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T he Oakville Beaver Ian Oliver Publisher , Neil Oliver .Associate Publisher Norman Alexander Editor Kelly Montague, Adivrtising Director Steve Crozier Circulation Director Teri Casas OfficeManager Mark Dills Production Manager Riziero Vertolli DirectorofPhotography Metroland Printing. Publishing & Distrtoyting Ltd.. indudes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier. Arthur Enterprise News. Barrie Advance. Barry's Bay This Week. Bolton Enterprise. Brampton Guardian. Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/V\fasaga Connection. East 'ibrk Minor, Erin Advocate/Country Routes. Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Post. Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Kingston This Week. Lindsay This Week. Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News. Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News. Napanee Glide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North Mark Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News. OtdtmefS Hockey News. Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Garington Port Perry This Week. Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal. Scarborough Mirror, StouffvilleAJxbndge Tribune. Forever 'ibung. City of 'ibrk Guardian OPINION RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: 1 YM CA wH OF OAKVILLE lS tra te g ie s fo rT j h ' j H Ontario Com m unity Newspapers Association JingleBell Fund © I f JTbiiena I n w a rd of O akvW e T A R I O e . O 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax; 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 Canadian Com m unity WW C N A Newspapers Association Newspapers S K \ Suburban ol America ^OTTW" THE 1R O N TE B U T T E R F LY G a ki'ille ^ /b v a x d s FOR B U S IN E S S EXCELLENCE TV AUCTION O N I oakville galleries I T O W N O f | o ^ K VI LLl H O *G O jL C hildren's C hoir rase tohkMNt /OR U BUSINESSKTHE ARTS E d it o r ia ls Why not rate the provinces? No d o u b t p eo p le w ill be in te re ste d to read the re su lts o f the first Provincial M unicipal Performance M easures Program report card when it is released Sept. 30. While it may be interesting to see how Oakville compares to its neigh bours and other Ontario municipalities, we w on't necessarily be reading a lot into the results. W hile the program uses 16 m easures to com pare service efficiency among municipalities, the report will also include notes explaining why the results are shown. Hopefully, people will take the time to read the notes, but if past experience is any example, we doubt it. For example, the release of the province's Grade 6 and Grade 3 literacy testing results has caused great concern in the past. People were alarmed when their school ranked low. Yet those results can be skewed by the afflu ence o f the school's neighborhood and how many o f the students do not speak English as a first language or live in a home where the parents speak a language other than English. We're skeptical on whether 16 measuring tools can adequately compare the service efficiency of one municipality to another. As Mayor Ann Mulvale rightly pointed out in a story in today's paper it's difficult enough to com pare Oakville with Burlington, so how do you compare Oakville to Toronto or Dryden, for that matter. We really have to question the value of the program. We wonder what would happen if the federal government devised a program to compare the service efficiency o f one province to another. How does Ontario compare to Alberta, or Newfoundland or Manitoba? It's foolish to even consider and we would be hearing howls of protest from Queen's Park if Ottawa ever decided to grade the provinces for efficiency. So why does the provincial governm ent feel it's useful to grade the municipalities? 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 In support of Post Comers schedule changes I am writing to support the proposed changes to the school schedule at Post's Comers School. I understand the Ministry of Education has stated that the proposed schedule was not within their guidelines, so the principal has reverted back to the original schedule. I wonder how much of the Ministry's decision was based on pressure from the few people who were against the change. Initially, I thought the changes seemed ridiculous and I was now going to be packing two lunches for my three children but after some thought, I now see the m erit in having two 45-minute breaks throughout the day and I have spoken to others who were willing to give it a try. While others have commented that Brain C om patible R esearch has not been peerreviewed, it does make sense that this type of schedule is better for children. Perhaps, we should let our children be part of the research pro ject that may prove that a change in schedule is better for all children. I certainly do not mind if my children are subject in this possibly cutting edge research and I do not feel they will be nega tively impacted if the study is not proven success ful. Everyone works better when their blood sugar stays at a relatively constant level. The two nutrition breaks would allow children to have two smaller meals which is healthier for everyone. Fifteen minute recesses was hardly enough time' to play and eat. As pointed out in a letter from the principal, 15-minute recesses are rather short especially in the winter when it takes a long time to put on coats and hats and then it is almost time for the children to come in. Some parents and children have commented that having lunch at 11 a.m. is too early but my children and many others I know are usually quite ready to eat by this time. The fact that some people feel 45 minutes is not long enough to go home for lunch affects very few children. In this day of both parents working, I would guess that 90% of the children at Post's Comers will stay for lunch. Why should all the children suffer due to a small minority that may go home? Prior to the opening of this school, all these children have been bussed to other schools where I am sure they never went home for lunch on a regular basis. I seem to remember until a few years ago at Munn's School, we only had 50-minute lunch breaks and no one said anything. My children looked forward to the two breaks during the day, when they could be involved in extracurricular activities. It is often these activi ties that contribute to the making of a great school and now there will be less time to do these things. I find it interesting that there was so much out rage over this issue while the start time of the school was dramatically changed for many of these