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

Welcome visitors akville has long been a haven for birds. The abundant vegetation and Oareas for breeding, along with a friendly shoreline and two harbors have long been a drawing card for our feathered friends. Unfortunately, human population changes have had a part in the changing of some birds‘ habits. The grand Canada goose has become a major problem in any number of urban areas and Oakville has been particularly hard hit. They have fouled Gairloch Gardens to the point that it‘s almost impossible to walk around the facility‘s lovely grounds. The same fate has befallen both our harâ€" bor areas and their adjacent parks. * And while many people would have the birds return to their old habits of flying south for the winter, others say the birds are only doing what comes naturally. Yet while many whine about the geese, we trust more people will welcome the family of trumpeter swans who have decided to take advantage of the open waters around Oakville. But as spring brings warmer weather, the family may well head back to the Wye Marsh area near Midland to breed. So see them while you can. Touch of class It seems we live in a very ‘politicallyâ€"correct‘ world. In an effort not to offend anyone, some groups end up offending everyone. But that‘s the price to be exacted when common sense goes out the window. And now we hear rumblings that some social ‘traditions‘ are being attacked. We overheard a radio talkâ€"show recently whose host lamented the fact that he had been verbally abused by a woman in her 30‘s, for opening a mall door for her. This same man had earlier opened a door for a woman only to have the woman avoid him and deliberately walk to an adjacent door. What does it all mean? To our mind, it‘s just another example of the deterioration of a simple ‘tradiâ€" tional‘ concept called manners and more generally, a respect for people that often manifests itself in common courtesy. Any dialogue among a group of people will usually elicit a story on what an ‘ugly‘ society we are becoming. Some other social problems in the 90s are easily overcome. Where once the man always received the bill at a restaurant, now it‘s placed at the centre of the table. Who checks the wine? The person who orders it...simple. It seems only when we get into the grey areas of personal etiquette that things get dicey. For many men the age of chivalry is not dead and we certainâ€" ly hope a like number of women like it that way. No need to look for ulterior motives here or attempt to read some sinister psychological motive into their actions; these guys are simply practising good manners. To the boors who still opt for a more cavalier attitude towards good manâ€" ners and the women who feel offended by social niceties, we offer our condoâ€" . lences. Perhaps they just don‘t know any better. This group is easy to spot. When engaged in a little polite conversation at the grocery store, they‘re the ones who will look into their potatoes and ignore ‘you. The poor souls are to be pitied. "‘]. on Dear Sir: the uppiweu rate. Intelligence politics...talk about an oxymoron THE OAKVILLE BEAVER 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 384 845â€"3824 Fax: 845â€"3085 Mar. 16, 19 The Oakville Beaver, published every Sunday, Wednesday and Frida at467 rs R Odwlle ns one of the Metroland Prlmlng Publshmg Dstribufing Lid. indudes Nax-Pld(emg News Aavemser Advenoe Bramptd Guardhn. Bunmgmn Etobicoke Guardian, Georgeto Independent/ Acton bnTNsWeekUndsayWsWeek.Ma s Tribune, Miton Canadian Champion, Mississaug Mymfl-guor:empm NomThYo Mirror, Romakville Bee'}/g:o Orillia Todg Oshawa/Wh 0t imond HiVThomhilWWaugh Liberal, Scarborough Mirror. hoh Ts k Ian Oliver Publisher Robert Glasbey Advertising Director Norman Alexander Editor Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Casas Office Manager Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809 copyright Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 Tim Coles Production Manager in o the malenel ie he he publaner. _ accepbdmhecud‘mmhLmhamudanmMpodondmem'xgspmowlmwmomnm together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be fo The publisher reserves the right to categorize and reject advertising. in the event of typographical emror, advertising goods or services at the wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advensng|smevalyano"er(oselnndn\aybevnthdrnwnatnr?ymld c .nn m _ _ LETTER OF THE DAY A bus tale for students mm Dear Sir: The Halton Board of Education‘s decision to continue busing for Oakville secondary school students prompts a senior like myself to think back to the difficulties