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Wednesday January 5,2000 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER A7 COMMENT A s lo n g a s t h e y 'r e r e a d in g , e -b o o k s o k a y How odd to realize the next books to read could very w ell be the e-books o f the future. Odd, perhaps for me. B ut not for kids raised on hand-held video gam es, the sam e ones that have my son w illingly heading into the orthodontist office every month. No doubt they w ill take to the new e-books, launched in C anada at the end o f M arch, like anything else: with a shrug. No big deal. R ead a novel on a hand-held palm top? So what. C hoose one, go to a chair, put your feet up and press a button. W ant a w ord looked up in a d ic tionary? You d o n 't even have to m ove, it's that easy. Just look it up with another press o f a button. Best o f all, no need to go around looking for bright light, none o f that w arning tone from your m other that y o u 're going to ruin your eyes read ing in the dim light, no m ore sneak ing a peek at another chapter o f your novel w ith flashlight and blanket late at night: the e-books have a backlight contained w ithin, So what m akes it odd? I think it has to do w ith the process itself. It m ay be m ore portable and, for those hardy law students forced to carry a m illion pounds o f books., e-books are undo u b ted ly the b est thing th at's com e around since litigation. Im agine the ability to carry in your knapsack all the books that w eighed you dow n. And when the p ro f asks you to look som ething up, you d o n 't have to spend tim e rooting about in the knapsack, straining your m us cles and finally thum b through hun dreds o f pages to find it. You ju st press a button and it's all there. It's ju st so m uch more conve nient. But then so is M cD onald's for DIANE HART heaven's sake and look what that charm ing cultural icon has given us as we enter a new m illennium : a tru ly scary clow n called R onald selling us food we shouldn't feed our dogs. Or, the car. The very thing that spew s out tons o f pollution that gives 1 in 5 o f us in this area is another thing we couldn't do w ith out. Just ask all the people driving their SU V 's to Starbucks for a latte. Walk, are you daft? Go back to the past...w e don't have time. And look at the remote control. Imagine getting up and down off the couch to change the channel o f the television. W hat would life be like without them after all? We would be forced to watch all the way through bad ads and the men in our fam ilies w ouldn't be able to sit there and click happily away. It's like the dishwasher. Ask me to go a day without the dishw asher and I 'd seri ously break out in hives, it's that serious. W e're not talking conve nient here. W e're talking life-threatening. Take it away and lose your life. Go ahead, steal the television, pull the cable (please). But touch that dishw asher and yo u 're dead. So I suppose it's all how m uch you value the p a rticu la r c o n v e nience in your life. I know it sounds ridiculous, rash even, but I happen to value books m ore than my dish washer. I may even consider going back to w ashing dishes (ugh) ju st to continue the pleasure o f reading an old-fashioned book w ritten on soonto-be obsolete paper. T hey say, though, the days o f books are soon com ing to an end. With e-books, it's all there at a glance: portable, light, A s p e c ia l t h a n k s to th e b a re b e a rs o f J a n u a ry On the occasion o f the ` polar bears'jumping into Lake Ontario Jan. 1, 2000fo r charity. Ode to the Bares As into the millennium we stagger and slip The Polar Bears mass for their annual dip While spectators shuffle against the chill Witness to contrasting views of a thrill The watchers wait as in veneration To this apparent aberration An ambulance stationed in easy reach Urged me to deny this cultural breach Like jelly the Bares shiver and quake Anticipating their dash to the lake A cry, a roar, and off they went Then bag again; only seconds spent Most make the event practically brief Just in and just out for instant relief One group demonstrates martial arts Letters to the Editor Threatening waters that do not part As for the crowd it's safe to say They will be back a year to the day A mid-winter lunacy; a delightful pause And a helping hand for a worthy cause. M.A. Miller Back to Blakelock this year We are putting together a party that is sure to be a blast from thepast! We are hoping to contact graduates and teachers of Thomas A. Blakelock high school for the years^l987, 1988, 1989 & 1990. This reunion is planned for May 6th, 2000. Currently we are collecting full addresses and phone numbers to contact our peers, but this is a difficult task as many have moved or have new married names. Can you help us? If you are, or know a graduate of T.A. Blakelock from these years, please contact us at tabreunion@hotmail.com or call Sekey at 416 820-9597. user friendly, affordable and small. A nd, as som eone said to me, the w ork is still the work. You can still carry around w ith you the im ages of D ickens or Poe even if you hap pened to read them in a palm top form at, looking up the lush lan guage at a tap o f a finger. The process, they say, is secondary to the w ork itself. And that m ight very well be true. But for me, the reading o f a book is far more than the w ork itself. It's part o f the w hole thing, finding a w onderful one on a shelf and then taking it to a chair in a corner and reading it, flipping back and forth to read a little about the author and back again. And then looking at these sam e books on the sh elf at my hom e, com forting and insulating at the same time. W hat, I have to think, would I do when I am ushered into som eone's living space i f there w eren't books on shelves to read the titles and m ake snap judgm ents about the peo ple who live there? O r w hat about all the people on the G O -train and subw ay...w ouldn't it take away the fun o f m using about w hat they are like ju st by taking a peek at what they read? And really, enough o f the conversations we are all forced to overhear because o f cell phones: is it essential we all know yo u 've em ailed the guy at the office about a m eeting next w eek or learned you have to drop o ff the