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Wednesday August 22, 2001 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER A7 W hen the CBC producer called to let us know w hat book w e'd be dis cussing on their upcom ing series about book clubs, I was ecstatic to learn w e'd do Barney' s Version, by M ordecai Richler. This summer, the Ontario Today program hosted by D ave Stephens was going on the road to interview four book clubs in the province and listen in on their discussions. They w ere calling the sum m er series, 'H ow N ovel.' Richler really and truly w ould have had a field day with this one, I thought at the time. But I did love his book. N ot only was it a fabulous read, but Richler was an author I 'd loved for years. And, I have to say, our madcap book club was the perfect fit for a book like Barney' s Version. As ironic as it was to be the type o f group that Richler would have w ickedly skewered in his book (suburban Oakville; suburban Discussion would have amused author women), we w anted to do it. Getting to talk about one o f the greatest writers in this country was a chance not to be missed. But we w eren't im m une to the great irony. We looked at each other at one point and com mented: Imagine w hat M ordecai Richler w ould have said, a bunch o f broads in Oakville chatting about his book. H e'd probably have thought the whole thing enorm ously amusing. At least, w e hoped he would. So w e settled dow n to read the book, some o f us for the second time. I laughed, I cried. I couldn't w ait to talk about it. But I knew w e couldn't. "We can't talk about the book," I 'd adm on ish them , explaining the rules set out by the producer. "T hey w ant to keep the discussion for the taping." Later, o f course, I learned the other three book clubs had prepared months for their taping: One book club had actu- COMMENT DIANE HART ally spent seven hours talking about their book. Seven hours... yeesh. Members of yet .another club were so annoyed at not being chosen for the taping, they left the club altogether. Again, Richler would have had a field day. And yet, I have to admit when we gathered at my pal's restaurant, the one we shamelessly plugged throughout the taping (Biondo Pazza, on the Lakeshore, in case you w ant a great meal some time), I felt a litde bogus. W ho cares what we think? Imagine, god forbid, the great man him self listening as we blabbed about his book in June. We had no idea, o f course, that we would die less than a month later. At the time, I had this picture in my mind o f a larger than life Richler tuning in to the radio for a second. Imagine this, if you will: H e's trying to tune in the baseball scores and then, surprise, hears his name mentioned. He waits, thinking in all likelihood someone's going to blast him. It's the CBC after all... what politically incorrect thing did he say this time? But, lo and behold, they've selected Barney' s Version as one o f the four best novels o f the decade and a bunch of broads in Oakville are going to tell the world all about it. Strictly for entertainment's sake, he doesn't tune it out. THIS should be good, he grunts to himself, w ith a wicked grin. H e'd sit back, light a cigar, and listen. Hopefully, he'd have laughed him self silly listening to us blather away. We are nothing if not informal; I suppose a good title for our group would be The Importance o f Not Being Earnest. But, still. A book club, h e'd harrumph, in Oakville, o f all places. W hat nerve, what gall. And yet, now I wished w e'd said more: How much the book's characters touched our lives; How the book stayed with us, day after day, cropping up at the dam nest moments. A nd now w e've learned they plan to re-run the series, `How N ovel' through out August and put our mugs up on the website. Help. So, Mordecai, wherever you are this summer, take pity on us. Please don't think badly o f us, or call us ignorant schleps. Understand, we loved your book, your writing, your style, your passion. Understand, too, that we thought you'd be around, like every one else, forever. CN intermodal facility should concern residents Re: CN intermodal service I am writing because I have seen nothing in The Oakville Beaver on thft issue and I think it is time to bring it to the attention o f Oakville residents as it could have quite an impact on our future. CN Rail is about to make a proposal to put an intermodel terminal in south Milton, near the northwest com er of Oakville. A n intermodel terminal is a facility where containers and trailers are transferred to and from trains. This par ticular facility