he faced in attending high school some 31 years ago. The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be signed and include the writer‘s address and phone number. Letters should be typed, doubleâ€"spaced and addressed to: Letters to the Editor, The Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakvilie, Ont. L6K 3S4 In the last few weeks, the Canadian populace has been subjectâ€" ed to an ongoing act of high drama. A federal politician, Jag Bhaduria by name, prevaricated about his academâ€" ic achievement in his application for political candidacy. He creatively improved his acaâ€" demic credentials...presumably so we would be impressed with his intelliâ€" gence. Now the poor chap is in a great deal of hot water. All for naught. The voters have never been much concerned about intelligence in their politicians. In fact, based on the record, they have solidly voted against it. It is not something that is desired in our elected representatives. One only has to spend a little time watching the question and answer period to realize that, rather than an asset, it would be a liability. You want jump right into the fray without hesiâ€" tation. Imagine your concern â€" if instead of leaping to his feet and shouting the fellow you vote for to be able to some well directed insults at the Car owner looking for hit and run car Dear Sir: This is a plea for help to the friends and neighbours who reside or those who were visiting the vicinity of 1375 Golden Meadow Trail on Thurs March 3rd. My car was involved in a hit and run accident on that day between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. It was parked on the street outside the above address. My car has extensive damage to the left passenger door, the trunk and the frame. The cost to repair my car has been estimated at $4,000. The car involved in the accident would have damage to the right front end, including headlight, bumper and moulding. I am asking for help from anyone who may have seen or heard anything on this night. I can be reached either at work during the day or home after 7:00 p.m. 845â€"5144 (day) or 844â€"0366 evenings. Brenda Johnston For students, working is becoming a way of life Dear Sir: I am writing in response to the article ‘Working students often suffer academically‘ by Arnie Rincover in the Feb. 25th North News. I am a grade 12 student curâ€" rently taking quite difficult OAC courses and I have a job. In the long run, this course of action may prove to have ‘negaâ€" tive psychological effects‘ but the fact remains that I need to work. I do not come from a poor family, we are actually quite comfortable, but I think I speak for many teens when I say that we are products of the recession. Timely message from baby‘s mother Dear Sir: This is to all mothers and fathers of newborns and mothers and fathers to be: I recently spent 24 hours in the hospital with my baby girl. She had a fractured skull. It all happened too fast. I was in front of my baby and had only turned away a second to reach for something. Moms and dads, never place your baby on a counter. Not even if you‘re there. Never leave your baby on a change table even for one second. As the doctor said, she couldn‘t emphasize how important these rules are (but it always seems the mothers have to learn by their mistakes). Believe me, the mistake *_that comes from ignoring this rule is emotionally costly, both in sorâ€" row and guilt. If I reach but a few with this warning, it will have been worth the effort. I would like to thank everyone involved; the doctors, nurses and xâ€"ray technicians at both the outpaâ€" tient clinic at the Oakville Medical Centre and the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital for their supâ€" port, kindness and understanding. And a special thanks to all the mothers who came forth to share their similar experiences and abate my guilt. You were all a blessing, as was the fact that my baby came through it just fine. Laurie Morrison (" ‘ THE OAKWTLLE BEAVER â€" There is not much extra money in most homes nowadays and although food and shelter is proâ€" vided, there is not any room for unplanned expenses. It also seems unfair to me to burden my parents totally with the â€"cot of any hobbies I might have, ie. lessons, ski trips etc. New clothes or shoes for instance, that I might need don‘t come into the monthly budget. I think the days are gone when kids could just be kids and not worry about money. It comes down to getting a job or doing without. This is happening on all levels, even the upperâ€"middle class. Again, I realize that there are ‘exceptions‘ but I wanted to show that not every teen works to