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A6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Saturday January 5,2000 T he Oakville B eaver Ian Oliver Publisher Neil Oliver Associate Publisher Norman Alexander Editor Kelly Montague, Advertising Director Marlin Doherty Circulation Director Ten Casas OfficeManager Mark Dills Production Manager Riziero Vertolli Director ofPhotography Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Lid ., includes: Ajax/Pickering N e w s Advertiser. AJIiston Herald'Courier, Bam e Advance, B a n yS Bay This W eek. Bolton Enterprise. Bram pton GuartJan, Burlington Post. B u ln g to n Shopping N ew s. City Parent. ColingwoocVWasaga Connection, East York M irra, Erin Advocate/Country Routes. Etobicoke G u ard a n . Flamborough Post. Georgetow n Independent/Acton Free Press. Huronia Business Tim es, K ingston T h is W e e k . Lin d sa y T h is W e e k , M a rk h a m E cn o m ist & S u n , M id la n d /P e n e ta n g u is hin e Mirror, Milton C a n a d ia n C h a m p io n , Milton Shopping N ew s, Mississauga Business Tim es. Mississauga News. Napanee G uide. Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner. Northumberland News, North York Mirror. Oakville Beaver. Oakvile Shopping News. Oldtimers Hockey News. G ilia Today. O shaw aW hitty/O arington Port Perry This Week. O w e n S ound T rib u n e . P e te rb o ro u g h T h is W e e k . P ic to n C o u n ty G u id e . R ic h m o n d Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal. S ca rb o ro u g h Mirror. Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune. Forever Y o u rg . City of York G uardan OPINION RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association . Canadian Community f 'r C N A Newspapers Association THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FO R 467 Speers Rd., Oakville OnL L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 SK* Suburban Newspapers ol America United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION JiiMqle Bell Fund ' b r o n W T H E H u t t e r f l y -- E d ito ria ls 1 O o Get moving Okay, things are getting just a little too bizarre. For those dear readers who still remember when the Beatles made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan (Ed who?) Show, cast your mind back to when you went to school in that era. The situation is so bad Aside from all the academic stuff, there that some New York City was one course that you couldn't dodge with out extreme effort...phys.-ed. T hat's gym, types, concerned over their people- gym. couch-potato-kids, are We won't mention the health class compo paying personal trainers to nent here. get the youngsters into Anyway, students generally fell into two factions when it cam e to gym: you either some kind o f shape. loved it or hated it. But the fact was that the provincial Ministry of Education at the time, did have it right. It forced all high school students to have gym as part of their curriculum regardless of physical abilities. (We will also refrain from name-calling and detailing the fanaticism of track some long distance runner-turned -teacher types.) Then came a barrage of curriculum changes and the relegation of gym to the ash-heap of education. Too bad. The result has manifested itself in very unfit children who carry that kind of lethargy into adulthood. That's bad for the individual and bad for our health care system. So what's the answer? From our viewpoint, reinstating mandatory gym classes in high school wouldn't hurt. The situation is so bad that some New York City types, con cerned over their couch-potato-kids, are paying personal trainers to get the youngsters into some kind of shape. With more children spending an increasing amount of their time inside, star ing at computers during their leisure hours, is it any wonder that some parents are desperate to get their kids moving? A new millennium, a new attitude....everyone...get moving! lo u r e a a p o d , m a n , C h a r le s M . S c h u lz . 