The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Wednesday, August 4, 1 h e UANVILLt tJUAVEK COMMENT Island purchase provides sum m er with sunny story Okay, so the fact the Canadian government has shelled out a little over $1 million to pre­ serve, among others, the Lake Erie water snake may not exactly captivate you. Or just the idea that Middle Island is home to 35 other species listed as endangered may not do anything for you either. But the fact is, Middle Island is geo­ graphically a piece of Canada and now, following a sale by an American car dealer, belongs solely to our country. So what, you say? It's just some abandoned old island way out there in the middle of nowhere. But let me tell you, my eyes lit up at the news. We had followed the announcement that the island was up for auction, idly speculating about the future owner. Wouldn't it be great, we said, if we got it back? That's what happened. The federal government used a proxy bidder in the DIANE HART form of the Nature Conservancy of Canada to buy back the land and avoid a high priced bidding war and did it, quick. Parks Canada made a deal with the non-profit Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) to front a bid for the land. And they managed to buy our coun­ try's most southernmost tip for a remarkable sum of money. The unin­ habited horn-shaped island is also a home to such water birds as the great egret and the black-crowned night heron. According to the National Post, local legend has it that during prohibi­ tion rum-runners and Chicago mobster A1 Capone used the isolated island. It is also a place that passed back and forth between the two countries during the War of 1812. And it once had a resort hotel on it. Today, there sits a ruined lighthouse, rusted oil drums and the remains of an old guesthouse. Until last week, the island was owned by a Cincinnati car dealer. Soon, according to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, it will be part of Point Pelee National Park. Sheila Copps, Minister of Canadian Heritage, said in a statement she was "thrilled to see Middle Island returned to Canadian hands" and called it a spe­ cial part of our nation. I don't know about that. But it is kind of neat it's been returned to us. Plus, I have to admit to a fascination with islands, all shapes and sizes. Just the idea of a piece of land sitting in the middle of water, anywhere, is attractive. A few years ago we took the ktds to an incredible area of islands also in this country, Quebec's Isles de la Madelaine (The Magdalen Islands), a windswept beautiful place. Flying into that secluded section of Canada you could see the sand stretch for many kilometres and water everywhere. It is a beautiful, unusual place. An island has the capacity to cap­ ture the imagination, even a tiny neglected one like Middle Island. The fact it was bought back in such a secret maneuvre adds to its allure. Middle Island, of course, is not in the same category of islands as Isles de la Madelaine. It has been abandoned for the past 30 years or so. The tiny island, just 300 metres of the U.S.-Canada bor­ der, is for all intents and purposes a place for bird droppings and (eeks) water snakes. And maybe it's just so Canadian to stop a moment a relish the purchase o f , such an uninhabitable place in the mid­ dle of summer. Only we could get excited about such a place. Then again, let's think about it a minute. In a summer of eerie news like the Kennedy crash, or a trader going nuts in Atlanta, or here, close at home, a police officer shot in mid-day on the 401, who in their right mind is going to not enjoy reading about a purchase of a piece of tranquil land? Rather than blazing guns or faces of horrified people looking out from the front pages, we see a couple of happy guys from the Nature Conservancy of Canada celebrating the acquisition of a tiny island. Reports from the group mention the roomful of NCC support­ ers cheering wildly at the news of the purchase. , Okay, I can get into that. A roomful of people all cheering about an island. It sure beats most of the stuff that's happening in this crazy world. Passage of time sheds new light on traditions HEY! Stephanie MacLellan For the past five years, have gone up to my great- aunt's cottage in Bala, Muskoka, at some point during the summer. Summer after summer, year after year, I find myself walking the same trails,---------:------------------------------- swimming in the same river, looking at the same breathtaking scenery. Landmarks along the 401, the diner in Barrie where we stop for lunch, even getting goodies from the almighty Don's Bakery become part of the trip. The same thing happens towards the end of every summer, when I go with a few friends to The Ex. No matter how much walking it takes, we have to go on the same rides, dine in the food pavilion, and score giant bags of pink and blue cotton candy. After all these years, I know that finding a place to sit in the food building takes forever, that banging around on the carnival rides causes bruising. I know that I get queasy when I stay out in the heat on the cottage's balcony for too long, and that mosquitoes flock to me when I try to swim in the river at dusk. But year after year, I keep doing these things. With every year, these traditions gain more and more impor­ tance for me. It could be that, like all other traditions, they gain value with