A6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday April 26, 2000 T h e O akville B eaver Ian Oliver Publisher Neil Oliver Associate Publisher Norman Alexander Editor Kelly Montague, Advertising Director Steve Crazier Circulation Director Ten Casas OfficeManager Mark Dills Production Manager Riziero Vertolli Director ofPhotography Metrotand Printing. Publishing & Distributing Ltd.. includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser. A lston Herald/Courier. Barrie Advance. Barry's Bay This Week. Bolton Enterprise. Brampton Guardan. Burlington Post. Burlington Shopping News. City Parent. CoingwoocWfesaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate'Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Ramborough Post, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press. Huronia Business Times. Kingston This Week. Lindsay This Week, Markham Ecnomist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, M ilton Canadian Champion, M ilton Shopping News. Mississauga Business Tmes, Mississauga News. 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C a n a d ia n C o m m u n ity N e w s p a p e rs A s s o c ia tio n JiNqk Btll Fund A *O T V $> U TTERFIY JM tem . iT r r m u TV AUCTION O N T @ ^he _ 467 Speers Rd., Oakville OnL L6K3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax; 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 United Way ol Oakville A R I O JAward O akville ©Awards FDR BUSINESS EXCELLENCE S u b u rb a n N e w s p a p e rs o l A m e r ic a IRO N d M M ftiu d | oakville galleries | Editorials When to quit Recent automobile accidents have again rekindled the debate about the laws that permit octogenarians the right to drive on the province's roads. It's an issue that's important on a number of points. Statistics have shown that seniors have an equally poor driving record as those in the 18-25 year-old group, historically the highest accident risks. So should those over 80-yearsof-age f ace more rigorous testing7 Should the M inistry o f < Should the Ministry of Transportation (MOT), 1 be more vigilant in ensuring the safety of both Transportation be m ore I seniors and the general public through mandatory vigilant in ensuring the \ safety o f both seniors age restrictions? On a strictly emotional level, giving up one's and the general public license is difficult. Many seniors who are current through m andatory ly driving pose a danger to themselves, their pas age restrictions? sengers and the public. Others are fully capable o f driving as w ell as or better than the average motorist. T hat's why m andatory road testing for those over 80 should be a MOT priority. Item: A 47-year-old executive was dragged to her death by a woman driver in her eighties, despite screams from onlookers yelling for her to stop. Item: On April 19th, an 89-year-old Mississauga man was involved in an accident in that city. According to police, the man drove through an intersec tion against a red light and struck another vehicle. The senior died of his injuries but luckily, the driver of the other vehicle was not injured. Item: On April 15th, an 82-year-old Burlington woman got into her car at the Burlington Mall and then backed into and killed a 13-year-old girl and also seriously injured her mother. Charges in this case are still pending. Here's the problem-as the baby-boomer generation ages. The numbers of seniors on the road will pose a significant risk factor, so it's critical that the MOT have some kind of long-term plan in place to deal with this eventuality. The Province has enacted stricter rules for teenagers and other first-time drivers to obtain a licence and the same kind of approach might be appropriate for testing and licencing seniors in the future. 'THE BATTLE OF ONTARIO - 2ND RQUNP- 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 New Canadian happy to learn English I want to thank you for the article and pic ture about Jo rg e Ju lio Jaram illo , my dad, posted on the first page o f the A pril 16/00 issue of The Oakville Beaver. As you mention it in the artic le , m y d a d 's w illin g n ess for learning a new language, in spite of his age, is a clear exam ple of determination, worthy to be followed by young people. Moreover, his struggle for keeping a conversation in English language starts on his hearing disability; he is sort of a half deaf. I also want to say that my dad has been a defender o f the respect for minorities rights and principles (political, social, religious and moral), and he was an active fighter for these principles early during the 40's and 50's back in Colombia, where we came from. He was treated badly by a hidden autocratic power th a t u s u a lly tre a ts w h o e v e r o p p o se s its excesses with persecution, isolation and exile. Fortunately, he holds no hard feelings and here he is, enjoying as I also do, living in a peaceful country with hundreds of opportuni ties. By the way, I came to live in Canada with my wife and our two kids three years ago, and my dad did come for the first time to Canada in August 1997, rather than in 1977, as sug gested by your article. L e tte r o f th e W e e k Volunteers critical in public education I would like to express sincere thanks to the hundreds o f volunteers w ho support staff and students in our schools across Halton. I recently attended several functions honouring vol unteers, and I was truly impressed with the number o f parents and community members who so freely give of their time to enrich the lives o f our students. People are engaged in a whole host o f activities which m ake our schools safer, happier places for kids. W hether you are a school council member, a classroom volunteer, an atten dance check person, supervise school trips, or support our schools in any other way, your significant contribu tion is highly valued. As our resources have dwindled over the past years, we have relied heavily on volunteers for support in so many areas. Your skills, talents, time and commitment are truly appreciated. On behalf o f the Halton District School Board, our staff and students, thank you sincerely for all you do in support of our individual schools and in support o f pub lic education. We salute you! Tse-Lu (Lou) Jaramillo Councillor offers primer on north Oakville expansion A lot of interest has been gen erated by th e d istrib u tio n o f a flyer and the creation o f a web p ag e re g a rd in g th e S tu d y the Tow n o f O a k v ille is p re se n tly d o in g fo r th e L a n d s N o rth o f Regional Road 5 (Dundas Street). Some information has been placed on the Town o f O akville's web page, but not everyone has access to the intern et. You elect y our council to look after the best inter ests o f the com m unity in which we all live. It is my hope that by a d d re ssin g so m e o f th e m o st F requently A sked Q uestions in this article that m ore citizens in the Town of Oakville will have a better understanding o f why the town and your councillors have undertaken this planning process. