The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Wednesday December 20, 2000 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER A7 COMMENT Speeding up to slow down for the holidays I am convinced the holiday season is little more than a last minute, har ried, over the top hunt: frantic search es for everything from lost Dead Cow gloves to a costume for the school play; from where to find the stockings to the best place to hang the Christmas cards; for the very best Christmas tree that you end up lugging around the back and all its branches get caught in the fence to the dog's leash, out buried in the snow, never to be found again. We are, like most families, well into the holiday season: refereeing the endless, futile sword fights between kids old enough to know better than to gleefully bang each other over the heads with cardboard rolls from wrap ping paper. We dutifully wrap all 11 teacher gifts and then zoom off, trying to find a parking space at the mall and then, when we don't, have to fork out a $40 parking fine in downtown Oakville (and a merry Christmas to you too, Town of Oakville!). At least, at the very least I grumble, elbowing another shopper out of the way, at least my new floor will be in place for Christmas. At least we won't have my 86-year-old great aunt slip ping and sliding across the old floors, trying to dodge the dog. And then a message on my answer ing machine tells me the news: my floor man is behind schedule on anoth er project; he can't come until after Christmas. I begin to weep. Oh hum bug. Like the snow that keeps falling, DIANE HART we are, at this time of year, in danger of being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of details: pick up times at pools, arenas, school practices, parties, juggle the schedule, fit in another last minute change. Call the coach; call the school, what time is the play; what time is the practice? I know in my heart it is fun, why sure it is. I just wish I could slow down to enjoy it. An editor on the phone asks for a quick clarification, can I e-mail you some changes and get your com ments... why sure, I respond, in my sweetest voice as I run through the house trying to find the exact shade of grey for the school costume I only heard about the evening before. Any idea of what time the play is, I ask my son who is notorious for hand ing me notes about three weeks after wards. After dinner, he answers, help fully. The phone rings again. Why sure, I say to another editor, I'd love nothing better than to head out the door to a last minute assignment, brush the snow off the car, drop my son off at the school with his teacher gifts, (oh hurrah, his friend's mother has kindly offered to drive the boys down to the school in the falling snow), take the dog for a walk and then find the lost gloves, hat and snow pants left at a friend's house on the weekend. We have our lighter moments of course. We all spend an enormous amount of time killing ourselves with laughter over a pamphlet that came through the door about Outward Bound. "Look," screams Kate to her broth er. "They even have a 50 plus age cat egory. Can you imagine them rock climbing?" They lean over, laughing. Drew says: "Call it heart attack on a hill." "Or, what about, look out below...here comes my false teeth." Yes, we are all screamingly funny at this time of year. While the pace increases, the fos sils of the family look forward to the more sedate things: listening to Louis Armstong's version of The Night Before Christmas, a gem recording my husband found and squirreled away for the evening. There is Hanukkah on Friday evening where we nibble the fabulous latkes, all telling each other it's only once a year. The menorrah is lit; the dreidel is spun. And then, just a couple of days later this year, it is Christmas Day. We'll read The Christmas Carol, watch A Child's Christmas in Wales and then look forward to devouring the turkey I've already ordered. Outside, the snow continues to fall. It is sure to be a white Christmas this year. Great skiing; great just to be out doors. I know it's going to be a great holiday. I just have to make it that far without losing something. PS. Anyone know where the snow shovel is? Meet the Team A C O N T IN U IN G " C A N A D A 'S SERIES PROFILING THE STAFF OF BEST C O M M U N IT Y NEWSPAPER" Margarita Reyes Margarita recently joined the Oakville Beaver circulation department as a customer service representative responsible for ensuring efficient delivery of the newspaper. As a local high school student, Margarita finds a job with the local paper an enjoyable fit to her busy lifestyle. " I e n jo y th e f r ie n d ly a tm o s p h e r e a n d I lik e th e e x p e rie n c e o f d e a lin g w it h p e o p le ." program at White Oaks Library and is a member of Loyola's Concert band. She is also a member of the Philippine Choral Society of Mississauga Children's Choir. When not busy with the news paper, Margarita enjoys reading, playing the piano and clarinet, singing and playing with her 2 dogs. Margarita was a volunteer for the summer reading O a k v il l e Experiencing New Zealand something to shout about So there I am, sittin' in a rough dunny on a bloody cold glacier in the land of Aotearou, boiling the billy and havin' a bit of a hui with a tramper named