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A6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday December 15, 1999 T h e Oa k v ille B ea v er Ian Oliver Publisher Neil Oliver Associate Publisher Norman Alexander Editor Kelly Montague, Advertising Director Martin Doherty Circulation Director Ten Casas OfficeManager Mark Dills Production Manager Riziero Vertolli Director ofPhotography Melroland Printing, Pu bishng & Distributing Lid., indudes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser. A lston HeraKVCourier. Barrie Advance. Barry's B ay This Week. Bolton Enterprise. Brampton Guardan. Burtngton Post. Bufngton Shopping News. City Parent. CoSngwoocVWasaga Connection. East York Mirror. Erin Advocate'Country Routes. Etobicoke Guardan. Ramboroucp Post. Georgetown mdependent/Acton Free Press. Huonia Business Tm es. Kingston This W eek. Lindsay This W eek. Markham Ecnom ist & Sun. Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror. Milton C anadian Cham pion. Milton Shopping N »vs. M ssissauga Business Tm es. M ssissauga News. Napanee G lide. Newmarket/Atrora Era-Banner. Norttumberland News. North York Mrror. O akvie Beaver. G akvie Shopping News. Otdtmers Hockey News. Orifa Today, OshawaAMitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week. Owen S a n d Tribune. Peterborough This W eek. Picton County G uide. Richm ond Hdi/Thomhill/Vaughan Liberal. Scarborough Mirra. StouffvillOUxbndge Trtxne, Forever >rtxng. City otVbrk Guardan OPINION RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: . 467 Speers Rd., Oakville O nt L6K3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorials Living history Oakville's Lynton `Red' Wilson, is in the vanguard of those who believe that unless we know where we came from, we can't possible know where we're going. There might be boring pre And we agree. Aside from his job as chairman of BCE sentations and interpreta Inc., Wilson's current pet project is to pro tions, but Canadian history mote Canadian history. And that includes is rife with everything from everything from the basics such as materials blood and battles to person alities bigger than life. But for teachers, to a website. N ever one to ju st talk about an issue, our young people w ill never Wilson backed up his beliefs with $500,000 know about these events or individuals, unless all of of his own money. And now, thanks in no them are exposed to small part to his stature in the business com our history. munity, other organizations are coming on board as well. The Historica foundation is dedicated to Canadian history and it has found a benefactor in the Charles R. Bronfman Foundation, which has agreed to match any monies raised by Wilson, up to $25 million. Like many people, Wilson wants to stop the bleeding away of our history and halt the ignorance of young Canadians, especially, about this great land. It wasn't all that long ago that students couldn't get through high school without taking history each year. That's how important this subject was regard ed. No more. Students are opting out of history classes with the standard "it's boring" response. History is anything but boring. There might be boring presentations and interpretations, but Canadian history is rife with everything from blood and battles to personalities bigger than life. But our young people will never know about these events or individuals, unless all of them are exposed to our history. If Red Wilson's dream finds fertile ground in some Canadians who will help carry the banner of history's importance, his efforts will have been worthwhile. 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 Every Christmas season, editorial cartoonists from Victoria to St. John's gleefully rip-off Dr. Seuss' famous character as a symbol for greed, evil and corruption. This year, create your OWN Grinch by cutting out the face of the politician, corporate bigwig or spoiled millionaire athlete of your choice and sticking it in the appropriate space! It could be Paul Martin, for continuing to tax us silly... Mike Harris, for the hospital emergency room crisis... or the head of the WTO for putting profits over human rights... the list is endless! It's fun! It's easy! And it won't change a darn thing! I ) How not to win friends and influence residents "A potential public relations disaster" was the phrase used by a media-wise acquaintance of mine this morning to describe the latest a ttem p t o f o u r w e ll-m e a n in g Town Council to shoot itself in its c o lle c tiv e fo o t. We w e re d is c u ssin g th e B ro n te C reek P ro v in cia l P ark issu e and th e manner in which the "optics" on this d iv isiv e m atter have been m iss-handled by the w ell-inten tioned folk on our local Town Council. S ho u ld an y o n e o u t th e re am ong y o u r re a d e rs d e s ire to obtain a sure-fire method of oblit e ra tin g v o te r c o n fid e n c e and replacing it with the well-known taxpayer mistrust, they need only heed the directions that follow, as painstakingly researched by our Oakville Town Council. First: pick an issue that evokes maximum sensitivity on the part o f the average person; the envi ronment would be a good choice. Second: threaten to sell 35% of a n o n -ren ew ab le reso u rce to a large and successful commercial en terp rise... how about B ronte Creek Provincial Park for starters? Third: m ake certain that the resource which you are attempting to sell if completely unique within the GTA; again B ronte C reek P rovincial Park "fills the b ill" admirably. Fourth: it really helps if the afo re m e n tio n ed "co m m ercial enterprise" has left town a short tim e previously, taking with it w hat is said to be $40-m illion from the sale of a similar chunk of Oakville -- the sale of the Glen Abbey Golf Course to ClubLink definitely springs to mind. F ifth : m ake ab so lu te ly no effort w hatsoever to inform the average citizen of your reasons or the rationale behind this seeming ly destructive series of events. Sixth: and this is most impor tant, make absolutely certain that all of these negotiations are held in total secrecy; for added voter fury, try to have th is a ir o f M achiavellian secrecy inadver tently revealed at the last possible moment. I am perso n ally acquainted w ith several m em bers o f town council, and I know them to be mainly honourable, mainly decent people, ju st like the rest o f us. How or why they have attached themselves to this squalid busi ness is a question whose answer completely escapes me. What on earth could they have been think ing? One o f the m em bers o f our local rate-payers group said to me yesterday, "If this impending sale is so good fo r the Tow n o f Oakville, why doesn't som eone on Oakville's council take a lead ership role and explain the reason ing?" W hy indeed? O akville is justly famous