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A6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday December 13, 2000 TheOakville Beaver Ian Oliver Publisher Nei Oliver .Associate Publisher Norman Alexander Editor Kelly Montague, .Advertising Director Steve Crazier Circulation Director Ten Casas Office Manager Mark Dlls Production Manager Riziero Vertolli Director o fPhotography Metroland Printing. Pubishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser. Alston HerakJ/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News. Bame Advance. Barry's Bay This Week. Bolton Enterprise. Brampton Guanian. Burlington Post. Burlington Shopping N ews. C ity Parent. Coingwood/Wasaga Connection. East Myk Mirror. Erin Advocata'Coirtry Routes. Etobicoke Guardian. Flam borough Post, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press. Hamston Review. Huonia Busness Tmes, Kingston This Week. Lindsay This Week. Markham Ecnomist & Sun. Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror. Milton Canadian Champion. Milton Shopping News. Missssauga Business Tm es. Mssssauga News. Napanee Glide. 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Canadian Community Newspapers Association TH E B R O N T E t U T T E R F L Y TV AUCTION United Way of Oakville h FOR BUSINESS EXCELLENCE O N T A R I O |oakville galleries "bkrMtti SKA Suburban Newspapers of i O&JULt Children's Choir TOWN o r B oa ft K f I l f K * v BLBINESS&THl ARTS Editorials Charity begins at home At this time of year, it's all too easy to become consumed with the details of the season-determining what gifts to purchase and for whom; thinking about the logistics of getting somewhere during the holiday travelling crush; what to cook, what to decorate...the list seems endless. Instead o f being so self-absorbed, we Donations to the Salvation ask you to put down your lists, and think A rm y' s Christmas Kettles about what y ou're doing and w hat you in Oakville are down should be doing at this most significant drastically over last time. year...just donating the We are all aware that there are many change in your purse or families in Oakville who are barely cop pockets can mean the ing to m ake ends meet. Many o f these world o f difference to families are single-parent units that need those in need. help throughout the year and particularly now. Every year the Salvation Army, through its members and volunteers set up their Christmas Kettles in various locations, looking to help make the lives of those less fortunate just a little bit easier through your donations. But something weird has happened this year and Salvation Army officials are at a loss to explain the phenomenon. Donations are down...not by a bit but by 75% over the same period one year ago. In Oakville kettle donations are just a bit over $21,000. with only 10 days left in their campaign. By the end of last year's efforts, the kettles had raised $80,000. here. A significant segment of the kettle funds go to other Salvation Army initia tives including a foodbank, children's camps and an emergency shelter. With social services everywhere under fiscal attack, we know there is only so much money for people to donate but it would mean a lot to those who use the Salvation Army services if you would even empty your pockets of change the next time you pass one of the Christmas Kettles in Oakville. You can't miss them...listen for the sound of a bell ringing and give generously. Letters to the Editor The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be typed, signed and include the writer's address and phone number. Send to: Letters to the Editor, The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 March o f Dimes campaign needs your support In 1992, the U nited N atio n s o fficially p ro c la im e d D e c . 3 rd as "In te rn a tio n a l D ay o f D is a b le d P e r s o n s ." T h e th e m e f o r th e y e a r 2 0 0 0 , " M a k in g a D ifferen ce," celeb rates the co ntributions an d a c h ie v e m e n ts o f p e o p le w ith d is- Letter of the Week MP owes Ferrone an apology As a form er resident o f O akville I fol lowed the recent campaigns of Ms. Brown and Mr. Ferrone and I was in fact in town during the last week o f the cam paign and attended two of the debates. 1 was concerned when reading Ms. B row n's comments (via your Web site) in your paper regarding Mr. Ferrone's cam paign. Mr. Ferrone attacked M s. B ro w n 's re c o rd as a M em b er o f Parliament and did not attack Ms. Brown per sonally. A s a M em ber o f P arliam ent Ms. Brown must accept the fact that her actions in Parliament are open to scrutiny. Indeed that very fact is what makes Canada a true democracy and Ms. Brown should not tak e these ex am in atio n s personally. H er rem arks about Mr. Ferrone show a lack of character. Ms.Brown should have accepted the victory gracefully instead of slandering Mr. Ferrone. As a Liberal I am disappointed and embarrassed by Ms. Brown's poisonous remarks. I certainly hope Ms. Brown performs in Parliament with more character than she has in accepting her recent victory. I think an apology to Mr. Ferrone is in order. Robert Bruce Holiday season tough on gamblers As the Christmas shopping season moves into its annual frenzy, I would like to take this opportunity to reach out to families affected by p ro b lem g am b lin g . O f c o u rse , m any Canadian households are tem pted to over spend during the festive season, but for fami lies of gam bling addicts, the pressures are severe. To assist families affected by compulsive gambling, I would like to make readers aware o f tw o h e lp fu l p u b lic a tio n s . D iary o f a Powerful Addiction w ritten by recovering gambler, Alexandra King, provides valuable insights into this "invisible addiction." The Other Woman Was Lady Luck: True Stories From Monte Carlo To Casino Windsor is written from the perspective of the "gam bling widow" or spouse of the problem gam bler. It p resen ts case h isto rie s from the M aritim es to British Colum bia and offers guidelines for both financial and emotional recovery. G am blers A nonym ous and G am -A non members, as well as the general public may acquire these books at Chapters. During