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A6 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday, September 11, 2002 EDITO RIALS AM LETTERS THE OAKVILLE HEAVER 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 337-5610 Circulation: 845-9742 IAN OLIVER P u b lis h e r NEIL OLIVER A ssociate P u b lis h e r TERI CASAS O ffice M a n a g e r JILL DAVIS E d ito r in C h ie f MARK DILLS P rodu ction M a n a g e r KELLY MONTAGUE A dvertising D ire c to r RIZIERO VERTOLLI P h o to g ra p h y D ire c to r STEVE CROZIER C irc u la tio n D ire c to r ROD JERRED Managing E d ito r THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd.. includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser. Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News. Barrie Advance, Barry's Bay This Week. Bolton Enterprise. Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post. Burlington Shopping News. City Parent. Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Ftoutes, Etobicoke Guardian. 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Forever Young, City of York Guardian Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Halton Healthcare ..ONTj.V.'Tr 1oakville galleries | (* C N A Canadian Community Newspapers Association Jingfe B el!F und W elc W a " " Si!* lay For Uto l i.i i imrnm m Om m m a fiM x tcm F A ta s pch SK » Suburban Newspapers of America GiuvUk TV AUCTION FOR BUSINESS EXCELLENCE T h eO a k v ille .M ilto na n dD is tric t One year later It is hard to believe a year has already passed since the events of September 11, 2001. As the anniversary is marked today with ceremonies and the inevitable re broadcast of that surreal video footage of hi-jacked airliners slamming into the twin towers o f New York's World Trade Center, people should spend a moment remembering the day thou sands of innocent souls lost their lives. Ultimately, the passage o f time forces us to consider what, if any thing, we have learned from this moment in history and how it has changed us. Few would argue Sept. 11 awoke people in North America to the reali ty o f a new age in warfare - where terrorist factions like the al Qaeda survive to fight another day simply by spreading out in groups called cells. The subsequent military response to Sept. 11 provided the United States with an enemy often difficult to pin point, capture or destroy. Tracking an adversary who is capable of disappearing within the landscape o f several nations became a proverbial needle in a haystack, where all the bombs in the world are useless if you don't know where to drop them. And while Osama bin Laden was quickly identified as the mastermind and financial broker o f Sept. 11, soon after U.S. troops arrived in Afghanistan, it became clear captur ing or killing this one man wasn't going to be easy and wouldn't put an end to his extremist cause. One could argue the biggest impact o f the attack was to airline travel. Suddenly the prospect o f flying became o f much greater concern to most - especially those flying to or from the U.S. Several major airlines have folded in the year that has elapsed. As for commerce in general, stock markets have certainly been battered this past year, although some would suggest the evaporation of flash-inthe-pan .com companies was sending markets tumbling long before the dev astation o f Sept. 11. One thing most can agree on is that 09/11/01 is a date few people are like ly to forget - even with the passage of time. Like the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the assassi nation o f JFK in 1963, Sept. 11, 2001 is a moment in history indelibly etched in our collective conscious ness. 9/11/01 · THE more things change... 9 /1 1 /0 2 - THE MORE THEY STAY TH E SAME. LETTERS T OTH E ED ITO R Does Oakville deserve Snobtown label? Snobtown? In reading that label recently in the Toronto Star I thought it a bit unfair. Painting the entire community with such a wide brush and making it seem as uncaring and hard hearted as the vocal few that the Beaver gives so much voice to. Then, I read the letter to the editor in Wednesday's Beaver, and now I am not so sure. It seems perfectly all right to slander the poor and underprivileged without giving them a chance. It also seems okay to refer vaguely to research that is obviously not objective and anecdotal at best, so why not Snobtown? It is clear that the objections raised are nothing more than NIMBY. It also is clear that there has been little attempt to understand what the plan for this site is. I found it quite easy to get the information from the Town a while back now and, in ref erence to the letter's `country club' statement, I did not see the plans for a golf course, swimming pool, lounge or any of the things one might find in a country club. Further. I did a little research myself when I thought of the misguided priorities of The Salvation Army as it was suggested in this same letter and on its Web site found their mission state ment, there for every eye to see: `T he Salvation Army, as an international movement, is an evangelical branch of the Christian church. Its message is based on the Bible; its ministry is motivated by love for God and a practical concern for the needs of humanity. Its mission is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, supply basic human needs, provide personal counselling and undertake the spiritual and moral regeneration and physical rehabilitation of all persons in need who come within its sphere of influence regardless of race, colour, creed, sex or age." Could it be that the Sally Ann have had their priorities straight all along? That their plan has been to provide basic human needs? To counsel people? T o help them get back on their feet as is their mission? In investigating the intent of the shelter on the Region's Web site it is clear that the residents are not to be "imported," but will be residents of Halton in temporary need of these services. Perhaps the letter writer needs to do her homework more thoroughly before suggesting she has a clear picture of the sit uation. And, if residents of the area are "chilled" it is only because they are relying on this research which is not objec tive, professional, scholarly, thorough, logical or even respon sible. So, is Snobtown fair? In a community that puts property values before lives, that makes NIMBY and prejudice ok, that wants to sweep their social problems under the rug and hope fully out of town...Yes. There should b a lot of shame in this Town that it has gotten this far. And if there is anyone with Town pride left, they need to take up the cause of the poor, the homeless and at risk. MICHELLE GUNN Lighten up on smoking bylaw This letter is in regard to the smok ing bylaw -- which I do not agree with. The decision to have smoking or non-sm oking in an establishm ent should be solely up to the owner, not the government. I thought we lived in a democracy. Entrepreneurs