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They were dancing along, merrily waving (toy) guns, then running right up to people, laughing, and pretending to shoot them at close range. Dear Sir: Our family enjoyed the Oakville Santa Claus Parade this year - but who were the people with the guns, and what was their message? Irefertohislherattemptatbelit- ding the stature of School Trustee John Scheel by calling his remarks "irrelevant', his present' "objection- The purpose of this letter is to comment on the opinions ofone LD. Thomson which appeared in your “team" section on Wed, Nov. Mth. Dear Sir: In the past few weeks, we have been inunda.ted by the tragic news coverage surrounding the brutal death of two year old James Bulger. There can't be a devoted parent in Canada who's heart hasn't been ripped apart by this senseless human tragedy. Group with guns had no place in Santa Claus parade Children need positive values to grow Criticism of school trustee was unwarranted Dear Sir: I want to say how much I appre- ciate your editorial in the "Weekend", dated Sunday Nov. 28th. I wholeheartedly agree with your comments I want to thank you for your editorial. We need more who will stand up and be counted and not allow the minority to squeeze us into their mold. Time to be counted The education funding well is rapidly running dry and choices. hard choices will soon have to be made if our best young minds are to be fully utilized. Failure to make the tough decisions now, will only result in forced changes down the road that would serve neither students nor Ontario taxpayers. Better systems available to replace the GST 'rheGfTshouldtlereplaxxiwithauixonhegross incomcofall forporatiorts,persorts,aIlttorefitfoatia.. lions, associations, churches, all lotteries, casinos, hinges, 'tntiarasn.ott.ot1tissany,rwwltconcuiebysaying"iln) pee.or.bodythatrePottheirinametddkgo%i- mentforimomeorstatisticalpurposes. It would be far more efficient and beneficial to the students if the best staff and facilities of a given program were more concentrated than spread out over the province. In the end, we all lose. Sheridan College is renowned in some ttretts like furniture design and animation but there are other programs that exist simply on their ability to draw students regardless of the job market. Yoyrquestionoftheweekinyour-dexiitionof Nov.21st wasquae"What orxioriswouldyou suggestto theredePlpovemmetttasitepsxrnent fortheGST' uttquoeHtriaia1lweektocatcliyour"NoneAue"to no avail The same thing goes with community colleges. It's ridiculous for colleges to go on teaching courses on a quasi-university basis since the very reason for their formation was to offer a more practical approach to education. But some- where along the way, much of that concept has been lost. Given the current fiscal straightjacket of the provincial government, it's unrealistic to expect taxpayers to continue funding so many colleges and uni, versities. In fact, a good case could be made to close some down entirely. Brock University in St. Catharines and Trent University in Peterborough come to mind. In the case of Brock, its students could easily be taken by McMaster in Hamilton, while Trent students could move on down the road to Queen's in Kingston. Surely it's time the government took a more critical appraisal of the pro- grams taught in our institutions of higher learning. They would do well to see how the University of Waterloo's optometry program works. It only allows a certain number of first year students each year and thus controls the supply of qualified optometrists. The same holds true in universities. There are too many law schools in Ontario turning out lawyers we don't need. And many of our community colleges are in the same boat. Too many stu- dents in programs that while relevant in the 1970s and 1980s, are now only tickets to frustration. There are no winners in this case. Simply put, we have too many community colleges teaching the same pro- grams. The government must sit down with the administration of these colleges and determine the courses that a particular college does well and retain them while killing programs that can be donemore effectively by another institution. Universities and community colleges are churning out too many graduates in programs that cannot guarantee grads a job at the end of their studies. Many universities are in trouble and are facing very tough