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A6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday June 23, 1999 The Oakville Beaver OPINION 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 M etrdand Printing, Pubishing & D istributing L id., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, A lston HerakTCouner. Barrie Advance, Barry's Bay This Week. Bolton Enterprise. Brampton Guardan. Burlington Post. Burfngton Shopping News. City Parent. CoingwoodW asaga Connection. East York Mirror, Erin Advocata'Country Routes. Etobicoke Guardan, Ram boroucfi Post. Georgetown Independent/Act on Free Press. H uorta Business Times, K ingston This W eely Lindsay This W eek. M arkham Ecnom ist & Sun. M idland/P enetanguishine M irror, M ilton Canadian C ham pion. M ilton Shopping News. M sscsauga Busness Tm es. Mesissauga News. Napanee G ude, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner. Northumberland News. North York KArror. C ekvie Beaver. O akvie Shopping News. C idtm ers Hockey News. Cnka Today. Oshawa/W hitby/Ciarington Port Perry This Week. Owen S a rd Tribune, Peterborough This W eek. P icton C ounty G uide. R ichm ond H ilt/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal. Scarborough M inor. StouffviBe/Uxbridge T ritx re . Forever Young. City o f Vbrk Guardan 467 Speers Rd., Oakville O nt L6K3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: E d i t o r i a l s Oakville's Bird Lady Every year at about this time, usually very close to a deadline, the phone would ring and before we could utter a word, a voice on the other end would say, "You know who I am, I'm for the birds." And then Pat Smith, Oakville's Bird'Lady, would abruptly ask the editor to write about the dangers of pesticides on birds, or put a little mention in the paper about setting some water out for the birds during a dry spell. While she was demanding, her heart was always in the right place. She was a friend of the birds. Pat Smith died on Saturday, and her loss is felt in Oakville. In her own way, pat Smith helped put Oakville on the map. Stories on Oakville's Bird Lady have appeared in newspapers and on tele­ vision across Ontario and Canada. For many years she was a familiar and important part of the fabric of Oakville. For 40 years she nursed thousands of sick and injured birds back to health, first in Mississauga and later at her home on Brookfield Crescent overlooking Lake Ontario. Over the years, thousands of birds were brought to Smith's home for care. Many of the birds nursed back to health were taken to Mountsberg Wildlife Centre where they were released. Others, those permanently injured, were kept at her home. At the height of her unnofficial bird sanctuary, she would be looking after as many as 25 birds at once and about 700 birds on a yearly basis. Through her presentations to schools and libraries, and visits by Girl Guides, Brownies, and Boy Scouts, Smith passed on her knowledge and love for birds to thousands of Oakville residents. In her latter years, Smith grew more reclusive and rarely ventured from her home.And while some may feel sadness for her lack of human companionship, we can take some comfort in knowing that she was always surrounded by those who meant the most to her...the birds. 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 Through her presentations to schools and libraries, and visits by Girl Guides, Brownies, and Boy Scouts, Smith passed on her knowledge and love for birds to thousands o f Oakville residents. STILLTHESAME.IN EITHER OFFICIAL LANGUAGE"/ . T o w n c a n h e l p h o u s e t h e p o o r Re: Food Banks R ising: Support I agree w ith M ayor Ann M ulvale's statem ent that food banks are not the long-term answer to poverty. Families paying more than 30% of their income for hous­ ing means that they cannot afford food. In the past, it was a Canadian value that families had an intrinsic right to decent, affordable housing. Given the outcome of the election, I do not believe that creating low income housing is a priority for this government. Therefore, instead of waiting for the endless debates and pre­ dictable rhetoric that will occur between the various levels of gov­ ernments, I suggest that the Town of Oakville make a commitment to working towards solving the hous­ ing problems for some of the fami­ lies currently living here. I urge the Mixed messages While a lot of urban Canadians shudder at the thought of 12-17- year-olds carrying firearms and hunting, our federal government is apparently encouraging this sce­ nario. The Canadian Wildlife Service is an agency of the federal govern­ ment. They are planning a Youth Hunt Day in Quebec. About one week prior to the regular start of the duck and goose hunting season, youths between 12-17 will be encouraged to get involved in hunting. An adult must accom pany e ither one or two young hunters, and they all must have a certificate of authorization for handling firearms. Here in Ontario, pollsters were sure that when the Harris govern­ ment approved a system of apprentice hunters, it would cost him heavily with the voters. They were apparently wrong. Ottawa is seemingly swinging from one side of the firearm spectrum to the to other with this latest announce­ ment. Peter Sticklee politicians to follow the example of M etro Council to allow the implementation of more basement apartments. The existing approval process is frustratingly bureaucratic and slow. Safety standards must be ensured. However, speaking from personal experience, this is not a task that I would willingly undertake ever I am writing in response to the comments of some Milton coun­ cillors upon presentation of the report, "When the Bough Breaks" -- a study of Halton area social assistance recipients. I would like to thank co u n c illo rs Rick Malboeuf and Jack Dennison for articulating exactly the attitude that assures the continued exis­ tence of a "welfare class." While acknowledging the pos­ sible merits of providing recre­ ational programs for children in families who receive social assis­ tance, they state that such expen­ ditures would be a "hard sell" to taxpayers. The idea being that it isn't fair for hard-working, tax- paying people to have to pay for programs while others get to send their children for free. It instinc­ tively offends our sense of fair play and erodes our basic notion of equality to think that someone is getting something for nothing. I believe that Mr. Malboeuf and Mr. D ennison are exactly right in im plying that these are widely held views. again! I urge our