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t didn‘t take long for Ontario Attorney General Marion Boyd to throw ,Iher staff into damage control over the revelation that her ministry wants to treat young black offenders differently than some other racial groups. "_Boyd‘s ministry received a request from the Harriet Tubman Community Organization, (a black group which promotes antiâ€"drug and nonâ€"violence in the black community) that the province expand its ‘diverâ€" sion‘ program to include young blacks. The ‘diversion‘ principle goes like this: if you‘re a young native indian and are living in an urban setting, you may be given some breaks under our legal system if you commit a minor crime. Those convicted would make restitution and or perform community serâ€" vice instead of clogging up the courts. It also took into consideration the fact that native peoples are a very special and unique case. is What we find disturbing in this latest request, is that it moves far beyond the original intent of diversion which was meant to deal with young people under the infamous Young Offenders Act. But now, diverâ€" sion has been expanded to adults from 18 to 25. These people are no longer young offenders. T LE 2 o ARRECEAE MJ ‘Kids got ‘kicks‘ by smashinlgmpfj’umpkin ~â€"There are diversion programs in place for this age group in Ontario but they are specific and often deal with native peoples. These individuals, if they offend, may be dealt with by tribal justice and we have absolutely no problem with this. 7 4s mm P a tdA 3 o P Remember the furor raised by this same community when Metro Toronto police wanted to note an offender‘s race on his or her record? The black community cried foul, saying it wrongly portrayed black‘s as comâ€" mittine more crimes than other racial groups. This new request to treat older black offenders differently raises some real questions about our legal system and the black community itself. o t es Now we have a black activist group saying that young blacks do comâ€" mit more crimes but they should be pardoned because of their color. What‘s wrong with this picture? There can be no doubt that young urban blacks have the same problems as any similar age group in this environment. To treat them differently is a mistake. tions Unless those tickets are sold, the Canadian Football League brass say they‘l1 pull the team out of Hamilton and stick it somewhere else...like Montreal, where a series of professional football teams have folded or even Memphis, where a crowd of 3,000 would be a good night. e It‘s also somehow ironic that this crunch would come during the team‘s 125th anniversary year. Hopefully someone will come up with a scheme to save the team for the fans, the City of Hamilton and Canada. Dear Sir: This letter is regarding the blatant display of disâ€" regard for other people‘s property displayed at Big Mack‘s restaurant, in Bronte, Halloween evening. I consider myself a regular patron of this establishâ€" ment and regard the events of that night very disâ€" turbing. The owner happens to be a fine gentleman, with a very kind heart toward his fellow man. With Dear Sir: Last night, there were some neighborhood ‘youths who were looking for a little excitement. ‘They were probably good kids who thought a ‘little mischief might liven up the evenmg One ‘decided to sneak up to someone‘s house and «snatch a jackâ€"oâ€"lantern. As they ran away with +it, laughing, it fell on the road and broke. "Wow, ‘look at that. Let‘s get more." Before long, decoâ€" +rations were being grabbed and torn as well. Bad apples out in force at Halloween Dear Sir: Halloween thieves; Halloween robbers; bad apples. On Halloween night, my mother and I drove from Brampton to Oakville in costumes to surâ€" prise her three young grandchildren. We arrived at their door on Deerwood Trail after 8 p.m. Their front lights were out and we noticed the trick or treating festivities in the area had tapered off significantly. My mother set her purse on the walkway, out of sight of the door, in keeping with the surprise. The grandchildren were thrilled to see grandma and aunt Carolyn under the masks! This morning, my sevenâ€"yearâ€"old son *couldn‘t understand why anyone would do this to us. My fiveâ€"yearâ€"old just stood staring at the ‘place where his pumpkin used to be. The look of *hurt in his eyes made tears spring to mine. I Violent incident in Bronte disturbing Within a minute of the big surprise, my mother reached back to get her purse and moved Dear Sir: Hello. My name is Ryan. I am eightâ€"yearsâ€" old. This year, I carved my very own pumpkin. 