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6 Oakville Beaver Weekend Sunday November 12, 2000 T he Oakville Beaver Ian Oliver, Publisher Neil Oliver, Associate Publisher Norman Alexander, Editor Kelly Montague, Advertising Director Steve Crozier, Circulation Director Teri C a sa s , Office Manager M ark Dills, Production Manager Riziero Vertolli, Photography Director Metroland P rinting Pubishng & D istributrig Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pictering News Advertiser. A lston Herad/Courier, Barrie Advance, Banys Bay Tbs W eek Bolton Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burfngtcn Post, Burfngton Shopping News, City Parent, CoingwoocVW3saga Connection, East Mxk Mrror, Enn AdvocataCountry Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Rost, Georaetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Huroria Business Times, Kingston This Week, Lindsay This Week, M arkham Ecnom ist & Sun. M idland/P enetanguishine M irror, M ilton Canadian Cham pion. M ilton S hopping News. M ississauga Business Tim es, M ississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North Mork Mirror, O akville Beaver, O akville Shopping News, OkJtimers H octey News, OrilSa Today, O shaiira/W hitby/Oarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Peterborough This \Ateek, Picton County G uide, Richm ond Hill/Thornhill/V kughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffvila/Uxbhdge Tribune, Fora^r Moung, City o f Nbrk Guandan RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: JAthaia S K A "T E E S * ^ JiNqle Bell Fusd 0 *& » > 467 Speers Rd., Oakville OnL L6K3S4 (905) 846-3824 Fax: 337-5567 TV AUCTION United Way ol Oakville JAmard (Sakvitte (BAnwcik Editorials It's S a v o lin e Here's hoping that the weather on Monday is decent because if it isn't, the chances are good that the turnout for this municipal election could be at historic lows. If y o u 're a voter, we can understand Halton Region will face both your confusion and your apathy. After many challenges over all, there are tw o cam paigns, with many people concentrating on the federal elec the next three years and tion instead of the election whose outcome affects them more. there is really only one The candidates for the municipal cam person for the job o f paign run the gamut from the capable to the absurd and certainly each voter has to Chair..Joyce Savoline deal with that reality. And while some of Oakville's six wards offer few candidates, there is one common element that binds not only the wards but also the entire region together and that's the race for the job o f Halton Regional Chair. This year marks the first time Halton has had the opportunity to elect some one to the Region's top job and w e've no qualms about backing incumbent Chair Joyce Savoline for that position. There may be other contenders for the job but there are no serious opponents and a great disservice would be done if any of Savoline's opponents garnered more votes. Halton is facing and will continue to face huge problems, many associated with growth and urban pressure on farmland. This is no time for those with little or no political experience to lead the Region for the next three years. Clearly, Joyce Savoline must be returned as Halton Regional Chair. T a k in g a h i t o f h o m e w o r k o n The other night I was hit over the head by a heft Grade 5 mathe matics textbook, and by an evenweightier realization: I hate home work. Always have, always will. It was the night that Margaret Atwood captured the Booker Prize, an occurrence that has absolutely no bearing on this outburst, but is slipped in simply because Maggie is Canadian, and it is the presti gious Booker, and her winning the award is, well, very cool. And it was the night that George W. Bush lost Florida, then won Florida, then m aybe w on F lo rid a and t h e n according to the night-long shoddy reporting equally in evidence on all American television netw orks-he kind of became President-elect of the United States of America (or not), another occurrence that has absolutely no bearing on this out b u rst, b u t is slip p ed in sim ply because such deplorable journalism should be, well, deplored. A nyw ay, on th at afo rem en tio n ed au sp icio u s/in au sp icio u s night, I found myself at the kitchen table for far longer than I care to recall watching the U.S. presiden tial election play to a draw, and doing my...home work. Actually, it was my son's homework. But he needed help. And in a clear-cut vote (no if and or buts about this th e h e a d On the night in question, my sone had about tw o -a n d -a -h a lf hours of homework, not including the 30 m inutes o f reading he is e x p ected to do each n ig h t. Assuming my son is worked, and worked hard, during his six-hour school day, the poor k id 's now putting in nine hour work days! He should claim overtime! No wonder he was grumbling. And no wonder I hear so many par ents grumbling at the bus stop each morning. Much of the homework being given relates to new work, and th e re fo re the ch ild n eed s parental guidance while doing the work. And when you multiply one child's hefty hom ew ork load by two or three or four kids...Then add to that sum the fact that kids are ensconced in after-school activities to which parents must drive them, and you come up with-- parents and progeny who have way too much to do in too little time. For the most part, my son takes his homework assignments serious ly. It was w hen I suggested we slack off for a while, maybe catch a sitcom on TV or something, that he playfully brained me with the text book. You know, I like to see my kids working hard. And I love to see them being challenged. But I also like to see them with a little bit of tim e on their hands. Tim e to be kids. baby), I was elected by my wife to help him. Now, for those adults without children, you need to know that since our school daze (The Dark Ages of Education), a portion of the concept of homework has dramatically changed, while another part has steadfastly remained the same. So, what has changed? Well, I can remember quite clearly scam pering from kindergarten through grade 8 virtually unburdened by homework, save for the odd pro ject. Today, from about grade 2 onw ard, hom ew ork is a nightly given. And, while it can vary great ly from teacher to teacher, on most o f those nights I'm not talking about a subtle hint of homework. No, I'm talking about a gawdawful whack of work. A nd w hat has ste a d fa stly remained the same? No matter how you slice it, homework still stinks. P o lic e S e r v i c e s B o a r d la c k s v i s i o n o f H a l t o n C h ie f We read with interest the article by Nancy Alexander on the refusal of the (Halton) Police Services Board to fund a Parent Watch group for one year. Her reporting of the Police Services process and our position was comprehensive and accurate. We would like to respond to the decision of the Police Services Board to not support our grant request. First of all, funding Parent Watch is a win-win situation for the Police Services Board. It's a vehi cle for continuing prevention of youth crime, pro vides a consistent forum for voicing of parent and police concerns and frustrations and reduces police workload by diminishing crisis situations before they occur. It gives police and parents a chance to intervene with adolescents before there * t m * + 4 4 * «V ,, V v L e tte rs to th e E d ito r is a serious situation to clean up. Second, the fear that other community agencies would have convincing rationale for Police Services Board funding is untrue. Funding a Parent Watch group is a unique situation. The police have been partners in Parent Watch since the beginning of the program (1993). Without police service involvement, the program would not be effective, as the police are an integral com ponent of the program. This partnership is unique. Approval of our funding request would not have set a precedent for future requests because there is no other program like Parent Watch that uses the police in continuous community-based problem solving. r . .? - * * # - > J .# * . · » .-* » « ,» I . ^ . One last thought, if money is the real issue here, then we draw attention to the fact that we save the communities who run Parent Watch, lots of money. How so? It cost an average of $2,500. annually to treat one child for a year at a children's mental health centre; it costs between $45,000 and $100,000. to keep a person in prison for a year. In conclusion, (H alton R egional Police Services) Chief Algar should be applauded for being a visionary for he realized the prohibitive costs of only doing reactive policing work. He also saw the benefits of this unique forum of hav ing parents sitting and working together with police officers. Ray Pidzamecky, MSW, RSW Penny Sm ith, MSW, RSW Co-directors, Parent Watch · * * » I ,i « <