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I find it difficult to see what any of us would gain personally if we went to singleâ€"tier government. Each of the 19 members has a histoâ€" ry of selfless volunteerism within their communities. We don‘t deserve to be accused of corporate or selfâ€" interest. I challenge McEwen to name those of us with "vested interests" and what those vested interests are. In one of his letters in the Camâ€" Jim Beingessner (Kitchener); Doug Brock (Waterloo); David Cooke (Kitchener); Joyce Cruickâ€" shank (Kitchener); Martin de Groot (Kitchener); Jim Erb (Waterloo); Susan Forwell (Waterloo); Fred Gaskin (Galt); Lloyd Gower (North Dumifries); David Graham (Waterâ€" loo}; Doug Hutton (Waterloo); Owen Lackenbauer (Kitchener); John Lynch (Waterloo); Ellen Poll (Ayt); Ernie Ritz (New Hamburg); Bob Sanders (Galt); John Scherrer (Elmira); Bill Thomson (Kitchener); and Katherine Vanderlaan (Hespelâ€" er}. Once again, here are CFBG‘s steering committee members with their communities of residence shown in brackets. Their names and backgrounds have been publicly available for more than a year for anyone to review on CFBG‘s website at findingabetterway.ca. With absolutely no proof, McEwen suggests that some of the people involved with Citizens for Better Government may have vested interests in promoting singleâ€"tier government for Waterloo Region. Thanks to all the stores that donated all of the prizes for the Oktoberfest treasure hunt. All of them were awesome. Brad McEwen‘s letter that appeared recently in your newsâ€" paper is another example of fear mongering where someone uses invented, partial or disconnected bits of information to support a conspiracy theory. In late September, my grandmothâ€" er, brother and I had fun walking around uptown Waterloo doing the Oktoberfest treasure hunt. At each store we had our passâ€" port stamped and got lots of cool free stuff. When we were finished, we went back to (the UpTown Busiâ€" ness Improvement Area office) and dropped off our passports for a draw. We are enjoying all the items that were donated by the participating uptown Waterloo stores. My sister and I will be using the two tickets to the Waterloo Enterâ€" tainment Centre to see Bunnicula in December. How exciting it was for me to learn that 1 had been selected to win the grand prize. AmalcFamation would address area‘s growing population Uptown fun Emmanuel Russell Waterloo The Citizens for Better Govern ment (www cfbe ca) chaired A ment (www.cfbg.ca), chaired by Jim Erb, would have us believe that they are a grassroots movement, but 1 suspect their motives have less to do with fiscal efficiency and more to do with facilitating unrestricted growth and profit for the business community. By Erb‘s own admission (Waterâ€" loo Chronicle, Oct. 24, 2007), the steering committee members are, in fact, either retired investment counâ€" sellors, businessmen, lawyers, accountants or those in real estate. One was listed as a historian and In his book The World is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman notes that politicians can make us more fearful and thereby be disablers, or they can inspire us and thereby be enablers. Whether we like it or not Waterâ€" loo Region‘s population is forecast to grow by 50 per cent over the next 25 years to 750,000. Can the eight separate municipal governments we have today manage this growth without putting at risk the lifestyle we currently enjoy? If the citizens of Waterloo Region don‘t encourage politicians to become enablers and respond to this question, growth will soon over take us and you can safely bet the province will step in and impose a solution we probably won‘t like, as happened in 1973. It puzzles me why good people like McEwen and a number of our local politicians resort to fear monâ€" gering and refuse to engage in deepâ€" er discussion regarding the future needs of our community. Is it turf protection or simply resistance to new ideas? Perhaps it‘s the latter. Why change. Life is pretty good today, but what about tomorrow? bridge Times he associates me with the Record‘s editorial policy and forâ€" mer Record publisher Fred Kuntz. I worked at the Record for just three years, retiring 12 years ago, long before the arrival of Kuntz or the current Record publisher. I have nothing to gain through my involveâ€" ment with CFBG other than the satâ€" isfaction of being among a wonderâ€" ful group of volunteers trying to find a better form of government that would meet the aspirations and future needs of the citizens of Waterloo Region. McEwen suggests that Jim Erb, the chair of CFBG whom I greatly respect, has authored letters to the editor that appeared under other people‘s names. I challenge McEwen to identify any of these soâ€" called "ghosted" letters. The allegaâ€" tion is simply not true. I‘ve learned that McEwen heads up Cambridge‘s Mill Race festival, a highlight of the region‘s cultural calâ€" endar. No doubt McEwen wants the best for Cambridge and many of us appreciate his professional and volâ€" unteer efforts. Group has growth and profits in mind Owen Lackenbauer Kitchener COMMENT And in my opinion, it‘s another very good example of what Camâ€" bridge and North Dumfries and the other outlying townships can expect if amalgamation should occur in our region. Is that what Citizens for Better Government thinks "public consulâ€" tation" means? That doesn‘t sound like "better government" or public consultation, it sounds more like borderline "censorship." In response to Public Meetings Will Gauge Appetite for Regional Reform in the Record, a member from Citizens for Better Governâ€" ment states that community memâ€" bers who wish to voice their opinion at one of their public meetings will, first, have to answer a "standard set of questions before being invited to He also suggests that their group isn‘t interested in hearing "emotionâ€" al outbursts over local identity." So, show no emotion and answer our questions