The Canadian Champion, Friday, June 29, 2007-A7 Ontario needs stiffer penalties Plans submitted for remodeling for those who abuse animals of town's public school buildings (The following letter was addressed to Halton MPP Ted Chudieigh, and a copy was filed with the Champion.) Dear Mr. Chudleigh: I recently received a tele-dis- patch from the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The contents confirm once again how unjust the ani- mal laws are in this country, and the urgency to do something about them. The subject is the recent inci- dent of a puppy who had his ears sliced off with a kitchen knife or hand saw so he would look more menacing. Under the current criminal code, the Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) bas to prove animal abuse beyond a reasonable doubt, which would involve time and money. The present code has a loop- hole in that the owners can get the animal back during the investigation. Fortunately that did not hap- pen with this puppy Changes in the archaic ani- mal rights laws are long over- due. in the case of ibis abused puppy, the pervert involved will probably receive a nominal fine when he should have more than his cars sliced off. It is difficult to rationalize the distribution of tax dollars by federal and provincial govem- ments when an organization as vital as the Ontario SPCA is ignored. They depend solely on the generosity of the private sec- tor and dedicated volunteers. I suspect the veternarians who work with these facilities give freely of themselves to make the world a better place for abused and injured animals. If the Ontario government can hand over $510,000 to the Town of Milton for an addition to Town Hall, it must surely have funds for something as important and necessary as the Ontario SPCA and the shelters under their jurisdiction. I hope you are the person to step up to the plate to imple- ment immediate changes to all aspects of inhumane animal rights. It takes people and money to close down deplorable puppy mills and to deal with these and other atrocities com- mitted against helpless animals. It is easy to ignore those who cannot speak for themselves. Wouldn't it be great if Ontario set the bar for other provinces and we could boast that Ted Chudleigh was the voice instru- mental in righting a terrible wrong. ELIZABETH HARRISON MACARTHUR DRIVE Contrary to what some people believe, composting isn't really inconvenient • see COMPOSTING on page A6 garbage trucks, nor expensive, resource-consum- ing bags and liners, and we certainly do not need acres of good land covered with mega-commercial concrete pads to do our bit for the environment. Now I know a PO.WE.R. spokesperson com- plained at a Regional committee meeting that home-composting is inconvenient because one needs to take the organic material out to the com- poster in the winter, and it is laborious because the compost needs to be turned over at least twice a year. Making waste disposal easy seemed to be one of the major attractions to ber of the GreenCart program. i personally do not find going outdoors in winter to be all that inconvenient, and the turnover of compost is not demanding at all, if one docs it properly. Yes, it may take a litile bit of self-discipline and effort to home-compost, but these are trivial and inconsequential considerations compared to the satisfaction you get when you spread the compost onto your garden and flower planters and see the beneficial results. The GreenCart program may have some unique benefits - with the ease of waste disposal seeming to the one most promoted - but i don't find it comes close to the benefits and satisfaction of doing the composting yourself. And you cer- tainly don't need lots of land to do it. MIKE GRIMWOOD STEELES AVENUE Councillor's comment on drivers inappropriate DEAR EDITOR: This letter is in response to the Champions June 19 article entitled 'No action taken on boulevard parking concerns'. On what proof does council- lor Mike Boughton base his claim that 'Ninety per cent of people that drive in this com- munity only come to a rolling stop anyway?" i for one resent such a broad, unjustified statement. Boughton should demon- strate more respect for the local citizens and focus more on pro- ductive input at town council meetings. R. DEVINE COULSON AVENUE 'Time Capsules' are gems of infor- mation extracted from past issues of The Champion and other publications in order to provide a window into Milton's past. Explanatory comment is sometimes provided to place the situa- tion in context. February 1910 JA. Ellis, architect, of Toronto, submitted plans for the proposed remodeling of the public school buildings to the members of the school board on Tuesday. The plan showed 12 class rooms of the regula- tion size, with a laborätory for the continuation classes and up-to-date lavatories, all properly heated, venti- lated and lighted. The cost was esti- mated at Toronto prices at $21,000. To erect new buildings giving the same accommodation, would cost about $32,500. To re-construct the old ones, with ten classrooms, instead of twelve, would cost $16,000 at Toronto prices, or about $15,000 ai Milton rates. The board will hold another meeting. Its members agree that something must be done, that to continue in the old buildings as they are is out of the question, and even if this were done, a good deal of money would have to be expended in tem- porary repairs. The ten-classroom idea, with laboratory, meets with a good deal of favour, as it would be sufficient for present needs, and the extra rooms could be added later when necessary. After the board has decided on the plan to be adopted a bylaw will be submitted to the ratepayers. February 1910 (Acton) John Harvey has been appointed collector of taxes, electric light, town hall and street revenues, caretaker of town hall, park, ceme- tery streets and walks, constable, pound-keeper, sanitary inspector, truant officer, summons server for court of revision and such other duties as may be required by the vil- lage of Acton, at a salary of $600 a year. Joseph Martin (grandson ol Jasper Martin) spoke in the British House of Commons on Tuesday urg Tim e ing that the King be asked to create enough new Peers to force the veto bill through Lords if need be. ("Fighting Joe" served in the Legislature in Manitoba, the House of Commons in Ottawa and was briefly Premier of British Columbia before moving to England and being elected to the British House of Commons. He was the son of Edward Martin and was raised in Milton.) March 1910 Beginning today, patients requir- ing the Pasteur treatment for rabies can get it at Toronto, under an arrangement made by the Ontario Government with the New York institute. It will cost $25, payable in advance by the patient or the munic- ipality sending him, with $1 per day extra for hospital treatment. Dogs have not been as numerous as usual on the streets of Milton since the muzzling order went into force and those that are to be seen wear wire decorations as a rule, though a mongrel collie was on Main street on Tuesday without any. The big thaw which set in on Saturday made the roads impassable in some places on account of water holes. The stage drivers had a hard time. John Colling was unable to reach. Milton from Lowville on Monday, but he got through on Tuesday James Currie made the tnp to Drumquin and back on Monday. A trace broke when bis ng was in a deep water hole near Boyne, but he escaped a wetting by climbing over the dashboard and standing on the shafts while he made temporary repairs. This materi is assembled on behalf 1 of the Milton Historical Society by Jim t Dills, who can be eached atjdills@idi- - rect.com. PREPARE FOR THE ROAD AHEAD. 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