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A6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday November 24,1999 T he Oakville B eaver Ian Oliver Publisher Neil Oliver Associate Publisher Norman Alexander Editor Kelly Montague, Advertising Director M artin Doherty Circulation Director Ten Casas Office Manager M ark Dills Production Manager Riziero Vertolli Director o f Photography Metroiand Printing. PubSshing & Distributing Lid., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser. AJfcton HerakVCouner. Bame Advance. BarryS Bay This Week. Bolton Enterprise. Brampton Guardan. Burlngton Post. Bulngton Shoppng News. City Parent. CdngwoocWVesaga Connection. East York Mirror. Erin Ad/ocat^Country Routes. Etobicoke GuartJan. Flamborough Post. Georgetown indapendent/Acton Free Press. Huorta Business Tmes. Kingston This Week. Undsay This Week. Markham Ecnomist & Sun. Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror. Milton Canadian Champion. Milton Shopping News. Mssissauga Business Tm es. Mssssauga News. Napanee Gude, Newmarket/Atrora Era-Banner. Northumberland News. North York M ror. Oakvie B ea«r. Oakvie Shopping News, ddtm ers Hockey News. Orifa Today. OshawaWhitty/Clarington Port Perry This Week. Owen Sound Tribune. Peterborough This Week. Picton County Guide. Richmond HiH/ThornhilWaughan Liberal. Scarborough Mirror. StoufMie/Uxbridge Trtxne. Forever Mxng. City of Mark Guardan OPINION RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: ° T^M H Prrptrmg for T umorm e t Hrolih Core . . . . . . . . . . . . . r,rL 467 Speers Rd., Oakville O n t L 6K 3S 4 (905) 846-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 JiNqlf Btll FuNd TH E BR O N t f l U T T E R FLY United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION E d ito ria ls No place to go The latest major mishap on the traffic-clogged QEW again illustrates how far the province has to go in making transportation work in the country's busiest traffic corridor. As tragic and pointless as the crash and QEW accidents are really a resulting truck driver's death was, the result cause and effect situation. The accident causes com ing day-long chaos was a complete fiasco. And this, on a day with basically good dri plete traffic gridlock and ving conditions. thanks to myopic trans Commuters and anyone wanting to even portation flunking over the travel around Oakville on Monday, were con years on the part o f the fronted with an impossible situation. There town, region and province; were no options except to sit, bum gas and it' s only going to get worse. waste both time and money. We've long been proponents of making tl Toronto-Burlington QEW section a major priority but only now is something happening on the westernmost extremity of this section. It's already too late. Not only that, but given the number of accidents that occur in the Oakville section of the QEW, a good transportation network is essential. QEW accidents are really a cause and effect situation. The accident causes complete traffic gridlock and thanks to myopic transportation thinking over the years on the part of the town, region and province; it's only going to get worse. Little wonder that an increasing number of hotels are locating in Oakvillethey see a ready clientele in motorists trapped in accident-related delays, too tired to continue their trek. And winter is just around the comer. We can almost see them rubbing their hands in delight. It's a marketing specialist's dream.... `try our gridlock special, dinner and a nice room for.....'. As for the Rebecca Street-New Street bridge? Keep a positive thought. AND TIRED OF SoYOU RE SICK WAYNE 6RETZK -THAT'S NOT A CRIME, IS I T t Letters to the Editor The Oakville Beaver w elcom es your com m ents. All letters m u st be typed, signed and include the w riter's address and phone num ber. Send to: L etters to the Editor, The Oakville B eaver 4 6 7 S peers Rd., Oakville, O nt. L6K 3 S 4 Rights o f children leave parents powerless So th a t th e U N 's " so c ia l u n k n o w n p erso n in the e n g in e e rs " can re a liz e th e ir M ulroney governm ent signed cherished dream of recycling away Canadian parents' control an ancient, iniquitous `culture' to an 'alien' power, under the -- m a lle a b le , b ia s -f re e term s o f T he In te rn a tio n a l youngers are crucial as build C onvention on the R ights of in g -b lo ck s. T hus, is exposed U N IC E F 's d esp erate need to reel in our children, by hook I am