A6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday March 31,1999 T h e O a k v il l e B e a v e r 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 Vertolli Director o f Photography Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pfckering New s Advertiser, A lsto n HeralcVCotrier, Barrie Advance. Barry's Bay This Week, Bolton Enterprise, Brampton GuanJan, B u ln g jo n Post, Bulington Shopping News. City Parent, Co lngw o odM tesaga Connection. East Mark Mirror, Erin Advocata'Country Routes. Etobicoke G uardan, Rarrtxroucfi Post. G e orge tow n Independent/Acton Free Press. Huronia Business T n e s . Kingston Th is W eek. Lindsay This W eek. Markham Ecnomist & Sun. MkdtencVPenetanguishine Mrror. M H on C a nadan Cham pion. Mfton S h o p p in g N e w s . M ississauga B usiness T im e s . M ississauga N e w s . Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner. Northumberland News, North York Mirror. Oakvile Beaver. O a kvlle S hopping News. Oldtimers Hockey News. Orilia Today. Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This W eek. O w e n S o u n d Tribune. Peterborough This W eek. Picton County G uide. R ichm ond HiB/ThornhiH/Vaughan Liberal. Sca rb orou g h Mirror. Stouftvialdxbncige Tribune. Forever Young. City of Vbrk Guardan 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 E d ito ria ls Copter crusade As the list of innocent people killed in police chases rises, the Toronto Police are on a new mission. They want to patrol the metropolis using heli copters...helicopters that would be paid for through public donations and corporate sponsorships. No doubt this means w e'll be seeing a helicopter or helicopters, flying through the skies of Hog Town, with logos obliterating its police markings. It could look like race cars with decals everywhere. No doubt there would be an extra charge for sponsors to have the pilots wearing the same 'id' badges. Even more alluring is the fact that dona tions will be tax receiptable. I t 's no t like the cops are s ta rtin g at ground zero, mind you. Nope, the provincial government has said it will kick in $250,000 as its contribution to the six-month $1-million project that will see two helicopters leased over that period. We're all for stopping the carnage of innocent civilians and if the police can justify long-term costs for helicopters, so be it. Members of the air-arm of the Canadian Armed Forces reading about the travails of the Metro force must be scratching their heads. And you've got to feel for them. Here they are, putting their lives on the line during often-risky rescue assignments, while at the same time operating helicopters that are as likely to crash as fly. The latest incident concerns the failure of both engines on a Labrador helicopter while on a training mission over open water. The report on the incident notes that the pilot somehow managed to restart the engines and taxi the craft to shore. Might we suggest that the Department of National Defense set up a simi lar fund to that of Metro Police, but this time for the purchase of new heli copters for our Armed Forces. We wonder if the defense minister would go up in one of his own choppers....not. * H ere they are, putting their lives on the lin e during often-risky rescue assignm ents, w hile at the sam e tim e operating helicopters that are as likely to crash as fly. O P I N I O N 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 S t ill w aitin g fo r long-term health care Re: New Long-Term Care in Oakville: Where is it? Terence Young recently indi cated in his quarterly report that, through the efforts o f his gov ernm ent, "We w ill be getting 200 new long-term care beds in the near future, with another 400 on the way." I ask you, Mr. Young, where One thing that a residential area in our beautiful town does not need is one of the "Big Box" retail outlets. It doesn't m atter w hich a rea - O lde O ak v ille , Bronte, Coronation Park, or Glen Abbey. The resulting disruptions in traffic flow , no ise and safety problems are not the only consid erations that should be discussed. W hat ab o u t the re su ltin g strain on our long estab lished businesses? Retail lumber, nurs eries, hardw are, tool supplies, shelving outlets, glass, m irror, and paint stores are a few that come to mind. S hou ld any re s id e n t o f Oakville wish to shop in a ware house setting, a drive of 10 min utes either east or w est brings them to a group o f these huge outlets that have been set up in appropriate areas, not residential sites. T here is p re se n tly a G len Abbey campaign ongoing to pre vent this situation from develop ing along North Service Road. I would suggest that all mem bers o f the co m m u n ity g e t behind this effort by writing to the Town representatives stress ing your disapproval. It could happen in your neighbourhood next. One final point to make. The retail trade has a term for the type of shopping that stores such as are they? The provincial governm ent has, over the past year, contin ued to m ake an n o u n cem en ts about the developm ent o f new long-term care beds in Halton. 1. Cam Jackson announced, in May 1998, that he was creat ing 650 new nursing home beds in H alto n im m ed ia te ly . How Costco and Home Depot encour age. I t is ca lled "D estina tion Shopping." This means, simply, that the only benefit to surround ing businesses is VERY HEAVY TRAFFIC. Patrons of these ware house stores are only going one place - past your business, to the sto re , and past your business again. The main difference with this proposal is that all o f those W hen governm ents accord their constituents a high level of accessibility, transparency and accountability, effective democra cy is realized. O ver the years, O ak v ille 's Town Council has set the highest standard in all three areas. Fortunately for us, enlightened people willing to make the noble commitment to public life have come forward. Thus, it comes as a surprise that the Lord's Prayer is invoked to open Council m eetings. By all means, the recognition of humani ty's spiritual connectedness to the om niscient, divine force which pervades life everywhere is laud able. However, uttering a prayer in tim ately associated w ith the Christian faith compromises inclu siveness. Potentially, discomfort a rises fo r non- Christian adherents. O akville is a m ulticultural, multi-faith community comprising many of those beds are now in operation? Is the answer 0, 200 or 650? (H in t: The la s t tw o answers are wrong.) 