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women university engineering students killed in Montreal five years ago, is a constant reminder of the societal problem of abuse against women. And while Marc Lepine‘s heinous act of cold blooded murder with a semiâ€"autoâ€" matic rifle, was an atrocity of monumental proportions, lesser degrees of abuse against women take place every day. Usually that takes the form of wife abuse and thankfully, the provincial governâ€" ment is taking the issue seriously. The candlelight vigil held at St. John‘s United Church last week for the 14 on in c t U The Onta featuring the ‘The ad encourages friends, families, coâ€"workers and 1 solution to end violence against women. ‘The issue is very serious. Statistics Canada figures reveal that 51 per cent of C rienced at least one incident of violence since the age of 1NC ISSUC 15 YOLY Statistics Canada figures reveal that 51 per cent of Canadian women have expeâ€" rienced at least one incident of violence since the age of 16 and more than half of all women killed in Ontario last year were killed by a current or estranged male partner. Marion Boyd, Minister responsible for Women‘s Issues, put the concerns Sucâ€" cinctly: "Government has taken steps to provide appropriate services for victims through the social service and justice systems but it will take the effort of the whole community to end violence against women." Thantfully MNakville appears to be a more enlightened community than most, o sn Thankfully, Oakville appears to be when it comes to abused women. whnen 1t COLMNCS dUuoUU Bill Nygren, owner of Pasta Cuisine in downtown Oakville, recently held a wine and food tasting evening with proceeds going to the Halton Women‘s Shelter. The response, according to Nygren, was S0 positive that he‘s considering making the night more than just an annual event. That‘s the kind of local support there is for helping these abused women. The Wife Assault Public Education Campaign is part of the province‘s wife assault prevention strategy which focuses on services to victims, the criminal justice system and prevention throu gh education. It‘s an initiative that deserves everyone‘s support. thought received a major reality check this past week courtesy of noâ€"less a rsonage than the President of the United States...Bill Clinton himself. First issue: NATO and its role in Bosnia etc. Big Bill, he with no ground troop$ in Bosnia, rolls off a list of NATO countries and forgets to add Canada to the list. Given Canada‘s past and present involvement in that body, such an omission is unconscionable. Second issue: Good old Bill again, this time at the muchâ€"ballyhooed Summit of the Americas held in Miami. ‘There, before a massive television audience, we see Mr. Clinton acknowledging the trade between the U.S. and every country except, you guessed it...Canada. It would be understandable if the U.S. had a larger trading partner. It doesn‘t. Yep, so here we have Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien prattling on about how the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will soon include Chile and that the trading partners will now be ‘the four amigos‘. Clinton got a laugh out of that but this is the way Canada is tooâ€"often regarded uceA itA 4 Q ny Canadian who thinks the United State‘s' gives this country a second by our U.S. co urses are a sham ralled bilineuals at all. and Dear Sir: For many years, French immersion has been widely promoted in Canada, to the point that currently over 300,000 children are enrolled in immersion programs. Almost everyone continâ€" ues to refer to the "great success" of immersion programs. estra Pnnavati Dear Sir: This is a long, overdue, verbal bouquet to the Oakville Symphony. At their most recent concert â€" a suite written for Oakville, by an Oakvillian â€" was feaâ€" tured. Its six sections described principal landmarks that identify Oakville: Bronte Harbour, the library, the town offices, the golf course, the Oakville Symphony itself, and of course, that dubious event â€" Midnight Madness!!! In between sections was a written narration read by none other than our Mayor herself, Ann Mulvale. In a capsule, what a wonâ€" derful statement it presented about this great town. Civic leader, citizens, arts communiâ€" ty â€" coâ€"operation, contribuâ€" tion, and throughout, pride. Worth supporting Not to mention great fun! The tribute to the library would have impressed even ario Women‘s Directorate, has jUsSt 1IqUNnCned > new wifeâ€"assault prevention campaign themeâ€" MR . ce s nei ghbours-mmor players in world affairs. EDITORIAL Minor leagues the particularly fastidious staff overdue, _ of Woodside Branch. > Oakville The conductor, David Miller, must be congratulated. has just launched a: television commercial n campaion themeâ€"community responsibiliâ€" coâ€"workers and neighbours to be part of the However, research studies