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A6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday October 3, 2001 T h e Oa k v ille B eaver Ian Oliver Publisher Nei Oliver Associate Publisher Norman Alexander Editor . Kelly Montague, Advertising Director Steve Crozier Circulation Director Ten Casas OfficeManager Mark Dills Production Manager Riziero Vertolli DirectorofPhotography Metrotend Printing. Publishing & Distributing Ltd.. indudes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herakj/Couriet Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance. Barry's Bay This Week, Bolton Enterprise. Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post. Burlington Shopping News. City Parent. Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East \brk Mirror. 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 Ecnomist & Sun. Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror. Milton Canadian Champion. Milton Shopping News. Mississauga Business Times. Mississauga News. Napanee Guide. Newmarket/Aurora Era-Bermer. Northumberland News. North Vbrk Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, OkJtimers Hockey News. Orife Today. Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune. Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide. Richmond Hill/Thomhill/Vaughan Liberal. Scarborough Mirror. Stouffvifla'Uxbndge Titxne. Forever 'tbung. City of \ferk Guaitlan Canadian C irculations cca a THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: ° H S .......... V W RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community N ew sp a pe rs Association P n p trm gfo rT o m o rn m 'tH e a lthC a n FCH 0 BL5TNESS tC T H E A R T S * £ Jinge Bell Fund to r x w ' JThkm TV AUCTION M S S JAward (yakvilU ^ h v a td s FOR BUSINESS EXCELLENCE ^ he © 467 Speers Rd,, Oakville Ont L6K 3S4 (905) 8 4 5 -3 8 2 4 Fax: 3 3 7 -5 5 6 7 Classified Advertising: 8 4 5 -2 8 0 9 Circulation: 8 4 5 -9 7 4 2 C N A Canadian Community N ew spapers Association IRONTE BUTTERFLY THE |oakville galleries \ m m * iw r r : T h e O akville . M ilton and District R E A L E S T A T E B O A R D OPINION SK« Suburban N ew sp apers of Am erica S C C hildren's C hoir Editorials United we stand The economists are hedging their bets but most believe we're heading for an economic downturn in the coming months. What that means in human terms is that there will be layoffs, some permanent, and all the attendant problems this creates in a free enterprise system. .. . ,... , In any economic slowdown individuals from unitea way or . every strata of society are equally at risk. Many Oakville is seeking 551 of them will be directed to a wide variety of million SO its 38 social services to help them weather the storm member agencies canand get back on their feet again. continue their work. That s why it s more important than ever that It' s not a lot to ask everyone gets behind the United Way of Oakville campaign to raise $3 million to help these peo for...especially now. ple, their families and others that can so easily slip between the cracks in our social services safety net. Oakville is a growing community and with that growth comes more need and more pressure on existing services and to expand those services. It all takes money. This year's campaign target represents a 3.8 per cent increase over last year, not much when ;you consider the wide range of services offered by the member agencies of the United Way. The increased goal also recognizes that Oakville is a caring community that always rallies to help those who need it most. This is one of those times. The events of Sept. 11 in New York City and Washington have placed added pressure on the United Way agencies who deal with those suffering from mental and emotional problems. These groups have been under severe stress them selves. The acts of terrorism in the U.S. have again driven home the need for all of the world's peoples to unite in fighting the greatest threat to our freedom and liberty. If every one of us did our bit for the United Way and its 38 member agencies, we could rightly claim that we will all stand up and be counted on to help our fellow citizens in times o f crisis. It's something terrorists couldn't understand. L e t t e r s t o t h e E d ito r The Oakville Beaver w elcom es your com m ents. All letters m ust be typed, signed and include the writer's address and phone number. Send to: Letters to the Editor, v v V 2 1 > The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 Attack gave new meaning to courage What is a firefighter? In the Oxford Dictionary, the definition of a firefighter reads, "a person whose task is to extinguish fires.", very p lain and sim ple. We all know that is what a firefighter's job is, however, I never, ever real ly knew what the true job descrip tio n w as u n til S e p te m b e r 11, 2001. Letter of the Week Medical professionals need resources The letter published in the Wed. Sept. 26, 2001 Oakville Beaver, by the sons and daughter of o f a local man has special meaning for our family. We are blessed to have such knowledgeable and caring profes sionals at Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. They, and others like them, deserve funding and active support which reflects the quality and service they provide. More of us should speak up on their behalf and help to seek addi tional ways to find the needed resources. Catherine Rhodes Sure, I knew that a firefighter's job was to save people's lives in the event of a fire, respond to 911 calls even if there are no fires. You see them at the scenes of accidents along with the police and the ambulances but never did I realize the full extent o f their responsibility until that fateful day that changed the world. Do we know that th eir jo b includes saving the lives of others while sacrificing their own? Do we know their job means saving one's life and then going back to face danger, knowing the full pos- F ir e fig h te r s w o r th y o f s u p p o r t I ju s t w a n t to T h an k the O a k v ille F ire Department for the outstanding job they do and also to thank them for taking the time to stand in malls all over Oakville to collet money for their brothers in New York. They afforded me the opportunity to donate as all of us have wanted to do but have been so caught up in the tragedy that we were uncertain where to go. And now with the news that there are scams going on out there(big surprise) it is so comfortating to see our fire department manning the boots. Thank you so very much. Yvonne Wilson sibility that they might face death leaving their wives and familes behind all in the line of duty? Did we realize that the firefighters of the N ew Y ork C ity F ire Departm ent did not even think tw ice about going up into the W orld Trade C enter to try and save as many lives as they possi bly could knowing deep down in their hearts