2. On Nov. 27th, Mr. Jackson announced that five new long term care fac ilities w ould be developed in Halton. Which of these fac ilitie s is underw ay? W hat s ite s have been pur- d e s tin a tio n shoppers w ill be going past our backyards. Our benefits: noise, traffic, transport trucks, and exhaust. As m em bers o f the G len A bbey com m unity, we would appreciate your support. Should a sim ilar problem arise in your neighbourhood, you can count on us to reciprocate. a w ide spectrum o f re lig ious beliefs. As well, we have human ists, atheists, agnostics and others whose views circumscribe no par tic u la r faith w hatsoever. Do we not have a fundamental responsibility to respect the sensi bilities of all Oakvillians? For very good reasons, the Lord's Prayer has been banned from regular use in Ontario's pub lic schools. What was acceptable a generation ago, no longer applies. The social context has been altered. Quite literally, the infusion of peoples from every conceivable corner of the world has trans formed us into an infinitely more complex and vibrant society. Such diversity cries out for a heightened sense o f consciousness, one attuned to today's wider band of religious frequencies. W ould a m om ent or two of silent prayer not suffice? Peter Pellier chased? W hat zoning has been approved? W here, exactly, are they going to be? Who is build ing them? 3. In th a t sam e an n o u n ce ment, Mr. Jackson said that the governm ent had "com m itted a total o f $43.7-m illion to m eet the grow ing needs o f H alton seniors. How much has the gov ernment spent since that date? 4. How many beds will there be in each Oakville facility? Mr. Jackson said 133 x 2, or 266 in to ta l. M r. Y oung sa id 200 . Which is it? 5. Mr. Young said we will get 200 long-term beds "In the near future." What does he mean by "the near fu tu re?" One year? Two years? Longer? 6. O a k v ille -T ra fa lg a r M em o ria l H o sp ita l and Extendicare (Canada) Inc. made a joint proposal to the provincial government to develop the "old" Oakville Trafalgar High School site (next to the hospital) into a long-term care facility. G iven tha t they own the land , have approved zoning, share services in a cost-efficient manner, have dem onstrated capabilities, are m eeting the needs o f 34 re s i dents, and have over 200 seniors on a waiting list, why was their proposal not approved in the last ro u n d o f bed a llo c a tio n s? OTMH/Extendicare could have had "sh o v e ls in the g ro u n d " now! Where is Mr. Young's and Mr. Carr's open and public sup port for a proposal that could open m ore beds to se n io rs "immediately?" The fam ilies o f O ak v ille 's neediest seniors call on Messrs. Carr, C hudleigh, Jackson and Young to apply some "common sense" and help get these beds open now! M arcus A . Robertson Residential areas & 'big box' stores don't mix Thom as S. Reavie Silent prayer would suffice at Council Letter of the Week H o m e D e p o t l o c a t i o n i s p r o b l e m i n n o t s t o r e H om e D epot w ants to bu ild ano ther store in Oakville on the North Service Road between Dorval Drive and Fourth Line. They want amendments made to existing zoning laws designed to protect the resi dents of our community and to maintain a quality of life in our homes. We are opposed to the location and believe that there are serious safety issues with this proposal. Increased traffic along Speers Road, Upper Middle Road, Fourth Line, Third Line, and Dorval Drive will compromise safety for area residents. These routes are already congested on weekends and rush hour. The decision to choose this location affects not only resi dents in Glen Abbey but also in established neigh bourhoods south of the QEW between Kerr Street and Third Line. What other community would allow a 'Big Box' store so close to established homes? Our children go to schools within 500 metres of the Fourth Line and N orth S erv ice R oad in te rsec tio n w hich will be widened to accommodate the increased traffic flow. Protect our children! Locate the Home Depot in areas designed for its impact We are not anti Home Depot. In fac t we have been happy customers. We object to the apparent disregard for residential concerns and safety. We object to the altering of our bylaws by deep pocketed corporations; bylaws intended to protect the residents of our com munity and preserve a certain quality of life which is what attracted us to Oakville in the first place. Keep the Home Depot out o f the backyards of the residents of Oakville. Find a location along the retail corridors where they belong. We say find another home for Home Depot. I f you sh a re these co n ce rn s , w rite Mr. Ted •Salisbury, Director of Planning, Town of uakville. Or you can fax him at 905-338-4414. Jo e & Vicki D 'Aurizio Resident likes Home Depot plan Re.Residents don't want Home Depot, Oakville Beaver Wed. March 17th. This looks like a dumb headline. I and many others want the Home Depot as they plan. Did you take a survey, a vote or a poll to authenticate your headline? You become very un-credible when statement is not true. Home Depot will block the highway noise from the QEW when we sleep. We want Home Depot. Michael Bendik E d. n o te : H om e D ep o t h a s now a p p lie d fo r an am endm en t to th e Tow n's O fficial P lan for its N orth Service Road-FourthLine site. Public m eetings w ill be a part o f th a t process. Afghan situation no holocaust Re: petitions aim to help Afghan women, Oakville Beaver March 19th. Would reporter Claudia D 'Souza please elaborate on and substantiate her preposterous and outrageous state ment that "injustices of unadulterated prejudice are being waged against Afghan women, They're being compared to the treatment of Jews in pre-holocaust Poland." Shirley Sibiga R E C O G N I Z E D F O R E X C E L L E N C E B Y . . . The Oakville Beaver Newspapers Association ^ C N A B E S K i SiPurban Newspapers ol America O F F I C I A L M E D I A S P O N S O R F O R : jSilSL'fesair mat..fe-YvHCA illMJj JiNqk BeII Fund ------------TV AUCTION