OfficeManager Hockey News. Onlla Today. Oshawa/Whitty/Oarngton Port Perry The Week. Owen Sound Tribune, Peterborough The Vfeek. Picton County Mark Dills, Production Manager Guide. Richmond Hril/ThomhiB/Vbughan Liberal. Scarborough Mirror. Riziero Vertolli, Photography Director StouffviaAJxbndge Trtxjne. Ftawrer'ibung Cityof MarkGuardfan RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: O THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR; T *M H TM -G a W !/C ,2 ^ E^ W A G O N im `f e \ *H« ,"m u |fo b BRONTE 1 UTTERFLY -----------------------J ' t nv'* a JiNCjU Bell FuNd ` nu, iOTTCfr 0 T£>he © Q"krit/e @ 4wn»s ro ll BUSINESS EXCaLENCE 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont L6K3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax; 337-5567 TV AUCTION United Wav of Oakville Editorials G ood new s...but The announcement this week that the Province and the Town of Oakville will be spending $20 million on a new Third Line interchange is good news indeed. But like most projects of this magnitude, there is good news and bad news. The good news, of course, is that com I t m akes sense to accelerate the \ muters using the Hwy. 403 - corridor from Burlington to the Ford plant, will be getting construction tim etable on the two extra lanes to ease their gridlock woes. Those using Third Line to head south and section o f Upper M iddle R oad from\ north o f the Q EW will also gain better Postm aster Drive to Bronte Road access to the industrial section of town, such from 2009 to a m ore realistic date. as W yecroft Road, the service roads and Speers Road. The bad news won't bother the east-west QEW travellers who won't be caught in the attendant mess at Upper Middle Road. There is already gridlock on this sec tion of road that looks more like a wagon trail than a major arterial road. One dis gruntled home owner told us it can take her 20 minutes or more to travel a couple of kilometres during daily rush hours. It makes sense to accelerate the construction timetable on the section of Upper Middle Road from Postmaster Drive to Bronte Road from 2009 to a more realistic date. The issue is fast becoming acute, especially with three new developments given approval last M onday night, the same day as the Third Line funding announcement. And lastly, while Transportation Minister David Turnbull was giving commuters the good news, he didn't say anything about alternatives to driving....like GO Transit. Mayor Ann Mulvale mentioned that an improved Third Line interchange would benefit those using the Bronte GO station just west of Third Line but Turnbull didn't say a word - no doubt he was thinking about his government's deci sion to put public transit policy at the end of its priority list. Preparation the key for Halloween planning T h in g s a re r e a lly h o p p in g a ro u n d th e h o m e s te a d . W ith Halloween fast approaching, there are elaborate costumes to be con ceived, haunted houses to be built in the basement, and trick-or-treat tactics and routes to refine with the goal o f m in im izin g energy expended and maximizing candy intake (also known as `the haul"). H allow een has a rich history that began with the Druids or the Truffles or the Lemon Meringues (also known as The Pie People), o r o n e o f th o s e o th e r a n c ie n t orders deeply rooted in religion, or baking. W hile I confess that I'm not all that up on Halloween history, the other night I did look up A ll H a llo w s E ve on the Internet, that cyber-thingy that v ic e -p re s id e n t A1 (T he E x a g g e ra to r) G ore in v e n te d . W hat I found w ere all sorts of pleasant sites that offered delight ful read in g s o f The R aven by E dgar A llen Poe and cute little stories such as, and I'm not mak ing this up: H alloween, Carefree C hildren' s H oliday O r D em onic D ay o f Darkness? As a parent, I am well aware th a t th e D em o n ic D ay o f D a rk n e ss a c tu a lly fo llo w s Halloween. That would be the day after the little Halloweeners have eaten all that candy. The day their teeth are aching from the bonbon then, scant preparation went into Halloween. Very few houses were adorned with the ghoulish decora tio n s o f the o ccasio n , p aren ts tended to run o u t and buy the goodies on the day before, and costumes were whipped up only a few hours before trick-or-treating began. It was like: Hey, I've got a football helmet in the basement, so I 'll be... Hmmm... A football player! Today, houses are decorated to the eaves, spooky soundtracks are piped outside, and both parents and progeny have been prepping for the event since the day after Labour Day, which was when our local supermarket put out its first display of Halloween goodies. In the supermarket's porous defence, on th at sam e day, a C h ristm as flyer landed on our doorstep. A ro u n d o u r h o u se , th is Halloween marks a time of transi tion. O ur oldest is for the first time considering not dressing up and going out (although I can see the wheels turning in his head as he w o nders ju s t how he co u ld score some candy without actual ly donning a costum e), and our youngest -- w ho only last year had enough after about 10 houses -- is talking about staying out for hours and filling entire sleeping bags. Not pillow cases. Sleeping bags. As a family with no dental plan, we cringe at such talk. Last week, I had the opportuni ty to accompany our youngest and her Senior Kindergarten class to S p rin g rid g e F arm fo r a little H a llo w e e n -th e m e d fun an d a pumpkin pick. For those wonder ing w hat the little ones w ill be w e a rin g th is y ear, I h av e the inside scoop. Ten girls polled said they w ere going to e ith er be a Princess or, well, a Princess. Ten boys polled said they were going to be T h e G rim R e a p e r O r S o m eth in g To Do W ith D eath And Blood and Guts And Stuff. Hey, I'm counting dow n the days... blitz, th e ir b ellies are b u g g in ' fro m o v e re a tin g , and th e y 're bouncing off the walls on a whop ping sugar high. H allow een sure has com e a long way from the ancient days -- and here I am not referring to the days of the Druids, but, rather, the era when I was a kid. Back Pud WHAT p o You WANT TO F W WITH?, By Steve Nease a- «