1t took me a very long time to do it. On Halloween night, a group of older kids came to my house and got a treat. After that, they took my pumpkin and mashed it on my driveway. It really hurt my feelings. Maybe, it was not important to them, but it is to me. It‘s okay to have fun on Halloween, but don‘t hurt people‘s feelings. Please think next time. The crime was a minor one in the eyes of the youths and, oh well, no one got hurt, right? Pumpkin carving smashed Equality NDP style hile a relatively small number of people may be upset over the loss of the Hamilton Tiger Cats if they don‘t sell 12,500 seasons tickets by midâ€"December, it‘s an event that has farther reaching implicaâ€" The last hurrah? Ryan no disrespect for the families involved, it is ironic that in one area there was all this destruction taking place by a group of young people who have no respect for other person‘s property, and just a few blocks away, a youth was taking his own life. aside for the trick or treaters who were leaving after collecting a treat from the oldest grandâ€" child. My mother shouts, "My wallet! My wallet is missing!" She knew immediately by the weight of her purse. Three adults darted out of the house and chased eight teenaged treat or trickers; four of whom had just been at the door for a treat, and four of whom had robbed the purse and did not collect a treat. The first group of four were caught, questioned, and had their candy bags searched. They claimed they knew nothing about the stolen wallet. These events, coupled with other similar cirâ€" cumstances, leads one to believe that some of today‘s youth have no respect for themselves and Remarkably, after chasing the other group of four up the street and down the next, the wallet was recovered right out of the hands of a teenaged girl. She said, "I didn‘t do it," and pointed to one of the two boys in the group. Upon threats of holding them and calling the police, the four thieves scattered and vanished into backyards and onto a path leading to the park. Over $90 in cash and a stack of credit cards and identification were thankfully handed back to their owner. I am still shaken by this ordeal. I was the one who looked right into the face of the girl holdâ€" ing the open wallet as I ripped it out of her hands. She looked like a good kid. Her accomâ€" plices looked like good kids. Whatever came over them to commit a criminal offense, I will never understand. thought "if only those people could see his face, they would know that â€" yes, someone did get hurt." There are a lot of little boys and girls who worked very hard to carve a pumpkin to make Halloween special. Unfortunately, they will remember this Halloween with some sad memoâ€" ries. The people who did this were all "our" kids; they weren‘t the "bad ones" at school. They were just average. Perhaps, if all us parents could talk to them about this "harmless" crime, maybe next year will be special for all the chilâ€" dren. With Christmas around the corner, I hope and pray a little prevention could save our holiday decorations as well. Name Withheld by Request ; The Oakville Beaver, published every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, at 467 Speers Rd., Ian Oliver PUblLShBT Oakville, is one of the Metroland Printing, Publshmg Dlstnbuung Ltd. goup of suburban newspapers which includes: Ajaxâ€"Pickering News Advertiser, Barrie Advance, Brampton Robert Glubey Aduertistng Director | Guardian, Burlingion Post, Collingwood Connection, Etobicoke Guardian, Georgetown 4 Independent! Acton Free P ton This Week, Lindsay This We Markham 2 * Norman Alexander Editor Ecor'\?mls?nand SUR Srng:flvlllrmxbr;ge Tribune, Mlll?;w Car‘gdlar); Cha?wnozsklhlsslssauga 67 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 Geoff Hill Circulation Director gz‘ws mrlgak%éuvovra Efapag"g NomThTon‘NMr{,o(ROakvfled B}{G?mon?r::m Today, e : im aw leek, Pe is Week, Richmont 845 .3824 Fa.x.' 8_45 3085 Teri Casas Office Manager Liberal, Scamoyrwgn Mirror. s j 19y Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809¢ ‘Tim Coles: Production M All material published in the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Any reproduction in Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 : m Coles uction Manager whole or in part of this material is strictly forbidden without the consent of the publisher. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of the advertising space occupied by the erronsous 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 t! e wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any time. 