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 Golf course in park not worth the gamble In his letter regarding Bronte C re ek P ro v in c ia l P a rk , Tom M cC o rm ac k , o f th e O a k v ille Economic Development Alliance, m entions that the northern sec tion o f Bronte Creek Provincial P ark h as b een a p p ro v e d fo r developm ent as cam pgrounds. I w ould be in te re ste d in u n d e r stan ding the re le v a n c e o f this statement in regard to the discus sion regarding the $25-m illion RCGA G olf Village project being co n sid ered fo r these lan d s. In fact, I would be interested in the pertinence of his entire letter! The point here is not whether the G olf V illage is an exciting project or not, or whether or not it will be good for Oakville's eco nomic growth. The point is sim McCormack has read an article in the O ct. 19th G lobe and M ail e n title d "L o o k s C an Be Deceiving." The article summa riz e s the c ris is in C a n a d a 's national parks. An 11-m em ber panel, chaired by Jacques Gerin, is charged with writing up a blue print on how to restore the parks to health. H arvey Locke, vicepresident of conservation for the Canadian Parks and W ilderness Society, has made a presentation to this panel in which he recom m en d ed th a t g o lf c o u rse s be p h ased o u t o f n atio n a l p arks. "G o lf c o u rse s are ch e m ic a lly addicted, green asphalt," he told the C alg ary H e ra ld , " B an ff, Ja sp e r and W aterto n L ak es National Parks are prime candi dates where golf courses should be returned to their natural state... S o c ie ty s h o u ld h e lp , n o t h u r t d is a d v a n ta g e d We don't need golf courses in our As we enter the dawning of this ing the extremely rigid bureaucra diminutive scapegoats and the butt parks anymore... (G olf courses) new m illennium , I, for one, am cy and stringent new convoluted, of both the ignorant and much of with trepidation, as are numerous next-to-impossible-to-meet criteria the well-to-do selfish, cruel, petu are not useful places for nature at all." others as well. stip u la te d firm ly by both the lantly trifling jokes. It se em s to m e th a t if th is Our modem society, particular prov in cial and federal govern There is no sin in poverty, yet ly in Ontario, is transforming into ments, and after suffering painstak no virtue in wealth. Greed is the panel is even considering phasing an increasingly ruthless, two-tier ingly, w aiting and w aiting for a root of all evil. Is there any cre out golf courses at national parks, system: the excessively wealthy year in many cases before one even dence given to the statistics on the due to the damage they wreak on and the denigrated, struggling poor. finds out whether or not they are billions o f dollars of tax evasion the environment, then why would Most of the fortunate few who a p p ro v e d ), are all `lo s e rs ', and cheating by a considerable we e v en c o n s id e r b u ild in g a are on the side where the grass is `dim w its', `freeloaders', and are number of the very wealthy, and b ra n d new g o lf c o u rse in our much greener, have also evidently `fa k in g ' th e ir d e sp e ratio n to especially the misuse of the billions adopted the wrongful belief that allegedly receive a `free ride' from of our tax dollars that pay for the provincial park? If there is any anyone and everyone who is finan the g o v e rn m e n t, and are thus politicians' exorbitant salaries, pen question whatsoever about main cially destitute either "wants" to be b ran d ed the `a d v e rs a rie s' and sions and the Harris government's taining the integrity of the park, that way, or has "w illed th em `reprobates' of our society. fallacious, condescending adver why would we risk it? Given the selves" to be in such a predica On the contrary: Statistics on tisements? information we have today about ment. W ho truly "wants" or has the deplorably alarm ing drastic Wake up to reality and facts, the erosion of our wilderness and deliberately "willed themselves" to increase of homeless individuals, Ontario, and start blaming the true the sta te o f o u r en v iro n m e n t, starve, be without shelter, cleanli including those who are children, culprits of the current serious prob developing a golf course on envi ness, proper clothing or dignity, let and those with disabilities, plus the lems in this province: namely, the ro n m e n ta lly s e n s itiv e la n d s alone be abused and degraded so devastating crumbling of our envi H arris governm ent you elected would be immoral. mercilessly? ronment and health care system in once, and then a second time. As John T u rner quite aptly There is also the abundantly this province sine Premier (Mike) The perturbing w idespread common stereotype that individu Harris' totalitarian reign (in favour hostility and hatred of today, often said, "I hope (today's prem iers als who have a disability and/or are of the wealthy) should sufficiently heinously directed at those in gen and the Prime M inister) realize in need of a small stipend from the refute and substantiate how untrue uine need must be obliterated, yet th at fu tu re g e n e ra tio n s a re n 't government in order to just barely this very common, ignorant myth this can only begin when the igno likely to blame them for having