would start with 1000 trucks per day on a 24/7 basis and grow from there. CN has already been secret ly buying up land in the area using a numbered company. As a federal agency, CN Rail does not need local approval to build and operate this facility. The only approval authority is the Canadian Transportation Agency. An Environmental Assessment must be performed as part o f the C.T.A. approval process. On the surface, the expected DN pro posal sounds noble. Quoting a Town of M ilton report, "The stated purpose of these types o f facilities is to divert truck traffic from the roads system to the rail system; thus, resulting in less traffic con gestion and more efficient transportation o f goods. Interm odal facilities are expected to play an increasingly impor tant role in the movement o f goods between the GTA and the USA in the future." As an environmentalist, I theo retically support increased use o f mass transportation such as rail as a means o f reducing pollution caused by, in this case, trucks. But research shows that diesel fuel used for trains is exempt from governm ent em ission standards and trains in Ontario pollute far more than people realize. There is no place in the Regional Plan for an intermodal facility. The area is zoned agricultural. The Town o f Milton has identified many, many concerns including effects on the environment, economy, traffic, and the community. A further concern is the "magnet effect" o f attracting increased industrial use to the surrounding area. One can envision the serene rural area of South Milton being taken over by industry as neighbouring farms close; thus, destroying the charac ter o f the area and multiplying the con cerns the community had with the origi nal facility. The Town o f Milton and the Region o f Halton are preparing to hire experts to assist in responding to the expected CN proposal. I believe that the question Halton Region needs to answer is this: Will an interm odal facility in that location increase or decrease truck traffic within Halton? It has become very apparent L e tte rs to th e E d ito r this summer that air quality below the escarpment in Halton Region is poor. If the intermodal facility would remove trucks from Halton roads, then the bene fits stated, i.e. less traffic congestion and reduced air pollution, might result and give some relief. If, however, the inter modal facility would attract increased truck volume to the region, then I believe the environm ental im pact w ould be intolerable. In other words, the entire population o f Halton would lose. This sounds like a "not in my back yard" argument, but I believe there is more than adequate justification. Halton already has enough air quality and traffic problems. We don't need to be given more. For further information, visit miltonrail.com. Send your concerns to Joyce Savoline, Regional Chair. Lisa Seiler T he Oakville Beaver M y n a m e is Susan H o lla n d e r a n d Em ily Bruch. Susan and I have been doing the Oakville Beaver together for about a year, I have been doing them for about a year ana a half. W e like getting togeth er and doing papers 3 times a week. Susan likes packing papers the most and I like delivering the papers the most, but we each do both and sometimes we do them seperately. W e are happy that we know almost everyone on our street just from doing papers. W e also got Christmas cards pli we deliver to. and extra money from some people SIDEWALK SALE -- A U G U S T 23 TO 26 -- BACK TO SCHOOL SHOP FOR BACK TO SCHOOL AT OUR 340 STORES! Offshore Grand Prix of Canada Dry Pit at Square One. See am 18beats fcplnyed mSquare he' s parting lot (Bry Pit] (farin g theSidewft Sale. M eet theteans b eh indthep o w e r of theO ffshereG ran d Prixof Cioda frea the Part C re d it N arine F e stiw ri 29Q L Susan Emily Sometimes, about once every 2 months we go shopping together using our paper money. It is easier doing papers with two people because when one of us is on vacation the other person does the papers for them and get paid more money. I think doing the Oakville Beaver makes Susan and I more responsible! Winning Carriers receive a large 3 topping pizza courtesy of: C E O MOW THIS IS O nt a r io 's # 7 P iz z a ,/ To join our delivery team call 905-845-9742 SHOPPING Q ) OAKVILLE C o u n c il SQUARE ONE 24-hi»r iif« r» E tii» liie (905) 278-SHOP (7U7) p * /^v & shopping for a I new hom e to fit C y v / your lifestyle? ATTEND THE ARE YOU ON THE BETTER SIDE OF (9 0 5 ) 8 4 5 -6 6 0 1 & S t a n d in g C o m m it t e e M e e t in g s Explore all your options... Tuesday, September 4,2001 Council Meeting Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. Monday, September 10,2001 Planning & Development Council Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. m 5 0 PILU S Retirement Housing Forum ^ at the Em M )ung ^ ( j f ^ L i f e s t y l e & T ra v e l S L o w P re s e n te d b y Tuesday, S e p te m b e g l,: 2001 Se ervic^C om r itte e C om m unity S r v ic ^ C o mm 7 :3 0 p.m f^ fc flw ille Room A dm inistisjjtre S ervices C om m . 