A6 - The Oakville Beaver, Tuesday, December 21, 2004 Opinion & Letters 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 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. IAN OLIVER Publisher TERI CASAS Office Manager NEIL OLIVER Associate Publisher MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief R IZIER OVER TO LLI Photography Director RO D JE R R E D Managing Editor KELLY MONTAGUEAA<ertising Director CHARLENE HALL Director o fDistribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Manager T H EO A K V ILLE B E A V E RISP R O U DO FFIC IA LM EDIAS P O N S O RF O R : M n t t d Ptrtng P tttsm g & O tttK n g LU. indjdes Ajax/Piduring News fctortssr. Aftstcn HerakVCourar. Arthur Enterprise News. Barrie AOonce. Brampton Guardan. Burtngten Post. B rfn fp n Sopping News. Caledon Erterpnse. 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Oly ol>td( Guardon |o a k vIH ega lle ries j Recognized for Excellence by I Ontario Community I Newspapers Association Halton Hcalthcarc O N T A R I O Jrtflc B e f Fund · ,e ·LCOMF.^P t AOONui> VV,'! t*X> a * & < g N A Canadian Community Newspapers Association SK k Suburban Newspapers of America TV AUCTION (MMttWay YMQA Th e Oakville, M ilton Of Oakvtlta C' o /r'iT\y> O il Ijim f H U 'Tis the season to listen We haven't quite decided what to make o f the O ntario governm ent's change of heart where public com m ent on greenbelt protection legislation is concerned. After a few uncertain weeks -- when it appeared ordinary citizens w ould have little tim e to offer any m eaningful in p u t in to this literally ground breaking legislation -- the Province has acquiesced to a chorus o f public scorn. Not only did the Province extend the deadline for public com m ent -- yes terday (Monday) -- by a few weeks, but it has pushed a development freeze on the land w ith in the greenbelt study area ahead by almost three m onths -- u n til March 9 to be exact. B urlington Mayor Rob Maclsaac -- chair o f the Greenbelt Tcisk Force and one of the architects o f this provincial plan to preserve greenspace in the Golden Horseshoe region -- feels the extension o f deadlines is an indication the province wants to " do this rig h t." We tend to agree. In an age of politics where ou r elected officials regularly chant the p o liti cal m antra of bureaucratic transparency, it is refreshing to see the little guy's opinion given its fair share of respect. We would like to believe that this grassroots, inclusive approach w ill be the way the Dalton M cGuinty-led Liberal governm ent conducts its business from now on. This one, almost noble, act w ill not be enough to clean up the tra il o f bro ken election promises left behind by the Liberals in th e ir firs t year in office, but at least it 's a start. The pessimist m ig h t suggest the provincial governm ent has sim ply capit ulated as a result of the hue and cry o f public outrage over not being allotted a reasonable opportun ity to com m ent on such an im portant piece of legisla tion. However, isn't that precisely w hat we want ou r elected officials to do -- lis ten to the people and react to what they are saying? In the end, who really cares why the Liberals gave in to the shouts fo r more tim e to discuss this issue. The im portant part is that they did give us what we wanted. How often can we say that about the political process? Letters to the editor The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. 'Truly magical day' appreciated by all This time of year is always a struggle for families dealing with domestic violence. Moms' try hard to keep the family together so the kids can enjoy Christmas or other religious holiday that they celebrate. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to control emotions and inevitably, women and their dependent chil dren flee their home for the safety of women's shelters. Halton Women's Place was grateful to receive 25 invitations to the Oakville Children's Magical Christmas Party for children and their mothers. Laidlaw Transit graciously provided transportation to and from the party and the bus driver encouraged singing of carols and other holiday season songs. At the party, we were greeted with friendly smiles and hugs from Snow White and Cinderella and for the next few hours the women and their children, along with over a hundred other families, were mesmerized by elves, clowns, face painting, craft tables, and entertainment from Ants in Your Pants Treehouse TV. The big moment arrived when Santa was paraded in by Clifford, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Scooby Doo and many others. Each family received a personal visit and photo with Santa. The food was amazing; as many doughnuts, pizza slices and bowls of ice cream that you could eat. And each child received a ginger bread house kit, hand-knitted hats and mittens, toys, and a $35 gift certificate for the Bay, Zellers or Home Outfitters. Wow, were Moms thrilled! This money*will allow families the option of buying winter coats, boots, new sheets, or a toy that will make a sad time feel a bit brighter this holiday season. For many this was the first Christmas party that they had ever attended. The glow on the faces are still evident and the women and chil dren got to see first hand a caring community in action. We want to thank all the committee mem bers of the Oakville Children's Magical Christmas Party for their planning, soliciting of gift items, the hours spent knitting, the craft supplies, the fabulous entertainment and the special gift of a family photo that many could never afford to purchase. Your kindness has touched our hearts and hundreds of others in the community. It was truly a