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A6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday September 13, 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 DirectorofPhotography M etrOand Printing. P u tish in g & D istributing U d .. includes: A jax/P ckem g News Advertiser, Alkston HeraKVCouner. A rthur Enterprise News. Barrie Advance. BarryS Bay The W eek. Bolton Enterprise. Bram pton Guardan. B u rlin g to n P o st. B u rlin g to n S h o p p in g N ew s. C ity P arent. C oingw oodW asaga Connection. East Mark M ro r, Erin A d o c a te 'C a rtry R ou te s. E to b ic o k e G u a rd ia n . F lam borough P o st. G eorgetow n hdependent/Acton Free Press. Hamston Review, H uone Busness Tm es. K ingston T he W eek. U ndsay T his W eek. M arkham E cnom et & Sun. M idiand/P enetanguishm e M irror. M ilto n C anadian C ham pion. M ilto n Shopping News. M esesauga Business Tm es. M esesauga News, Napanee G lid e . N ew m arket/A i/ora Era-Bam er. N orthim berland News. N orth York M irror. O akvie Beaver. O akvie Shoppng News. O dtm ers Hockey News. O r*a Today. Oshawa/VM titby/Clarington Port Perry The Week. Owen S a n d Tribune. Palm erston O bserver. Peterborough The W eek. P cto n C a n ty G uide. R ichm ond H ili/T hom hil/V aughan Liberal. S carborough M irror. StouftvieTJxbndge Tribune. Forever Y a n g . Q ty o f York Guardian OPINION RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: O 1 ^ 1 H 1 YMCA O F O A K V tX E £>tzep I Strategies for ITT F^E m J'inoIe Bdl FiiNd LCOM E' 'A G O N ltt> ..........t JAthena | JAmard e - & 7V& ^ O r r[P 467 Speers Rd., Oakville O n t L6K 3S4 (905) 8 4 5 -3 8 2 4 Fax: 3 3 7 -5 5 6 7 Classified Advertising: 8 4 5 -2 8 0 9 Circulation: 8 4 5 -9 7 4 2 · C N A f /i Canadian Community Newspapers Association _ TH E B R O N T E I U T T E R F L Y 4 TV AUCTION United Way of Oakville 0 ()he (Sakvilte (A w a r d s FOR BUSINESS EXCELLENCE Newspapers of i S K t Suburban O N T A R I O town or|o a«m u C h ild ren 's C h o ir | oakville galleries | m m jwbteWitt P C *UB U S IN E S S K T H E A P T S E d ito ria ls Pragmatism lost O k a y , so y o u 're J o e C la r k , le a d e r o f th e fe d e ra l P ro g re s s iv e C onservative party and new ly-elected M P for the N ova Scotia riding of K ings-H ants and w ant to have a m eeting Party loyalty has o f yo u r O ntario caucus. Just one problem ...you d o n 't have one. become a thing of You used to have one...just one, in the p e rs o n o f Jim J o n e s w h o m y o u to s s e d the past both in fro m y o u r c au cu s fo r g e ttin g too chum y provincial, but w ith the C anadian A llian ce party. So the M arkham M P d ecided to jo in A lliance as especially federal, its only sitting m em ber in O ntario. politics. W hat's a Joe to do? W hat can a Joe do? Just about anything is better than doing nothing but if C lark thinks h e's going to have the luxury o f seeing MPs o f other parties rushing o v er to his side, h e's sadly mistaken. Party loyalty has becom e a thing o f the past both in provincial, but especially federal, politics. T his reality has seen the Tory Quebec presi dent and others in that province turn to the A lliance as has M anitoban Brian P allister w ho ran against C lark for the PC leadership and intends to run fo r th e A llian ce in the next federal election. Q uebec Tory M P A ndre H arvey fled the party to sit as an Independent and N ew foundland M P Bill M atthew s crossed over to the Liberal side last year. A side from the L iberals' 157 seats throughout the country, A lliance is anchored in the w est w ith 57 seats, the Bloc Q uebecois is entrenched in th at province, holding 44 seats and the N ew D em ocratic Party, strug gling to rise from the ashes, holds 20 ridings. And bringing up the rear are the Tories w ith ju st 16 seats, w hile five M Ps are sitting as indepen dents. C lark says his party has a strong base and a strong future...perhaps it's tim e Joe tem p ered his u nfettered optim ism for a m ore pragm atic view. 