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THE OAKVILLE BEAVER The Oakville Beaver A6 O P IN IO N Wednesday April 28,1999 Ian Oliver Publisher Neil Oliver Associate Publisher Norman Alexander Editor Kelly Montague, Advertising Director Martin Doherty Circulation Director Ten Casas Office Manager Mark Dills Production Manager Riziero Vertolli Director of Photography MetrOand Printing. F\i*sh ing & Distributing Lid., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser. Alston HerafcVCourier. Barrie Advaice, Barry S Bay This Week. Bolton Enterprise. Brampton GuartSan. Burlington Post. Burlington Shopping News. City Parent. CoUngwoodWasaga Connection. East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes. Etobicoke GuarcSan. Ramborough Post. Georgetown Independem/Acton Free Press. Huronia Business Times, Kingston This Week. Lindsay This Week. Markham Ecnomist & Sun. Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror. Milton Canadian Champion. Milton Shopping News. Mesissauga Business Tmes. Mississauga News. Napaiee Guide. Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner. Northumberland News. North York Nlrror. Oakville Beaver. Oakvle Shopping News. Oldtimers Hockey News. CWia Today. OshawaWVhitby/Oarington Port Perry This Week. Owen S a rd Tribune. Peterborough This Week. Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thomhill/Vaughan Liberal. ScarPorough Mirror. Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune. Forever Young, City of Mark Guardan 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: ■ Ontario Community Newspapers Association . Canadian Community ■ ♦ CNA Newspapers Association C | k r ^ Suburban Newspapers V I V 1 of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: TV AUCTION „ .VLLE CENTRE JiNqlt Bell Fund United Way ot Oakville Editorials E le c t io n is s u e in th e m a k in g Maybe by shelving its closure plans for the near future, the Halton District School Board is crossing its fingers that the Liberals will win the next provincial election. How else do you explain the school board's collec­ tive inability to come to grips with this issue? As we've stated before, the province's formula for determining funding for new schools is flawed. It pits high growth areas against more established neighbourhoods and doesn't recognize the impact closing schools in estab­ lished areas would have on the community. Instead of ensuring that schools are built quickly where needed, the funding formula has created a lengthy process that creates uncertainty and bitterness. As witnessed in Oakville, it pitted parents in the north urging the school trustees to close Oakwood Public School in the south, against the Oakwood parents who pleaded to keep the school open. Eventually, after numerous public meetings placing school board officials on the hotseat, the trustees chose to keep Oakwood and two other elementary schools in Burlington open. This prompted Oakville trustee Debbie Marklew, who represents a high growth area in the north, to recommend shelving the entire closure review process since the board doesn't have the determination to close any schools. Rather than scrap the entire process, trustees opted to put the elementary school closure review on hold until June, 2000 and delay the high school review until next fall. In the meantime, nothing has been done to alleviate the overcrowding in northern schools. That's where a provincial election comes into play. Now is the time to pressure candidates into promising more money for schools. Forget the for­ mula. Forget vague promises and rhetoric. Don't let them pass the buck to the trustees. If you want a a new school in your neighbourhood apply the pressure to the party of your choice. Make it plain and simple -- no cash for schools, no vote. Make overcrowding in schools an election issue, or we'll be stuck with the problems for years to come. Letters to the Editor The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be typed, signed and include the writer's address and phone number. Send to: Letters to the Editor, The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 -- m i ....................... r j D o n 't w r ite -o ff N D P says ca n d id a te Regarding your April 16th edi­ torial "The Table is Set," I would ask if you at least wait until the campaign has begun before writ­ ing me off as a candidate without a chance in hell o f w inning in Oakville in the upcoming election. Your remark that I "do not repre­ sent a viable option for most of the voters in Oakville" is absolutely rid iculous. And since you also w rote in the editorial that you "w elcom e my com m ents," get ready - because I have a few. The fact o f the matter is that everyone in Oakville, no matter what economic class, deserve a top quality healthcare and education system they can depend on, a clean env ironm ent, a fa ir econom y where everyone gains, and a gov­ ernment that is going to help those in need. Contrary to the propagan­ da TV adds of the Conservative government, the Gary Carr/Mike Harris Agenda has destroyed our hospitals and our schools, allowed polluters to get away with murder, attacked the fundamental democra­ tic rights of workers, and have kicked more poor people onto the streets and into poverty than any government in Ontario history. And if you th ink that the Liberals are an alternative to this, just take a look at what (Oakville M P) B onnie Brow n and Jean Chretien have been doing at the federal level - cutting billions of dollars of funding from healthcare and education, slashing billions more from insurance for the unem­ ployed and their families, continu­ ing Brian Mulroney's failed free trade policies, firing thousands of civil servants, and allow ing bankers and speculators to make their millions while working peo­ ple see their wages and living stan­ dards crumble. If you still don't believe me, re-read the 1995 Majority of teens good kids In the wake of the horrendous news of April 20th, I am writing to tell you about a typical teenager. In the last month, she received the Canada Cord, the highest honour from the Guiding association. Played with her school band at a concert in Hamilton. Competed as goalie with her Oakville Hornets team. (They won the tournament.) A high school honour student. A caring friend. A loving Granddaugher, who actually enjoys our four genera­ tion get together's. A paragon? No. Just a typical Canadian teenager. Here's to you Amanda and the majority of teenagers. Carol Keen Ontario Liberal Red Book. You'll see a striking resemblance to the T ories' Com m on Sense Revolution. What Ontario - and Oakville - needs is a political and economic agenda that puts people before profits. That is why the NDP, and only the NDP, is going to cancel the Harris tax scheme on the rich­ est 6% o f incom e earners in Ontario and use this extra $1,5-bil- lion to re-invest in our schools, hospitals, communities, the envi­ ronment, and help rebuild the lives of those who are homeless or liv­ ing in poverty, all without raising the deficit a single cent. In other words, what Oakville needs is not another corporate agenda for the bosses, but a dem ocratic and socialist alternative for the work­ ers. H ow 's that for a "viable option?" Sean Cain Candidate, Oakville NDP School councils concerned about yard The following letter was sent to Oakville M ayor Ann Mulvale; a copy was also filed with The Oakville Beaver. We are greatly concerned about the danger, which Canadian National Railway Company poses to the children in our schools, the danger being the number of tanker cars containing extremely hazardous materials that are shunted at the Oakville Marshalling yard. These tankers contain m aterials that are toxic, corrosive, flam m ab le and exp losive , and include: propane, butane, chlorine, and sulphuric acid, to name a-few. These tankers are shunted and banged together daily in order to assemble trains. This activity takes place on railway lines adjacent to the main line, which is one of the busiest railway corridors in Canada. VIA rail, GO transit, Amtrak and other freight trains uti­ lize this busy section of track. The chance of derailment at this location is a very real one based on the fact that CN has had at least two derailments in Ontario recently, all involving evacuations due to hazardous materials. In sup­ port of this is the Town's recent Hazard and Risk Analysis Report. It states that "a rail trans­ portation accident which, normally, results in death or serious injury and involves hazardous materials which may lead to increased hazard to health, life, environment, or property within or beyond limits of the accident site" is ranked as a number one risk and hazard to the Town's people. If an accident (e.g. fire, derailments or explosion) occurred, a 1.6 kilometre hazardous material isolation zone would exist from the point of origin. Within this affected zone are seven schools, one of them being within 300 metres of the yard. We are increasingly aware that if an accident occurred involving these dangerous and hazardous materials (e.g. chlo­ rine), no emergency response plan would be effective enough to completely remove the danger to our children. We, therefore, feel that the solution is not in the effectiveness of the emergency response team's reaction, but rather lies in the preven­ tion of the accident itself. The only way this can be achieved is by removing this operation from the Oakville Marshalling yard. We are shocked that the Town of Oakville has allowed and continues to allow this situation to exist. The shunting and housing of hazardous materi­ als is something we recognize is necessary, but it is totally unacceptable that this should exist in such close proximity to our schools. As Chairs of the School Councils, representing the families of our schools, we feel it is imperative that you take immediate action to remove this great risk from our schools and our children. It is our hope that you will respond to us within 30 days with precise details of the efforts which the Town will take to resolve this unacceptable situation. Julie Davies, Chair, Maple Grove School Council Peg Torrance, Chair, Chisholm School Council Dana Harvey, Co-Chair, EJ James School Council Melinda Harrison, Chair, Linbrook School Council Mary Chapin, Co-Chair, Oakville Trafalgar High School Council Caroline Oliver, Chair, New Central School Council L ette r o f th e W e e k Blast the geese Re: Geese clean up comes with a cost In an era w here anim als are allow ed to have equal or greater rights than humans, I must say as a hunter and outdoorsm an, it strikes me as ludi­ c ro u s the e x te n t b le e d in g h ea rt an im al r ig h ts activists will go to in an effort to protect the crea­ tures o f this planet. I suspect their efforts are well intended, but their execution is an abysmal failure. The over-abundance o f Canada Geese along the lakeshore in our very town is a classic exam ple of animal rights overtaking human rights. I, for one, am disgusted at the vile mess these birds leave in our green spaces. My children cannot safely play in the parks o f this town without being subjected to bacteria and disease. I personally won't w alk in the lakeside parks, because I 'm tired of scraping goose guano from my loafers. Infants are attacked and frightened by these territorial creatures. Driving along the Lakeshore, ju st last week, I slammed on my brakes to avert a serious collision with the car in front o f me. The driver had jam m ed on her brakes to avoid hitting a Canadian honker ambling across the road. The anim al righ ts ac tiv ists would say, "Good fo r her, i f we save one anim al (o r b ird in th is case), the driver has acted responsibly, even if at the expense o f human casualties." To her and them , I say ...y o u 're all nuts. My children were in the car w ith me and we only nar­ row ly escaped w hat could have been a disaster. The three cars behind me, who screeched to a halt, were equally endangered. If I couldn't have safely averted hitting the bird w ithout endangering o th e rs ' liv e s , I p e rsona lly would have driven over the creature. People, not animals, come first. For those of you who think this writer is some cruel inhuman inhabitant o f this peacefuU akeside community, I say wake up and smell the roses (or goose droppings as you choose). This is our town, and these are our parks. I t 's tim e fo r the grand Canada goose to rediscover its genetics and once more become a m igrating bird. I t's tim e for us to so lve the p ro b lem and o f th ese o v er-ab u n d an t birds. So, here's what I recom m end. Turn the expense of such birth control m ethods as o iling and egg breaking into a cost-effective and solution orient­ ed heritage activity...hunting. Establish a controlled hunt for two weeks each fa ll at a rea so n ab le d is ta n c e o ff the sh o re lin e where the weak of heart w ill not have to witness the cull. Sell special hunting perm its and ensure that the revenue sources is allocated to cleaning up the goose mess in the parks, as com pared to draw ­ ing it from the to w n 's tax co ffers. Perm it each hunter to shoot the legal lim it o f geese, but keep only two for him or herself. The balance o f his or her harvest would be donated to the food kitchens o f m etro that are in desperate need o f fresh meat fo r th e hungry . T he so u n d s o f g u n s w ould be inaudible to the lakeshore residents, if the hunting blinds were an adequate distance from the shore­ line, but the m essage to our messy visitors would be abundantly clear...it's time to move on. Thomas Pigeon Pud by Steve Nease C M CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH :ii± L i( s i . 9 v f A 4 * 4 >