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* QOPINION Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809 Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 m The Oakville Beaver, published every edmsd':l Friday, at 467 Ian Olivel‘ PUbllSher mm%% 3mfimfime$$:p%§mv'«m mlu les: A;a:(“-Plcte%g‘m:v‘g Robert Glasbey Advertising DireCtOr | Comecion, Ebticste Guardian, aeorgstown Independont Acton Free Prose, Kingston This Week, Lmdsay This am Economist and Sun, oi mt Chenonin ooo in ien et raâ€"Banner, Noi 0 lrror, 1 ver, Onllia ff Cir n Director Today, Oshawa/Whitby This Week, Peterborough This Week, Richmond HilÂ¥ Teri Casas Office Manager Liberal, Scarborough Mirror. All material published in the Oakville Beaver is pro(eded by c Any Tim Coles Production Manager raprodudnn‘:un whole or in part of this material is strictly forbidden opyr?mn consent of the publisher. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of the advertising space ied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize and reject advertising. In the event of typographical error, advertising goods or services at the wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any time. should be of concern to every taxpayer and parent in the province. At issue is the very future of taxpayer and parental input into the province‘s huge education system. The latest missive from Ontario Education Minister Dave Cooke, Halton is one of the growth regions in the province and parents here need to know that they have a responsive voice in the halls of the Halton Board of Education‘s bureaucracy in Burlington. To their credit, the Halton board has remained firm in opposing cutting trustee numbers and reiterated that stance as recently as the Thursday night board meeting. Cooke was beating his breast Tuesday about the way in which many Ontario school boards had treated an earlier ‘suggestion‘ that they reduce the number of elected trustees. His reasoning for reducing trustee numbers was to "show leadership in a time of financial restraint by streamlining their operâ€" ations..." He went on to say that cutting trustees would show the board‘s commitâ€" ment to "operating with greater costâ€"efficiency so more resources go to the classroom." This latest attempt by Queen‘s Park to try and wrest more control away from taxpayers and parents, should not be tolerated. Considering the substantial cost of education, the taxpayers of Halton need to know where the money is being spent and more importantly, how the money is being spent. If left to their own devices, boards of education will spend money and will only respond to a critical review of expenditures if they‘re forced into a corâ€" ner either by trustees or the province. To reduce the number of Halton trustees would only give taxpayers and parents fewer voices in the halls of power. Don‘t you find it absolutely incredible that Cooke wants to stifle the voice of the electorate under the guise of saving money? If Cooke was really seriâ€" ous about saving money, he‘d throw out teacher contracts and bring the salaries and benefits of teachers and administrators more in line with the curâ€" rent economic reality in this province. The vast majority of funds goes to these salaries and benefits whereas trustee stipends wouldn‘t even show up on a pie chart of any board‘s expenditures. We‘re all in favor of Cooke wanting boards to cooperate with each other to cut costs and that‘s being done but this trusteeâ€"cutting measure should be seen for what it is...a red herring. Shame on you Mr. Cooke. Shame on you. As for Cooke, he‘s giving the 169 Ontario boards who have not cut the number of trustees, to the end of the month to follow the 23 boards who have slashed their elected representation. And now the threat. If these boards don‘t fall into line, the minister says he‘ll "have to look at legislating reductions." Cooke also doesn‘t have the guts to deal with the issue of teachers, adminâ€" istrators or spouses of these groups, running for trustees. It‘s amazing that these people can be elected and vote on issues where they have a complete and obvious conflict of interest. Civic politicians must always declare a conâ€" flict of interest when voting on issues where they may have a spouse or are themselves involved. This does not hold true at Ontario boards of education. EDITORIAL What‘s the point? Natural exterior sources 