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: Who ow ns the land north o f Regional Road 5 (Dundas Street)? · the land is presently owned by a v a rie ty o f o w n e rs: th e O ntario Realty C orporation (an arm o f the p ro v in c ia l g o v e rn m e n t), th e T ow n o f O a k v ille , developers, small landowners, and farmers. W hy is th e Town d o in g the Study? · the planning of this area start ed over 10 years ago, when the H a lto n U rb a n S tru c tu re P lan (H U S P ) b e g a n as a re v ie w o f grow th opportunities within the Region o f Halton particularly in the Town of Milton. As the plan n in g b eg an to p ro ceed , future Urban areas in North Oakville and North Burlington were considered as the need for water and sewer servicing the future population was identified. The planning for H U SP w as concluded w ith the in tro d u c tio n and a p p ro v al o f Halton Region Official Plan #8. North Oakville was designated as an urban area within the plan and the Town of Oakville has started the process of determining what the lands in this area should look like in the years ahead. The Town o f O akville's Official Plan must be u p d a te d to a g ree w ith the Region of Halton's Official Plan. What is an Official Plan? · an Official Plan is a general land use document that sets out a municipality's vision on the devel opm ent o f the com m unity as a whole and/or an individual area to w ithin a com m unity. The goals and objectives contained within the Official Plan include popula tion, housing, employment, phas in g , th e n a tu ra l e n v iro n m e n t, transportation/transit and finance. What Studies has the Town o f Oakville done to date? · the Town of Oakville began the planning process by doing an environm ental study to identify environmental features in the area between Regional Road 5 and the 407 which is currently being built by the consortium who bought the highway from the Ontario govern ment. The LGL Environm ental S tudy w as co m p leted and ap p roved by c o u n cil in 1999. Council then began the current Land Use Options Study. It set up a S te e rin g C om m ittee and engaged the services of Hemson Consultants to identify where the residential and employment lands should be located. The town has a lso c o m p lete d an E conom ic Strategy to be used to attract highend business that will compliment existing businesses and industries to Oakville. W hat fu tu r e a c tio n s are required p rio r to developm ent occurring within the study area? · the North Oakville Land Use Options Study will be reviewed by council on June 26th, 2000, with certain recommendations for future implementation. The town w ill undertake secondary plan work which will identify the sec ondary plan areas for the residen tial and employment lands identi fied in the O ptions Study and which will go first. Once the sec ondary plan is fully completed, then and only then, will the town entertain Subdivision Applications to g e th e r w ith Z oning Amendments. The tentative date for the first development to pro ceed is the Year 2007-8. However, the rate of growth shall be part of the stu d y rec o m m en d e d . Significant land is still available w ithin the p re se n t urb an area below Dundas Street for develop ment to occur. Will the Plan preserve and pro tec t the en viro n m en ta l areas? How will this be done? · environmental areas are pro tected through a variety of mecha nisms which include provincial policy, regional and local official plan policies, secondary plans, zoning and through the subdivi sion process. The LGL Study has identified the significant biophysical fea tures in the study area. It is the town's vision that these features will be preserved either through private or public ownership. If the tow n d o es n o t buy them or acquire them through the require ment of the Planning Act, they can be acquired through funds donat ed by community fundraising pro ject or with grants from Charitable F oundations. T hey can also be preserved through negotiations with the landowners and develop ers at the tim e th a t p lan s are brought forward for development. How will the plan address the (See `Study' page A7) Ethel Gardiner Chair o f the Halton District School Board E d ito ria l w as m islead in g The only thing worse than a badly-written editorial is a misleading and unsubstantiated one. Your editorial comment entitled Simply bizarre is both, and is equally offensive in both domains. Jim Etherington's comment about "overreact ing" on the part of educators is a fair and measured personal opinion that invites debate. Your commentary, on the other hand, is lacking in both insight and open-mindedness-qualities that readers have a right to expect in an editor. You say that the OFAH (Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters) is simply fulfilling its m andate-fair enough. What about schools' mandates? Educators on the whole are opposed to guns because they symbolize violence. That's a principle, by the way, and not some form of bizarre dictate. It may be true that the connection between violence and guns is not wholly established, but you state unequivocally that: "The logic is bizarre. Such publications play no part in mak ing some twisted student from shooting fellow classmates or teachers" (sic). First o f all, you are not talking in the domain of logic. Guns are not logical; violence is not logical; their connection is anything but logical. Try this (logical) explanation instead: (1.) Guns kill. (2.) Educators oppose killing (that principle again). (3.) Therefore educators oppose guns (and magazines that portray guns as simply tools). Is it still "bizarre" ? Second, when you say "play no part" you are stating that there is absolutely no connection between what potential offenders read and what they do. The jury may not be in on that one, but surely there are still many experts and readers who want to continue to examine the evidence rather than simply take your word. You end your supposedly "bizarre" theme by telling an inconsequential anecdote about some totally unconnected, remote and obscure incident in Halifax, and then conclude that there is some connecting evidence that these are "bizarre times in education." Your entire commentary lacks thematic substance, direction, meaning, evidence, coherence and rele vance. If the "paranoia" and "ridiculous" shoes fit anyone, I sug gest that they be worn by you, and with a little more humili ty, I might ad. As we said, inept times in journalism. by Steve Nease WE'RE OUTTA Y ~ " ' t e a fill 1 Bob Myers