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ck. '279 Web if. "sUi"iiCiii'iiC'r' 0mm N2t 3H8, _ wr T-r-r “a... _, be submnlled by in lo 836-9383 or by can! to tdrtorukitwateruoarmicG 1Pr,ty.i!.o.reeiiitewatAUiiiiitr, L0TERS I’OUCV Letters lo tht editor Inns! C0Btam the wrttery full um Signal-re. address and [elephant number Address and lekphnm numbers are used only " Valium» put- ptm and will ml be publnhed Nuns will no! be withheld, We reserve the right to edit, modem: or reject any contribullon " brevity or legal pupa: utters my -__e 'ee .___ ”Pr "th For further "tformation count! Andrea Bailey. Editor. Waterloo Chroni- ck, 279 Wither St. N., Sum 20, Wamloa Ontario N21 3H8 oght . .17?» - -.. w m "I"! for personal non-commercial purposes. All other nghts are reseoed and commu- nal we Is prohibited To make any use of this malcml you must first obtain tbe permussmn of the nInn of the copy- r...'.. EL, a“; r COPYRIGHT The contents of this newspaper are pm lated by copynghl and may be and only The Waterloo Chronicle is a whet of The Oruario has Cmmcil. which amsid. as complaints against member newspav put Any complalnl about news. 0pm- oous advertising or conduct should first be taken lo the WW Unraolved com- plamls an be bmughl Mr. Ontario Pres Council. 2 Carlton Street. Suite I706. Tommo. ON,, M53 Ill (rumours: comm The Waterloo Chronicle is published each Wednesday by Metroland West, a sub- sidiary of Tamar Corporation, Pubhcauon Agreement Number 40050t7it Inlcmalmnal Standard Scrlal Number d bdrm BAII n E mm a! 215 2 (dilemma ultdwdlmmrlr (a 5 JmunlmemN g REPORTER at 20f ir! MVRBANM 'tl swans mum a! m ASSN 0832-3410 Audited Cirruhrtim, _ H.292 (ImFll-ID t519) 895-5230 CIRQ‘IAHON (5lin WIHJUHI Ply (BMW Vilhr M A RTtN Eur H A BR Tf rgAMmu wstrrkothrxmirtr m Bill Pllll TIA a! 228 lipahuma umdandlmnlrlr m 1urft- GIBBS a1 33) All» EITNNG REPRESENTATIVE MmeCA tTt IU llama traterUodmmtrtt m 'anaduan Publtcations Mail Sales (inn MA mcr. Ext 110 RETAIL SALES MANWEI salma marrfooNomcle n: ADVERIIKIM; WWII-1a wlnhudlmmrlt m EDI TORI t L Vtl(tl " I R Gtt0rPPtausttEtt MAIL tNt IN PERSON 379 Max: 55:01:30 Whidm,0lllann \IJJHII EMA". Mama FAX “6-911! WATERLOO CHRONICLE m Weber St N., Suit: 3 “an!“ Ontario M] 3m 85-213. Pu: lib-”ID '"oomte6oarseti+x, v.‘ A o i...‘ “u.“ yuuulyu beavers are rodents, and they can cause plenty of trouble. All of the hype around the beaver handling begs the question: would there be this much of a public outcry if the university had to deal with a vermin problem of another kind? After all, rats feel pain too. The truth is. as beavers are rodents, The ministry also made a good point, likening the sit- uation to a homeowner who must address a raccoon infestation. v ""“"1‘ Doing so in this case could have been mo mane, given beavers are storing food for tht months now; relocating one would basically be it to death. mougn harsh in description, the Ministry of Natural Resources claims the manner in which the beavers were killed was humane. The Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society concurs the methods were legal. Albeit tough for animal lovers to stomach, the school had to put the safety of its staff and students first. It's unfortunate) that live trapping wasn't a viable option; live-trapped animals can't be relocated further than one kilometre from the area they're trapped in, according to the ministry. __ r.-r_..,. Beavers had blocked an on-campus creek by erecting dams that were causing water to backup. They were also knocking down trees, one of which fell on a pathway that people use. After investigating its options, the school determined that hiring a professional trapper to kill the animals was its only option. Though harsh in description, the Ministry of Natural Resources claims the manner in which the beavers were killed was humane. The Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society concurs the methods were 19ml e University of Waterloo has taken a lot of heat this I week from the media and the public over the meth- ods it used to kill four beavers that were causing problems on school property. [leavelI handling -- Is a complex Issue " aside from looking cute could have been more inhu- a storing food for the winter "ii/Ellis/jp/JIS T and cudAly, starving The mix on council had also become an issue after the last election, with many arguing council's makeup wasn't reflective of the com- munity we live in. But that ignores the signs this council was rife for change before the votes Epp was as surprised as anyone that he will be look- ing for a new job come December, and there was some suggestion that ageism came to play in the tesult, Real estate was his calling before the 2003 election; it may call him again once the new coyncil takes charge “A- A Epp has indicated he isn't ready to retire at a Spry 72, though politics might be a distant option for him in four Wars. Of course lawn signs could still be part of the future for one candidate -- outgoing mayor Herb Epp. It was like one of those kaleidoscope: you had as a child, with every turn ofa street corner presenting new patterns and colour schemes. The candidates even used some of the colours we identify with some of the local real-estate companies from blue and red to gold. It must be tough to get the house-buying' public's attention when there are a thousand other lawn signs trying to sell you something else during an election. 'I‘here's likely one group that's overjoyed the municipal election is finally over: local real-estate agents. WARD. ht VERY WORRIE) Moot M BEAVER l0)Ntt II l, There were also neigh- bourhood associations, like the active Albert-Central neighbourhood, that seemed to have a lot of their supporters in Halloran‘s cor ner. That included people like Robert Fleming and mem- bers of his Waterloo Watch group, who have made council transparency and communication a key plat- form for candidates. The support local women candidates got from the candidates school, held by regional Coun. lane Mitchell and others. proba- bly helped but doesn't give incoming Mayor Brenda Halloran enough credit for the broad coalition she built behind her. we now have a group that is split right down the middle of the gender divide with five new faces. The redistribution of the wards and the addition of two new seats made sure there was opportunity for new faces on this council; While people argue Hal That will beak real test for the new mayor. But this fight is more about properties like the Owen and McNally sites whenethere is still hope fora different outcome. Halloran has promised to review the three subdivi- sions at the centre of the controversy. Epp was tied to the old model of development. though he made a promise to preserve the McNally property hom development'. That promise came too late. And the priorities have changed during council's last term with the environ- ment, growth and the pro- tection of our water supply becoming the greatest local concerns. one of his key election planks. Unfortunately, vision came way down the list of things he offered to the mayor's chair. He everi ran on his record of restoring stability and confidence in city hall as some viewed him as nothing more than a caretaker mayor who brought stability back to city hall. Epp deserved kudos for cleaning up the RIM Park financing mess, and putting Waterloo back on a better financial footing. But once that situation was settled, The last sign post on the road to change seems to be that vision thing If you dont have any, it's hard to find some. Ioran's lack of experience as a detriment, her ability to listen to these groups and her expertise as a mediator should help her get over some early rough spots.