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There has been far too much talk of late about regional takeovers, amalgamaâ€" tion and megaâ€"ciuies. The opinions and arguments to support this theory and its benelfits are strictly academic only and in reality. would draw more fhes to it than a fresh cow chip Is bigger better? Just ask some of our areas larger employers. Are things runâ€" ning smoothly? 1 think not Corporatc takeovers and merging usually means (wice as many senior positions, equivalent salaries, more vacation time, more sick and down time, more ‘created‘ lavers of administration, expanded beneâ€" fits larger areas to service, more buildâ€" ers and administration since the early 80s have done well in establishing an identity Waterloo is no longer just an insurance town, it is the centre of enviâ€" ronmental planning and initiatives and has become the new hub of computerâ€" based technology and education. 1 have been a Waterloo resident now for many years and I‘m equally as proad to call it my home and to represent it proudly as a public servant LEYMOTFRIES (German composite word meaning...a dog‘s breakfast) Do | want Kitchener to disappear? Do 1 want it melded, welded, grafted or cloned? No. In fact, 1 like it just the way it is 1 was born, raised and educated there Both of my parents played a strong supporting role during Kitchener‘s rapid growth in the midâ€"60s to late ‘70s. 1 met my wife there and all of my children were born there Kitchener‘s astute planning, facilmes and cultural and ethmic groups have put it on the map and I‘m very happy to call it my former home Likewise, although always a little more cautious,. Waterloo‘s pohitical leadâ€" Chronicle Voluntary Pay * Petals & POLS inc _ Flower & Gift Shop LE TT EB $ Rewarding our carriers for a job well done! T CAMKITELWADENBURGICHâ€" Bigger isn‘t always Kitchener 725 Ottawa St S Waterloo: 65 Universi wATERLOO LOCATION OPEN SUNDAY 11â€"4 7 000. T20 Your school taxes are much higher since the merger to one board and more, the quality is suspect. The ultimate kicker is that, even though we are paying more, we can‘t afford to house our chilâ€" Likewise, one Waterloo County board of education has got to be more cost effiâ€" cient than seven different boards, corâ€" rect? Classes are smaller, you have to pay more for your child to be involved in extraâ€"curricular activities and outgoing tests in Grade nine literacy are scoring lower than in the ‘60s and ‘70s. This must all add up to a reduced school tax Wrong. The thought of having 10 different police chiefs in the"70s seems outraâ€" geous, now that we have one regional chiel. However, have you noticed that each detachment has several superintenâ€" dents? I‘d lay odds that these superinâ€" tendents are paid very close to what a chief in their size of junsdiction would make. Add to that, more buildings, facilâ€" ities and an expanded area to patrol. Our police force does all of us a great service but have your police taxes gone down since merging into one force? No. The opposite. Large savings and the economic develâ€" opment and gain are the crux of the disâ€" cussion. However, what‘s more exciting...prime rib or beef stew? Elmira is strong. Elmira is unique. Does Elmira need Kâ€"W Oktoberfest to be attractive or successful? Has New Hamburg felt conâ€" siderable spinoffs in its housing, manuâ€" facturing and service industry since Cambridge landed Toyota? I doubt it. lows that there was too much ineffiâ€" ciency, duplication, overlapping, too large a scope, not enough scrutiny and the epilogue is massive early retirement payouts, layoffs and eventual unemployâ€" ment. , ings and facilities and when the net result of all of this is disaster, it naturally folâ€" Your Educational Development Centre 421 King Street N., Waterloo, (519) 884â€"3954 ese***** Your Educational Development Centre will design a programme to help your child overcome their difficulties in: READING COMPREHENSION MATHEMATICS WRITING Call today for programme information or to set up an assessment! We can help your child achieve better grades! And the next time some wouldâ€"be poliucal Pinnochio starts trying to impress you with the obvious benefits of the above, just tell him to stop and go peddle his megaâ€"city theory to someone else Your town is your town. Don‘t let anyâ€" body pressure you into accepting less Maybe we do have to get upset; maybe we do have to speak up and out if we truly care and hold any value to the cities and towns of our choosing and resiâ€" dence...of our past and present Well fellow citizens, just like Fred Kent in Cambridge or Grace Sudden in Woolâ€" wich, I LOVE MY TOWN AND I‘M PROUD OF IT. And, if embracing Waterâ€" loo‘s roots, heritage, history and identity is ‘defending my own turf‘, then pass me my sword and shield because I‘m ready to fight for Waterloo Perhaps much of this is our own fault We, along with our regional leaders and their provincial counterparts, seem to sit mute as we Iisten intently to ‘Sweeneyesque‘ and Crombie ideology and complacently nod our heads while all the while, the media prod us into a corner, by intimidating us with phrases like ‘defending our own turf‘ Identity? Let‘s face it, people don‘t identify with their regions. Of the thouâ€" sands and thousands of counties in the U.S., one would be hard pressed to name 10 (that are highly identifiable). When travelling abroad, if someone would ask you where you were from and you would answer "the region of Waterloo", you would incur a blank stare, as if you had just responded in Scandinavian dren in proper buildings anymore. Stuâ€" dents spend nearly a third of their school life in those cheesy portables FOR THE FINER THINGS IN WOoOp Craig Hoddle Waterloo Councillor West Ward 1 " .-w uisw Xh FITNESS CLASSICS 75 King St. $. 7471424 in the WATERLOO TOWN squaRrEe the "Wonders o Waterloo Park posed by Lion he asked 10 se $1,500 each for sent unless ver ies have prec Humane Socie have, as does 0 can be turned ducive to a wis Cleari about sure that the edgeable, re in a veterinary pleasure or unsuspecting their minds.