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WATERLOO CHRONICLE Carolyn Anstey _ Amy Hachborn Circulation Manager _ Circulation 75 King St. South, Suite 201 Waterloo, Ontario N2J 1P2 (A division of Southam Inc.) Publisher: Cal Bosveld 886â€"2830 Fax: 886â€"9383 Eâ€"mail: wchronicle@sentex.net The Waterioo Chranicle welcomes letters to the Editor They should be signed with name. address and phone num ber and will be verified for accu racy. No unsigned letters will be published: Submissions may be edited for length. so please be brief Copyright in letters and other materials submitted to the Publisher and accepted for publication remains with the author, but the publisher and its licensees may freely reproduce them in print, electronic or other forms Our mailing address is 75 King St S.. Suite 201. Waterion N2J IP2. our eâ€"mail address is wehromicle@sentex net. and out fax number is A86 9387 The Waterloo Chronicle is published every Wednesday by The Fairway Group, a division of Southam Inc. The views of our columists are their own and do not necessarily represent that of the newspaper. Mailed subscription rate: $65 yearly in Canada, $90 yearly outside Canada. +GST Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement Number 136379 International Standard Serial Number ISSN 0832â€"3410 Letters Policy Andrea Bailey Bob Vibanac Reporter Sports Editor fim Alexander Gerry Mattice Director of Sales Supervisor Advertising Cal Bosveld Deborah Crandall Publisher Editor Norma Cyca Bill Karges Advertising Advertising lymn Bartol Audited circulation: 26,056 > sm ® Laune Ridgway So I figured why bottle everything up. You get to have your say through my stories; now it‘s my turn. There‘s just one problem, where to start. Unless persoNnally disâ€" â€" l respected yourselves, do not take your frustrations out on a young man who is just as entitled to his opinion as you are to yours Wow, that felt great. What‘s next? Oh yeah, the Big ‘W itself â€"Winshare? This, I have to admit, is a tough one. I do agree it‘s a matter of better informing the public about the City of Waterloo‘s employee incentive program, which allocates 20 per cent of the budget surplus funds to city employees in the form ef bonus cheques On the surface, who would be happy to know their hardâ€"earned dollars were being spent on someone else‘s plane ticket to Florida, rather than on the municipal services they believe they‘re payâ€" ing for? Not me, that‘s for sure But I agree the process should be explained in a clearer manner that will ease the minds of those feeling ripped off â€" Oh I could go on. But I think I‘ve made enough enemies for today So to those of you who‘ve wondered if it‘s hard to stay neutral and unbiased while writing a story, I think the above vent fest speaks for itself Needless to say at the end of many of those conâ€" versations, I find myself agreeing with the chief that no, I don‘t want to be sued for everything under the sun, and that yes I should simmer down now. It‘s just so hard sometimes to not allow my perâ€" sonal thoughts and values to creep in. Oh here‘s a burning oneâ€" the proposed student apartment complex on University Avenue. Now 1 haye to admit I did see eye to eye with most of the residents‘ concerns over the potential for flooding that a 14â€"storey building could bring to the area, as well as the traffic safety issues that could arise having over 600 students fighting to get onto University Avenue every morning. Valid conâ€" cerns. To _ the _ residents responsible _ for such behaviour, get a clue and some etiquette classes while vou‘re at it. But it‘s not so cut and dry. Working the weekends 1 do, 1 can‘t help but notice the city employees takâ€" ing the time and effort to make sure Waterloo is running at its best. This kind of dedication is priceâ€" less; and as they say, you have to spend to gain. ell here I am, sitting down to write my first Wcolumn as a member of the: Waterloo Chronicle editorial staff. No, I‘m not new here. Actually I‘ll be celebrating my first anniverâ€" sary reporting on this great city in exactly seven weeks and four days. Hey, that means only one year, eight months and one day ‘til I‘m entitled to an extra week of holâ€" idays a year. Right on! Anyway, yes I agree it‘s time to break my silence. Sure 1 write about the happenings in and around Waterloo on a weekly basis. It‘s my job, however, not to allow personal opinion to influence your views on the matters at hand. __ But don‘t get me wrong, it‘s often difficult to bite my tongue, and my pen. There have been many times I‘ve ranted to the editor (Hi Deb) about touchy subjects, and yes some annoying people. What can I say, I‘m a redâ€" head and I have the temper to prove it. But when I fqund out about the lack of respect shown for the president of the University of Waterloo Federation of Students at a recent inforâ€" mation meeting on the plans for the complex, all of my understanding went straight out the