writing in response to or by crook. Peter P ellier's letter (Oakville T h e `h o o k ,' p u t o u t by Beaver, Wed. Nov. 10th/99) -- U N IC E F 's lo cal `a g e n ts ' in System should work equally...even c o llu s io n w ith E le c tio n s fo r Karla. Mr. Pellier was so Canada, is bated with a seduc focused on defending citizens' tive lure. The Nov. 19th refer rights that he missed the point of e n d u m o ffe rs an aw eso m e the whole uproar. challenge for kids six to 17, to The reaction of the general b u tt h ea d s a g a in s t no t on ly public to Karla Homolka being parental -- but ALL authority allowed to appeal regarding the save that planned by the `child- denial o f her application for frie n d ly ' Pied Pipers in New escorted temporary absence in York. This is nothing less than about outcome, not process. No a sly, la s t- d itc h b id to re n t one said she should be denied the asunder the parent/child bond; right to appeal. An article in the the parents bearing the cost, in Globe & Mail stated that she was more ways than the obvious. fully within her rights to request The `crook' angle is in how the appeal, and maybe Mr. Pellier we g o t h e re . In D ec. 1990, didn't see the Sun article titled, cloaked in m axim um secrecy "O utrage O ver Idea o f Free and minus parental knowledge Karla." The general public is out or legitim ate House-debate (in raged at the idea of Karla having itself, an abuse of power) -- an any amount of freedom while still the Child (no word on duties, responsibilities). How m uch d e c e it by UNICEF Canada and its New York `m asters' does it take to alert parents to the urgent need to reclaim their young and re establish their lawful authori ty? A harrowing shock awaits the opening of this Pandora's box. A ile e n M . S iv e ll Letter of the Week Parade committee wrong to take cash Re: Santa Claus Parade 1 am the wife of a Kinsmen and have just returned home from the (Nov. 20th) Oakville Santa Claus Parade. There have been a few changes this year...for the worse. Kinsmen have successfully done the food drive for the past nine years, circulating white buckets for cash donations. Funds collected were distributed throughout the community for families currently finding themselves in financial difficulty. John Dorn has always chaired and started the food drive project with the Kinsmen Club. As a family, we have always come together to roll the money in the evening o f the parade. T his year, K insem en were informed that half of the money collected for families would go to the parade committee. John was also advised he would not be allowed to count the money. This would have been the 10th year our family counted the money, it had become a family custom. The parade committee receives no money from the Town, money is raised from corporate sponsors. Taking money away from families in need would definitely cut down their work load and need for sponsors the follow ing year, but at what cost? The majority of the expenses incurred are for marching bands. I understand the parade committee usually breaks even. I was distressed when I learned the parade committee also had buckets allocated away from the food drive flatbed truck. I do not believe enough publicity regarding the split in funds has been given to the public. The people I encountered knew nothing and were either horrified or angry at the decision. I also do not believe the parade committee has the right to take this money from the pub lic. I appreciate that it is difficult to get sponsors but an alternative could be fewer marching bands. My feeling is to give back the m oney w here it belongs. Laurinda Dorn Karla Homolka will be free soon enough serving her sentence. They were also angry about Karla's audacity in thinking she has the right to some freedom on any scale before her sentence is up. She is not just requesting "due process" -- she is requesting freedom from incarceration, albeit on a limited basis, and this is what the public is saying should not be allowed. Karla had her due process and was sentenced to 12 years in jail. She is now trying to get privi leges that both her jailers and doctors say she shouldn't have. Karla chose judicial review over an internal assessment because she knows that no one in Corrections Canada will recom mend releasing her for any rea son. She wanted a judge with lit tle knowledge of her past crimes and no emotion toward her role in them. Before our new spapers picked up the story, hardly