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Yet the community as a whole did not speak through a supposed petition of 635 names, or any surâ€" vey of the IRRA, which I as a memâ€" ber, did not see. The writers do not represent me; councillor Bill Logan did and does speak for me on this issue. He worked diligently with the Wing Hang Corporation and the Town‘s Planning Department to bring the original proposal of 41 townhouses and a density of 49 units per site hectare down to that of the final report: 34 townhouses at a density of 39 units per site hectare. This is a tiny parcel of .87 hectares for inâ€"filling or redevelopment. The surrounding medium density is 25â€"35 units per site hectare; the proposal was four units more than the neighbouring maximum on a full hectare. On .87 hectares, the difference in actual bodies is no more than 6 to 10 peoâ€" ple. How could that impact on a community that loses more than 10 times the number every September? The difference is peanuts in today‘s economy and flat real estate market. Density doesn‘t mean much anyâ€" We‘re faced with another sumâ€" mer when lowâ€"life creatures will be attracted to this derelict site during cover of darkness. This site is worse than the "holeâ€"inâ€"theâ€"ground" or the Granary issues of downtown Oakville which dragged on for years. The lowâ€"life creatures know this site offers protection from visuâ€" al surveillance, and they will come from a wider radius than just this local community. The writers agree that the existing Grand Blyvd. Plaza is an eyesore by daylight and "the site of undesirable activity". Dear Sir: Here we are, in the lazy, hazy days of summer and I‘m reading again about a rezoning and townâ€" house proposal for the Grand Blyd. Plaza site which the Council of the Town of Oakville turned down six months ago. Two writers, who opposed the rezoning proposal, in recent Letters to the Editor do not recant at all. Yet what have they, or the Iroquois Ridge community, gained? Absolutely nothing posiâ€" tive. The developer has walked away. Grand Blyd.: the plaza that won‘t go away But half a century after he took control of the country‘s first socialist governâ€" ment, we wonder what Tommy Douglas might be thinking about his legacy if he was still alive. Somehow, we don‘t think he‘d recognize his own party. _~ As for Mr. Rae, trailing badly in the polls and running out of time before he must face the electorate again, he says it‘s far too early to write off his government. He told supporters on the weekend that when he went into the last election, polls had him trailing the Liberals when the NDP took Ontario in one of the most stunning election wins in provincial history. NDP governments in Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Ontario have quickly found out that their particular brand of socialist philosophy just doesn‘t cut it when it comes to ruling in the 1990s. All of these governments have found that the underâ€" lying dogma of the NDP of social responsibility cannot be accommodated without the cash in the coffers to pay for these services. The result of this situation has been a series of moves by all three of these provincial governments to cut their deficits, slash programs and otherwise act in a way that many oldâ€"time NDP supporters can‘t recognize as the party they have supâ€" ported over the years. What long time NDP supporter, for instance, could ever have thought that an NDP premier would actually go on the offensive against labor by instituting a Social Contract that hit hard at provincial civil servants, most of whom are unionâ€" Ontario Premier Bob Rae‘s argument to union objections to his moves is that without restraint now, there can be no gains later. It might as well be the response of a Liberal or Progressive Conservative premier. Such is the result when a governâ€" ment finds itself in a fiscal bind and must actually put most of their efforts into savâ€" ing money and cutting costs instead of spending money and expanding services. viceâ€"president Dan Quayle in Toronto for a bookâ€"signing opportunity and peech. Quayle, it should be noted, is setting the stage for his political comeback as a Republican candidate for the U.S. presidency in the next election. When asked about Canadian politics and our leaders, he remembered a Kim somebody but couldn‘t come up with Prime Minister Jean Chretien‘s name. And this is a guy who was second in command of the most powerful country in the world, not to mention our neighbour. fi post script to a recent editorial on the appearance of former United States It‘s scary stuff. But if we survived a Ronald Regan government, we can probaâ€" bly survive just about any President the Americans elect. . Federal leader Audrey McLaughlin is just treading water until the party can find another leader. She was at the helm last fall when the NDP was reduced to nine members in the House of Commons and she has handed in her resignation. And there isn‘t any shining light on the horizon that looks capable of getting the party into fighting trim between now and the next federal election. 