that as they raced u,p and civilians raced dow n, they w ould n ev e r see g round zero again? Now I realize the true meaning o f a fire fig h te r not only in America, but here in our wonder ful town of Oakville and in our great Canadian nation and in all the world. Whenever I hear your sirens ring I will say a special prayer. I hold the greatest respect for you, our true heroes. God Bless you all. Build infrastructure before development With all the discussions regarding bill 198, it appears that the Town and all its' planners are forgetting one important item: Our present Town and how it will be affected. Our current Oakville is as congested as it can get. Future growth north o f Dundas will only make it worse. Our current infrastructure does not support the current size and growth of our town. So as we march north, it will only get worse. Our streets don't have enough lanes (3rd Line ring a bell), major intersections (some, but not all) don't have right hand turn lanes(Speers Road West at Dorval). A trip from north Oakville during peak traffic hours to the GO statiojj that used to take 10 minutes, now takes 15 min utes. In addition to this, how will the new residents north of Dundas travel to work? Many of them will take the already "bursting at the seams" GO Train Lakeshore line. And getting to the station will be even more challenging. Don't forget that although people live in the north end. they still do a majority of travel on streets including and south of Dundas. What's the solution? Perhaps we can concentrate for the moment on improving our current infrastructure so that in the future, as we expand, we will be able to sup port the growth of Oakville. Rosanna Santam aria Terrorist acts were against freedom & integrity How can words express the horror we saw on Sept. 11, and how do we sort out our emo tions and form reasoned responses? W hile some of us have very close ties to New York City and the U.S., few have been untouched by this attack against all of humanity. I was uplifted by the many pleas I heard for reason and calm and the solidarity and outpouring of love and support shown around the world. There were reminders to differentiate and dis tinguish between the perpetrators of acts of terrorism and generalities in regard to any group of people. Seeing people of all faiths praying to g eth er was an in sp iratio n . The CBC radio and television, csmonitor.com and spirituality.com were especially useful for non-sensationalized information, analysis and spiritual help. We have grieved in different ways, and our recovery will be at different speeds. So it may be with nations. As we manage to get on with our lives, let us not forget that the U.S. is still trying to come to grips with its pain and anger, when we hear rhetoric and nation alistic fervour. We may see the U.S. turn inward and be sensitive to anything suggest ing criticism; let's not fall into the game of `blame the victim.' At the same time, as citi zens of the world, it is important for all of us to think about how individuals can be so dis affected from humanity and filled with hatred that they feel justified in attacking innocent civilians with whom they have no personal g rie v a n c e . It is the h atred th at m ust be destroyed, and when those acts are commit ted in the name o f a religion or people or cause, those very groups also need to come to terms with these fanatics. This has been an attack against our very integrity and freedom, and our lives may be irrevocably changed by these events. My grief was com pounded by the real fear of continuing acts o f terrorism , and anxiety ab o u t o u r p e rso n a l and g o v e rn m e n ta l responses. I feared that the U.S. and its sup porters might lash out in indiscriminate retal iation. Nevertheless, I do expect our govern ment to protect its citizens, and to have a rea I b y s te v e n e a s e soned and intelligent response. I want terror ists, and those that fund and support them, to be put out of action. I want the government to m ake acts o f terrorism harder to conduct from within, with coordination and coopera tion between immigration and CSIS. W hile w atching the horrific im ages on television and listening to interviews with the families of the victims and the survivors, I needed to withdraw into myself, for my grief seemed larger than those around me. It was hard for me to hear laughter and to see life aro u n d me go on in a n o rm al m anner. However, by the weekend, it was reassuring to see so m any people o f v ario u s b a c k grounds just going about their normal busi ness and their day. It speaks volumes about our society -- just to know, quietly, how we should conduct ourselves. We must not forget that we have so very much to be grateful for. My Canadian and American flags are flying high in support of what my two nations stand for. G eorge M Kish Make our position clear Canada Snubbed? P resident B u sh 's failure to m ention C anada in his speech to the U.S. Congress should not be seen as a snub to all Canadians. It should be seen as a slap in the face to Jean Chretien for his lackluster show of support. Nobody, including the Americans, questions the need for careful consideration and planning. Nobody, including the Americans, questions that hasty reaction could prove to be counter-productive. Above all, we should not question the fact that the U.S. knows that Canada and Canadians are on their side and ready to provide whatever support we can. The problem lies in the pathetic public statements by our prime minister. At a time when a show of global unity is so im portant, C hretien leaves the w orld wondering w hether he is really behind the U .S. position or not. Britain's prime minister, Blair, sprang to the media with a stro n g and u n e q u iv o c a l sta te m e n t o f su p p o rt. Even President Putin o f Russia, a country not usually viewed as a supporter, quickly expressed strong support. It must be disappointing to Bush, and should be em barrassing to C anadians, to not hear a sim ilar response from (Jean) Chretien. The prime minister can and should express concerns to the U.S. President and must consider carefully how we will be involved, but he should do this quietly. Publicly, we should be showing the world that there can be no ques tion which side Canada is on. I believe George Bush is putting Chretien on notice, that he needs to show that Canada is solidly with the U.S. in this fight against terrorism. He has shown that Canada has not yet earned mention as a true ally in this new con flict. As Canadians, we need to ensure that this situation is corrected and that Canada's position is clear. We need to also put Chretien on notice that this behaviour will not be tolerated. Lin M achael Pud TIME TD SET READY FoR SCHOOL, MAX / f l ' M NOT g o i n 't o ^ Kinpygarden tdcay , IMSlMN'HOM&AN VWTCHIN' 3 CARTOON! Je ff Bradshaw