for a council and a mayor who have seen neither a camera nor a "photo-opportunity" which they didn't grasp tightly with both hands. Pick up any local paper and there they are for all to see; tightly gripping babies, shov els, scissors, any and all manner of artifacts, and grinning madly into the re a d e r 's face. O kay, maybe, that's politics, but where are they on this issue? The people who voted for them deserve to know. C ouncil has been stran g ely silent on this important and emo tio n al issue at a tim e w hen it should be out manning the barri cades and explaining its reason ing. The scuffling sound you hear, may be our local political heroes, running for the bunkers. Russ Little Letter of the Week School' s expansion should be embraced I've been reading the letters in recent issues o f the B e a v e r re g a rd in g the e x p a n sio n o f S t. M ild re d 's Lightbourn School. As a 43-year resident o f the near neighbourhood, I must disagree with those against the school's expansion. I believe that St. M ildred's offers a rich and safe envi ronment for young women to grow and learn. I think that the school is a good neighbour, and I have only kind things to say about the girls who attend the school. The older girls, in particular, are a positive role model for their younger school neighbours across the street at Linbrook school. Kids can be noisy, and schools cause traffic, but I would rather have both schools in the area. I think the most telling line in the Sage/Alexander let ter is that "St. Mildred's would do better to seek a special location away from residential neighbourhoods." I don't believe for a minute that these people are interested in the environment but, in fact, are only interested in their own "quality o f life." Perhaps, a few m ore monster homes would be in keeping with your lifestyle wishes. I feel that schools should be in residential areas, where the children can feel safe and part of the commu nity. In light of all the abuse that young women suffer in our society, I say more power to St. Mildred's and wel come to the neighbourhood! Pat M urphy School can expand with little impact on area Re: St. M ildred' s Expansion would hurt environ ment I can certainly sym pathize with (Ms Page and Mr. Alexander) trying to solve certain issues in their area. As a future resident of this area, I share some o f th eir co n cern s but to say th at St. M ild re d 's Expansion would hurt the environment is just not so. The noise levels should be addressed in other ways, such as: the multi operational railway yards which borders on this area. One of the busiest sec tions o f the QEW has no sound barriers between Trafalgar and Windsor Drive exits. This contributes greatly to the noise issue. I believe for the residents in the immediate sector where the streets are graveltopped, that paving would certainly help the noise factor. However, these are Town issues. The chil dren's noise in the school yard is St. M ildred's issue. I sym pathize with the pedestrians on the side roads, where there are no sidewalks for children and retirees to promenade on safely. As a parent, I cer tainly would prefer m y fam ily to use sidew alks instead of a road where one has to deal with vehicles parked and motoring, leaves piled in heaps, garbage, etc. This is a Town issue, not St. M ildred's. St. M ild red 's E xpansion is not to add to the school's population nor the traffic. It is strictly a "Facilities Improvement Plan." This is a requirement for their present students, to rem ove the portable classrooms and add a wing. This would not change the quality of life in the neighbourhood. The addi tion would certainly be a better view for the resi dents at the top of Balmoral than the present "trailer structures" with exposed hydro wires and no trees. St. M ild re d 's has taken on the sole co st o f redesigning parking and addressing their time-limit ed traffic flow problem s. One m ust realize that th ere are m any m ore cars per h o u seh o ld than before. The on-going residential construction on Linbrook and other streets with their trade vehicles add to the problem . The area has not only St. M ild re d 's but o th e r sch o o ls, sy n ag o g u es and churches which are "shoe-homed" into this area as well. They contribute as well in forming a commu nity. As a member of the Conservancy of Canada, I c e rta in ly o p p o se the d e v a s ta tio n o f fo re sts. Normally, there is a 10% dead-wood factor. This could pose a problem in a residential area if not cared for. I believe the school's intent is not to devoid the area of fauna but to incorporate the trees as best as possible, in so keeping with the area's "forest-like atmosphere" and for conservation pur poses. St. M ildred's-Lightbourn School is a not-forprofit school for girls. It is not a burgeoning campus (as per letter of Ms Sage, Mr. Alexander). The school and the student body are very com munity oriented. Their aim is to simply add indoor classrooms. I trust that harmony and patience will win at the day's end for all. Diana Rose Questions on fire rem ain I have been following with concern the reactions of our fire officials to the jury findings of the Fedoruk fire inquest. I would like to inquire why our Fire Department is concen trating on spending our tax dollars on the latest technology solutions when m ost o f the recom m endations centre on training and proper communications? While I personally am delighted that we have purchased a "thermal im aging" device at w hatever cost, the logical question is How will we, as citizens, benefit from this? Will the first response teams at a blazing residence have to waste precious minutes waiting around for this gadget to arrive from some central location to determine if there are occu pants trapped inside? Is the fire department going to be pur chasing multiple units for all stations? At what cost? C .H . Grant C h ie f h a s m a n d a te to a c t I w ould like to th an k F ire C h ie f W ayne G ould for responding to the reported criticism of his department, which surfaced from the Fedoruk inquest findings (Dec. 8th). While nothing can rectify or change the outcomes of that tragic fire which claimed the lives of four in August 1998, the jury brought down 27 responsible and reasonable recom mendations. Fully 20 of these are within his direct mandate as chief or can be effected by his department. It is an unfortunate fact that recom m endations from inquest juries are not legally binding and, consequently, are routinely ignored by the bureaucrats in charge of the depart ments involved -- be that fire, police, medical, legal, etc. Why not make sure that this does not happen in Oakville? I am certain that all 127,000 residents of this community would like to know what is going to be done and when. Ian Rankin Pud by Steve N ease H k W h i r ' a