video on the way hom e? B ut for my kids, it's ju st no big deal. They, too, are book lovers but I have to ask ...w o u ld they read Harry Potter on an e-book. Sure, they say, puzzled. W hy not? W hy not, indeed. O A K V IL L E TOWN OF OAKVILLE CLASS ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Proposed Environmental Assessment File: B-21-99 Notice of Completion of Environmental Study Report * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Town o f Oakville Department o f Public Works' road maintenance and patrol yard located at 2274 Trafalgar Road is to be closed due to its incompatibility with the new adjacent property development and land uses, and other current site limitations. The preferred solution selected by the Town of Oakville to address the problem is to construct a new Central Operations Facility to accommodate the requirements of our road maintenance and patrol yard services along with Parks Maintenance Operations, Forestry Operations and Oakville Hydro fleet maintenance operations at a site zoned for heavy industrial uses which the Town acquired several years ago at 1140 South Service Road, combined with lands recently acquired at 777 Redwood Square. The new facility is expected to be completed by the end of 2000. This project is being planned under Schedule C in accordance with the requirements o f the Class Environmental Assessment for Municipal Road Projects. The Environmental Study Report (ESR) has been completed and by this Notice is being placed in the public record for review. Subject to comments received as a result of this Notice and the receipt of necessary approvals, the Town o f Oakville intends to proceed with the construction of the project. The ESR is available for review at the following location during regular office hours: Town of Oakville Department of Public Works 2274 Trafalgar Road, Oakville, Ont. Reception Counter - Second Floor Further information may be obtained from: Mr. Dave Bloomer, P. Eng. Town o f Oakville Department of Public Works 2274 Trafalgar Road, P.O. Box 310, Oakville, Ontario L6J 5A6 8 4 5 -6 6 0 1 o u n c il C & S t a n d in g C o m m it t e e M e e t in g s I Monday, January 10,2000 Council Meeting Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. Monday, January 17,2000 Planning & Development Council Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. Monday, January 24,2000 Council Meeting Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. T o uchto ne Tuesday, January 18,2000 I Community Services Committee 7:30 p.m. - Oakville Room Administrative Services Comm. | 7:30 p.m. - Bronte Room C o u n c il & C o m m it t e e P hone L in e 8 1 5 -5 9 5 9 NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING File: Official Plan Amendment 173 An amendment to increase the berm and buffer provisions along Regional Road 5 and 25 Please be advised that two public meetings will be held to discuss a proposed Official Plan Amendment. The first meeting will be an information meeting hosted by the Planning Services Department. At this meeting, details o f the proposed amendment will be presented, and public concerns noted. This meeting will take place on Thursday, January 13,2000, commencing at 7:30 p.m. in the Trafalgar Room at Town Hall, 122S Trafalgar Road, Oakville. The second meeting will be a public meeting hosted by Town Council, at which time a staff report and recommendations will be considered. This public hearing will take place on Monday, January 31, 2000, commencing at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall, 1225 Trafalgar Road, Oakville. Any individuals wishing to attend these meetings and speak to this matter are invited to do so. Location - The subject area is located along the south side of Regional Road 5 from Regional Road 25 to Ninth Line, and along the east side o f Regional Road 25 from Upper Middle Road to Regional Road 5. Official Plan - The text of the Official Plan designates the width o f the berm and buffer areas along Regional Roads 5 and 25. Proposal - The Town proposed to widen the berm and buffer area from 9m to 15m. If a person or I public body that files a appeal of a decision in respect of the AREA AFFECTED proposed official plan amendment to the Ontario Municipal Board does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or does not make written submissions before the proposed official plan amendment is adopted, the Ontario Municipal Board may dismiss all or part of the appeal. If you wish to be notified of the adoption of the proposed official plan amend ment, you must make a written request to the undersigned at the Town's Planning Services Department, Town of Oakville, P.O. Box 310,1225 Trafalgar Road, Oakville, ON. L6J 5A6. Tel: 845-6601, Ext. 3025, you must also direct any other written submissions and/or questions to the under signed. A copy of the final staff report, including the proposed Official Plan Amendment, will be available for review in the Clerk's Department as of Monday, January 24, 2000 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. Dated at the Town of Oakville this 5th day of January 2000. Lynne Gough, Manager Long Range Planning Section Planning Services Department W. SERWCC RCMO S O U TH EOUCSTRtAN .< * 3 £ SITE SPEERS RD. Telephone: Fax: E-mail: (905) 845-6601 ext. 3303 (905) 338-4159 dbloomer@town.oakville.on.ca Interested persons may provide written comment to the Town Clerk within 30 days from the date of this notice. If concerns regarding this project cannot be resolved in discussion with the municipality, a person may request that the Ontario Minister o f Environment "bump-up" this project to an individual environmental assessment. "Bump-up" requests must be received by the Minister at the address below within 30 calendar days of this Notice. A copy of the "bump-up" request shall be sent to the Director of Public Works. If there is no "bump-up" request received by February 4,2000, the proposed Central Operations Facility will proceed to construction as outlined in the ESR. Ontario Minister o f Environment 135 St. Clair Avenue, 5th Floor Toronto, Ont. M4C 1P5 This notice issued January 5, 2000. D.A. Bloomer, P. Eng. Assistant Director - Operations Department o f Public Works. ------- 1225 TRAFALGAR ROAD · OAKVILLE, ONTARIO · L6J 5A6