survive (if they are actually even is about people who are genuinely rance and self-centred greed ends. protected too much o f Canada." able to obtain one today, consider in need, w ho have becom e the Nichole Borgstrom ply this, "Is it acceptable to put something that is known to cause environmental degradation, such as a golf course, into a provincial park?" Is Mr. M cCormack aware that B ro n te C re e k has the h ig h e st water quality of any major stream in the GTA; that this environmen tally sensitive area (as designated by H alton R eg io n ) p ro v id es a link in migratory routes for both w aterfow l and raptors betw een the shoreline of Lake Ontario and the N iagara E scarpm ent w ood lands; that Bronte Creek Valley is a significant Life Science Area of N atural and S cien tific In terest and it possesses 14 separate plant communities, and contains sever al nationally and provincially rare plant and animal species; and the Bronte Creek is a migratory route for C oho and C hinook salm on and rainbow trout, and provides a spaw ning area for small m outh bass? I w onder if Mr. M cCormack has read John Turner's comments in the Dec. 8th Globe and Mail, entitled, "A Distress Call o f the W ild." Turner believes that our p o litic a l le ad e rs today do not fully understand the depth of con cern Canadians have for the qual ity o f their environment. In fact, according to a M arket Facts of C anada poll taken last m onth, 91% feel it's important that their governments take action to pro tect the wilderness. I w o n d e r a lso if Mr. Letter of the Week Student' s view reflects `revolution' I was quite impressed with Gillian Pasm a's letter expressing the view that Mike Harris' decision to pub lish/distribute `My Ontario' was ill-advised. If this letter that Gillian supposedly wrote represents the level of interest in education issues and the journalis tic ability o f the average Grade 8 student in the Province o f O ntario, M ike Harris can safely conclude that his Common Sense Revolution is indeed working. Notwithstanding G. Brett's position in respect of the "critical thought and independent action" abilities of our "children and teenagers", Gillian's efforts have the look and feel of a "pawn" to me. Nelson Cusitar Premier says life is good As we look ahead, and stand ready for the new millenni um, our province is poised to take on the world-and win. O ntario-and more im portantly, the people o f Ontariohave come a long way in a relatively short period of time. Over the past four-and-a-half years, people across the province have worked hard to build the prosperity we now enjoy. As a result, our province now has a 5.6% unemploy ment rate. In 1999 alone, 170,000 new jobs were created in O ntario. T h a t's equal to the populations o f Barrie and Niagara Falls combined. As Premier, I have every confidence in the people of Ontario. Our province is full of energetic, hard-working peo ple, who can accomplish anything when they put their minds to it. Please accept my best wishes for you and your family for a safe, happy and prosperous New Year. Mike Harris Premier o f Ontario Consumers getting juiced Now that I'm pretty well retired, and with no pension m oney com ing in, shopping frugally is a reality. Having s p e n t 15 o r so w in te r s in F lo r id a w h en w e w ere y ounger, our fam ily d ev elo p ed a taste for real fresh squeezed orange juice. With the Canadian dollar being so low, buying fresh squeezed here had become out of the question at $3.29 to $3.50 for less than two litres. Recently, my favourite "No Fuss" superm arket had a real deal on M inute M aid Prem ium orange juice. The colourful carton read "Sensational Taste -- Like Biting Into A Fresh, Ripe O rangeTM ." They really had the hook into me, when I read "Home Squeezed Style -- More Juicy B its o f O ran g e." The real clin c h e r was " 100% Pure Squeezed O range Juice." It was a bargain at $2.37 for 1.89 litres, and three were placed in my buggy. The first sip told me that som ething was wrong. It is a w ell-respected brand name and the taste w asn't bad, but it ju st d id n 't taste any better than the frozen concen trated ju ice that w e'd been getting by with. Only after closer inspection did I find the problem. R ight at the very bottom o f the carton, where it rolls underneath, was a line in small print that I 'd missed ear lier. M aybe, I w asn't supposed to notice that disclaimer, because in reality all that I 'd purchased was perhaps 75% w ater and the balance probably frozen concentrat ed orange juice. We could have m ixed our own for half the price. Renee Sandelowsky P ud by Steve Nease Peter E. Sticklee