50th anniversary of the election of the Coâ€"operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) as the provincial government in Saskatchewan under leadâ€" er Tommy Douglas. Todzy marks a milestone in Canadian political history. June 15th marks the Under normal circumstances, this would be a time for all New Democratic Party (the offshoot of the CCF) members to celebrate. But throughout Canada both on a provincial and national basis, there is precious little to celebrate. The NDP legacy Jean who? more, anyway, in actual numbers because of emptyâ€"nesters and other lowâ€"occupancy factors. But someâ€" how, overnight, the writers became experts and knew more than the planning staff we pay to do their jobs in the best interest of the Town. They wanted only 28 townhouses, for which they were not paying the bills, nor could they rationalized. Presently, I pay almost $6,000 annually in property taxes, of which nearly 60% is allocated to the Halton Board of Education, and the Chair of the Board, trustee Dave Whiting has two kids "edit and rewrite the report from our business staff" so that taxâ€" payers might have a better underâ€" I met with the developer myself and was convinced that the best numbers the community was going to get were as proposed. The planâ€" ning staff and councillor Bill Logan had done a good job with the negoâ€" Dear Sir: Like most people, I don‘t like to pay property taxes. However, I realâ€" ize that to live in a pleasant, safe, and educated community, I am obligated to pay these taxes and do so faithfulâ€" ly even though I object regularly to increases. When I opened my property tax bill, the usual flyer accompanied my bill and I examined the literature. Imagine my surprise when I read that the Chair of the Halton Board, trustee David Whiting, named and used a report from two elementary school children from Acton, to report to Oakville taxpayers, on the budget process! Using students to explain budget is outrageous While entirely inappropriate in a tax bill, such a "report" could only be justified as a classroom assignment As a former educator for the Halton Board of Education, I find this use of our talented students most objectionable. It has always been my understanding that I pay taxes to have our students educated by teachâ€" ers and not exploited by a trustee to softsell the taxpayer with an edited and rewritten report from "our busiâ€" ness staff" about the "budget proâ€" cess". In my opinion, Chair Dave Whiting might consider reporting on the "budget process" himself if he believes the "budget process" needs explanation in a tax bill. Or does he, as a trustee, spend his time scouting our schools to exploit talented kids who are willing to "edit and rewrite" reports from staff? tiations, hence staff‘s recommendaâ€" tion to Council to support the rezoning application. The writers didn‘t stop to realize that in today‘s economy, developers don‘t have another $100,000 to rework another proposal each time someone cries ‘more‘. It‘s not the writers‘ money to spend wither but they have nothing to loseâ€"â€"except the opportuâ€" nity to help the Grand Blvd. plaza disappear forever. Realtors, neighbours abutting the property and facing it and those who lost money selling nearby properties all urged Council to supâ€" standing of the "implications" if they could "read it through the minds of our students". Got a gripe? Give us a call. Readers are invited to express their opinion on a topic of their choice by calling 845â€"5585, box 5250. All callers are allowed 45 secâ€" onds to express their opinion and must provide their name, address and phone number for verification. A cross section of the responsâ€" es will be published in next Wednesday‘s Oakville Beaver. [SPEAK YOUR MIND! The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be signed and include the writer‘s address and phone number. Letters should be typed, doubleâ€"spaced and addressed to: Letters to the Editor, The Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 384 845â€"3824 Fax: 845â€"3085 Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809 Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 THE.OAKVILLE BEAVER Why are we paying Board administrators? or as a project assigned by a teacher if it was part of the elementary curâ€" riculum. Otherwise, it must have been solicited and used by the Chair of the Halton Board of Education specifically to be peddled to the overburdened taxpayer in lieu of Whitings‘ own report about the budâ€" get itself. What will trustee Chair Dave Whiting have the taxpayers read next "through the minds of our students" in our elementary schools...the $285â€" million dollar budget? Oakville pays the biggest cut of these education taxes and property tax levies. Now we get the budget process explained by children from Acton. Is this supposed to be amusing to citizens holding down two jobs in order to meet tax bills and supporting giant bureaucracies? Clearly, from the Chair of the Board‘s exploitation of these children, we would be well suited in using the students and getting rid of expensive adminisâ€" trators, especially if these students can explain the budget process so well in a 1/4 of a page. Most of our tax money is caught up in administration costs and NOT in direct teaching and classroom costs. I would rather pay a teacher than an administrator (if I had any choice) because it would benefit our children directâ€" ly. port the staff recommendation. Others, like myself, residents of the community for 27 years or more, were in favor because we know our history of development, we know when we have a good plan and we are realistic. And we support a likeâ€" minded councillorâ€"Bill Loganâ€"who worked hard to get to this comproâ€" mise for the benefit of all of the Iroquois Ridge community. This was a straightforward planning matâ€" ter that turned ugly when the writers and others led by Jim Smith made it political. Most unfortunate for us all. Anne Fairfield Perhaps, we should hire these children and fire the top administration, who earn approximately $120K to $135K per annum to write and implement the budget process for us! You see, the Halton Board has yet to BALANCE a budâ€" cet! It‘s insulting enough to know that out of every property tax dollar I sweat for, approximately 60 cents goes to the Halton Board of Education through a tax levy. Now the Chair of the Board uses children from Acton to edit and reâ€" write the budget process. Dear Sir: Inside my property tax bill, there was a letter from the Chair of the Halton Board, Dave Whiting, along with the budget process as explained and written by children. Marianne Hawthorne My entire family â€" that‘s right, family, as "traditional" as it might be â€" supported this bill because our values include fair treatment for all. My spouse (husband), two daughters, and I, hold this value because we believe that until all in our society are included and treated the same, sanctioning discrimination against some means that we are all at risk. The next time I contact my MPP, I hope to be listened to and have my views accurately reflected in any public statement that is made. Not all responses that Ms. Sullivan received towards the bill were negâ€" ative. When people are trying to create a system where equality exists for all, what TFV is offended? When someone wishes to protect those with whom they have a close emotional bond (via health and other benefits) what TFV is offended? How can our political leaders justify killing this legislation (which promotes faimess) when they ignore the social morass within which many "traditional families" exist â€" poverty, homelessness, abuse and abandonment, divorce, custody battles, etc. etc. Ms. Sullivan is quoted as being prepared to engage in some "intense lobbying" against the vote for same sex benefits. Not only is she wrong when she makes the statement that "...her view against the policy reflected the views of her constituents", but her comment that this bill represents a "moral challenge" (as a threat to soâ€"called tradiâ€" tional family values...TFV) skews what many of us truly do value. Dear Sir: . Re: Sunday, June 5th article "Halton Centre MPP will lobby to try and kill same sex benefits". I am disappointed that my MPP has carelessly misrepresented the opinions and values of her constituents. In the article that appeared in the Beaver on June 5th, 1994, Barbara Sullivan is attributed with the statement that "response (to the bill providing same sex benefits) has come from a wide spectrum of people...all in the negative." Considering that I, a constituent, took the time to call her office to regâ€" ister my support of the legislation, her statement at best is inaccurate, and may be a blatant misrepresentation. Constituents misrepresented by MPP in sameâ€"sex debate LETTER OF THE DAY Arleen Reinsborough Products made ; . of laminated, gwaxed or . ecycling because the omponents cannot be separated. Paper envelopes with plastic windows. â€" Disposable diapers. ? â€" Shrinkâ€"wrap packaging with cardboard _ backing (e.g. hardware items). â€" Tetrapak juice cartons. â€" Snack food wrappers made of plastic and aluminum (e.g. potato chips, chocolate bars). â€" Cereal boxes; pizza boxes (because of contamination with food residues). e Don‘t put these in your Blue Box. e Lobby for proper labelling 5.0 of nonâ€"recyclable items. _ aaf IN THIS CROWD2Z. June 15, 199