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A6- The Canadian Champion, Friday, August 10, 2007 OPINTTIN Bridge collapse a-wake-up cali GSIN," Could U.S. disast er- lappen here? 1 inrastrutLire. Its a w oi!tisaI jîlsitloisiit capture pt'oiples attlention. xvevcer, ni itie xval<e o! lasi w'eek's, bridge coiliapse iii Minnieapolis, its a word A-c'ere lîkely t10 bear a lot mlore and, Irankly, xve sbouid. lmrnmediately following tbe .S". disaster inueb airtîlue and newspaper space was des'oied tb the cari it happen lisre?" scenario. Engîneers, architeeLs and various other bridge experts" were caled on bo voite tlheir opinions on whetber bridges, overpasses andi other strtuctures bere iii Oitanio arc safe. Not surprisingix, opinsionis wsuc nixedl For the record, Haiton Region bias ioiiowcd a provi-ti ciaiiy-niandaîed piograni sint e 1997, whieiî requires bridges and large cuiverîs to bc inspected every two years. The region is responsible for 7(- bridges and i113 ctis-eris whicli eover 296 kilimetres of regionai roadw-ay. Individual munîcipalities are responsibie for their orivî roads. Few bridges coliapse for no apparent reason. Yes, ibere bave been sorne instances, such as tbe coilapse of a bridge in Lavailfast year ihat clairned five lives, and a bridge on the New York State Thruway near Amsterdam, New York, that gave way in 1987, kiiiing 10 people, but those instances, like the one in Minneapolis, arc not weekiy- occurrences. That said, fast week's disaster shouid serve as a wak- up eaul to A levels of governmnent that aging infrastruc- ture wiil - and shouid - be a front-humner issue in coin- ing years. Sewer uines, water pipes, overpasses etc. do not last for- ever. Our harsh climate and vanious other factors ail resuit in wear and tear on structures that were built decades ago. Whiie vanious leveis of government pump millions of dollars into infrastructure each year, in many cases it is just to keep up with regular maintenance - not work that wouid be seen as proactive. infrastructure, and its maintenance, is an expensive venture funded mostiy by tax dollars. The Minneapolis disaster may, however, be the impetus for many politicians - and residents - to take a second look at local infra- structure and rethink its importance when it comes time to decide how best to spend taxpayers' money Readers Write E-mal your lettera to rTtonclhaton.echSm We need a Halton-wide pesticide bylaw to protect region's children (The' joiiowing Eeî was addressed HaIton Regionai Chai, Gary ( an and members of Regionai costncil, and a uîpy wasfiled wiîh the C hainpîon.) DEAR COUNCILLORS: 1 notieed in the Cbampion reecntiy a report on the growtb of the number of young ehiidren in Haiton, according to the jusî-reieased Census figures. Regionaiiy, there has been a 17 per cent rise in chiidren aged newborn to six years in the past five years. in Milton, there bas been a 273 per cent rise in babies under one year, aînd a 163 per cent risc in iscwborn to six-year- oids. These iaîcst statistics tauscd me to refleet on tht' priority thai shouid bc piaeed on cnsuring the optimal heaiîb of Haitons youngcst cîtizens. Haiton bas a lot of great tbings going for it, and as the' mother of îwo young cbiidren, 1 appreciate tbe local services avaiiable to our family and tbe naturai environmentai features and green spaces tbat we are able to cnjoy And 1 appreciate tbe recent move of Oakviiie's esee MILTON on page A7 Aroundtown Accused in drunk drivîng Young enough wo know bette-r By the time many of you read dhis, an important decision with the potential to affect the safety of this community will bave heen made. Bamrng a remand, a judge will decide today whether a Milton msan charged witb drinking and driving in the deaths of tsvo Rockwood seniors will be released on bail. ..back 10 bis cushy Ferguson Drive home, where carefree children play outside. ... back 10 socializing, relaxing and prob- abiy drinking. .back even to drwving, in three months time, wben bis licence suspension is Up. As ridiculous as it sounds to let a person cbarged numerous times with drunk driving- related offences back out into the communi- ty, it happens. lngram Rabim Bakhsb was reieased more tban once to freedom unti bis numerous drinking and driving-related charges sec the light of day icut Leî's hope the rigbt decision is made Ibis time. One of the things that initiaily surprised me in this case was the young age of the accused; hes 28. Sgt. Larry Zimmerman *of MADD Haiton/Peel confirmed what i thought that drinking and driving is now largely a middle- aged and older issue. Young people bave grown Up witb the' message ý that drovng wbiie intoxicated is dangerous and wrong. Middie-aged folk grew up in a lime when drunk drving wasn't shunned and some wbo did it were even looked upon witb amusement. So far tbis year, four people have been killed in thse Milton area witb drinking and driving suspected. And each of tbe men I cbarged is Young: 31, 28 and 21. Obviousy, therel- room for more education. As a reporter, l'm able t 0 hîghlight some of the horri[sc consequences Of driiking and dtiving. A recent letter to the editor by *M John Pannozzo criticized my ini- tial story on the crash as insensi- i tive, presumnablY because I made mention of two iifeless bodies inside the crumpled car. My iresponse 10 bim is simple. Drinking and drising bas very ugly consequences - conse- quences tbat sbouldn't lx îgnored or swept under tbe rug sîmpiy because thîs ih a "smali- town newspaper" and not the "National Inquirer', as Pannozzo wrote. Because, obviousiy, there are stiu some people wbo just arent getîng the message. ZLIw (cauabian ~jîpo 55Idu nral Dr, MiloOnt.L9T 5EI 905-878-2341 Edîtrjnal Fax: 905-878-4943 Advertismng Fax: 905-876-2364 Classified:905-875-3300 Circulation: 905-878-5947 www.rnUtoncanadianchampion.com Publisher Nleil Oliver Advertising Director Vic niy !M - ab Managing Editor kr.-n IMiceli Production Manager TiinoC o-s Circulation Manager Chailo-no-Hall Office Manager To-ri Casas Thse Canadian Champion, published every Tuesday and Friday, is a division of Metroland Media Grosip Ltd. - Gmoup Publisher Ian Oliver. Orronnising os accepted on trhe conition thai. in the evertof a typoraphcal ernof, niai porion of ihe adaeriioing soae oooaped Sp Oe eronou item, tiqetirr wth a easonable aIlowance for rigna t r i rotin chargeO for bui rie balancof the adorriserent oui npaid for ai thion appiocabln raie ire puiloiter reseover the nght tni iteqorize adverioemenoo or Oene CCAB Audited HRooglized fi rex'celencei by Ontario Commrunity A CXM Newspapers Association Canadran Communiy CCN Neacopapers Association M I<6" Suburban Newspapers iý _ f America Ther Canadian Chamnpion is a proud miedia sponsor for: Halton Healthcare oN11R1 ý'LCOME ýM Jingle Bell Fund CANAtOA OAY UNITED WAY YYMCA ,ioooi Ti h Mditor Shoýwcase Ait g~~ ~GALA Awaards isan ooo- la r-. no-on- 4 MILTON SANTA CLAUS m 1