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8 + WATERLOO CHRONICLE + Wednesday, November 21 Peter WINKLER PUBLISHER Bobh VRBANAC EDITOR exi. 229 editorial@waterloochranicle ca sports@ waterloochromcle ca LDITORIAL Jennifer ORMSTON REPORTER ext. 203 jormston@waterloochromcle ca Greg MacDonald REPORTER ext. 215 edmacdonald@ waterloochromcle ca ADVERTISING Gerry MATTICE ext. 230 RETAIL SALES MANAGER sales@waterloochromcle.ca SALES REPRESENTATIVES Norma CYCA ext. 223 neyca@ waterloochromicle.c Bill PIHURA ext. 228 bpihura @ waterloochronicle Carly GIBBS exi. 222 cgihi)»@ waterloochronicle.ca CLASSIFIED 519â€"895â€"5230 CIRCULATION §19â€"886â€"2830 ext. 213 Canadian Publications Mail Sales Publication Agreement Number 40050478 International Standard Serial Num her ASSN 0832â€"3410 Audited Circulation: 31.292 The Waterlao Chronicle is published each Wednesday by Metroland Media Group Ltd ONTARIO PRESS COUNCIL The Waterloo Chronicle is a member of The Ontario Press Council, which considers complaints against memâ€" ber newspapers. Any complaint about news. opmions advertising or conduct should first be taken to the newspaper. Unresolved complaints can be brought to: Ontario Press Council, 2 Carlton Street, Suite 1706, Toronto, ON., MSB 133 WATERLOO CHRONICLE COPYRIGHT The contents of this newspaper are protected by copyright and may be used only for personal nonâ€"commerâ€" cral purposes. All other rights are reserved and commercial use is proâ€" hibited. To make any use of this material you must first obtain the permission of the owner of the copyâ€" right. For further information conâ€" tact Bob Vrhanac. Editor. Waterioo Chromcle, 279 Weber St. N.. Sunte 20), Waterioo. Ontario N2J 3H8 LETTERS POLICY Letiers to the editor must contain the writer‘s full name, signature, address and telephone number. Addresses and telephone numbers are used only for venfication purposes and will not be published. Names will not be withâ€" held. We reserve the right to edit, conâ€" dense or reject any contribution for brevity or legai purposes. Leters may be submitted by fax to 519â€"886â€"9383 or by email to editorial@waterâ€" loochronicle.ca or by mail or delivâ€" ered to Waterloo Chronicle, 279 Weber St. N., Suite 20, Waterloo, Ontano N2J 3H8 519â€"886â€"2830 Fan: §19â€"886â€"9381 Watedoo, Ontania NX 1HX 279 Weber St. N., Suite 20 w w w. w aterloochromicle c« $19â€"886â€"9183 wl / City has a case of the yips is isn‘t so much a complaint about Waterloo counâ€" | cil‘s decision to hand over management of Grey Silo golf course to a private operator. This is more of a complaint on how it was done. Sure at face value the deal the city struck with Golf North makes financial sense. It will double or triple the revenue that Waterloo‘s only municipal golf course genâ€" erates for the city. . That‘s in keeping with a recommendation made by Justice Ron Sills during the RIM Park inquiry suggesting a private manager might run the facility more efficiently and derive a better return for the city. _ And we all know that the city needs more revenue as it faces a cash crunch in paying for even basic infrastrucâ€" ture like roads in this year‘s budget. _ _ But while it was ;;ublic knowledge that the city was investigating this leasing option, what wasn‘t known was how far along it was in the process. _ The é;:ilfr‘;epon was a later item during last week‘s committee of the whole meeting, and appeared for final approval at this week‘s cquncfl meeting. _ One week isn‘t a lot of time for the public to digest this decision and to wholeheartedly support it. _ Council said since it was a financial decision it required a lot of closed door negotiations. But since it is a public facility, local citizens deserved to be kept in the loop. There are also a lot of local golfers who liked how Grey Silo was run and the access that it provided to the general public. They are worried about what these changes might mean to their ability to play. ‘"i'hey have some leg;tirfiale questions about what this deal could potentially do to green fees, and whether Grey Silo will remain a true public course. _ _ _ It was once the site of a lot of charity golf events and fundraisers that give back to the community but don‘t necessarily generate a lot of profit Will it remain so? _ City council has the right to play through if they want to. But they should have shouted "fore" before they did. VIEWPOINT ‘m the first to admit that Iit's one of the things I reach for as I‘m heading out the door. Right after my wallet and car keys, my most constant companion is a water bottle It‘s not a status thing or a health thing. I usually buy the cheapest water I can find when I‘m grocery shopping. And I‘m not naive (Evian spelt backwards) to think that one brand is particularly better than another. As for the health benefits, I know water is good for you but I don‘t think ozonated water tastes any better than the regular water. So it must be a security thing. You never know when you‘re going to get caught alone in the desert without any water. If that‘s not it, then why do so many of us carry the clear plastic bottles as if the were another appendage? It‘s become a way of life for us, and a hard habit to break. It‘s something we don‘t really think about. It‘s just something we do out of convenience. But there is a growing concern about the battled water industry and its impact on the environment. And that opposition is growâ€" ing not just in Waterloo, where there is a concern about a plan by a private bottler to take more water out of the local groundwater system on the north side of the city. _ Whether it‘s the way these water bottles are cluttering up landfills, although locally they are being accepted as recycling material, to conâ€" ces about lack of testing and safeguards in place, this industry is coming under greater scrutiny. Did you know it takes 1 1/2 million barrels of oil a year to make a year‘s worth of bottles? I didn‘t. Or that chemicals that make up the packaging can leach into the water and effect your body chemistry. Some of the chemicals used to make up the bottles have been linked to unwanted weight gain while others have links to cancerous comâ€" pounds. That‘s not to mention that a lot of the water that ends up in this packaging is the same stuff that comes out of That was one of the surâ€" prising revelations that came out of the local licence application. Glenbriar is essentially going to pump out the same water that the region supplies to us on a Instead of pennies a glass, however, it costs $1.50 a botâ€" tle. That price difference should register with a lot of us. And while it costs more, there isn‘t any guarantee that the province is monitoring it any closer than the regular municipal water supply. in fact the local municipality faces far greater scrutiny and regulation than the bottled water industry. The water also isn‘t tested to the same stringent stanâ€" dard, say local water officials. is this another healthâ€" related time bomb? Some would say so. At Guelph‘s Hillside Festiâ€" val last summer, organizers gave out free water, and sold reusable containers because they believed so strongly in cutting down on the use of disposable bottles. And there is a movement among some restaurants to serve tap water and forgo the bottled beverage. There is also a North Americanâ€"wide movement this Friday to get people to give up their bottled water for a day. In Canada, we‘ve been blessed with an abundance of water but it doesn‘t mean the tap will run forever. Communities in the southâ€" en U.S., like Atlanta, are quickly finding that out. So when I leave for work Friday I think I‘ll try my new stainless steel container. Sure, it looks like a flask but it will taste like water. 1