Aaron and as we smacked mugs we both agreed, this was just ripping! Sweet as meat! Choice! Primo, mate! I know what you're thinking. You're thinking Bill, you finally made i t ... all the way to the top floor of the Clark Institute of Psychiatry in Toronto. No actually, I'm on a natural glacier at the foot of Mount Cook, New Zealand where Sir Edmund Hillary practised for his history-making climb to the top of Mount Everest. People speak English a little differently here. The dunny is a hiker's hut, the billy is the teapot, a hui is a chat, a tramper is a hiker who overnights and ripping, sweet, choice and primo are slang superlatives that do not come anywhere close to describing the splendidness that is this nation known as New Zealand. On a Sunday hike up to the glacier, Aaron carried "the bag that saves lives" with extra clothes for both of us to ward off a sudden Antarctic blast, as well as a full assortment of mountain rescue emergency equipment. I wore my trusty green knapsack which usually carries library books and on this day became "the bag that saved lunch." I had matches to boil the billy. If you took the most spectacular scenery Canada has to offer and collapsed it all into two islands totaling less than a half the size of Manitoba, added 50 million sheep, subtracted 27 million people, threw in South Pacific weather along with a national pastime of jum p ing off bridges - presto! New Zealand. Imagine Northern Ontario with South Carolina's climate and a lot of really baaaaaad jokes on the side. Whereas it took me four days in Ireland to come across a person who did not smoke, it took me five days in New Zealand to find somebody who did. And that was a British tourist. Three million Kiwis, all healthy, hardy, tanned and more active than some of their volca noes, none of them have ever looked at a steep bridge over a rocky canyon that they didn't immediately want to jump off. With bungy jumping a Kiwi creation, they just assume you also want to tie a cord around your ankles and experience the rare sensation of gagging on your own heart. "Now let's say the bridge is collapsing," I explained, "or the plane is on fire, sure, then I'm willing to con sider jum ping." Green rolling hills dotted with white wool and chest nut brown race horses, cold clear rivers teeming with lake tout, azure seas where huge seals loll on rocks in the sun, mountains spotted with deer and Moreno sheep, small frontier towns where everybody owns a fly fish ing pole and a sailboat - when they call this "The Eden Down Under" they're not exaggerating a bit. I have never met a people so quietly self-assured of themselves, intiipately aware of their nation and its future, knowledgeable about every plant, bird and ani mal on the islands and proud to the point of telling a stranger how much they love their country. I think the vast majority of Canadians love their country, but to actually say so is somehow embarrassing. And if you go, and you must, remember the language is English with a comic twist. Don't ask for a napkin in a restaurant unless you've a baby's bum that needs some serious looking after. It's serviette. A bathroom is where you bathe, a loo is the relief station. On a long hike across the Abel Tasman National Park with it's granite gorges, foaming waterfalls and dense rainforest, I overheard my guide ask a woman: "Did you spot the bitch yet?" And I thought to myself, after three days together, this group had become way too familiar with each other. As it turns out, the woman had been trying to spot a cottage on the coast she'd stayed in 20 years before. On the North Island, such a rough hewn summer home is known as a "bach," as in a bachelor pad. On the South Island the same structure is called a "crib." But if it's a really nice one it's a holiday home. Between a bach, a crib, a cabin, a cottage, a camp, a dunny, a lodge and a lake hut - isn't this the one thing the United Nations could agree on and come up with one single name for? And I can't tell you what the word fanny means in B eaver C A N A D A 'S BEST C O M M U N IT Y NEWSPAPER 2000 C C N A Better Newspapers Com petition W in te r B r id g e M is s is s a u g a - O a k v ille B r id g e C e n tr e & T h e A m e r ic a n C o n tr a c t B r id g e L e a g u e F o r B e g i n n e r s . . . 10 weeks, $134 WILLIAM THOMAS All The World's A Circus Kiwi, but if you use it in the company of women, they'll immediately start lining up to see who gets to slap you first. Tea in New Zealand could mean a meal and if they're doing that "boiling the billy" thing, please make sure it is tea and not some sort of revenge meal featuring a well-done travel writer, who may have offended some of the locals. I appreciate it. Excuse me now, I'm off to the pub to sink a few and I believe it's my shout. Lessons The Bridge Centre has offered the best in bridge lessons fo r over sixteen years. Monday evenings beginning January 15th Wednesday afternoons beginning January 17th F o r " R u s t y " P l a y e r s . . . 8 weeks, $114.00 Wednesday evenings beginning January 17th Thursday mornings beginning January 18th Please call <905»8 2 0 -5 7 2 8 a > 2. 