any one in Quebec knew who Karla was. This is exactly what she was counting on when she chose judi cial review. I do not feel that the coverage of this issue in the papers was "an insult to the profession and an affront to the general public," as Mr. Pellier stated. The reporters presented the facts behind the appeal apd then described the honest response Karla's actions provoked, both the public's and their own. Obviously, the cover age was an affront to Mr. Pellier. Finally, I agree that rehabilita tion should be the goal of Corrections Canada. What Mr. Pellier overlooked is the ugly truth that some criminals cannot be rehabilitated. Pedophiles, seri al killers, and sexual sadists, for example, cannot be cured -- this is a medical fact. All the therapy of a lifetime will not change what they are. K arla H om olka is a p sy chopath who willingly participat ed in the horrific sexual torture and m urder o f three young women, one her own sister. She should never be released from jail, not even for an hour. The public outrage regarding this issue springs from the knowledge that, even though it is a travesty of justice, Karla Homolka will be a free woman in less than two years, and th ere's not a damn thing any of us can do about it. Lisa Langley E ld erly drivers deserve sp ecia l licensing The following letter was sent to B urlington M PP and O ntario Tourism Minister, Cam Jackson-a copy was also filed with the Oakville Beaver for publication. I am writing this letter on behalf of seniors over 80 and the require ment for taking a driving test. There is no issue with the test ing; I believe it is necessary. However, I wonder why they are required to take the highway test. Could there not be a de-regulated license-such as the G l-for those seniors who will never use the highway and only require their car as a means of independence and for use around town. I believe there are many seniors who are intimi dated by having to be highway test ed, when they haven't been on a highway, perhaps, in years. The stress of having to undergo the highway test seems extrem ely unfair and even unnecessary at this time in one's life. I am suggesting a license simi lar to that for new young drivers. You can't drive on the highway, can't drive after midnight, or some thing along those lines. It is my belief that many seniors would be extremely happy if such a change could be implemented. It is a know fact, that keeping one's independence in older years, goes a long way to maintaining good health and remaining in con trol of your life. While this will not be an issue for me personally for over 20 years, I have first-hand experience with relatives who have had to deal with the stress outlined above and how devastating it is to their self-confidence and selfimage and how it can lead to feel ings of depression and dependence on others. Changing face of Scouting A CP news story in early November reported that a gay scout group has been set up in Toronto. Created by the Canadian scouting association, it's for gays and les bians, from 18 to 26, and will be called a Rover troop. In addition to camping, Apply Day, and other traditional Scout activities, they plan to offer homosexual-related badges. It was not stated just how those badges will be earned. In case the Boy Scouts of Canada are thought of when reading the foregoing, it should be clear that these are two different organizations. The Boy Scouts (now called Scouts Canada) only claim to be politically correct. The Boy Scouts of Canada says that it screens leaders through references and the police but, otherw ise, it's open to everyone. Apparently, not all of the scouters are happy with the introduction of co-ed scouting. T here's another break away group called The Baden-Powell Scout' s Association o f Canada. They have accused the Boy Scouts of Canada o f "un -S co u t-lik e-b eh av io u r," for straying from the guidelines laid down by the founder, Lord Baden-Powell. They wear traditional uniforms, and use the traditional 10 S co u t m ax im s th a t are b ase d on the Ten Commandments. P e te r E. S tic k le e Helen Hunchik Pud I Sot MV MID-TERM -REftRTT O D A Y tting SO M E T H IN G /// by Steve Nease B U TD O E S N 'TA P P L Y H IM S E LF,, C O U L DU S E C L A S STIME M O R E W IS E LY ,^ O W !H O W 'DY o u A K E SPosm VE W P ud habtheability M j> o m ? C O N T R IB U T IO NB U T N E E D STOS T A Y *y~?siC 0N TfcK »/E Y TR A HaPA V A IL A B L E IF N E E D E D A Lh LOTS o f your ,,