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. L 6 K 3 S4 Price ofparkinglot can't onlybem easuredindollars I guess business isn't awfully good downtown - the Downtown Oakville BIA is organizing a oneday Autum n Festival prom otion and their M arketing Coordinator has written to me, an artist, invit ing me to take space on a table somewhere to exhibit my work, as part of The Art Exhibition. Do a rtists raise the tone - so they d e m o n s tra te th e b re a d th and d e p th of The O a k v ille C o m m u n ity ? Is th is w hy they h av e in c lu d e d T he A rt Exhibition? I don't do pastel portraits-while-U-wait, after all. The M c L a re n -B a rn e s G a lle ry on R ey n o ld s S tre e t in d o w n to w n O a k v ille a lre a d y e x h ib its and sells my work and that of 40 other artists from Oakville and across Canada. H elen B arnes, the ow ner, a very active, much-recognized and highly respected member of the O akville b usiness and cultural communities, ten years ago con verted an old house into a gallery of light-filled spaces ideal for dis playing art, which could easily be seen from the street through large windows. A successful gallery certainly does raise the tone of any area and the McLaren-Barnes Gallery brings many people into the downtown core. H o w ev er, th is D ow ntow n Oakville Business Improvement Area which wants artists to take part in its Autumn Festival mar keting event has, in partnership with the Town of Oakville, just put the McLaren-Barnes Gallery out of business. The Gallery must close September 30, because on Oct. 1st it is going to be razed. To make way for parking. The property that the Gallery sits on went on the market in the spring for $1,200,000, and the BIA pressed the Town of Oakville to buy it to make a paved parking lot to encourage people to shop downtown. The property already provides parking, much of it used by dow ntow n m erch an ts w ho were paying rent to the property owner, and there is a municipal parking lot adjacent to it. The a p p ro p ria te Tow n c o m m ittee apparently thought it a good idea to have more parking under its control, decided that the Gallery would have to be torn down in o rd er to p ro d u ce ev en m ore spaces, and approved the p u r chase. I'm told municipal parking lots make a lot of money for the Town - o f course this one will have to, co n sid erin g the price paid. T h ere are so m any issu es involved here that the mind reels, but apparently forcing a thriving business to close wasn't a issue in the minds of the merchants of the BIA and the Town parking com mittee. Who ARE these people? Letter of th e W eek Development decision about quality of life I write to acknowledge the e-mail copy of your letter to the editor regarding growth, and whether existing residents had been consulted. I recognize the legitimate concerns regarding growth, the size of Oakville in the years ahead and the quality of life we are to share. 1. )Re: A doption o f the Land Use Study North of Highway 5, which to you means "work enthusiastically toward Oakville doubling it's present size over the next ten years". I do hear your concern. The plan accommodates 55,000 persons which is 39 percent of our current popula tion, not a doubling and may ultimately represent less than a quarter of the Townis population by 2021. It is forecast ed that the build-out of Oakville will take another 30 years. In perspective, the area south of Dundas Street received this same status 20 years ago and although it looks like we have filled that envelope, there is still a number of years worth of development which may occur. The summation by consultant Ray Simpson and Planning Director Tecf Salisbury, supported by the majority of council, saw the adoption differently. 2. Re: Growth. Oakville voluntarily commissioned Hemson to help us position Oakville's growth in the most balanced and controlled manner possible. In this way the Town would continue being proactive rather than reactive to the land use applications of the land owners, within the (See `Politicians' page A7) Sally Jackson P e o p le w h o c a r e a b o u t t h e ir la w n s g e t t in g b a d r a p Several recent letters from V. Carley have expressed strong opinions about lawns and the pest management control products that are available to protect them. This response will address some o f the misinformation that has been provided. Law ns provide m any benefits to people and the environment. Most people recognize the aesthetic bene fits th at w ell m a in ta in e d law n s pro d u ce. Healthy lawns enhance the natural beauty of a landscape, increase property values and improve people's moods and outlook on life. Many people, however, do not realize that law ns also p ro d u ce m any b en efits to our environment. Healthy lawns are prolific oxy gen producers and they absorb pollutants like carbon dioxide and dust from the air. A 225m sq. law n w ill release sufficient oxygen to meet the needs of a family of four. The roots o f the grass plants further work to stabilize soil and provide an excellent means of soil erosion control. Lawns also produce a cool ing effect on the landscape helping to sub sta n tia lly red u c e air c o n d itio n in g n eeds. Healthy turfgrass areas further help to purify ground water supplies. The roots and thatch layer in a lawn acts as a natural filter remov ing impurities from