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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday December 16, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 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. Commentary Guest Columnist IAN OLIVER Group Publisher NEIL OLIVER Publisher TERI CASAS Business Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ROD JERRED Managing Editor WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian Community participation By Gary Carr Halton Regional Chair n Dec. 6, Halton's new Regional Council was sworn into office to begin our four year term as your municipal leaders. As I mentioned during "There will be my inaugural address, community participation is times when something I will be focusing on, as it is one of my top we disagree priorities. about which As your Halton Regional Chair, I feel it is extremely direction important to listen to what you have to say regarding Halton should the issues we face together. go, but it There will be times when we disagree about which is important direction Halton should go, but it is important to listen to listen to to each other and respect our diverse opinions. We need each other to hear from you on the issues we face. It is our responand respect sibility to ensure that Halton continues to be a leader within the province of Ontario. our diverse Good community participation can bring out conopinions." cerns and issues that are not always apparent to us public officials. Community participation also gives representation to our unique interests. In order for us to truly feel "ownership" over something that affects us, we must speak our opinions and participate in its creation. One method of community participation that the Region engages in is public consultations. The use of public consultations provides us with the opportunity to seek your views and listen to your comments. Effective public consultations help to ensure that the Region develops and delivers quality policies, programs and services that meet the needs of Halton residents. A very important method of community participation here in Halton is our Citizen Advisory Committees. We have committees that cover all different areas of interest, whether it be seniors' (Elder Services Advisory Committee), accessibility (Halton Region Accessibility Advisory Committee), information (211 Halton Citizen Advisory Committee), or our landfill (Halton Waste Management Site Advisory Committee). We are currently looking for members of the community who wish to participate in the future direction we take in Halton Region through our Citizen Advisory Committees. These committees will provide you with the opportunity to contribute your skills and perspective to enhance the quality of life in our community. For a full listing of the committees, please call Halton Region at 905-825-6000, toll free 1-866-4HALTON (1-866-442-5866), or visit our website at www.halton.ca. Ongoing communication is a critical component and I am committed to continuing the dialogue that we have now begun. Gary Carr RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America O THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION A snowy television offers a stormy look into the future nother December night. My wife is away and our sons are also AWOL. So it's just me, the hounds and Haley, our 11year-old, who is peacefully playing in her room. I'm watching TV, but I'm about to get a peek into my future. And it ain't pretty. We have three remotes for the television I'm watching. Don't ask why because I don't believe there is any rational reason other than it's a sinister plot by my family to make me feel old and inept, confused and crazy (a plot that's working well, by the way). Anyway, I'm watching Scrubs and I'm laughing until it hurts when suddenly, for no explicable or earthly reason, the TV goes all wonky. I might as well be in Buffalo, there's so much snow on the screen. I start frantically punching random buttons on random remotes. For all I know I'm opening the neighbour's garage door, or launching the space shuttle. I can tell you that I'm not fixing the TV. No, all my random button pushing has just angered the Technology Gods; the TV is now not only snowing, but hissing, too. Yikes. "Haley come quick!" I shout. And she runs to the rescue. Runs to help her old man. Runs right into the future. For it will A be her job one day, in this ignominious circle of life, to look after me, just as I ended up caring for my parents. Granted, I think we've started this process a little prematurely, but what the hell ­ I'm missing Scrubs! Do I detect exasperation as she disarms me of all remotes, makes a couple of deft adjustments, and effortlessly remedies the Andy Juniper problem? I definitely detect exasperation as she sets the remotes far from my grasp and advises that I just leave them be. Like I'm no longer capable. Like channel surfing is beyond my ability. Ouch. I can tell you that in my dotage I will be in good hands. This is one great kid. Capable, kind, caring, conscientious. Earlier in the night, I traveled to her school for the annual summit with her teacher. Report cards were out and we were to discuss Haley's progress. The teacher opened by asking if I had any questions or concerns. I shook my head and told her, honestly: "I have nothing to say." She laughed, and jumped on-board: "I have nothing to say, either, Haley's doing so well." So, we talked for 10 minutes about the weather. And about how the darned interviews were going to make her miss Scrubs. Perhaps it's a gender thing ­ do "gender things" still exist in our politically correct world? -- but Haley seems miles more mature and independent at her age than her male siblings were. Or are. I mean, if my wife and I steal a weekend away and we call to get an update from the home front, we can rest assured that she will be fine, that she will be taking care of herself and creating nutritious food to eat. While her brother, five years older, will assuredly be holed up in the basement, living like a mole, and existing on a steady diet of Oreos. Haley's favorite season is upon us. She's been frustrated with how slowly the festiveness is approaching, and with how slowly the rest of us are embracing it. If she had her way, the decorations would have been up in October and the tree in November, with presents fanned under it by early December. I tell her that when she's the head of the household, when she's queen of the court, she can hold Christmas in July if she wants. Alas, given my difficulties operating a simple television, that day's probably not far off. Andy Juniper can be visited at his website, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com