70% Sources of Radiation Natural innerâ€"body â€" medical sources _ xâ€"rays 11% 11% 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 se All other sources including nuclear energy 1% Soon young Matthew knew everything there is to know about dogs. He knew all the difâ€" ferent breeds, their various charâ€" acteristics, their vital stats, where to find them, and how to care for them. Soon he was walking around saying things like: "Hey, Dad, got a minute to go over the arcane intricacies of the domestication and developâ€" ment of different dog breeds?" "Huh?" You know how with some kids you can say, for example: "Joe Carter," and without prompting, they‘ll respond: "Carter, Joe, born March 7th, 1960, at Oklahoma City, Okla., throws right, bats, right..." Well, with Matthew it got to the point where if in the course of casual ,cpnve.rsatwn, my wife or I sald for> example: »"Bouvier > «dés [# hat began as a school project has escalated A into an expensive, consummv (some would say crazy) coastâ€"toâ€"coast search for the perfect pet. Months ago, Matthew, our sevenâ€"yearâ€"old, came home from school weighted down with research material â€" hardâ€" cover books, an assortment of infoâ€"packed paperbacks, a couâ€" ple of colossal magazines â€" and one simple announcement: "I‘ve been asked to do a project on does." An obsessive, curious kid with a remarkable thirst for knowledge (and beverages that are carbonated and bad for his teeth), Matthew then immediateâ€" ly dove into his research, comâ€" ing up for air only when we bribed him with beverages that are carbonated and bad for his teeth. Trying to choose special dog is driving them canine crazy "No need to belabor the obviâ€" ous, my Giant Schnauzer. Surely, you know that a cold nose does not necessarily mean that a dog is healthy; that dogs lick their noses often and the moisture evaporation makes the {,skin cold." tÂ¥ :«#.s 21 s"Obviously. "*212# /36 **: Flandres," our son without prompting would _ reply: "Formidable guard dog, grows 68 cm and 40 kgs, deep body set on rather short, study legs..." Eventually, Matthew‘s obsesâ€" sive enthusiasm become contaâ€" gious. My wife and I caught canine fever. We‘d always been dog lovers. However, as we dove headlong into Matthew‘s mountain of research material, our love took on a new intensity. We found ourselves absorbâ€" ing dog info late into each evening. Then, in the morning, instead of greeting each other with the traditional coffee and kiss, we‘d look at each other with beagle eyes and say someâ€" thing downright dogmatic, like: "Did you know that bad breath is not normal for a dog, that it‘s often a sign of dental probâ€" lems?" "Of course, silly puppy. And you, my little Welsh Springer Spaniel, are doubtlessly aware that tapeworms in dogs do not come from bad food, that fleas carry tapeworm parasites, and dogs can be exposed by catching infected rabbits or other aniâ€" mals." It was about this time that my wife and I realized if we delved any deeper into dogland, if we did any more dogged research, we could well drive ourselves to drink. Which would lead to hangovers. Which would force us to resort to the hangover cure first documented in an eighteenthâ€"century book on Canine Madness And Its Treatment. I refer, of course, to the old "hair of the dog that bit you." We decided that instead of researching dogs, we‘d actually go out and buy one. That was two months ago. As things stand, Matthew‘s project has been submitted and presented. was well received, and is now posted in his school. Oh, and we‘ve narrowed our search for the perfect pet, the ideal dog. down to any type of dog that is bigger than a Pekingese (which is the size of a large rat) and smaller than a Neopolitan Mastiff (which is the size of a small horse). Presently, we‘re tracking down and quizzing various breeders from coastâ€"toâ€"coast. I‘m afraid to even consider what our phone bill is going to look like. And when I hear that the initial cost of some breeds of dogs â€" to say nothing of future expenses â€" is going to force us to place another mortâ€" gage on the house (like six isn‘t enough), I how!l like a hound. "Formerly used in France for hunting most small game." my son shouts. "The dogs‘ kind expression. tousled appearance, and gently waving tail, are all very appealâ€" ing, my wife adds. ~'We’rve. getting. desperate. We‘ yve sone to the dogs? *.* ~ *z