window. |_| After presenting a fair assessment from the stuâ€" dents‘ perspective, poor Chris Farley received a round of applause. But the applause wasn‘t out of respect for the scholar, it was to show appreciaâ€" tion that he finally shut up and sat down. Since you asked ANDREA BAILEY VIEWPOINT Seiling was playing a long shot Ashes to Ashes...: The region‘s bar and restaurant owners are appealing the verdict that tossed out their objections to the noâ€" smoking bylaw Shades of William Lyon Mackenzie and the gents who differed _ with the â€" Family Compact in 1837 Waiting Game: The matter of extracurricular activities is ticking away like a bomb. There will be some boom, big or little. There are two versions of the situation: One has a big majority willing for extracurriculars but afraid of the union and militant colleagues. The second has teachers rock solid behind the union. Still, that doesn‘t make it that much easi er to get the matter settled I‘ve always been unimpressed by the fuss the youngsters make of extracurricular activâ€" ities. Maybe it‘s because 1 had to deliver papers and I didn‘t have time for afterâ€"school activities. It‘s been said before, but I‘ll note it again: Nowadays it costs more to amuse a kid than it used to cost to educate his father Canada meals. No one did, and so, it seems, we‘re set for a long winter with no action on regional reform. Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr wrote the province two weeks ago urging that they impose a supercity on the region, then give the local politicians time to work out the defails. Still, Mayor Zehr doesn‘t expect a response from Queen‘s Park until the new local councils are in place next year. That‘s a dismal prospect and one that‘s unworthy of a government that was pledged to hurry, hurry, hurry. And, of course, there‘s Doug Craig who hopes to go from Cambridge councillor to mayor. He says Cambridge must remain autonomous, either within the region or outâ€" side it. He‘d hoped to have council give it anothâ€" er vote and return the region to the twoâ€"tier system. All it would have taken was for one regional councillor to change his or her vote. Strong talk, that. It falls just short of urg ing Cambridge folk to grab their rifles, saddle up and ride to the M sounds of gunfire I ()N( Decision Overdue: Ken Seiling, the regional chairman, was playing a long shot in striving to have regional council overturn its decision on regional reform. Odds are the appeal will also be a loser ir Canada is the world‘s safest, an indeâ€" pendent study has concluded. That, of course, is without eating any Air SANDY Perhaps you should cut down the smount of.Olympic coverage you‘re walching / If the petrol poobahs were in the Excited States, they‘d be jailed and charged with conspiracy. Or some such rant and raving. He sounds miffed that no one has sent in the U.S. Marines It strikes me that the petroleum prices can be put in simpler terms. I shudder at the idea of paying $33 a barrel for anything that doesn‘t go well with pretzels The gasoline taxes could be cut? And, pray tell, what good would that do? The money DY would have to be made up elseâ€" D where in the budget and the ‘ dear old taxpayer would be stuck for the shortfall. Some inane things have been said about gas prices. For example, Pat Buchanan, the Reform candidate for president, has assalled Bill Clinton, Al Gore and George Dubya for standing still in the face of the gasoline boosts. 1 wouldn‘t want to be a security guard telling a halfâ€"canned 300â€"pounder that he can‘t light up. Or that he has to go to a frigid outside area if he wants to puff. Let‘s hope that the festhall folks who are looking for an easy transition are correct, but who can tell? One chap has had a nervous breakdown He doesn‘t smoke; he manufactures ashâ€" trays. _ â€" Idle Thought: George Dubya Bush reminds me of a terrible toothache 1 once had. Incidentally, Oktoberfest officials don‘t seem to think the antiâ€"smoking bylaw‘s a problem, but you have to wonder. Some fesâ€" thalls may choose to set up an area outside for smokers, but th#t will require more secuâ€" rity personnel. You bet it will. People smoke more when they‘ve slurping the Oh Be Joyful, and they‘re less likely to abide by restraints. The number of people who will have to be disabused from lighting up will be high. but you can understand their position. When you‘re in for a penny, you might as well be in for the pound. Given that the court seemed to give little credence to their arguments, it‘s hard to envision a successful appeal. But stranger things have happened. There‘s no explaining the result of some legal wrangling. Slick Job: The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries {OPEC) has been boosting oil output by dribbles and drips, all with a negligible effect on prices. Months ago 1 predicted that the tab for gasoline would never return to what it was, that highâ€" er petrol prices are here to stay.