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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, June 21, 2012 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous 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 advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Guest Column Halton's online survey panel he McGuinty pesticide ban has taken away the ability of people to safeguard themselves against noxious weeds and disease carrying insects. As a result, Ontario now has a more dangerous outdoor environment, a black market in pesticides and a trail of economic destruction with hundreds of small businesses destroyed and thousands of people out of work. Ted Chudleigh What has happened is the predictable effect of using junk science to justify a political decision. Of course I am concerned with the overuse of pesticides and the potential effects they could have on our environment. Show me the science. Show me the evidence. I am also concerned about reports that deer ticks, which carry Lyme Disease, are running wild, particularly in semi-rural areas just outside our cities. I am concerned about noxious weeds that in extreme cases can contribute to death, force millions to medicate themselves or live with severe allergic affects. That's why I introduced Bill 88 to amend the ban on pesticides and allow licensed professionals to apply these products under strict conditions and in concentrations well within established safety limits. These products are rigorously tested and monitored by Health Canada. Surely, the entirely unproven concerns of a few politically connected fearmongers should be balanced against the strictly tested, lengthy and scientifically documented use of pesticides applied under controlled conditions to deal with human health problems caused by noxious plants and disease carrying insects. The current regime encourages people to purchase pesticides and apply them in strong concentrations. Bill 88 requires professional application and has the added effect of strengthening an industry, which has been devastated by the McGuinty Liberals' arbitrary position on this issue. It is only a matter of time before problems in rural and semi-rural areas come to an urban area near you. I would also like to reduce the big brother effect of the current legislation. Golf courses are currently exempt but have to hold an annual public meeting to outline the use of pesticides. Despite the considerable expense of these meetings, they are inevitably ignored by the public. These big brother government regulations add to the cost of doing business, simply for the optics it creates for government benefit. Surely, providing a report on pesticide use to residents who request it should be more than sufficient for public information. I'm hopeful that common sense supported by 21st century science will triumph in the end. Neil Oliver Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West David harvey Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief Daniel Baird Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor Riziero Vertolli Photography Director Sandy Pare Business Manager RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association MARK DILLS Director of Production Manuel garcia Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution KIM MOSSMAN Circ. Manager Website www.oakvillebeaver.com The OakvilleBeaver is a division of T Ted Chudleigh, Halton MPP Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville ATHENA Award eric riehl / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog FOR THE BEARS: Micaila Fernandez is selling lemonade every Sunday afternoon at the corner of Pine Glen and Postmaster to raise money for polar bears. Perfect poolside prose and bodacious books for the beach P esky bug outbreaks, heat waves, road closures, and traffic jams extending all the way up to cottage country are not the surest signs that summer has begun. Nope. The surest sign that summer is officially upon us is this essay -- my umpteenth annual offering of superb summer books, a recommended reading list known to incite bedlam in bookstores, lunacy in libraries and rioting or, at very least, reading in the streets. The Great Leader, by Jim Harrison. Although I'm sure he would scoff at the designation, Harrison is often touted as "America's Greatest Living Writer." For certain, he is one of my favorites; I fell for his prose years ago with Sundog (1984), and continue to periodically fall all over again with novels such as The English Major (2008) and The Great Leader (2011), which features a quintessential Harrison protagonist: the newly retired, recently divorced Detective Sunderson, a world-weary, hard-living, technology-mistrusting, dog-loving dude who is relentless in his pursuit of a hedonist cult leader. Brilliance in full bloom. The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, by Michael Chabon. Best known for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, the Pulitzer Prize Winner for Fiction in 2001, The Mysteries is Chabon's first novel, which he began writing as a 21-year-old student at the University of Pittsburgh, and published in 1988. An insightful, endearing, beautifully written and fully realized coming-of-age story. (And if you're looking for a book you can read piecemeal, I loved Chabon's collection of essays, Manhood for Amateurs). Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout. Andy Juniper Speaking of Pulitzer Prize winners, this collection of connected short stories pilfered the Pulitzer in 2009 for Strout's depiction of a typical New England town on the coast of Maine. The stories are buoyant, the characters are complex, instantly identifiable, empathetic and alive. The Leftovers, by Tom Perrotta. At a loss to describe such provocative prose, I turned to the New York Times' review ­ written by Stephen King, no less, who said "(this book) is a troubling disquisition on how ordinary people react to extraordinary events... The Leftovers is the best Twilight Zone episode you never saw." And in this episode, Perrotta deals with The Rapture (sort of), an event wherein millions of people around the world inexplica- bly disappear. I know: it doesn't sound like the sort of plotline I'd enjoy, either. But in the hands of a superb storyteller, and creator of gems like The Wishbones and Little Children, it's ultimately enjoyable. The Perfect Order of Things, by David Gilmour. His seventh novel. Each worthy of multiple reads, each entertaining, thoughtprovoking and long on style (simple sentences that pack prickliness and bite, tenderness and passion). Critics whined that this book is more memoir than fiction. It certainly draws on the author's life, and his previous books, but in the end: who cares? It's a wonderful read. The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes. Wish You Were Here, by Graham Swift. Two of my favorite British authors (both as prolific as they are profound) hit home runs last year (Barnes bagged a Booker for his efforts). The beauty of these two authors: they are masters of both story and language. With one simple sentence, they can break your heart. Or leave you in awe. Happy reading! Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook at www.facebook.com, or followed at www. twitter.com/thesportjesters.