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 3$4 Debbie Tuske THE OAKVILLE BEAVER very little for anyone else. First of all, the person(s) involved in this violent show of disrespect should be held liable. If they are too young, then the parâ€" ents/guardians should be held accountable. I, myself, have a fourâ€"yearâ€"old son, and if he was to destroy anyone else‘s property, he would be liable. If he could not take on the responsibility we, his parents, would. Then, he would answer to us! If they can afford a buy cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, and drive around in flashy vehicles, they can certainly afford to at least pay a portion for what damages there was to the restaurant. However, the buck should not stop there. Our beloved government and community leaders should also be held accountable for their own actions. What kind of example are we presenting to the youth of today when, we as adults, cannot show any selfâ€"discipline. Our young people do not have any role models or examples to look up to. These words should be heeded, "For the youth of today are our leaders of tomorrow." Robert Glasbey Advertising Director Norman Alexander Editor Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Casas Office Manager Tim Coles Production Manager Bankers get bum rap from business Dear Sir: It is a sad commentary on the intelâ€" ligence of Canadians that at the time of the recent Federal Election they cared little for the candidate‘s ability and intelligence, as long as, he or she was a Liberal. This week, Canadians are paying the price for such ignoâ€" rance when a Liberal dominated Committee Member of Parliament in Ottawa recommended the establishing of a group of Small Banks or Trust Companies. It is an irresponsible recâ€" ommendation and shows that the M.P.s involved know little about the history of banks in Canada. Since World War I and into the last century, the history of all small and medium size banks has been bankruptcy or being taken over by a wellâ€"financed large bank. It is becoming sickening to read continually about the complaints of small business owners. A large proâ€" portion of them have neither the eduâ€" cation nor the knowledge, experience, and the managerial skills to operate their own businesses. They should not be selfâ€"employed. Our Canadian banks are custodians of other people‘s money. Their reputaâ€" tion and respectability are among the highest in the world and a tribute to Canada. I have been a small businessman for 60 years, and I have found our Chartered Banks to be most friendly Dear Sir: Riggs Road is no longer in the plans as a Road; thank goodness for some excellent sense shown by our planners. This strip of vacant land. running south from Bronte Road (between Bridge and Speers) to Lakeshore Road, has been in the plans as a Road for some 25 years. The public has been enjoying and using it for leisure activities for those 25 years and it looks secure continuing in this occupation. A public meeting at Town Hall on Oct. 24th had proposals on Riggs Road as an item for Council approval. Of course, our development department took it upon themselves to recommend, not just the removal of ‘Road‘ status, but to add six to 12 building lots at its intersect points with east/west roads. Here we are, yet again, developing to the detriment of the local and existing taxpayer and not improving that local area. A Town Development Department repreâ€" sentative stated that, "Some public representation had voiced that Building Lots were needed." The Mayor said that, "It was an ideal opportunity to gain revenue in the land now becoming available." In my 20 years of being a proud Oakville resident, I have seen very little improvement given for my Tax and, in fact, have seen the Town deteriorate the overall quality of life of a resident. Crime, Pollution, Crowding, Costs, and Driving times have increased, whereas Green Space, Security, Employment Opportunity, Services, and Community Spirit have decreased. I would propose we "Shut Down" the Development Department and "Open Up" a Continuous Improvement Department and, thus, remove this motivation by the Town, to Add nothing to the existing resident and taxpayer‘s lot. Improve, don‘t develop LETTER OF T and helpful. The Ottawa politicians and the senior civil servants have gotten Canada into a financial and fiscal nightmare. Now they want to tinker with our highly respected banking system. As for the small business perâ€" sons, night courses at our colleges should be setâ€"up for them across Canada. Business courses are vital for their success. November 9, 1994 Cameron Hillmer Colin Davey