decisions as to which pro- grams or services they should retain or jettison. - OPINION But those days seem like a lifetime ago and that kind of expansionary atti- tude has no place in 1993. ntario spends huge sums of money on public education and the time is Ocoming when Queen's Park must decide just which programs and which facilities remain open. In the heady days of the 1970s, hundreds of millions of dollars were thrown at education. Universities were built and expanded and community colleges sprouted like so many educational mushrooms. It was a time when then-pre- mier Bill Davis, a former education minister, was said to have an edifice com- plex because of all the construction activity. But what is equally as disturb- iiTiiiiiiiiiimWmiiiaimtr Tough choices WW Georia Morton EDITORIAL We must vbicc our disapproval of the legal system currently in place. Lets push harder to get vio- What kind of message does that send to potential offenders? What risk does that place our children in? ing is the fact that if the scenario occurred in Canada, the two con- victed felons would not have come to trial within our legal system. ThepeopleofHahonshoukiaw siderthemselveshrkywitheesen- ttitives,suchasThssteescheetwho havethebusinessexperientxandthe gatemsityofspirittoputtheiralents udnedisposaloflhcmxpayas. able". and his chum “hypocritical" I will mention just a few of the - all without the benefit of any expla- significant contributions made by ttatiatorjustiticatioet. Trustee Schecl to the well-being of ThepenpleofHaltonshoukian. taxpersintttepast24mondw FHON? ALONE CALL845-5585 Is this fun? Is this what we want our children to ernPtte? Does this convey the message of peace on My children wisely shrank back as these people approached. Whatever they thought they were doing, I wish they'd keep it out of the Santa Claus Parade. Julia Schiinhorn Reputa.tle capital gains, transfers of property, con- tn9smquiringpatnitswouldbesubjecttosometaxand aol8.aalttTugl.t9eprettepurientinplax. Ailpayoutsbyallthrm1evelsofgovmtrnentinhe 1ytryofincpmeseipensioruwoulfbesutgecttohis 1iedut6onHwxoultileaveittothegovenuneniiowueout CtxtchssioerrThe W'Gsr would disappear and itshighasstonolutionsxutibenornae. AilofhisekFtioetwoukibedoetethmughtheim "nttystemofhtintete'1hxDepartmettt. "j-ii-tjill" YOUR MIND All callers are allowed 45 sec- onds to express their opinion and must provide their name, address and phone number for verification. A cross section of the responses will be published in next Wednesday's Oakville Beaver. Got a gripe? Give us a call. Readers are invited to express their opinion on a topic of their clwice by calling 845-5585, box Let's do it before the crime is re-created by another pair of young offenders and an innocent child is killed. We have an obligation to protect our families and society. lence off the screen. Let's instil the greatest possible self-esteem and sense of positive values in our chil- dren. 1. Through diligent research and the application of good business sense. he effectively stopped the available any commotion pro posalputforthbyBoardstaif.This mo unanim- M. Harrison-Sadkowski The Oakvmo Bum mm your CttmtttttrttB. All letter: must be 'ttrted and Made the writer’s address and phone number. Lotion; should be typed. double-spaced and addressed to: Latin to the Editor. The 00M”. Boom, 467 Spoon Rd., Ockvillo. ont. LOK MM " //4 :umd on I'D mud . The mull-no: M Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 045-9742 or 845-9743 845-3824 Fax: 845-3085 Spas JohnF.Udoux Ro THE OAKVILLE BEAVER ad )akvllle, Ont. L6K an The 1994 budget review will 0mm mence in a few weeks. Witt we see any leadership from council showing the determination to reduce ttxpeodi- tures on staffratherthan raise taxes? How Wasting to mad comments made by a City of Tam councillor. Namely, that the city should slash jobs and tht from its operating budget and make deep cuts to whole depart- ments-particularly in plarmietg-titat aren't as busy as during the 1980's Come on Oakviilef Do none of our councillors andthe mayor feel the same about Oakville? What about our towis planning department with 29 muffin 1992?Whatotieatthdothty pla0esedaysandatwhattxasttottie taxpayer? J d a Mxrgmmtleal tum. mu gallon a m. lawn-mu I Incom- lnd 10pm naval-”1511‘. m a! ”pound! Looking for leadership It is disappointing to see a letter to the "Editor" carry such unsupported criticism of a dedicated elected offi- cial who has striven to ensure that the education system works on behalf of allthosewhoarepayingforitandnot just for those who are employed by it. Isitany wonderthatweasasociety find it so difficult to attract appropri- ately qualified candidates for elected public office? 