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6 Oakville Beaver Weekend Sunday June 6,1999 T he Oakville Beaver Ian Oliver Publisher Neil Oliver, Associate Publisher Norman Alexander Editor Kelly Montague, Advertising Director Martin Doherty Circulation Director Ten Casas Office Manager Mark Dills Production Manager Riziero VertolG Photography Director Metrotend Printing. Pubfching & Detribubng Ltd., ndudes: A*ax/PckBring News Advertiser, Alston HeralcVCourier. Barrie Advance. Barry's Bay This Week. Boton Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burtngton Post. Burtngton Shopprig News, City Parent. CdngwoocWV&saga Connection. East Vbrk Mirror, Erin Advocata'Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian. Ramtxxough Post. Georgetown independent/Acton Free Press, Hurone Busress Tmes, Kingston This Week, Lindsay This Week, Markham Ecnomist & Sun. Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion. Milton Shopping News. Mississauga Business Times. Mississauga News, Napanee Guide. N^vmarket/Aurora Era-Barrier, Nortfxmbertand Navs, North York Mirror, Oakvile Beaver. Oakvie Shopping News. Oidtmers Hockey News, Orilia Today. OshawaA/VhrtbyA l̂arington Port Perry This Week. Owen Sound Tribune. Peterborough This Week, Picton C an ty Gukle, Richmond Hil/ThornhiH/Maughan Liberal. Scarborough Mirror. StouffviaUxbndge Tribute, Former Ybung, C*y of Nbrk Guarcfen 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont L6K3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax; 337-5567 RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: SK* ££ THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: E ditoria ls Election postscript The steamroller that has been the Mike Harris Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, now looks like a juggernaut that won't soon be headed. Harris and company pulled off a coup of the / / only defeated first order Thursday night by obtaining a second Liberals b u t also majority Tory government for the first time since reduced the N ew the days of John Robarts. D em ocratic Party to a And if the years of former premier Bill Davis m inor p layer in coined the phrase, the Big Blue Machine, the provincial affairs a t least Hams equivalent has to be the Big Blue Monster. u n til the next It not only defeated the Liberals but also reduced provincial election. the New Democratic Party to a minor player in provincial affairs at least until the next provincial election. For NDP leader Howard Hampton, it was an evening of the worst kind. Not only did the public completely reject the notion of the party as a possible option, it didn't even give them enough seats to retain official party status. In the new riding of Oakville, Conservative Gary Carr, who held the old seat of Oakville South, rode the blue wave to victory over Kevin Flynn and the Liberals. It too, was no contest. Town residents north of Upper Middle Road also went for the popular tide and re-elected Ted Chudleigh to another term in the new re-aligned riding of Halton. NDP leader Howard Hampton says he'll stay the course and Liberal boss Dalton McGuinty must be relieved that he fared as well as he did, thus deflect­ ing his credibility from within his own ranks. As for Premier Mike Harris, it's another mandate to finish the job he started in 1995. We wish him well. NOW ENTERING THE Greater G o w e s t b y a ll m e a n s .. .b u t b e w a r n e d In these, the glory days of opin­ ion pollsters and spin doctors-days in which tru th is forever being tw isted and attem pts at candor invariably end up candy-coated-it's nice to read about the straigh t­ sh oo ting o ffic ia ls in S pokane County, W ashington, who have just published a document that is both inspiringly truthful and fabu­ lously frank. Indeed, there's nothing subtle or sen sitiv e abou t the Spokane County C om m ission's 'Code of the West' pamphlet, which aims to forewarn (if not actually scare the co tton D ockers off) new and potential residents about the draw­ backs of life in the rugged area. A pparen tly the d en izens o f Pud Spokane County are sick and tired of slick, city-bred sorts--men and women who know the meaning of the words 'm anicure' and 'pedi­ cure', who think real waster comes from a bottle and who have cell­ phones seemingly stapled to their heads--who moved to the rustic area because they had no grasp of reality, and because they thought life in the county would be, well, idyllic, swell and neat in a Martha S tew art kind o f way. Thus the pamphlet. According to County officials, the original 'Code of the West' was an unwritten code of conduct by which the hardy souls who ven­ tured into that part of the country during the United States' westward expansion were expected to live. That code, defined in essence by the popular writings o f novelist Zane Grey, included the values of integrity and self-reliance. In tegrity and se lf-re liance . Particularly self-reliance. In their new pamphlet, County officials suggest that anyone who "wishes to follow in the footsteps of those rugged individualists and live out­ side the metropolitan areas" should not expect to be pam pered with superfluous urban luxuries. Such as electricity and running water. Such as public services. Simply put, the county can't afford them. "Emergency response times for sheriff, fire suppression, medical care etc., cannot be guaranteed," the pamphlet so honestly states. "Under some extreme conditions, you may find tha t em ergency response is extrem ely slow and expensive." Then there's the issue o f the area's frequent natural disasters, especially floods. If you live on a private road that is wiped out by a flood, you can expect "large bills By Steve Nease fo r repairs or reco n stru c tio n ." Furthermore, if you think for one m inute that your private road- should it be spared the wrath of all natural disasters-will ever be paved by the county, you're dreaming. Then there's the small matter of contact w ith the outside world. Contact? Forget about it! "Mail delivery may not be available to all areas o f the county. Newspaper delivery is not always available to rural areas. Telephone communica­ tions can be a problem...It may be difficult to obtain another (phone) line for fax or computer modem uses. Even cellular phones may not work in all areas." In case any whiny, wimpy city slickers are still contem plating m oving to Spokane County, the pamphlet does its best not to wel­ come, but to warn. In this neck of the woods, you may have to haul your own trash. You will always have to be m indful o f possible wildland fires, rock slides and low- flying crop-duster planes that do their business during "irregular hours". F inally , liv in g in Spokane County may mean dodging bullets. Literally. You see, there are homes in the County that are built smack- dab in the m iddle o f "shooting zones" for hunters. F orget W est V irgin ia, baby. This sounds like heaven.