7 :3 M x m . - B ronte Room Tuesday, September 11,2001 Planning & Development Council Council Chambers-7:30 p.m. Continuation of Public Meeting Re: OPA 198-Lands North of Dundas Street Protect the Moraine Re: Coverage o f the Oak Ridges Moraine Advisory Panel The report, in my opinion, is an unfinished document that includes five m ajor shortcom ings that m ust be addressed by the Minister o f Municipal Affairs and Housing, Chris Hodgson: · This report allows for unlimited urban expansion onto the M oraine for years to come. By allowing the regions to appeal to the Province to expand their urban boundaries, there is serious risk for further urban expansion onto ecolog ically sensitive conservation core and linkage areas. The scenario will go something like this: In the case o f fu rth er. development, the Province will say the Region asked for it and the Region will say the government said they could. · There is no final position on aggre gate mining in the report. I strongly urge the government not to allow expansion o f sand and gravel pits onto core and linkage areas. · Why have the size o f the linking corridors so important for wildlife been shrunk? There is no comprehensive ground water protection strategy in the report. It makes no sense to consider building new golf courses. The long-term land-use plan that the government will create, must protect the Moraine with its ecologically sensitive areas, wildlife and groundwater, in its entirety. LlftSl ITRf 020 VEL SHOW001 m FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 7 & SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 20001 METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTRE, NORTH BUILDING, HALL B, 2SS FRONT ST. F R E E S E M IN A R S W IT H $ 5 .0 0 A D M ISSIO N T O T H E 50+ L IF E S T Y L E & TRA V EL SH O W IN C L U D E M E /U S IN T H E F O L L O W IN G S E S S IO N S : C o u n c i l & C o m m itt e e T o u c h t o n e P h o n e L in e Is I c« I Iw 8 1 5 -5 9 5 9 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1 1 :00am SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1 1 :00am THK CORPORATION OFTHK TOWN OF OAK VIM Ji By-law 2001-157 Closure of Fan of Fourth Line to vehicular traffic only TAKE NOTICE THAT: 1. The Council of the Corporation of the Town of Oakville proposes to pass a by-law pursuant to Section 297 of the Municipal Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter M.45 in order to close and slop up to vehicular traffic only, part of Fourth I.inc. Town of Oakville, Regional Municipality of Halton, being part of Lot 21, Concession 2, North of Dundas Street, being described as Part 2 on Flan 20R-14160. 2. Pursuant to Section 300 of 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 alTccted by this by-law, provided that such person makes application in writing to the undersigned on or before August 27, 2001 at 4:30 p.m. This mailer will be heard at the Council meeting of September 4, 2001 commencing at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall, 1225 Trafalgar Road, Oakville. 3. A copy of lhc Plan for the subject lands is available for inspection at the Clerk's Department, at the address shown below, during normal business hours. Clerk's Department The Corporation of the Town of Oakville, 1225 Trafalgar Road Oakville. Ontario I.6J 5A6 is "RETIRING IN TORONTO & SOUTHERN ONTARIO" Presented by The Retirement Real Estate Network I IJ |U I IU r« ih , I< /> SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 12:00pm >- "EXPLORING RETIREMENT HOUSING OPTIONS" a FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 12:00pm !z * Explore the m any options available: Active Adult Communities, Land Lease Properties, Condo Living and much more! Presenter: PJ. W ade, Forever Young Housing Expert. il i < |i I Ul I »!S io i ~ FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 20 01 , 2:00pm SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2:00pm Presented by Q n t u iy "SELLING YOUR FAMILY HOM E" -- -- This comprehensive workshop deals with all issues that mature consumers must consider when selling their family home. I a. 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