students (9:10 a.m. instead of 8:25 a.m.) and this may cause more difficulty for many fam ilies. No one has made any comment on this but perhaps the few who were upset about the change in lunch routine live close to the school and look forward to sleeping in later. Most working families are out of the house long before this time and what will happen to many children who are left to fend for themselves in the mornings. (They may need to eat a nutri tious lunch by 11 a.m.) I hope the scheduling issued will be discussed at the new Parent Council meetings when the school opens with the opportunity for all parents to participate in any decisions. Lisa Keenan-Lindsav Letter of the Week Toll road is user pays twice Re: August 1 Oakville Beaver regarding the delight of our elected officials at the opening of another section of the 407 ETR toll road. W hat can be going through the co-called mind of Transportation Minister Brad Clark when he states the toll road"won't cost taxpayers a cent" and `Toll highways shift financial responsibility from the public sector and the taxpay er to the private sector"? An echo from the CEO De Fuentes states "not a single tax dollar is used in this endeavour." The inference is of course that this is a "user pay" opera tion. I may be missing something but the last time I looked I paid a steep tax on ftiel for my car, which was supposed to cover the cost of roads, so this becomes a "user-pays twice" deal. Who are these taxpayers that are saving all this money, or are the nice folks in our governments going to refund the fuel tax for the travel on a toll road? Fat chance! I have no objection to toll roads per se. provided the money is used for the road and the toll removed when it is paid for; as happened with the Burlington-Hamilton Skyway, and the Eastern Townships Autoroute in Quebec. However, the ownership of this turkey is not even in Ontario and the toll will continue ad infinitum to enrich the private investors. Please add my name to your list of disgusted, overgouged motorists and taxpayers;. Tom Smith Draconian firearm laws solve nothing A letter appeared in a number of Canadian newspapers with the heading "Strict gun laws needed," or something similar. The letter was written by the president of the Canada Safety Council. The writer may not be aware of it, but Canada has had very stringent handgun regulations, since 1877. He may also not know that since 1934, all hand guns in Canada have been registered, and applicants have had to show a good reason for wanting one. In spite of the foregoing, a recent news item was carried by Canadian TV stations about crime in Toronto. We were told that 13 young black men have been murdered by handguns this year. They talked about the prevalence of handguns in Toronto's youth gangs, and about the increase in execution style killings. All of this, in spite of strict handgun control in Canada for over a century. O ttaw a recently released "Focus on Firearms." The publication is filled with facts and figures on the possession and use of firearm s in Canada, as well as death rates. F irearm s related deaths are 18.5% in the Northwest Territories, and 11.8% in the Yukon. Ontario has the lowest rate at 2.9% per 100,000 population. Ask any law enforcement officer why the death rate is so high in Canada's hinter lands and he'll point out that it's taking place in aboriginal communities. The publication makes vandals for the fourth time. I've come to real it clear that nearly 40% of firearm deaths are ize that it's not the m onetary value o f the men, and that nearly 80% of all firearm deaths things stolen or destroyed that is important, but are suicides. rather it is the loss of peace of mind -- and Draconian firearm laws have solved nothing that is beyond price. in Canada. Natives are paying no attention to A quiet, secure and peaceful life is one of recently imposed registration laws, and handguns the hallmarks of a civilized society. A selfish are still being smuggled into Canada for use in minority, if unchecked, will continue to deny the criminal environment. When a crime is com th is to m any w ho liv e in the Tow n o f mitted with a firearm, the courts have been far Oakville. too lenient and that alone, is the problem. H ugh M aclean Peter E. Sticklee North Oakville parents wanted for survey I am w riting today to send a message to fam ilies of young children in the north end of Oakville. Our population is expanding rapidly and we are finding our local services can't keep up with our great demands. A survey to determine what these needs are has been put together by local mothers in response to the needs we hear about so often. We are part of a group of parents in Oak Park who meet once a week to form playgroups and talk to other parents about the joys and challenges of raising kids. The results of this survey will be used to write a proposal for funding th ro u g h the E arly Years P ro ject to e sta b lish a N orth Oakville Family Resource Centre. These surveys were sent home in June through our local schools (kindergarten), ,handed out at parks and distributed through daycare providers and local churches. If you would like to have a say in the future of such a project, please send your com pleted survey to Grainne Galati. 96 Roxton Road, Oakville, ON L6H 6V4. If you would like to receive a copy of this survey or would like further information, I can also be reached through e-mail at ggalati@home.com or 905-257-7323. On a further note, if you belong to or organize a Moms & Tots group in your neighbourhood or church etc. and would like to get in touch with other groups to share ideas and resources, please contact me. I would like to set up a network of our groups so we can continue to run successfully and get the word out that we exist to new parents. I have found the Oak Park Moms & Tots a great way for my son to meet friends within the neighbourhood and it has given me the chance to meet other parents and be part of my community. G rainne G alat Vandalism steals peace of mind Oakville, not so long ago, had attractive homes and gardens, was peaceful and polite. The houses and gardens remain, but quietness and civility have mostly gone; and a lack of respect for others is reflected in the incidence of gratuitous noise, littering and vandalism. The Town does have law s to deal with these "nuisances", but the politicians seem to lack the will to have the police and the courts enforce them. My front garden has just been damaged by Pud HER&CoMtsT" Y our b ySteve Nease B EC A R EFU L.I N L YT J rI L o v eY o u If ITS O 1M IS SY o uS O M U C H . J fafcVER/ ^vW\ycAMP.y ^ p w dremember*./ ^ £ , s h e e s m I S