have shown â€" without exception â€" that the results of the usual immersion programs (whether early, middle, or late) are poor. Immersion graduates speak rapidâ€" ly, but their speech has very frequent errors of the most basic kind; so does their writing. (They are not "functional" by dysfunctional bilinguals, His humor, his innovative approach to introducing each piece â€" by locating it, not only historically, but in a socially relevant context (fear of impending war, gaiety of gypsy life, etc.) â€" draws the audience in, makes you believe in what you‘re going to hear. The auditorium is intiâ€" mate by design, but David Miller fills it with personality and warmth. We have subscribed to other major orchestras, but none that have as consistently moved and entertained us by their sincerity and obvious enjoyment of what they are doing. Congratulations Oakville Symphony and congratulations Oakville in having such a fine, spirited group of musicians. _ Remember â€" their reward is playing to a full house, so let‘s support them by subscribing. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, i the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the Sylviann'e Rivard Craig 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 §45â€"3824 Fax: 845â€"3085 Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809 Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be signed and include the writer‘s address and I eR CCC phone numt;éi 'l:e{t';rsi should be typed, doubleâ€"spaced and addressed to: Letters to the Editor, The Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ont. L6K I Ts A LITTLE CHILE THE OAKVILLE BEAVER in the event of a typographical error, that portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item e right to categorize and reject advertising. in the event of typographical errot, advertising goods or service when they can be called bilinguals at all, they cannot hold pilingual jobs.) AAAAA o ames o ol am s This fact is known to the advocates of immersion, and they acknowledge it in private or at obscure academic forums, but they haven‘t had the honesty to tell the public about it. For example, Merrill Swain of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) â€" a leading proâ€" ponent of immersion â€" stated the following in a 1992 academic publication, "When immersion programs began, it was thought that the interlanâ€" guage characteristics of the students would disâ€" appear with time. We now know that this is not the case." This is "Academese" for "We were wrong and what they end up speaking is ‘Frenglish‘," but instead of saying so openly, OISE people continue to promote and defend immersion in public. NE I am incensed by this coverâ€"up and by the fact that in the last three decades, well over a million Canadians have mislearned French as a result of an untested approach based on faulty theories â€" when they could have been learning French well, via a more sensible approach. Something must be done about the linguistic failure of the immersion approach. My earlier contributions were several articles and a book, but few parents even heard of them. ui 2 tm c css EeV o on i E. 5 My newest contribution is a bilingual test that Englishâ€"speaking parents can give to their children (provided the child has had at least five years of immersion) and thus, find out just how good their children‘s French really is. Parents must find out the truth for themselves. Until now, they have had to rely for the evaluation of Te ce o 7 ce their children‘s French or French immersion teachers â€" hardly an unbiased source of inforâ€" mation! Parents interested in administering the French Immersion Test (FIT) may contact me either by letter or by calling (604) 464â€"4383. Hector Hammerly, Ph.D. Professor of Applied Linguistics Eâ€"mail: Hector Hammerly @ sfu.ca Fax: (604) 291â€"5659 Grinch alive and well in Oakville Dear Sir: Has The Grinch Moved to Oakville? On Sunday evening, Dec. 4th, two plastic toy soldiers, about 30 inches high, were stolen from the Christmas decorations at our front door. These toy sol grandchildren. B" Stealing Christmas decorations is despicable and would only be done by a Grinchâ€"like perâ€" These toy soldiers are quite old, although in excellent condition, and have not been sold in the stores for many years. So, if you see a house decorated with two plastic toy soldiers, you are likely looking at the house of a Grinch. PMEA WCnE e soldxers were the favorites of our Ian Oliver Publisher Robert Glasbey Advertising Director Norman Alexander Editor Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Casas Office Manager Tim Coles Production Manager upied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, w advertising goods or services at t! e wrong price, goods or services, may not be sok Gordon Inns 1 \ ALM\\ Dear Sir: I am writing you this letter in response to Terence Young‘s letter on Nov. 30th, concerning