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meismerssssdniitstommmmneninnoasieniocmrdoimernnmmdmesinnmond00000n00000: i0000 sc o0 otsw Lewis also says the Stephensons were well served by a Crown Attorney in the inquiry. Of course Lewis is missing the point. The Stephensons felt victimized by a system that let Joseph Fredericks out on an unsuspecting community, an act that cost them their son‘s life. Is it any wonder then, that they would choose legal advice of their own as opposed to that offered by the same system that so illâ€"served them before? We think their actions are completely justified and understandable under these circumstances. Government should pay their legal bills. The boy was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death. Fredericks was out in public on mandatory supervision at the time of the killing. The legal system let down Christopher Stephenson and it‘s letting down his parents too. Jim and Anna Stephenson have been forced to take out a second mortâ€" gage on their home to help pay a $300,000 legal bill incurred over the past three years and during a 45 day inquest into their son‘s death. Even the coroner‘s jury recommended Queen‘s Park and Ottawa come up with the money to pay the Stephensons‘ legal bills. In the case of Attorney General, Marion Boyd says she‘ll make a deciâ€" sion in a month while federal Solicitor General Doug Lewis says the federâ€" al government won‘t pay a dime because the Stephensons are suing Ottawa over their son‘s death. Too often in our daily lives and headlong rush into tomorrow, we forget the past and give it and our forebears short shrift. That shouldn‘t be the case. There‘s no better week in the year to head down to the Oakville Museum at the foot of Navy Street and from there go on a walk down by Oakville Harbour and around the streets on both sides of the harbor. Soak in the history and be thankful so many people in Oakville work very hard in trying to preserve as much of it as possible. Pay the bill onday was Heritage Day and it kicks off a week when we should all remember Canada‘s past. Here in Oakville, we‘re more fortunate than most, since we have living history all around us. The lake and our two harbors are constant reminders of our maritime past while the town‘s housing stock dating to the last century gives us a sense of time. t seems that there are different rules for different people when it comes Ito dealing with crime and punishment. All too often in this country the victims can be punished twice. How else to explain the disgusting situation that‘s now playing itself out at the Ontario attorney general‘s office and that of the federal solicitor genâ€" eral in Ottawa. The issue is that surrounding the horrendous ordeal of Christopher Stephenson, the 11 yearâ€"old Brampton boy abducted at knifepoint from a shopping mall five years ago by eightâ€"time convicted child molester Joseph Fredericks. ‘; Ti\*m N8 4 Dear Sir: It seems that the subject of education (or the lack of it) has surfaced again. Almost 20 years ago, I was in the vanguard of a protest against the way the implementation of the Hall Dennis Report had failed. Obviously, I and others, were not far off in our predictions. Now we have an Ontario government that will, no doubt, compound the failure of our schools to proâ€" duce scholars who are scholars in the sense of the word. Twenty years ago, it was my children who concerned me; now it is my grandchildren who it seems fare no better â€" worse in fact â€"especially in the number of teaching days. This week, for instance, my grandchildren have had two PD days, plus a soâ€" called elective day whereby they Common sense foreign to educators‘ vocabulary I am absolutely disgusted with the responses from your readers with regards to reducing educational costs. Don‘t they have any chilâ€" dren? Wake up people. The question is not where can we reduce eduâ€" cational costs, but how can we improve the educational system. If this is a sample of the best answers, then it‘s no wonder some children lose out. They haven‘t even been given a chance. Bear in mind that our children depend on us to lead the way and in return we will depend on them in our future. It‘s a shame to see that the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital would be thinking of pulling its paediatric services out of Oakville. Being a young family ourselves, I feel pretty upset about it myself. Overall it would seem to be possibly a loss of jobs as well, so with that, I vote no for it to be leaving. PHONE ALONE Celebrate our past (CALL845â€"5585 CVT EDITORIAL 13 * 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. skate, bowl, or ski. That makes three nonâ€"teaching days in one week! There is still â€" as it was 20 years ago â€" no rhyme or reaâ€" son in the curriculum, no spelling corrections, no actual teaching at all... as far as I can discern. I believe the students in these *do it yourself schools‘, drop out because they become bored. The way the nonâ€"curriculum works (or doesn‘t work), it is possible that those who drop out cannot get the satisfaction of knowing what they have actually learned. I would like to suggest that the length of the school years in this day and age is not commensurate with the knowledge accrued at the end of it. However, Ontario (Canada) is not alone. The education in the Englishâ€"speaking countries now Andrew Orange Ellen Speers Fri.. Feb. 12th Thou doth protest too much! Disclose the "true nature" of thy complaint Since "pride of information", it ain‘t. Truth will out ... be prepared. leaves much to be desired. The