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

6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER © A Oakville Beaver Oakville's community newspaper KIRK SIM PSO N Advertising M anag er W m . C . L E E D E R P u b lish e r ROBERT J. BLANS Editor Published every Wednesday by Inland Publishing Co. Limited, Oakville offices at 334 Church St., Oakville, L6J 1P1. Telephone 845-3824, Toronto 849-7885. Subscription rates $10.00 per year in Canada, $12.00 elsewhere. Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association, Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association. Third Class M ail Permit No. 550 derstanding after the new regional council is elected. He will require wisdom and all the courage and strength he can muster. Masson's job is a great challenge, but it is a challenge that must be shared by many. Regional government has caused a major stir in other centres and not all of its reforms have been successful. Many problems were en­ countered. particularly in the Niagara Region. Hopefully, the province, along with our local representatives and those who will run in the re­ gional election, have learned some lessons from these other pioneers of regional government. The formation of the Halton Board of Educa­ tion was another example of the difficulties that may be encountered. The board has solved most of them and now this county has one of the best boards in the province. Increased taxes to the ratepayers of the mem­ ber municipalities is an important issue. Regional government is supposed to be a more efficient and economical system of government. Because the changeover from the county sys­ tem to the regional system is so radical and complex these economies are not usually rea­ lized until the region is well established. It is also a well known fact that the most prosperous member municipalities within the region at the time of the formation are the last to benefit by the transformation. Even the pooling of resources and the regional distribution of services will not benefit a muni­ cipality like Oakville for some time. Our ser­ vices are already superior to the services sup­ plied by most other municipalities in this area. To a large extent the success of regional gov­ ernment in Halton rests on the regional chair­ man and the regional members. Their decisions will shape our lives in this area for some time to come. This is why the next important step in the formation of regional government is the election of the other members of the regional council this fall. I editorials Masson s challenge Oakville reeve Allan Masson has been ap­ pointed chairman of the new Halton Region. This newspaper has already explained why Mr. Masson was the logical choice in previous editorials. Naturally we are pleased that the committee which made the selection saw things our way and appointed Mr. Masson to this important post. Our sincere congratulations go out to him and we know that he will do justice to this difficult task. Being chairman of the region puts him in the driver's seat as the master-mind and co-ordina­ tor of the new regional set-up. His duties are no longer restricted to Oakville alone. Although he is a member of county coun­ cil his primary allegiance has been with the town of Oakville. Now he must become an impartial instrument which will be utilized by all parts of the region. Other regional municipalities will have to be convinced that he is the man who can do justice to this job. He will have to gain their confidence and respect. Masson will have to break through the thick layer of local bureaucracy to bring about the formation of a new unified region. This task will not be done in a day. It will take time. His ability to remain objective, cool and col­ lected during the most crucial debates will be a tremendous asset. But more important than his own personal attributes is the attitude of others who will work with him. He will require co-operation of each member municipality. He will need a great deal of patience and un­ August 1. 1973 § l,llllllll|l" l..... .......... limn......I......IlllUlltllllll.......IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIII..........mil......... . w The Thousand Islands are only a three-hour drive frorr e Oakville. s s We stopped off there on our way to Montreal. I've been I | through that area before but last week I took my first § s boat trip through the islands. E E It costs you $1.50 for children under 12 and $3 per i adult. For the four of us it was $9 well spent. The particular boat tour we took departed from E Rockport. a little town which runs off the Thousand = Island Parkway, just south of the 401. i My wife was particularly exuberant about the boat E trip because she is trying to gain her sea legs before we = i cross the English Channel in September. She insists on taking every opportunity of getting on a s boat. She wants to find out if she is going to get sea sick | LOVER'S LANE I As it happens the Ida M.. of the Rockport Boat Lines j§ | fleet, rides very smoothly. It is a flat boat with a very s E low draught. It gets into some very narrow and shallow = i coves, including places like Lover's Lane and Hell's § = Gate. e E The islands range in size from a few square feet like 1 E Tom Thumb's Island to several square miles. § | Our captain and tour guide told us that Tom Thumb's § E Island is the smallest island registered by the Canadian § = Government. e e "To be called an island it must have two trees on it. As = = you can see Tom Thumb Island qualifies. It has two E i trees. You can buy the island for $1.98. HEARTBREAK HOTEL e "The island costs one dollar and the trees are 49 cents e e each."' • E At one point we passed a small island with a 1 E ramshackle structure which was once a cottage. "To s E your right ladies and gentlemen, is Elvis Presley's e e Heart-break Hotel. i -- I had a bit of hard time keeping up with our tour guide. 1 I He kept saying "and now to your lef t . . . and now to your | E right." The trouble was that sometimes he didn't seem to | i know his left from his right and that made things a little § j§ confusing. s p We cruised by two small islands which are connected 1 s by the world's shortest international bridge. The bigger = = island of the two is in Canadian Waters and the smaller in s = U.S. waters. The boundary cuts right through the centre = I of the bridge which is only a few feet in length. WOOL IN CANADA The islands are owned by the Woolrich family. That § § name appears on the bridge railing. Our guide said, § | "actually the boundary is right between the T and the s E "r". The "wool" is in Canada and the rich' is in the United i S States." . ' 5 At this point a houseboat came putting along aL a 1 1 leisurely speed. Our guide explained that you can rent 1 E these boats and that you don't have to be an experienced = E sailor. "They hand you some life preservers, an S p instruction manual and some maps. If you don't know S I how to operate the engine they give you one quick lesson. § = then they give you the keys, shove you off and hope and 1 I pray that you'll come back in seven days." Sounds like a i j§ real holiday. We've decided we might give it a try next = s year. s | THE CASTLE | E If you ever decide on a similar tour make sure you have = i some identification because you have to pass U.S. and e s Canadian customs. Part of the tour includes a visit to • 5 s Boldt Castle which is located in U.S. waters. This amazing castle which was started in the late = p eighteen hundreds was never completed. As a matter of 1 E fact it is only a shell of a castle. The rooms are empty. It s I was meant to be luxurious and even has an elevator. It is p E said that it was built by a thousand men. s Mr. Boldt. who commissioned it died before his dream = 1 was realized. His wife died a few years later. Now people p 1 tour it and the entrance fee goes toward the building and § = maintenance of a hospital. E CITIZENSHIP | § What irks me is that both the U.S. customs and the E p Canadian customs ask you where you were born. E E Although I am a naturalized Canadian citizen I have to § | tell them that I was born in Utrecht, Holland. That s 1 causes all sorts of complications because then you are = | required to supply proof of citizenship. I had no such e § identification. So I answered with the general reply "we = s are all Canadians", which, of course, is true. Anyway I E guess I will have to carry citizenship papers next time. I = E have encountered this problem before so this time I knew § = what to do. Mind you. if you do not have papers with you. s E they let you sign a waiver and there is.no problem E E anyway. e § The tour of the islands is thoroughly enjoyable. The next time you're out that way, make the trip. § | You'll enjoy every minute of it. I don't believe one thing 1 | though, our tour guide said that the water in the river is e E so pure that you can drink it without boiling it. § E My greatest dream has always been to buy a mountain. 1 p Now I've changed my mind. I want to buy an island. Just 1 E now though. I'll have to put in my bid for Tom Thumb = E Island. $1.98 is about all I can afford. = fiuiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiminiiimiimmiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiitiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiM. what's it all about by robert blans