The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

6-The Canadien Champion, Tuesday, October 14, 1997 <~COMMENT- Boxc 248, 191 Main St. E., Milton, Ont. L9T 4N9 (905) 878-2341 Fax: 876-2364 Classified: 875-3300 Ian Oliver Publisher Neil Oliver Associate Publmsher David Bos General Manager Rob Kelly Editor Karen Huisman Circulation Manager Teri Casas Office Manager Tia Coiles Production Manager Te Canadien Chiampions, pttlslted twlce weely at 191 Main St. E., Milton, Ont.. LSIT 4N9 (Box 248), 10 one ot The Metroland Prlnting, Publistning & Distributng Lui. Qroup of subuntean compa- nies wttîct include5: Ajax / Pickering News Advetser: Alliston Heraid/Courer; Barrie Adoarce: Brampton Guardian: Burlitott Post; City Patent: Csllingwood 1 Wasaga Coneectin; East Yoile Mireor: Etobicolte Guatdian, Georgetown tsdepetdentl Acton Free Press: Kingston Titis Week: Lindsay Thtis Week; Markham Economist & Sun: Midiant I Penetangulsitene Mîrror; Mississauga News; tdewmarket / Aurora Era Bannes: Northtumberland News; North Voek Mirent, Oaevlle Beaner. Onillia Today: Oshtawa / Witby / Clarinston I Port Penny Titis Week: Peterboroughi Thtis Week. Ricitmond Hie I Thornhiili / Vaugitan Lberal: Scarborougit Mirror: Uobrldge / Stoutffolle Tribune; Today'o Seniors. Advertising 10 accepted os titi contion titat, tn tite eoent os a typognapitical errot. titat portion of tite advisntllg space occopied by thn erennenus Reon, togititer with a neasonable allowance ton signature, will non be citargeti tot. but thte balance nf te atuetsement wili be paîid tot at thte applicable rate. Tite publîsiter resenves tite rîght to categnnlte advertisements or iteclîne. How will it look? * People who lived in places that weren't as big and, * weil, ugly as Mississauga used to say that they didn't want their communities to develop that way. In the past few years there has been a lot of talk about building more neighbourly towns that were supposed to represent an about-face from the drab and cluttered subur- ban sprawl that the Mississauga bashers feared. Yet where do we see that happening? In Oakville, immediately to our south? Not really. In fact Oakville is growmng at a furlous clip and, to be truth- fui, is looking more and more like Mississauga every day. Lip service is paid to creating newly liveable neigh- bourhoods by revamping house facades and putting garages in the back instead of front, but the homes going up in Oakville represent pretty much the same suburban -sprawl as in Mississauga. This is important for Milton because it appears that the ducks are finally, tantalizingly, almost ail in a row to have Milton grow again. Last week, with very littie fanfare, the so-cailed 'big 'pipe' growth plan sailed through a joint committee hearing at Halton Region. The same is likely to happen tomorrow at the full regional counicil meeting. * So now, after more than a decade of waiting for some- thing, anything to happen, it looks as if Milton is on the t brink of joining ail the other fast-growing centres sur- * rounding Toronto proper. * What will the new Milton look like? Given that developers must underwrite the costs for building a pipeline to support expansion, the new homes in Milton aren't going to be cheap. That probably means big- ger bouses on smaller lots. But even with the drag of paying for the pipeline devel- opers have a golden opportunityto do something if not unique, at ieast praiseworthy in e#çanding Milton. They have the opportunity t#Ycreate mr srfinl neighbourhoods, plan more Offctively, more usercm-ril nities they fashion more disfi t than so many of the sur- rounding suburbs. For example to Milton'$' mediate west, toward the Niagara Escarpment, an outs nding community could be created in the shadow of otn of Ontario's most prominent iandmarks, and only minut ,firom the downtown core. Milton does not have a~ at-planning history. There are buildings too close to their d, strip mails with inadequate parking, industrial firms d asily close to subdivisions. But here is a chance/t ,if -not start again, at least re- think some things. Milton it stands, despite its flaws, is a very liveable, pleasant c nunity. The question now is, over the next 10 years orf Il thow rnuch will that change? le, ~OUR READERS WRITE dated Marcb 27, 1997, wamning members ta be vigilant over course interference from parents, ta be prepared ta figbt, ta stay calm and ta beware of rasb or ill-considered actions. (Spectator, April 22/97) But lets agree and assume that Tim Kingsbury is rigbt and that Earl Manners is wrong -- that it was not a mon- strous issue. AIl four of Halton's MPPs togetber witb Mr. John Snobelen, tbe Minister of Education and Training, and nearîy 1,300 Halton residents respectfully requested Kingsbury ta remove Foxfire. Snobelen said be tbougbt the American gang novel was inappropriate as it portrsys grapbic sex and violence. Terence Young, MPP Halton Centre: "It is an absolute disgrace tbat people in a position of trust would foist pomnograpby on our youtb." "Me fact that Kingsbury would tum down tbe request frum nearly 1,300 Halton votera (many more tban tbe number of votes Kîngsbury received in tbe November 1994 municipal elcc- lion is overwbelming evidence tbat bis decision ta "quit wbile be's abead" is tbe correct decision. Manners daims tbe rigbt for teacbers ta select resources, and parents bave no rigbts ta impose their views of Foxfire on tbe system. Student and teacher rigbts take priarity aver tbe rigbts aif parents. If Marniers' line aof tbinking is repre- sentative af tbe Federation's upper echelon, aur education system is in deeper trouble than anyone could bave imag- ined, and Jobn Snobelen truly bas bis work cul out. Jack Huisman Campb.ivilIe esell OUR READERS WRITE on page 7 Foxflre bigger than monstrous Dear Editor: The opening statement that "Tim Kingsbury wilI quit while he'e ahead" leaves this father of eight witb mixed emotions. Truly Tim bas served as Ward 1 and 3 Public Scbool trustee over the past three years to the best of hie abilîties, serving the parents and students of Halton to improve the quality of education. 1 know that countless number of hours are required in order to fulfili that mandate, and Tim bas worked bard and performed well in sometimes difficult situations. I know that Tim bas been on the rigbt sîde of many a difficuit issue facing the board since 1994, and I congratulate him on a job well done. However, Tim and t have not always been on the same wavelength, in fact 1 could say that we have agreed ta disagree on only one topic -- Foxfire. In the article Mr. Kingsbury maintaino that tbe Foxfire complaints "caused more frustration for Milton District Higb Scbool's parent counicil tban tbey did for Mr. Kingsbury. Tbat wbole issue wouldn't be on my top ten list (of frustrating moments). It's not a monstrous issue," be said. Yeab rigbt! And 1 bave some ocean front property for sale in Alberta. Tbe Foxfire issue bad sucb a tremendous impact and became sucb a monstrous issue tbat Earl Manners, tbe president of tbe Ontario Secondary Scbool Teacbers' Federation, found it necessary ta issue a special OSSTF Critical Issues Series Monograpb #10 Circular Pud by Steve Nease