the water and improving ground w ater quality. Law ns also trap and hold rainw ater in place preventing surface water runoff. Lawns are relatively simple and inexpen sive to maintain. Some of the key practices that contribute to promoting a healthy lawn include the following. Proper cultural prac tices such as mowing at a height of at least 2.5 in. and watering deeply and infrequently to avoid drought stress are essential in pro m oting a healthy law n. Supply adequate nutrition through regular fertilization and maintaining suitable soil conditions by core a e ra tin g (w hen n ecessary ) are also very im p o rtan t p ra c tic e s th at help pro m o te a h ealth y law n. P rotecting a lawn from an infestation of pests such as weeds or insects is also a very important component in ensuring a healthy lawn. Removal of weeds and some lawn insects can be done m echanically by hand or with other equipment, however this method is impractical and labour-intensive. Some weeks can be very difficult to eradicate by hand because they reproduce by rhizomes or other vegetative parts. If these structures are not completely removed, the weeds will re-grow. Sim ilar to managing weeds, there are no non-chemical products or natural alter natives that are effective and registered (with H ealth C anada) fo r contro llin g an insect in festatio n such as chinch bugs or w hite grubs. Where a serious insect problem occurs and is not addressed, expensive reseeding or re-sodding practices are often necessary. Weeds and other pests can be safely and effectively controlled using a governm entregulated pest control material provide that the products are applied and stored according to the directions. Anyone who chooses to pro tect their lawn and does not feel comfortable handling or storing a pest management prod uct can consider hiring a licenced and trained professional. This will ensure that the prod ucts are used in a responsible manner. Pest management products registered (by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency of Health Canada) for use on home lawns pos sess a wide margin of safety towards people, pets and the environment when applied and stored according to th eir d irections. Pest M anagem ent products are subject to very strict safety standards and in many cases are subject to more testing than pharmaceutical drugs. Although these products should only be used when needed, they provide valuable tools to homeowners and lawn care profes sionals in helping them protect lawns, sports fields and other recreational turfgrass areas. Information regarding the pesticides registra tion process and product safety standards can be obtained by called the Pest Management Regulatory Agencies information service at 1-800-267-6315. Trafalgar Rd. is gridlock alley If you drive on Trafalgar Road south from Cornwall, or north from Lakeshore Road, you may be interested in some facts. This section of road is the busiest residential road in Oakville, with over 20,000 vehicles using it every day-that's more than 10,000 vehicles per lane. An identifiable trend is taking place. At either end of the road there used to be small bunches of vehicles during early morning, lunch-time and late afternoon, probably waiting for the traffic lights to change. These small bunches of vehicles have grown in number and longer in distance, in part because homeowners want to return to their homes, parents want to take their children to the local school, or pick them up. They are blocking traffic having to make a left hand turn. Traffic is almost stopped for quite some time in both direc tions, in the morning, around lunch and in the afternoon. Trafalgar Road south is in gridlock for much of the day. Residents have noted that more and more frustrated drivers are going into their driveways, to turn around and go the other way (if it is still open). If you feel that you are wasting your time stopped on this road, waiting for traffic to move, you might want to be clever and plan to use a faster route to go south or north. The Town has recently issued an official map of Oakville. Pick one up, it costs a loonie. It will help you find a faster alternate north-south route to use in south Oakville. Michael J. Kernaghan Pud by Steve Nease R.W. Szymanis Ode to a Tiger The follow ing lines are paraphrased from a work by the E n g lish po et W illiam B lak e. A fte r w atch in g the final 18 holes o f the Bell C anadian O pen, especially the approach at the 18th hole, there may actually be a grain o f truth in these words. To Tiger W oods Tiger, Tiger burning bright On the g o lf links o f delight With such im m ortal hand and eye You never have an unplayable lie. " M ichael Miller