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Wednesday March 1, 2000 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER A7 COMMENT Our once-great game reduced to farce I like hockey. Love it, in fact. Be it as a parent cheering on my daughter's team or as a player, now, donning all the gear for shinny hockey every w eek, I love the gam e. B ut I don't like w hat hockey does to people in the heat o f the m om ent - 1 d on't like the parents and coaches in kids sports who lose perspective about w hat it's all about and I d on't like violence in hock ey, as evidenced m ost graphically by the M arty M cSorley chop over the head. Peter G zow ski, w here are you? H e used to say, in the days when CBC radio was worth listening to dur ing the day, that Canadians were the smartest people. A nd yet, w hy are we, the sm artest people around, alw ays in this p erp etu al hand-w rin g in g m ode when it com es to one o f the things we love - hockey. We love the gam e, sure. But we don't know w hat to do about it, espe cially w hen we see it deteriorating into a gam e o f intim idation and m uscle or DIANE HART sheer W W F idiocy. We sim ply don't know w hat to do. W hat has am azed me throughout the M cSorley incident is the constant ring ing endorsem ent o f him as an overall good guy. H e's no monster, they say hastily, he may have done something w rong and he fully adm its this, but he's no monster. T hat may be true, but w hat does this say about the clim ate and environm ent in w hich he m akes his living? The telling com m ent is when he im m ediate ly apologized and knew he was way over the line, explaining that he "ju st w anted to fight." H e ju st w anted to fight. After all, that's w hat he was being paid to do; that's really how he got into the NHL- he fought his way in. So perhaps form er N H L referee and author Bruce H ood is right w hen he says that the N H L should be em bar rassed about w hat they call hockey in this country; that it has disintegrated into nothing more than a place that con dones violence. A nd the sheer fun and skill o f the game has been lost. There are moments, o f course, when we can sit back and enjoy the skill watch the speed o f Paul Kariya, the resurgence o f the talented A lyn McCauley, the aw esom e Jagr. But all o f that skill is being lost in the W W F idiocy that has becom e the NHL. Listen for a few minutes, as I did Sunday afternoon, to Cross Country Check Up on C BC and you'll hear it all - those who think hockey has deterio rated so badly it's like W W F to those outraged by the M cSorley incident, urging the police to lay charges. One o f the m ost thoughtful contri butions was by Dr. R andy G reg, a sports doctor who played 10 years in the N H L and netted five Stanley Cups. A sked if the M cSorley incident was the kind o f exam ple we w anted to set for kids, he countered; "Is it appropriate for a 12 or 14 year old to w atch C oach's C om er eveiy week?" Saturday night, the kids and I did exactly that. We listened as Don Cherry spouted off about the M cSorley thing, claim ing in his usual C herryesque way that if you're going to tangle with a bull you ju st m ight get a horn. Tw o lessons, h e said, co u ld be learned: you never take a stick to any one and you never hum iliate them on ice. And, if you do ju st happen to taunt and goad, you better know w ho it is you're after. But he m issed a better point and it is one th at he w o u ld n 't have m ade because it would have forced him to look over to Europe w here they play the gam e as it should be played. In E u ro p e, C h e rry 's com m en ts w ould be, well, irrelevant. In a game w here skill is w hat it's all about, muchlike the current w om en's hockey by th e way, there is no room for any o f the silly tricks that get a guy like M cSorley into the N H L. H e ju st w ouldn't have a jo b in Europe. So isn't there a better lesson for kids, here, and one that Cherry m issed? How I w ished he could have said as he pointed his finger and stopped R on M cLean in his tracks: Kids, I'm telling you, learn to use your stick in the right way, learn to stick handle, learn to poke check, learn to fly dow n the ice and ere* ate physical space not by intim idation, but by the sheer force o f your skill on ice. A nd if you do happen to be goaded, d o n 't take a stick to som eone. Pay them back by scoring the next goal. T h at's the better lesson in all o f this. Play the gam e o f hockey. A nd leave the goons w here they b elong - in the w restling ring. Sim ple pleasures beckon after technology overdose By Jenny Dunlop SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER A box on my com puter screen leapt up om inously at me. You know, the box th at has a huge " !" w hich m eans "Y ou've done som ething W R O N G !! N yah, nyah, nyah, nyah!" T he box said m y server nam e couldn't be found. I w asn't aw are that I had m isplaced it, but such is the logic in Com puterland. "Just call the cable com pany," my husband assured me. `T h e y 'll talk you through it." "H A H !" I barked. B ut I called any way. A fter being held on the line for 10 m inutes or so (Your call is being held in priority sequence..."), I managed to connect w ith a hum an voice in the form o f a 20-som ething m ale w ho had appar ently em erged from the w om b typing at a com puter keyboard, judging from the speed and assurance w ith w hich he spoke. "O kay, I w antyoutoclickStartthenR unthenC ontr olPanelthenSettings." " ...Sorry? I should explain that I'm a com puter idiot," I m urm ur apologeti cally into the phone. A POINT OF VIEW He repeated his instructions, mar ginally slower. Then, "N ow open the B lah B lah file. N ow doubleclickplease.N ow O K please. N ow opentheBlahBlahfie.Now pressRes tor All.Now do the same for the other four settings." "Sorry?" (I can feel my face flush ing with humiliation as I realize h e's lost m e back at "doubleclick." He repeats the whole thing. And then: "Now, I want you to look at the bottom o f your modem." M odem ? W hich one is that I w onder frantically. `T h e one with the four green lights on it, m a'am ." (Oh, how I hate being called "M a'am !"). I locate the m odem and rattle off a number. There is a polite silence on the other end. "Are you sure that's the num ber?" I replied testily that o f course I'm sure, although I have been known to be wrong in these mat ters before. The upshot is, o f course, that I have an "out-of-date, dinosaur" modem. "But I ju st got it LAST Y EAR!" I shriek. H alf an hour later, sweating pro fusely and feeling rather out-of-date and dinosaur-ish myself, AND after pulling out and replacing various wires ("T here M U ST be one that looks like a telephone jack, M a'am "), we conclude Bank bail-out over student debts just fiction Re: So Called Bank Bail-outs M any years ago, probably like many other, I used to believe that journalists both from radio, television or newspa pers endeavoured wherever possible to dig out the truth and ensure their readers or listeners received the facts and could make up their own minds on the subject under review. H ow ever in today's world that has all changed with so many special interest groups or the need to set out a sensational article that would attract a lot o f interest was all that mattered and truth took a back seat. You m ay have not noticed that this is happening today in reports surrounding the so called Bank Bails-out and how could the G overnm ent not support Hockey teams like the O ttaw a Senators and the Leafs but yet hand over billions to the w ealthy banks as a bailout. However not many journalists told you that the so called bail-out was the repay ment o f a Bad Debt. T hat's right many years ago our government told all char tered banks that they m ust participate in Canada Student Loans. The program worked this way. First the student applied to the government agency for a certificate o f legibility. T hat's right banks could not decide who would get the loans, they only had to give out the money once the student was approved. Plus as long as the student attended uni versity, the government paid the interest Letters to the Editor on the student loans to the Bank's, at a reduced rate, I might add. Finally after the student graduated from University, and after six months period to get established, did the loan go under repayment and then periods up to 10 years were granted to repay this loan and then and only then did the former student have to pay any interest again at the same low rate. According to a few reports, over $12 billion in student loans were granted over a number o f years and of these $10 bil lion has been repaid as agreed. However some $2.7 billion in loans has gone into default and not been repaid. You can also be assured that many years of hard work had been put into the collection o f these loans by thousands of bank staffers. Only after all else failed did the government finally pay back these BAD DEBTS. N ow would you call this a bail-out and if you do,- you probably also believe that anyone who makes profit should be required to bail-out our dead beat former students. So folks, when you look across the ki chen table, at the former student you spent years helping through school, kind ly save your anger for the dead beat in the kitchen and not the innocent banks that try, whenever possible, to be good corporate citizens. our conversation. T he dubious explana tion (dubious because I'm sure I've m ade a m istake in follow ing the speedof-light directions), is that I need a new "card." I should call an electronics store and get a second opinion, I am told, and I should drive to an obscure place in Burlington and trade in my dinosaur m odem for a new one w hich, o f course, will be out-of-date by Christmas. HAH! I say again, to m yself this time. I'm not going to be a slave to m odem technology, and I'm sure as heck not going to subject m yself to the scrutiny o f ano th er p o st-p u b escen t com puter geek. So, my household is Internet-less until further notice. Gasp, w hat a fate in this m odem got-to-knowev erything-right-now day and age. W ant to know the current tem perature in Vegas, or w hat the Japanese yen was worth yesterday at 8 a.m .? W ant to find out w hat'll happen next to D eirdre and