magical day that each and every one of us will remember. CHERYL TAYLOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HALTON WOMEN'S PLACE Please return stolen shoes Recently my 14-year-old son tried out, and made his high school basketball team. Needless to say he was, as we were, very happy. He had saved money from odd jobs that he had per formed, and decided that he would purchase a pair of bas ketball shoes. After plenty of on-line research, he found the shoes that would serve him well. We travelled not once, but twice, to Square One. On the first trip we were informed that they had the shoes in stock, however, they were not to be released until Dec. 3, hence the second trip. The shoes are a pair of size 12 T Mac 4's black in colour and $189.99 plus applicable taxes. An awful lot of money for anyone to spend on shoes let alone a 14 year old. The shoes were stolen from his classroom on Friday, Dec. 17. My son, to say the least, is devastated. I'm certain this was meant as a practical joke and ask that if your son or daughter shows up at home with a pair of shoes matching the above description, that you w ill find it in your heart to return the shoes safely to either the Halton Regional Police or St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School office. I sincerely believe that St. Thomas Aquinas is a very friendly, tight-knit school, and that the word will in fact get out as to the whereabouts of these particular shoes. Please return them before the police are knocking on your door. After all it is Christmas. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. scon OLD AND FAMILY Town council doesn't walk the talk at budget time The reality is that, for better or worse, at any government level, the budget is the picture of the short-term actions for the long-term vision that politicians have for their territories. Throughout the year, elected officials can spend much creative energy promoting good intended initiatives and policies, but, at the end of the day, the budget is where the real priorities show up, good and bad. It is where you can eval uate if they are "walking the talk." How" can you explain that while all house hold surveys done in Oakville over the last five years, by Environics, Leger Marketing, others, demonstrate that trails are the preferred "facili ty" and what is most valued, and traffic / conges tion is what they "dislike most about Oakville," council approves a budget that does not reflect real commitment to promote environmental friendly transportation such as transit, walking and cycling. Let's see two examples: Transit rates are going up (again)! Currently the rate is $2 for all, including children and youth! If we really want to develop the habit of using transit among our youth, their rate should be around $0.50, single tickets (as in many European cities), any time, any day. And the adult fares should decrease instead of increasing; we have to make transit a much better alternative to cars in order for residents to make the switch. The budget to maintain the 132 kilometres of trails in Oakville is $160,000. Just one dollar and five cents per resident, per year! More residents use the trail system than all recreation centres and arenas combined, and this will continue, as walking is, by far, the number one recreational activity in Oakville. To put this in perspective, the same budget for 2005 shows that Oakville will subsidize (net cost, which is total operating cost less all revenue) $1.3 million in one recre ation centre and library (Iroquois Ridge. $1.319M, Glen Abbey $1.142M), the galleries $397k ($851k cost -- $453k revenue). The sub sidies for all Recreation and Culture are $5.6M and for libraries $6.5M. Obviously, most government expenditures are good, at any level. Parks, roads, schools, libraries, health, trails, garbage pick-up, trees, arts, swimming -- all is good. Unfortunately, there are always many more needs than resources. Which is when council has to define priorities, when the politicians have to go back and review their vision for their communities, and then align the short term budget with the long term vision. Once again, the Oakville budget is not "walk ing the talk" as it is not supporting enough the use of transit and the promotion of walking and cycling (development of trails, bike-ways, bikelanes, bike-parking), which are the links between transportation, recreation, environment and health. We can and should do better. GIL PENALOSA Thumbs down on blue lights Who is the dim bulb at Town Hall who authorized the use of the dark blue light(?) bulbs at George's Square this year? It looks terrible. What happened, were all of the black ones sold out? I consider George's Square to be a town treasure, espe cially at this time of year. I would be curious to find out if others concur with this opinion. The traditional white or coloured lights always have looked beautiful, but perhaps someone felt they were a bit too "Christmasy" and decided to change. Whatever the reason, it was a very poor decision. ROBERT MASON B l/ S t e v e N c o se snease®haltonseardi.com H I-T E C WG A D G E T Si f W H AT!; IN V> T H E . K ID S V -V ^ T H E .B IG asked box? Family thanked for kindness Once again this year we would like to thank the kind fam ily who left plants for the seniors at Rotary Gardens (Woodside and Sedgewick Crescent). This kindness leaves you feeling a little special in this fes tive season. MARINA JACKSON DOROTHY TIBBS AND ALL THE TENANTS B A TTE R IE S Fof?. 11 AT The Oakville Beaver js a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St, Suite 206, Toronto Ont., MSB 2M7. Rhone (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. 3 3