first before we let you speak. This advocacy group intends to hold public meetings with about one per cent of the region‘s populaâ€" tion before sending its final report to Queen‘s Park in 2010. This hardly constitutes an "inâ€"depth" study. Under the existing system, the four township mayors on regional council have a responsibility of actâ€" ing as stewards for their own rural areas. The 11 urban councillors from Waterloo, Kitchener and Camâ€" bridge have no jurisdiction over the townships. In a megacity, those "urban" votes could easily outvote the "rural" votes with disastrous conseâ€" quences. _ Urban sprawl and proliferation of unimaginative strip malls would continue unabated. The environment would suffer as would our quality of life. In the final analysis, it is the elecâ€" torate that must make the ultimate decision on this issue by means of a clearly worded public referendum. Nothing less would suffice. Megacity government also poses a very real threat to our greatest asset, namely the beautiful countryâ€" side which constitutes 80 per cent of Waterloo Region. This is our preâ€" cious heritage which we must proâ€" tect at all costs. Once it is paved over, it can never be replaced. one a former teacher. From the letters of protest I have read thus far, it would appear that many people do not want to live in a megacity. They value their smaller communities and view megacities such as Toronto and Hamilton with understandable suspicion and misâ€" trust. The bigger the bureaucracy, the less responsive it becomes. Censorship may be on the horizon David A. Crow Waterloo The free selfâ€"guided tour of home layouts takes place on Nov. 24, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Start at Global Currency Services, 1027 Gorâ€" don St., Unit 8, Guelph. Phone 519â€"823â€"8642 for information. "I don‘t think I‘ve ever seen two model railroads alike," Hume said when I shared memories of my father‘s Sâ€"gauge model railâ€" road. "They are as individual as their owners. My son‘s HOâ€"scale layouy is what is referred to as "shake the box" modeling â€" everything is store bought. My narrow gauge is completely opposite, everything is built from scratch or from modified kits." "I used to be absolutely rabid about trains," Hume confesses "Working for the railroad has certainly cured me of that. I do less model railroading than before. After working with trains all day long, I usually don‘t feel the need to come home and see more trains, of any kind." Hume concluded, "My son has kept me in the hobby, as he was a rail fan from birth. He loves secing real trains, running model trains and riding tourist railroads. He loves it all." Looking at the online photos of Doug and Linda Skinner‘s model railroad, I was reminded of my father‘s model railroad with all its lights, switches, model scenery and figures, handâ€" built houses and buildings, and that distinct smell of smoke fluid puffing from the engines. Most memorable for me were the dieâ€"cast toy cars he arranged on the set. I could stare for hours at the original Batâ€" mobile (Corgi Toys}, with its triple rockets, operating chainâ€" slasher blade in the front, and flaming jet exhaust in the back. Positioned on the handâ€"made overpass, the Batmobile was always in pursuit of the original Green Hornet car (Corgi Toys), with its working missile launcher, flying radar scanner, and vilâ€" lainous Green Hornet and Kato figures within. Along with model trains, Hume works as a brakeman on the real ones, employed by CP Rail since 2000. I asked Hume about the variety of model railroads visitors can expect to see on the oneâ€"day tour. "We currently have 11 model railâ€" road owners who have agreed to open their homes," he said. "Certainly the biggest addition this year is an outdoor garden railroad, and layouts range right down to 50 square feet of space." One of the participants this year is MAnonALL Linda Skinner, sharing the HOâ€"scale WARD (1/87th) model railroad her husband built. On the website royalcitymodelrailroaders.com, it states: "Doug passed away Boxing Day 2005 due to cancer. He was an avid collector, knew vast quantities of train trivia, and had some of the greatest stories you can imagine. During his last three years, he put his heart and soul into creating a layout. Along with help from his wife and friends, his dream came true and the layout was completed." Hume‘s own passion for model railroading emerged when he was a preâ€"schooler, building Lego and Brio train sets. When he was five, his fls parents got him his first train set. "I‘ve 4e built all sizes over the years," he said. MARSHALL _ Railroads on the tour will range in size from Nâ€"scale (1/144th scale) to Gâ€" scale (1/24th), Hume said. And although the model railroad bug never bit me, I do appreciate the allâ€"consuming love and pride that model railâ€" roaders, generation after generation, have for their tiny trains. "I think most model railroaders are pretty proud of their work, much like other artists and creative talents," said Brian Hume, the organizer of the Royal City Model Railroaders Layout Tour. "The Doubleheaders group in Kâ€"W holds a layout tour once a year in March, but there are more layouts than is possible to see in one day, as their tour encompasses Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph, Cambridge and surrounding areas. We wanted to showcase Guelph layouts, and keep it to a manageable number so that all could be seen in a day." My earliest childhood memories include the soothing, mesâ€" merizing sights and sounds of my father‘s model train set, which spanned the entire width of my bedroom. That‘s why my curiosity was piqued by an upcoming tour of model railroaders‘ homes in Guelph. § teaching courses in continuing education at Cones;oga Collegé. Email is welcome at marshall_ward@hotmail.com. Mar?hall Ward is a visual artist and independent filmmaker, Get on board the model rail tour WATERLOO CHRONICLE + Wednesday, November 14, 2007 + 8