time. But as I look ahead to leaving for university next year, my per­ sonal traditions mean more to me now than ever before. I know that I'm entering the last year of my life in its present form, so the things that make up patterns in my life are magnified, and become tradition. Now when I make these journeys, I know that it's one of the last times I make them in this context. When everything is about to change, the things that have remained the same gain more meaning. Summer itself is a tradition. It returns each year, bringing warm weather and vivid memories. Whenever any of my traditions are repeated, it brings to mind summers past, good times spent with good friends that I may never see again after next summer. It takes no more than a song or a photo to bring me back summers ago, and I can clearly recall where I went, who I was with, what bands I saw, who was on my soccer team... In spite of all this, not even the most carefully planned tradi­ tions remain the same. Over the summers, the friends have changed. The conditions of the river I swim in vary drastically from one summer to the next. Even the name of that ride at The Ex has never been the same twice. (The Monster? The Octopus?) Total sameness would do nothing except make each summer indis­ tinguishable from the next. Although I've never liked the expression, change is the only constant in life. But doing things that feel the same can be the best way of remembering how good you felt when you did them in the past; especially when you don't know if you'll do them again in the future. The illusion of tradition -- what would we do without it? Stephanie MacLellan is an Oakville High School student. Hungry Oakville students raised $20,634 for World Vision Canada As president of World Vision Canada, I would like to thank the many committed students and organizers in the Oakville area who helped make the 30 Hour Famine a success in 1999. To date, the event has raised a record $3.1-million for needy children around the world! Students in your community raised $20,634. This money will be used to help Kosovar refugees, orphans in Rwanda, street kids in Cambodia and Romania, children of war in Uganda, and needy children here in Canada. The 30 Hour Famine is a national event. This year, more than 136,000 students across Canada went without solid food for 30 hours to raise money and increase awareness of global poverty. Next year's 30 Hour Famine will be held on April 7th and 8th with a goal of raising $3.5-million. I hope that students in Oakville will join the fight against hunger again by contacting us at 1-888-8-FAMINE. On behalf of the children whose futures are brighter because of your efforts, I want to thank Oakville and the surrounding area. Your students can be proud of their accomplishments. Dave Toycen President, World Vision Canada BERTIN STABLES O pen 7 days a w eek year round 3 in d o o r r id in g a re n a s D a y at fa rm fo r child re n ages 5-13 ( S a t .) $35 S u m m e r D a y C a m p s S 180/ w k . S u m m e r O v e r n ig h t C a m p s S 375A v k . Classes for Teenagers & Adults 3445 Dundas W. (Hwy. #5) Oakville 827-4678 1 1/2 miles west of Hwy. #25 on North side website www.bertinstables.com e-mail: bertin@webtv.net Paul Beetson proves you can go home again I really don't know anybody famous which is why I seldom name drop in this column. The most famous person listed in my daytimer directory is Paul Beeston, the first-ever Blue Jay hired, CEO and president of the two-time World Champions and now president of Major League Baseball in New York. Recently, he returned to his home town of Welland, Ontario, to graciously receive the Sportsman of the Year Award sponsored and organized by the H.L. Cudney Funeral Chapel. (I know what you're thinking...but no, you don't have to be dead to be a winner.) The sports ban­ quet was ably MC'd by Steamship Robbie Misener and it was a fine night in which a small town celebrated one of their own, going on to greatness. Paul's rocket-like rise from an accountant to the second most powerful position in major league baseball surprised everybody in the sports world but no one who knows him. Paul's love of sports and way with numbers got him the Blue Jay job; Paul's humour, charm, and class got him the baseball presidency. Paul and I go way back. Paul and I used to run the drug trade in Welland. It's true. From Frame's Pharmacy on Main Street, we pedaled our bikes all over the city delivering drugs for our boss, a sweet lady named Marg Miller. As I mentioned at the microphone the night of the sports dinner, I sometimes have this daydream where Paul and I are still out there on our bikes delivering -- but now its New York City and we're millionaires now, because we deliver main­ ly to Daryl Strawberry's house. (For the record, Paul didn't find it all that funny either. And Gord Ash winced.) I was in the Blue Jay boardroom with Paul Beeston and general manager Pat Gillick during the post-mortem of the seagull that Yankee out­ fielder Dave Winfield killed during a game the previous night. It was a bizarre scene -- Beeston and Gillick in a conference call with Billy Martin, WILLIAM THOMAS AD Hie World's A Circus Winfield's agent, the Solicitor General of Ontario, somebody in the commissioner of baseball's office -- with everybody trying to get Wmfield off the hook and have the charges dropped. Paul was tired. He'd been up all night and