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WATERLOO CHRONICLE Carolyn Anstey Amy Hachborn Circulation Manager _ Circulation Publisher: Cal Bosveld B86â€"2830 hax: BB6â€"9363 Eâ€"mail: wehronicle@sentex net 75 King St. South, Suite 201 Waterloo, Ontario N2J 1P2 The Waterloo Chronicle is published every Wednesday by The Fairway Group, a division of Southern Ontario Community Newspapers Inc., a division of Southam Publications, a CanWest Company. The views of our columists are their own and do not necessarily represent those of the newspaper. International Standard Serial Number <> SK\ The Waterloo Chromcle 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 nther materials submitted to the Publisher and accepted for publication remains with the author. but the publisher and its hcensees may freely reproduce them in print, electronic ot other forms Our mailing address is 75 King St. S , Suite 201. Waterlon N21 1P2, our eâ€"mail address is wchronicle@sentex net. and our fax number is RR6 9383 Letters Policy Andrea Bailey Bob Vibanac Reporter Sports Editor Jim Alexander Gerry Mattice Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement Number 136379 Cal Bosveld Norma Cyca Audited circulation: 26.056 Advertising Advertising Lynin Bartol Director of Retail Sales ISSN 0832â€"3410 Deborah Crandall Editor Laurie Ridgway Bill Karges All I can say is it‘s about time. Tonight, Wilfrid Launer University will play host to its firstâ€"ever Women Empowering Others gala, put on by the newly formed group known as Women Fostering Leadership. From what I undersl@d. this collection of female leaders strives to inspire and empower young women to pursue their goals and dreams, share the diverse accomplishments of Canadian women with the university and the outside community, and foster and develop the leadership of indiâ€" viduals regardless of their gender. It‘s not everyday that women are formally celebrated for their accomplishments. And take note, they have a lot of them. Yet it still amazes me how many people confuse feminine strength with feminism. A strong successful female is still often referred to as a feminist bitch. 1 myself used to be guilty of this assumption. I know, a little strange considering my gender. But before I, for lack of a better term, matured, I thought of an assertive woman in a prominent position as nothing . |M@R@@e@ s T more than :Fn chick with a chig | STRAIGHT on her shoulder and something Oy ‘ to prove. Finally, some recognition for a gender that is still often underâ€"recognized, and underâ€"respected. _ 0 1 would often comment that given the opportunity I‘d rather be stopped by a male police offiâ€" cer than a female, because the female is out to nail everyone she can just to prove her authority in a maleâ€"dominated field. These _ thoughts _ shone through the day l was pulled over on the 401 by a female OPP offiâ€" cer, who seemed to be out for blood. 1 thought I could talk myself out of the charge by explaining it was my first day at a new job, and that 1 wasn‘t sure if I was even going the right way. â€" But at the time, all 1 could think was, "well, here we have another woman taking advantage of the badge. I bet a man would have been more fair." You go, girls! __ I obviously forgot she had a job to do, and that no matter how you look at it, going 40 kilometres over the speed limit is against the law. _ â€" â€" 0 Today, the $135 fine seems fair, considering my stupidity, and the number of lives I could have endangered, including my own. _ 8 o â€" That was almost three years ago, and boy, or should I say girl, has my tune changed. â€" oo _ When you‘re in school, you never really encounter that. After all, everyone knows girls are better than boys when it comes to the books. Just kidding! 8 _ Maybe that‘s because I now understand firsthand the pressures women face in the workforce. _ â€" But when it comes to making a name for yourself in your area of professional expertise, that‘s a different kettle of fish. More than two years ago, when I was saddled to a goingâ€" nowhereâ€"fast reporting position at a smallâ€"town newspaper near London, the editor‘s position became available. By then I had spent half a year at the paper â€" which was more time than many had spent in the position â€" and 1 knew how the operation ran, as well as the ins and outs of the community. There was no reason I shouldn‘t have been given the job. Oh yeah, I forgot. I‘m a girl. 1 know that‘s a pretty serious accusation to make, but it was common knowledge that the individual doing the hirâ€" ing was a male chauvinist pig. He later turned me down for a job in another newspaper‘s sports department without substantial reason. My boss Deb, the editor of the