3. O A K V IL L E NOTICE OF SURPLUS AND SALE RE PART OF BLOCK 20, PLAN 20M-589, 845-6601 TAKE NOTICE THAT: The Council for the Corporation of the Town of Oakville at its meetings of September 25.2000, declared certain lands surplus. These lands are described as follows: Part of Block 20, Plan 20M-589, Town of Oakville, Regional Municipality of Halton, designated as Part 2 on Reference Plan 20R-13833. This notice is in compliance with the Town's By-law 1995-71. Copies of Reference Plan 20R-13833 showing the lands to be sold are available for inspection at the office of the Manager. Realty Services at the address shown below, by appointment by calling 845-6601, extension 3022 during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.). lln c ili'd 1 c fc d iiy English Riding School BERTIN STABLES 827-4678 3445 Dundas W. (Hwy. #5), Oakville (1-1/2 Miles West ol Hwy. #25) Maynard Millman, AACI, P.App.,Manager, Realty Services, Legal Department The Corporation of the Town of Oakville 1225 Trafalgar Road, Oakville, Ontario L6J 5A6 NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING Applicant: Owner: F ile : website www.bertinstables.com e-mail: bertin@ webtv.net Hicks-Pettes Architect Inc. 83 Reynolds Street Inc. Z .1 7 1 3 .1 2 T R A N Q U IL IT Y C R E M A T I O N S E R V IC E S IN C . "The Funeral H om e A ltern a tive" Low cost direct cremation & burial services Pre-arrangement plans available Monuments & Markers available for all cemeteries - 24 Hour service 1840 Lakeshore Road W. - Mississauga Please be advised that a public meeting will be held to discuss a proposed Zoning Amendment as submitted by the above-noted applicant. The public meeting will be hosted by Town Council at which time the Staff Report and recommendation will be considered. This meeting will take place on Monday January 15,2001, commencing at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall, 1225 Trafalgar Road. Oakville. Any individuals wishing to attend this meeting and speak to this matter are invited to do so. An explanation of the purpose and effect of the proposed application, describing the lands to which the proposed application applies, and a key map showing the location of the lands to which the proposed application applies can be found below. If a person or public body that files a notice of appeal of a decision in respect of the proposed zoning amendment to the Ontario Municipal Board does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or does not make written submissions before the proposed zoning amendment is approved, the Ontario Municipal Board may dismiss all or part of the appeal. Any questions or concerns may be addressed to: Planning Services Department Town of Oakville P.O. Box 310, 1225 Trafalgar Road Oakville, ON L6J 5A6 Attention: Leigh Musson, Planning Technician Telephone: 845-6601, extension 3371 E-mail: lmusson@town.oakville.on.ca (9 0 5 ) 8 5 5 -7 5 6 5 Chris Silverthorne - Funeral Director WANTED who want to enjoy 1 Oakville Power and Sail Squadron is again offering its popular winttr/spring boating courses starting soon: Registration: Oakville Trafalgar High School, 1460 Devon Road, Dates: Monday, Jan. 8th, and Thursday, Jan. U th, 2001 Courses begin: Mon., Jan. 15th, 2001 A fu ll date of courses will be offered. For more information, call us a t : (905) 469 - 3167 (Leave menage and we 'll call you back) A copy of the final staff report, including the proposed zoning amendment, will be available ROAD EAST for review in the Clerk's Department as on L A K E S H O R E Monday, January 8,2001 between the hours £ of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. 1 location: 83 Reynolds Street - The subject « / > lands are located at the northeast comer ol SUBJECT LANDS | Reynolds Street and Robinson Street in the Ola S3 REYNOLDS ST. Oakville Community, East o f Creek. The lands are legally described as Part of Lot D, Block 33, Plan 1, Town of O akville, Regional R O B I N S O N S TR E E T Municipality of Halton. A narrow strip of land from 87 Reynolds Street, immediately adjacent to 83 Reynolds Street, is proposed to be acquired to accommodate a portion of the proposed development Orilrlal Plan: Figure HI - Land Use designates the subject lands `Central Business District' Zoning: The subject lands are zoned `C3R - Central Business District - Residential' subject to Special Provision 89(223) which outlines site-specific regulations for the existing threestorey multi-use building at 83 Reynolds Street. Proposal: The proposed Zoning Amendment is necessary to amend Special Provision 89(223) and allow new site-specific regulations to apply to the subject lands. The owner and applicant propose to renovate the existing three-storey multi-use building for commercial and office uses only. They also propose to build a three-storey semi-detached dwelling (2 units), which would be attached to the rear of the existing building and face Robinson Street Please Note: This proposal may be subject to changes or modifications at the public hearing on Monday, January 15, 2001. Dated at the Town of Oakville this 20th day of December, 2000. John G hent Manager, Current Planning Section. Planning Services Department for full details check our NEW web site at: http://oakville.cps-ecp.org/ Now's the time to get your certification, and learn the boating skills to ensure your safety and increase your enjoyment next boating season. 1225 TRAFALGAR R O A D · OAKVILLE, O N TA R IO · L6J 5A6