youth crime in our community. While it must be noted that I do agree with Mr. Young that youth crime is an issue not to be taken lightly, as a student, whose conducted thorâ€" ough research in this area, I would like to clear up a few misconâ€" ceptions. + ies e ns One common fear among citizens is that youth crime is "out of control" and "running rampant". It is time that Canadians realize that this fear is based more in fiction than in fact. It arose out of what James C. Hackler (1978) referred to as "the need to do someâ€" thing, not because delinquency is objectively a threat to society, but because the demands for action are always there." The fact is that the crime rate among youths is the same as it was five or ten years ago (Department of Justice Canada, 1993). Adults continue to commit the most crime in Canada, and although the concern for youth violence must be addressed, it is important to note that in 1992, 86% of adults commit violent crimes, compared to 14% committed by youth (Department of Justice Canada, 1993). The main problem with this widespread fear is that it leads to the creation of policy that does not necessarily address the real issues at hand. In order to really help these young people (thus protecting societyv). we must have a clear picture of the problem... and effecâ€" Setting the record straight society). we must have a CIear.pICIUIC OJ LC rr ECA uC tive solutions. Another gross misconception on the part of Mr. Young is that "now under the Young Offender‘s Act, juveniles know they can do almost anything they want, and the worst they‘ll get is a slap on the wrist." I would really be interested to know where Mr. Young has conducted his research, as it is evident from any number of sources that in most cases, youths get punished far more harshly than adults. n 3 3 ie Jt L1 s In 1992/93, there were 115,000 cases heard in youth courts. Twoâ€"thirds of the cases resulted in a conviction. Only. 1% of the cases resulted in acquittals (Department of Justice Canada, 1993). Young offenders are also held in custody for far longer periods of time than adults. This has particularly increased since the impleâ€" mentation of the Young Offender‘s Act. e n e tha Seniors appreciated light tour 1O EUA Ne Eoi e ce m oo on e Mr. Young seems to think that making the "punishment fit the crime" will be the "best thing" for everybody. Let‘s get realistic â€" even if you lock up all the young offenders, one day they will be let out and are we prepared to deal with these young people, who come out more highly skilled criminals than when they went in? I don‘t M MA s Dear Sir: On Dec. 5th, the 25th Annual Senior Citizens‘ Light Tour and Christmas Social were held at the Galaxy Club. This annual get together with entertainment, food, and wine was well organized by a great many volunteers. 0 1 B t 3 us h wid htA lsnd un stt C think so. We must emphasize treatment for these young people. Imprisonment of youth costs $191 per day in Ontario (John Howard Society, 1994). It is time to reallocate these funds to treatment. Yes, they are not kids â€" but they are people, and they deserve an objective community and community leaders that will give them the tools to build a strong foundation, rather than the pessimism of a "youth gone bad". TMana Craddack This letter is an acknowledgâ€" The Oakville Beaver, published every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, at 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, is one of the Metroland Printing, Publishing Distributing Ltd. goup of suburban newspapers which includes: Ajaxâ€"Pickering News Advertiser, Barrie Advance, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post,_ Collingwood Connection, Etobicoke Guardian, Georgetown Independent! Acton Free Press, Kingston This Week, Lindsay This Week, Martham Economist and Sun, Stouftville/Uxbridge Tribune, Milton Canadian Champion, Mississauga News, Newmarketâ€"Aurora Eraâ€"Banner, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby This Week, Peterborough This Week, Richmond HilVThomnhilWaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror. All material published in the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Any re oduction in whole or in part of this material is strictly forbidden without the consent of the publisher. or signature, will not be charged fox, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at may not be soid. Advertising is merely an offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any time. : Un o s ment and ‘thanks‘ for a job well done and enjoyed by al}. Many local merchants and organizations donated prizes, food, and drinks; and they, too, should be congratulated. . As a senior couple, it is nice to know that we live in a communiâ€" ty where people really do care. in l sn Tana Craddock Social work student and Concerned citizen Colin and Phyllis Maxwell December 14, 1994 is "out of and