at one point had rifled all the desk drawers and coin cans in the staff offices to raise Winfield's bail. Every time they'd come close to some sort of an agreement, somebody would make a seagull/blue jay joke and negotiations would collapse in four separate cities. Sitting silent for hours, I finally couldn't take it any longer. "You know," I said, "maybe, you guys should send the bird's body to the veterinary college at Guelph University. I mean if he was a regular SkyDome seagull, he'd know Winfield had a lousy arm. Maybe, the autopsy would show the bird died of shock before the ball even hit him!" Pat Gillick, who'd forgotten I was in the room turned around and asked: "Who's he?!?" "He's a friend from Welland," said Paul. "Ignore him." Those words, coming from the heart as they did, I'll treasure forever. A few years ago, I wrote and co-produced Chasing The Dream, a CBC film about three raw kids trying to break into the majors with the Jays. While every other executive said no, Paul trusted a friend and gave us unprecedented access to the entire organization. During the filming, I was amazed at the respect and genuine affection everybody -- from owners, opposing managers and unionized play­ ers -- had for Paul the president. And he's as comfortable and engaging with Olympic head Juan Antonio Samaranch as he is with his buddy, Tommy Petrachek, a waiter at the awards banquet. Rare is the man who can achieve ultimate suc­ cess and still remembers all his friends from the days when he was unknown outside of his own neighbourhood. I knew Paul was generous, but I had no idea to what extent until I had a beer with Al Chemish after the awards banquet. Nashville North Al was recounting all the all-star games he and Danny Radobenko had been going to, compliments of Paul. "Wait a minute," I said. "You've been mooching free all-star tickets from Paul for the last 10 years?!? "No, no," says Al. "It's gotta be 11 years now, because we went to Cincinnati in '88." Loved by the players and deeply respected by the owners, I fully expect that one day soon, Paul Beeston will be named Commissioner of Major League Baseball, a dose of integrity and common sense that baseball badly needs. It's no secret that Paul's career and that of my own have flourished over the years and peaked together very recently, when Paul was given the Order of Canada and as many of you know, I was named Businessman of the Year by the Greater Port Colbome/Wainfleet Chamber of Commerce. An original, a classy guy, and a genuine Canadian success story, Paul Beeston walks proudly in loafers and without socks through the highest echelons of pro sports, talking softly and laughing gregariously, through his trademark Cuban cigar. Naturally, happy and optimistic, he regularly defies the pessimists including Thomas Wolfe's precept -- You Can Never Go Home Again. For his friends in Welland, he can never get home often enough. Good on you Paul, from one of the many of years gone by, still proud to call you a friend. at the'Ex' G> O A K V IL L E 845-6601 C o u n c il & S ta n d in g C o m m it t e e M e e tin g s M o n d a y , A u g u s t 9 , 1 9 9 9 C o u n c i l M e e t in g C o u n c i l C h a m b e r s 7:30 p .m . T u e s d a y , A u g u s t 1 0 , 1 9 9 9 S P E C I A L C o u n c i l M e e t in g R E : D e v e l o p m e n t C h a r g e s C o u n c i l C h a m b e r s 7:30 p .m . O rg an ics To Y our D o o r A n d M ore. • o rg a n ic fre sh f ru it & v e g e ta b le s • R o w e F a rm d ru g -f re e m e a ts & p o u ltry • o rg a n ic rice , f lo u rs & g ra in s • o rg a n ic coffee • o rg a n ic m ilk & ch eese • o rgan ic w heat-free b read s • o rg a n ic e g g s & b u t te r • v i ta m in s • p e rs o n a l ca re p ro d u c ts Quick Shopping For Busy People! Call now for a free 40 page catalogue w ith more than 7000 products at farm-gate prices. TO LL FREE: 1-877-926-4426 Fax: (519) 938-9396 WANIGAN WHOLE FOODS INC. a hom e delivery health food com pany Visit our w ebsite: w w w .w am gan .com C o u n c il & C o m m itte e T o u c h to n e P hone L ine 815-5959 THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF OAKVILLE PROPOSAL FOR THE SUPPLY OF UNIFORM GARMENTS FOR THE OAKVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE OAKVILLE TRANSIT DEPARTMENT PROPOSAL NUMBER PROP-11-99 SEALED PROPOSALS for the above will be received by the Purchasing Department, on or before 12:00 NOON, local time on MONDAY, AUGUST 30,1999 Address: 1225 Trafalgar Road, Oakville, or by mail to P.O. Box 310, Oakville, Ontario, L6J 5A6. Telephone (905) 338-4197. Specifications, Proposal forms and Proposal envelopes are available at the office o f the undersigned. The Corporation reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and the lowest or highest as the case may be will not necessarily be accepted. R. J. Coumoyer, C.I.M., P. Mgr. Director, Purchasing & Office Services 1225 TRAFALGAR ROAD • OAKVILLE, ONTARIO • L6J 5A6 http://www.bertinstables.com mailto:bertin@webtv.net http://www.wamgan.com COMMENT DIANE HART HEY! Classes for Teenagers & Adults (Hwy. #5) Oakville 827-4678 WILLIAM THOMAS AD Hie World's A Circus 845-6601 WANIGAN WHOLE FOODS INC. PROPOSAL FOR THE SUPPLY OF UNIFORM GARMENTS FOR THE OAKVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE OAKVILLE TRANSIT DEPARTMENT PROPOSAL NUMBER PROP-11-99 MONDAY, AUGUST 30,1999 1225 TRAFALGAR ROAD • OAKVILLE, ONTARIO • L6J 5A6