Chronicle, is a woman. One of my closest friends Lee Ann, the editor of the New Hamburg Independent. is a woman. The mayor of the city in which I live and work, Lynne Woolstencroft, is, you guessed it, a woman. Quite a list right there. isn‘t it. You go, girls! But now, over two years later, I really believe this guy did me a favour. If 1 was stuck in hickville now, I‘d likely also be on my way to mentalville. â€" Still, it‘s not fair women have to deal with this type of opinion and oppression on a daily basis. That‘s why I‘m always happy to see women around me reach the top of the mountain on sheer skill and determination. VIEWPOINT Don‘t hold your breath If they proceed as fast as the new Kitchenerâ€"Guelph highway, we all will be dead and buried before the first shovel is turned. If things are stalled much longer, the highway won‘t be necessary. ike Harris has made noises Mabout new superâ€"highways for Ontario, but don‘t hold your breath for their opening. Kitchener and Guelph will have grown together, and you can merely let the streets of the contiguous communities run into each other. Edifice Complex: Waterloo‘s huge Millennium Park is rounding into shape. Major parts of the recreation complex will be ready for the end of summer, and the entire complex will be ready for next year. 1 suspect most folks have no idea of how big the park is. So far enough soil has been moved to fill 50,000 dump trucks, which if placed bumperâ€"toâ€"bumper would stretch for 427 miles. _ m Just imagine! Four ice rinks as just one feature of the complex‘ And the results were arrived at with hardly any of the fussing and feudâ€" ing that most often characâ€" terizes such efforts. (It seems to me I was behind that cavalcade, or one like it, on Highway 401 lately. Or anyhow it seemed like it.) London, for example, is bevpmmmmmnt building a downtown arena, SA and the marathon discusâ€" BA sion is still in the higher deciâ€" bels. According to some London taxpayers, council doesn‘t know what it‘s doing when it comes to recreâ€" ation. That includes the two (count ‘em, two} natatoriums. Natatorium? That‘s an indoor swimming pool anywhere else, but not in hoityâ€"toity London. Incidentally, London is illâ€"served by decrepit rinks which service its young hockey players. _ â€" By the way, I finally got to Sarnia‘s new arena the other night. Grandson Ben‘s Junior B team was engaged in playoffs. It‘s some arena with all the conveniences including wide hallways. Apropos of nothing, the arena sports more advertising per seat than any I‘ve ever seen. Funny, but there was no adverâ€" tising on the Zamboni. Mails are like a box of chocolates..... you never know what you‘re gonne gol. TOAYI@N FIRST GUMP DEVELOPMENTS SANDY BAIRD And you‘ll have to admit that a lot of advertising is plain silly. That includes the ones for lemon rinse. I know a lot of kooks, but none of them has the urge to rinse lemons. I‘ve never audited their books, so I don‘t know what percentage of the net goes to charity, but you can be sure it‘s not that much. And, yes, they show the happy winner of a million bucks. For that kind of dough, I could muster a happy grin, too. Fat Chance: Speaking of advertising, the biggest waste has to be those TV blurbs extolling casinos and lotteries. "Millions win every day," it brags and, of course, it‘s talking about the cash that goes for charities. My question though is why they need blurbs to promote lotteries and gaming. Just grab a squint at the queue at the mall spots where they sell tickets and you‘ll wonder too. _ M Pinball _ Style: Wow! 9y That‘s some interchange they‘re talking about for D Kitchener‘s Wellington Street. The $25â€"million wonder is intended to link Highway 86 to a proâ€" posed Highway 7. Some drivers are apt to get altitude and attitude sickness as they weave their way through two highâ€"speed flyovers and stacks up to four levels of traffic in a tower of power and concrete Gosh! I think they‘d better take it easy on plunging Kâ€"W drivers into the 21st century too precipitously. Let‘s not forget how the community was shaken by the famous and infamous Spaghetti Junction at about the spot where the Conestoga Parkway cuts across King Street. It thrilled and chilled motorists for a few years before the expressway was built. Yup, you used to worry about visitors who chanced to get on the Junction with less than half a tank of gas 4 igib 1 suppose that when you win a lottery, you not only get a lot of money, but you get to meet a lot of relatives you never had before. Still, remember the days when they used to arrest people who ran lotteries? Can you imagine ordinary people winning millions on the 6492 1 break out in a rash when 1 win a free Egg McMuffin at McDonald‘s.