3. He identified and quantified the uncompetitive and wasteful practice of "upgrading" courses in the senior year in our high schools - a practice which he estimated cost about 5% of the total Secondary panel budget which amounts to about O-million Per year. 2. He caused the withdrawal of the odious Key Communicator program which served as an undisclosed listen. ing post for senior Board staff. Its inception in I987 was trough about without the knowledge of the full ImeiemHeasitiitystuty,prxiutxd byTescmoaostM$47i,600ofour taxpayer dollars. disclosed that the big winner in this piece of business wasTescxorandthattheBoardhadin excess of nine years to wait for its inneatmettttobepaidback.Ui- costs-included/tep/cud- culaixt.thewaitingperiodjustatxout doubles. Ptivate industry in Hanan servation savings with a payback periodofthxeyears! Kathlecn & Peter Dooly Lj/scam c.0.; . 'r2tiif..'i&ttN.5Ji.f WoW, 1kit' .--.. . .ut; :Pi."i',?.ji?ii'iii.cy:i?,?; 3.3;: $.41- . t iii.ibiiiiiiiiii:i,ihfiit?) , w'.", P.".'." 'iiiit2:?.yliiit:iti:e.ei.a GeorgePickios Robert Ola-hey Advertising Director Norman Alexander Editor Geoff Hm Clrmlatton Director Teri CIIII Ojpce Manager Tim Cole. Pmducuon Manager Ian Oliver Publisher mum by m- mm mm. meant! "tt I tum» aim-m: u. manning any; 01 “who. a the wrong 9150010001 or cum 1-. Ta" " FAS, '4 bSi'i"b1! '.." 1" 's8tsi,'f, @gg/VLQM Iwantthetowofprornisisrnieinwriting,thatrnytaxeswuseeno fUrtherhikes becauseof this folly. Isthismoneyooteannarkedfornewparundsornewheseelsein thetown?Icanhardlybelievethatitcanbeusedtowindowdressan exjstingparkThetownstairsuggestedtheyalsohavealittlenestegg oftheirownandthey have been saving upinparks&rec's budget. A little Best egg, eh? Are there niofe 'liitle nest eggs' aréund the town? If so, please stop raising my taxes. Whatarewetogain?Weareabletopark217carsandwigsabe ayetopark217casaaxxdingtothetowniandscaper.'rheyarenot plaeingalargerparkingarea0eyareplanningtoripupthepresent rmdandrekxatedittothevtfurthestendoftheupperedgioithe park leaving the side that backs onto the houses around the park a gmenspeebufrer.Themadremovalwillmakeitdimcultforpoliceto pamltheparkwiththeircas. Theytalkedaboutseveral 'master plans' of whichthisisonly one. Iaskedatmutincteasesintaxes.rsn'tmodiiiedMvAemough?Aiter all,arewenotbeingfurthertaxedbecausetheycannotmeettheirbud- gets at the town? The town staff replied that approximately $400,000. ofthatwouldcornefrmnacoffercalled'inlieuofpares'.'rhisismoney developers must give to the town where they are developing and not planingtoputparksinthearea, * The development of the park is going to cost approximately $1.5- million or more. We were told about half could come from the province with the town matching the rest. A!ntmheroftheaudiencesuggestaishootingthebirdsandshiw ping Grumman homelessinTormto. Amcmber oftown stafrsaidtheyhaveonef1igMessmonthperyears,buttasterathertstter duringthattime.Thispersonalsomentionedthatthesebirdshavebeen declareda'nuisance'andthatit'sopenhuntingontheminaeaswhere gunscanbeused. Iheardrnoretalkahouthowtodestroythegeese.Amemberof townstair(rightinhrontofasmallgmupofchildmn)tsaedatsouthow therareaorseyingoilontheireggstodestmythem, OnDec. 1st,iattettdedatmetingregardingtheutserP1an'being developed forctxtmationPark,whichispartoftheongoing waterfront developmentplan. In search of more nest eggs World Asian Centrally planned economies Far East Near East Contribution of Mtt to dbl Ar raglan, 1987-89 Latin America and Caribbean LETTER OF THE DAY WEEKLY FOCUS The Oakvlllo Beam, unabashed Dakvllhr, In one ol In much" manna". which Maud“ N Gumhn, Ending? Poul, th Indopondonv Ac Fm Pm Eamomm and Sun SloulMlIoll Nun. 'iiGniraUGrrii Ell-I OIhnwaANhnby m. Weak, th Liberal, tite,ta"gt " mama! will: In In. OI whob or In my! of min man-nu n. in! unkind In In. Olkvlh Beam l h my! of m manna . “my Iovbtddun If,-,)),';))?" E F At Ammmng‘ Percentage ot animal protein consumption 'tsi, I C)5:t1l,', Adi. Reinsborough woman I ht Ary Woolen In 1 without [t 00%?01 In my“: " Dallnco at no mum val no and to: 11 mm 10 all Inc may " William» II my Im. f'iscii'd Tti5,?a',',s?, Dec. 8. 1993 Jd