this season of hope, there is help and encouragement for all concerned. abilities. I u rg e y o u r re a d e rs to a c k n o w le d g e the c o n trib u tio n s o f peo p le w ith p h y si cal disab ilities w ho live in our com m u n ity by p a rtic ip a tin g in O n ta rio M arch o f D i m e s ' a n n u a l D o o r to D o o r C a m p a ig n th is J a n u a r y . T h e m o n e y raised in this cam paign, funds im portant program s and services w hich assist p eo ple w ith disab ilities to be m ore self-su f fic ie n t -- p ro v id in g a ssisstiv e d ev ices, re c re a tio n o p p o rtu n itie s, a tte n d a n t se r v ic e s a n d h o u s e k e e p i n g s u p p o r t, em ploym ent training and placem ent su p port. In 2001, O n tario M arch o f D im es is celeb ratin g 50 years o f prom oting in d e p en d en ce fo r a d u lts w ith p h y sic a l d is ab ilities no m atter w hat th eir disability: S t r o k e , C e r e b r a l P a ls y , M u ltip le Sclerosis, P ark in so n 's D isease, A cquired B rain Injuries, Spinal C ord Injuries. No o th e r a g e n c y to u c h e s th e liv e s o f so m a n y p e o p le w ith so m a n y d if f e r e n t kinds o f d isab ilities in so m any aspects o f th eir lives. T his January, it is our turn to m ake a difference. To v o lu n teer or m ake a d onation, call O n tario M arch o f D im es at 1-800-2633463 and help people w ith physical d is ab ilities in our com m unity. MP's com m ents show she's poor w inner Regarding her juvenile, poor-winner rant on the front page of the Beaver (Nov 29), I wonder if any of the peo ple who voted for Bonnie Brown knew they were get ting someone so vindictive and arrogant as their MP. Her condescending remarks are in the poorest tradi tion of political life. I suppose we should be grateful that she did not claim Dan Ferrone was a Holocaust-denier, racist, and bigot, as her fellow hack Liberal, Elinor Caplan would have done. She is right to say that this was a dirty campaign nationally, but she got the direction wrong. Never before (in Canada, at least) has the governing party attacked and ridiculed an O pposition Leader for his religious faith, blatantly lied about their opponent's stated, written stand on public health funding (after having slashed such funding themselves for most of their mandate) and slandered them as racist and intolerant, despite the obvi ous fact that the Alliance had at least as many ethnic minority candidates as the Liberals. If this campaign is what Bonnie Brown considers the high road, she should be even more ashamed of herself. Greg Radovich M a ry M o nk Province & families a bad mix A fter passing Bill 6, last M arch (legislating undue intervention in fam ilies by governm ent) and while Bill 117 is still being debated (m ore undue intervention in fam ilies by governm ent), the O ntario governm ent dis plays again its interventionist, socialist bias regarding family issues. The Education Im provem ent Com m ission struck by the O ntario governm ent, after three years o f work has found a way to introduce universal daycare, advocated by socialists and feminists, but opposed by conservative vot ers. This governm ent com m ission asks us to spend more th an $1 B illio n on `e a rly ch ild h o o d e d u c a tio n ' and `expansion of child-care opportunities', hoping to please the feminists without upsetting the people who voted the PCs in government. Let's be clear: when government takes over the respon sibility of parents to educate their children, this is called Socialism, not Progressive Conservatism. The proof is in the words of Karl Marx: "The education o f all children, from the moment that they can get along without a moth e r's care, shall be in state institutions at state expense." Margo D. Little Area Coordinator Ontario March o f Dimes Door to Door Campaign, Oakville F ire an d d eath d o n 't resp ect holiday seaso n In December 1999, 18 people, including eight children, died in fires. W hile all fire deaths are extremely upsetting, it's particu larly heartbreaking when the victims are chil dren. So many years o f potential life lost. I think o f their fam ilies and the em ergency perso n n el w ho responded to the scene. I think of the empty desks in their classrooms. The impact devastates the entire community and is felt across the province. As Fire Marshal of Ontario, I implore you to help the fire service stop these preventable deaths. Most people think that fire will never happen to them . U n fortunately, statistics prove otherwise. Please, don't let this happen to you or your community! Protect yourself and your fam ily from fire by taking these simple steps: 1. Make sure you have a working smoke alarm on every level o f your home-trailer, apartm ent or house-and outside sleeping areas. Smoke alarms detect fire and smoke early. 2. Smoke and fire move quickly, so you need to develop and review a home escape plan w ith every m em ber o f your fam ily. Identify two ways out of your home in case of fire. 3. People w ho sm oke and cook w hile under the influence of alcohol cause many fires. Drink responsibly and keep an eye on those who don't. 4. Keep matches and lighters in a locked cabinet and out o f sight and reach of chil dren. L e t's re m e m b e r th e tra g e d ie s la st December. If we all take a few extra precau tions, we can prevent a repeat of last year's devastating losses. Have a safe and happy holiday season. Bernard Moyle Ontario Fire Marshal Pud by Steve Nease Giuseppe Gori Leader, Family Coalition Party o f Ontario Welcome to QEW car park A recent Oakville Beaver editorial lamented the traffic congestion and lack of Roads in the Oakville area and the hope that another lane on the QEW would bring some relief. When Oakville was around 60,000 population the QEW was two lanes and congestion added another lane, a 50% increase to three lanes. Oakville has doubled it's population since then, and now stands at 140,000. Our Provincial, Regional and Municipal `Planners' are going to double this to 250,000 over the next 10 years, another 100% increase. Guess what, increasing the three lanes of the QEW to four lanes only adds 33% capacity! Welcome to the QEW Car Park. Colin Davey