children, in my opinion, have never been put first. Ideology is the real culprit, and now there is that all out *bender of the truth‘ â€" the politically correct synâ€" drome to contend with. Common sense has disappeared under the auspices of these two factors. If 1 were a teacher, I would not threaten to strike for personâ€" Right to information must be maintained Exâ€"Girl Guide says truth will out Dear Sir: Statistics released by the Halton Board of Education indicate that 27 taxpayers have spent, over three years, the equivalent of approxiâ€" mately .0003% of this year‘s annual budget in an attempt to find out how the school board is spending the remaining 99.9997% of its almost $300 million annual budget. Canadians have a right to access many universal programs and serâ€" vices, including the health care system and education. Our politicians and bureaucrats have an obligation to manage publicly funded proâ€" grams in a professional and efficient manner and to be accountable to the public for their actions. Citizens have a responsibility to protect their valued universal programs from mismanagement by exercising their rights to scrutinize the books and to hold to account those we select as caretakers of our public institutions. This can only be achieved by accessing accurate information. The managers of our public institutions are not the owners â€" we are. The cost of providing information has nothing to do with asking for it under the auspices of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. This Act simply provides a busiâ€" nesslike process for both the requester and the custodian of informaâ€" tion. As demonstrated by the statistics, it also provides a measure of productivity which is obviously lacking in other areas of school board management. The right to information about any public instituâ€" tion cannot be arbitrarily determined on the identity of the requester, nor on the basis that information will only be used as positive support for the status quo. Wellâ€"meaning but gullible people may be seduced by inflammatoâ€" ry rhetoric and misinformation into ironically supporting the reducâ€" tion of their own rights under the guise of obstructing fellow citizens from accessing possibly, embarrassing information. Thoughtful citizens will not be easily fooled by the selfâ€"serving antics of the powerful and their handmaidens. Dear Sir: Re letter to the editor: "Price of 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., Oakville, Ont. L6K 354 4¢ Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809 Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 845â€"3824 Fax PC n Boalian THE OAKVILLE BEAVEI Ro 1t Oakville e ennnnn HmHNCoirR vnmmmemunmum getting Marianne Hawthorne (50‘s Girl Guide, Scarlet Tanager, St. Jude‘s, Oakville) al reasons, but for more disci pline and a firm curriculum. In closing, I would say that whatever happens to children is not their fault â€" but our fault if we renege on the responsibilities given to us as parents and teachâ€" ers â€" and in carrying out these responsibilities each should supâ€" port the other. isnn fiihomnt heommustontifhinsmslendiia 845â€"3085 d 18 Ont. L6K information costly "OP Pn A P i Betty A. Hansford Elaine Nielsen to board." Robert Glasbey Advertising Director Norman Alexander Editor Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Casas Office Manager Tim Coles Production Manager Ian Oliver Publisher m bie t ud The Oakvilleâ€"Milton Liberal nomination race is very tight. None of the four Candidates has the support of anything close to a majority of the 2,500 members. In many ridings, the apparent frontâ€"runner hasn‘t been winning, mainly because second and third place votes in the Liberal Party‘s highly democratic preferential ballot system are resulting in more meaningful representation. *Packing‘ a hall is nothing new and it‘s unfortunate that a large crowd was left standing in the hall. And your reporter fell for it, misinterpreting the pattern of applause for the genâ€" eral mood of the party members. Diane Hart reported that little detail was offered on how to get the country working again. She just wasn‘t listening to me, didn‘t understand or perhaps chose not to report the truth. This candidate had a lot to say and has a definite plan. I‘m a noâ€"nonsense candidate with straight answers to straight quesâ€" tions. Her ineptitude and perhaps bias is highlighted by her reportâ€" ed puzzlement by one of my statements. Yet she was the only reporter who chose not to take the time to interview me after the event to clarify the meaning of anything in question. You‘re always writing about the evil of political rhetoric and shallow comments by politicians. I find that The Beaver is talking out of both sides of it‘s mouth when it calls for straight talk but reports and glorifies political rhetoric. hook, line and sinker. For the greatest Liberal event in Oakville in a decade, an all Candidate‘s night attended by hundreds of supporters eager to bounce our ineffective Tory Government, you chose to send a reporter with no apparent background, no style and no political savvy â€"â€"_ LETTER OF THE DAY _â€"â€" Reporter just wasn‘t listening Liberal candidate complains Dear Sir: It‘s fascinating how often political strategy is swallowed WEEKLY FOCUS France Japan Soviet Union _thle West Germany United Kingdom Italy _ United States 12,475 _Canada . 3t 5480 Iraq 1,707 s in 12 4,465 1,136 6,788 5,723 4,840 739 403 93 90 639 581 721 /Védfg,/fz UA emmremmmmmemmeme h David Bazar M 18.4 12.6 10.6 0 9 M 1.6 y 1 b York Mi Wook d . 7/ pyT Jopt Ma 17 Wook 99 m Je