buy a new car stereo. Ciara Harraher SPEAK YOUR MIND Got a gripe? Give us a call. Readers are invited to express their opinion on a topic of their choice by calling 845â€"5585, box 5250. All callers are allowed 45 secâ€" onds to express their opinion and must provide their name, address and phone number for verification. A cross section of the responses will be published in next Wednesday‘s Oakville Beaver. opposition, the person you voted for sat there and thought about the issues! Personally, I would feel I wasn‘t getting my money‘s worth. Now there has been an exception to this rule. And Canadian voters have lived to regret it. One Pierre Trudeau was elected several times. He was reputed to be very intelligent by people who apparently know these things. During his stay in office, he went to England and brought back what was then the Canadian Constitution. Being brilliant, he set about fixing it up. He enshrined all our rights in it, notwithstanding. That‘s right. He creâ€" ated a unique document. Nowhere in the world will you find a legal docuâ€" ment as flexible as this one. If you don‘t like the law, you simply declare that you will ignore it. And if your mood changes in five years time, you get to change it right back. So my message to Mr. Bhaduria is...come clean...tell the voters that you‘re just an ordinary guy. You don‘t intend to do anything...well, anything imaginative that is...and they will take you to heart and forgive you. It‘s what we can‘t comprehend that keep us awake. M.A. Miller Recycling company went the extra mile Dear Sir: This is a letter to make public the credit due to Mike McDuff of Laidlaw Waste Systems Ltd. On Mon., Jan. 10th, our houseâ€" hold put out our blue box, curb side as usual. What we had not realized is that inside a plastic bag within the blue box, we had thrown out a very expensive camera and flash. That evening, Mr. McDuff returned to our home on his own time to return all the camera equipâ€" ment. He had discovered it while on duty during the day. It was not until he came to our home that we were even aware that the camera equipment was missing. How often do you hear a story like this? I contact Mr. McDuff‘s employer (Al Loopstra) to inform him of this exceptional perforâ€" mance. I am so grateful that I wantâ€" ed to share my story with others. Lorie Jenkin It was back in 1943 that I informed my parents that I would like to learn a trade at a technical school. Unfortunately, the closest such school to our home in Port Credit was Western Technical Commercial located in the west end of Toronto just north of Bloor St. We also learned that being nonâ€"residents, a $150 yearly tuition fee was required (not a small amount for my parents at the time). The next problem was how to get to the school from Port Credit. The only way open to me was by public transit. This meant getting up early and walking two blocks to catch the 7:30 a.m. Lakeshore Rd. bus to Long Branch. From there, the Long Branch streetcar took me in to Sunnyside where I got another car up to Bloor St., transferring to a third street car back along Bloor to within a couple of blocks of the school â€" a total of six car tickets for the round trip. Later on, I found out from other students that if I got off the Long Branch car at Ellis Ave. (just east of the Humber), I could walk the rest of the way (2 1/2 km) to the school and save a car ticket to boot (4 for 25¢ then). If you set off at a brisk pace, you could usually make it to the school in about a half hour and beat the street car‘s time there. Of course, in bad weather, I had to take the long way round by TTC. I made this trip every day for three years while getting an education and learning a trade (cabinet making), finally graduating in 1946. As I recall, the only time I didn‘t make it in was during the big snowstorm of 1944 when all the schools were closed for two days. I really never thought of the long trip back and forth to school as being any great hardship at the time. After all, a lot of guys my age were having it a lot tougher than I was. They were the ones putting their lives on the line while serving with the armed forces overseas. I would say just one thing to the parents of those Oakville students who are fortunate enough to have a bus service that drops them off right on the school doorstep: "Appreciate it â€" you never had it so good!" Philip Shaw Long Time TTC Rider ,wEEKLY FOcu S Estimated global CFC production, in thousands of tons Used as propellant Year 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 |___ 198 m 1990 [ 137 e 1991 93 7 1992‘ (so 7 *preliminary ...... GSSSSc Source} Vital Signs 1993 NEA Graphic