Ken and M ike and his bit o f fluff on Coronation Street? O r the best place to buy environm entally friendly cleaning supplies? Search the INTERNET, my friend! God forbid that you should pick up a new spaper or m agazine or visit the local library in search o f a book! Find out N O W !! Providing that your m odem is working. In this age o f fast, drive-through every single thing, inform ation at your fingertips has becom e a w ay o f life, a necessary facet o f intelligent existence. Well, I am starting a one-w om an cam p aign ag ain st In tern et m adness. EM ail? Send m e a hand-w ritten note on p erso n al statio n ery any day. W orldW ideW eb? I 'd rath e r thum b through a stack o f m agazines and books at Chapters w hile I sip on m y Cafe Latte, thank you very much. I am not in such a rush that I need to know every thing (or A N Y thing, for that m atter), right now. Sure, som e people need to know. T heir jo b s depend on it. F air enough. B ut how m any are anonym ous lost souls, typing aw ay feverishly at 1 a.m., hoping to connect to sym pathetic fellow w eb "surfers" to expound their opinions on M artha Stew art, neo-naziism, or cybersex? I prefer face-to-face hum an contact, even at the expense o f an hour or two. ^ I know. I have no place in m odem society. I am a hopeless anachronisijj. I should have been bom in 1861 instead o f a century later. Be that as it may, I am defiantly cancelling my Internet/E-m ail privileges, brew ing m yself a cup o f tea, and delving into a biography o f M ary, Q ueen o f Scots. A sim pler time, when people were sim ply hung for express ing unorthodox opinions. "Y our M ajestae, sim plae doobleclick on yon L ion R am pant tae get a com pleat list o f your enem ies." Jenny Dunlop is an aspiring techno geek in denial. ^ St. Cuthbert's Co-op Nursery School S atu rd ay , M arch 4",/00 10-12 noon ® 2 & 3 Morning Nursery School Programs ® 5 Morning JK Equivalent Program ® Ages 2 1/2 to 5 years, 9:00-11:30 a.m. Come see the plansfor our new emironmeiu readyfor Fall 2000 C o u n c il & S t a n d in g C o m m it t e e M e e t in g s 1541 Oakhill Dr. at Maplegrove Dr. Interested? Call Our Registrar 849-0629 John G. McArdle Oakville B eaver Monday, March 6,2000 Council Meeting Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 21,2000 C om m unity S ervices C om m ittee 7 :30 p.m . - O akville Room Adm inistrative Services C om m . 7:30 p.m. - Bronte Room Monday, March 20,2000 Planning & Development Council Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 3,2000 Council Meeting Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. 7JionuisviUe Discover yoga to revitalize your body and find inner calm FREE INTRO CLASS C o u n c il & C o m m it t e e T o u c h t o n e P h o n e L in e 815-5959 Road Closure By-law 2000-044 Closure o f Part o f North Service Road West TAKE NOTICE THAT: 1. The Council o f the Corporation o f the Town o f Oakville proposes to pass a by-law pursuant to Section 297 o f the Municipal Act, R S .O . 1990, Chapter M .45, in order to stop up and close for all purposes part o f Old · Mill Road legally described as: Firstly: North Service Road lying northeast o f Burloak Drive, being part o f Lots 32, 33 and 34, Concession 2, SDS, Town o f Oakville, Regional M unicipality o f Halton, as in Plan 1122, save and except Instrument Number 654854, being all o f PIN 24926-0062; and Secondly: Part o f Lot 34, Concession 2, SDS, Town o f Oakville, R e g io n a l' M unicipality o f Halton, designated as Part 1 on Plan 20R-3658, being all o f PIN 24926-0076. ^ Pursuant to Section 300 o f the Municipal Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter M.45, before passing this by-law, Council or a Committee thereof will hear in person or by his counsel, solicitor or agent, any person who claims that his lands will be prejudicially affected by this by-law, provided that such person makes application in writing to the undersigned on or before March 3 0 ,2000, at 4:30 p.m. This matter will be heard at the Council meeting o f April 17, 2000, commencing at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall, 1225 Trafalgar Road, Oakville. Copies o f Plans 1122 and 20R-3658 are available for inspection at the office o f the Manager, Realty Services at the address shown below, by < appointment by calling 845-6601, extension 3022 during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.). Maynard Millman, AACI Manager, Realty Services, Legal Department The Corporation o f the Town o f Oakville 1225 Trafalgar Road, Oakville, Ontario L6J 5A6 · We makeyoufeel at home, at m y price range. MARCH 7 To reserve a space call 842-7733 HEALTHY BODY - HEALTHY MIND BiWay CORRECTION N O T IC E The price for the M en's Nylon Jackets advertised in this w eek's BiWay flyer (March 1st to March 7th) was improperly stated due to a printing error. The correct price for this item is $19.99 each. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. 4 0 9 B R A N T ST. · B U R L I N G T O N Hours Monday to Saturday 9:30-5:30 pm Thursday & Friday 9:30-9:00 333-6670 1-888-846-7845 1225 TRAFALGAR ROAD · OAKVILLE, ONTARIO · L6J 5A6