know what works best for them. They should be able to state on their doors w hether it accepts smoking, non-smoking or both, and to non-smokers, to enter at their own risk. C igarette packages have health warnings on them, but people still buy them. You will never have a smoke-free world. When these entrepreneurs opened for business, they never expected to be slapped in the face, years down the road, with a silly by-law. The government is not only jeop ardizing the livelihood of the owners, but employment for many as well.It is so unfair. This bylaw is a waste of time and energy. The government has far more serious matters it should be dealing with. How about stiffer sentences for young offenders for starters, or drink ing and driving, or driving under the influence of a cell phone. Smoking does not impair your judgement or your vision like drinking too much does, providing you're smoking regular cigarettes. Smokers should have as many rights as non-smokers. Why should the non-smokers be allowed to bully them around. If you can't stand the smoke, get out of the establishment. For your information, I am a nonsmoker, but members of my family smoke and thoroughly enjoy it. Some o f my children chose to smoke, some didn't. Some smoked and quit. It was their choice. I believe in equal rights and enjoy ing what one likes to do. Lighten up and give these entrepre neurs a break. Educators' conference money well spent Shelter critic out of touch Re: Letter to the Editor from Tammy Mulligan, Sept. 4. In reading the coverage of the Salvation Army search for a regional homeless shelter location within Oakville, I can't help wondering why, in this so-called, `enlightened age', we still stereotype all people by their economic and/or social status. According to the letter writer, all res idents of this hostel will be pedophiles, drug abusers or mentally ill people. Her references to `importing' these people into our community make me wonder how in touch with her commu nity she really is. Does she not realize that we have people in Oakville who desperately need this type of accommo dation? Perhaps working at, or even visiting the Food Bank, the Social Services I am the husband of a Halton District School Board ele mentary school principal. Although my wife, regrettably, was unable to attend the conference that was the subject matter of your Aug. 30 article and editorial (being engaged on other education-related business elsewhere), I feel moved to respond to your comments. Your approach to the issue was craven and irresponsible. Principals and vice-principals are the leaders of the schools that our children attend. It is their knowledge, expertise, skills and commitment, more than that of any other single individ uals, that determine the quality of education that our children receive. Annually, they, like the leaders of many other organ izations, attend a conference that is designed to keep them abreast of current developments and to improve their ability to serve their communities. As well, the conference assists them in building team spirit, commitment and, in these trou bled times, much needed morale in advance of the school year. As anyone who has ever been involved in such confer ences is aware, these goals cannot be achieved by conducting such activities - as Burlington trustee Peggy Russell suggests - in the workplace. The conference is not a frill or a perk. It is work that takes C. FERGUSON the principals and vice-principals - without their spouses away from their homes for two days in the summer to prepare for the coming school year. Further, by the standards of these things in any other comparable sized organization, the amount that was spent - and the amount of the board's budget that is offices at the Region, the shelter for devoted to such activities - is a pittance. Finally, it is worth abused women and families, might help noting that the costs of the conference were largely funded by Ms. Mulligan open her eyes to the real the principals and vice principals themselves out of a $200 ity that not all of the people are as for professional development benefit that forms part of each of tunate as she thinks. their individual contracts. Researching other shelters could be Although some of these points appear to be recognized in comparing apples and oranges unless all your editorial, they are certainly not reflected in its title or in of the facts are known. its overall position. Instead, your concern is with the "percep Pointing fingers at or laying blame at tion." May I suggest that you have it exactly wrong. Should the feet of anyone is a very dangerous it not be the role of the paper to educate, inform and stand up practice, as dangerous as making other for what it believes is right, rather than to assist in the shap people saviours. ing of a perception with which it appears to disagree on the Hopefully, the committee that has merits? Or is it that a less inflammatory approach is unlikely been struck to look at this issue can do to attract the attention of your readers? so in a manner that will make us all of Lastly, is it any wonder that fewer and fewer educators are proud to be part of a community that willing to make the sacrifices necessary to become principals cares about others less fortunate than and vice-principals? ourselves. Ultimately, a school board, like the society of which it JUDIE PRESTON forms a part, gets the quality of leadership it deserves. A 30-Y E A R CONCERNED RESIDENT OF OAKVILLE RUSSELL GOODFELLOW Pud r ^ H A T ARE Y ou, EATIN6, MAX 2 By STEVE NEASE Editor's Note: Our editorial did not question the value of the conference, but the rational of holding it at an out-of-town ski-resort at a cost of $300 per person. We still believe it could have been held at a Halton District School Board facil ity at less expense and still have been effective. IS THAT A U # "WIS IS WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE fbR BREAKFAST, HON? THE MOST IMPORTANT ----------MEAL OF T H E -P A Y / A BoWL OF SU&ARY s^-sCEREAL ISNT MUCH OF A S IA R T /^ Fam ily says thanks for helping m other Just over a month ago my mother had a spill out of her wheelchair in front of The Bam Supermarket. On behalf of my mother and myself I would like to extend our gratitude to all that came to our aid. It was truly heart-warming to see so many people respond in our time of need. Employees from the mall and passers-by did everything from comforting my traumatized mother and daughter, call 911, providing shade from the sun, and applying towels to wounds. I would also like to thank the ambulance attendants. They were professional in their care while taking the time to com fort and calm my mother. The reaction and compassion of the people that helped us that day, in a time when people tend to mind their own business and assume someone else will take the initiative, really moved us. Thank you to all of you. DAYNA O'KELLY, AND FAMILY