councillo rs to demonstrate some political will towards developing affordable housing, by re-examining the cur­ rent by-laws and actively encour­ age the development of basement apartments. This would be a start and, at least, show that they are sincerely listening. It will not be Unfortunately, they are also short-sighted views that ultimately threaten our hard-working, tax- paying community. The report presented by Dr. Browne states that one-third of children from social assistance families have behaviour problems. It takes very little effort to understand the drain these children represent to an already strapped education sys­ tem, or to project the future cost on the penal and judiciary sys­ tems. It is well-known that a dol­ lar spent in early intervention saves society in future damage contro l. And I don 't want our community to ever have to face the problems that future $7 repre­ sents. Mr. Dennison's statement that: "My parents raised me that we really are responsib le for our physical, emotional and economic health" articulates the commonly held belief that people on social assistance are perfectly capable of solving their own problems; they simply choose not to. But surely public officials know about the easy because the NIM BY Syndrom e is alive and well in Oakville! Action would demon­ strate a caring for poor families and their children. Waiting for rent subsidies to happen may be a lost cause and, certainly, it will be a long wait for these families in dire need now! Com e Galloway "cycle of poverty?" The sad tru th is that those raised in poverty often repeat the bad choices and self-destructive behaviours of their parents. But the idea that welfare dependence is often a learned behaviour is an unpalatable truth, for it states that welfare rolls will not decline until we offer concrete help to the inno­ cent children trapped in the cycle. For no matter what we feel about parental responsibility, free rides and welfare bums, the children are not there by choice and they will fill the welfare rolls of tomorrow unless we help them now. Frankly, gentlem en, I don 't want to pay for tomorrow's wel­ fare rolls. "Hard sell" or not, I implore you and all our public officials to take the lead in edu­ cating the public on the basic common sense of this approach. In these days o f cutbacks and deficit reduction, is it not sensible to spend the dollar now? Would this not be genuine "Com m on Sense?" Sandra Voisin Hollingshead Fam ily Renunion set for Aug. 17th The 1999 Hollingshead Family Reunion will take place at Heintzman House, Aug. 17th, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m . H eintzm an House is located at 135 Baythom Drive in Thornhill. Registration fee is $15 which includes lunch. To register, send your name, address, phone number and a cheque for $15 to: Susan Edwards, 'in trust,' P.O. Box 992, Elora, ON NOB ISO. Include your e-mail address if you have one, and your connection to Anthony Hollingshead if you know what it is. For further information, contact Susan Edwards at 519-846-8095; e-mail susanedw@uoguelph.ca or Brian Hollingshead at 604-421-5804; e-mail holling- shead@ bc.sym patico.ca. M ailing address 2692 Mountview Place, Burnaby, BC V3J 1E3. For help with family linkage, contact Brian. F * c z y f o r w e l f a r e w o e s n o w . . . o r l e t t e r Pud I 'm s ig n in g upthe KIPS For THINGS _ rl&PotHIS r\ by Steve Nease I HAVE W OUN ^ SWIMMING LESSONS, AND PUP IN SFbRTS CAMP, BUT WHAT WOULD BE A GooDAenvityFoR SAMMY? >i ARRSHf NO' oh Woe ' IS M E / Letter o f th e W eek Boaters paying their own way Re: Low Water Levels Fail to Scuttle Boating Season (June 11th, 1999, Oakville Beaver) We have moored our sailboat in Oakville Harbour for over 10 years, both in the town docks and at a sail­ ing club in the harbour. Every year, we have been charged a dredging fee (in 1999, it was almost $100). This dredging fee is established each year by the Town of Oakville (including town and club docks), and it is over and above the mooring fee. Each boat is assigned the same dredging fee regardless of its size. Given the num ber o f sailboats in O akville and Bronte Harbours, the revenues from the dredging fees must now amount to several hundred thousand dollars. While we realize this may not cover the entire dredg­ ing cost, we would like to point out that the Oakville and Bronte boaters have been paying in advance for this dredging for several years. This was not men­ tioned in your article, and could lead to a misconcep­ tion that the boaters in the harbours are getting a free ride. Not true. It is now up to the Town to keep the harbours open for boat traffic and m ooring. They have collected much of the dredging cost already from the sailors who use the harbours. Jeffrey and Cynthia Robins Tim Hortons customers donate $2.7 m illion to kids Thanks to the generosity of our customers, the hard work of our store owners and their dedicated staff, and the participation and assistance of many special guests and the media, this year's Camp Day raised $2.7-mil- lion! This money was raised through coffee sales and other fundraising events and activ ities held at Tim Hortons stores across Canada and in the U.S. on June 2nd. All o f the funds raised on Camp Day are donated to the Tim Horton C hildren's Foundation, which will send over 6 ,000 m onetarily u nderp riv ileged children to camp this year. These children, who are selected from within the community of each Tim Hortons store, get to experience many fun and exciting activities and make new friends at a camp outside their home province or state. This camping adventure can help build a child's se lf-esteem , se lf-con fidence , and leadersh ip skills, which can only benefit them in the future. This year m arks the 25th anniversary of the Tim H orton C h ild re n 's F o u n d a tio n . S ince 1974, over 22,000 children have benefited from our camps thanks, in large part, to the generosity and support of the com­ munities in which Tim Hortons operates. Construction o f our first cam p in the U.S. will begin this fall in C a m p b e llsv ille , K en tucky , w hich w ill a llow our Foundation to reach out to even more children in the future. Thank you to everyone who bought a coffee or par­ ticipated in the many fundraising activities on June 2nd! Together, we are helping to make camp a reality for many deserving kids. D onald B. Schroeder President The Tim H orton C h ild ren 's Foundation mailto:susanedw@uoguelph.ca mailto:holling-shead@bc.sympatico.ca mailto:holling-shead@bc.sympatico.ca