The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

6 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday February 6, 2009 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of Media Group Ltd. DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager Keep silent killer at bay In the wake of recent news reports deaths and near-tragedies caused by carbon monoxide poisoning this winter, the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC) and the Ontario Fire Marshall's Public Safety Council have joined forces with a leading CO alarm manufacturer to issue a free public education pamphlet online that it hopes will protect families and save lives. "The steady stream of tragedies this winter is proof that people need to wake-up to the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning," says Bruce Burrell, president of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs. "Media are reporting that in homes where deaths or near-misses occur, attending fire departments or safety officials are finding no CO alarms or not enough CO alarms installed. By making this simple pamphlet available for download, we're hoping to help Canadians educate themselves about the steps they need to take to keep their families safer." The one-page pamphlet called Your Guide To Help Protect Your Family From Carbon Monoxide Tragedy outlines the causes of carbon monoxide gas -- dubbed the "silent killer" since it is colorless, odorless and tasteless -- and the multiple threats to Canadian households. The download also clearly recommends how many CO alarms a home requires and lays out maintenance and replacement tips. It is available free at www.SafeAtHome.ca. While working smoke detectors are common in most homes, CO alarms are less common. This shouldn't be the case. The proper installation of CO alarms in your home could save your life. In these uncertain economic times, people are looking at many ways to reduce their household budgets and save money. Putting the safety of your family at risk in order to save a few dollars, however, should never be contemplated. If you do not have a working CO alarm in your home, please visit www.SafeAtHome.ca and find out what needs to be done to keep your family safe. A quick visit might just save you a lifetime of grief. The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Parents must distinguish between needs and wants Re: Children should not be use as pawns for parents' agenda, Oakville Beaver, Jan. 30. The letter writer, L. Dalgarno, needs to recognize the difference between "need" and "want." I "want" my children to go to a single-track French immersion (FI) school, because I strongly believe in the sense of community, belonging, and a true "immersion" experience that goes along with that. I will strongly advocate for this program, because this is what I "want" for my children. I "need" my children to go to school, and for that reason I would not pull my children out of the French immersion program, regardless of location. See the difference? Even though I may need to tell my daughter she would be changing schools for the third time in four years, I would do that, because I believe in the program. Now, let's put the shoe on the other foot. Dalgarno "wants" her children to stay at their community school, because she "wants" her kids to walk to school, and she sees the FI program as something that can be an "add-on" novelty within an English- first school. If Dalgarno's community school, say Pilgrim Wood, were to change from English to singletrack FI, Dalgarno could be free to move her children to another Glen Abbey school, because her children "need" to go to school. That is a "need", not a "want". "Want" versus "need" -- Dalgarno "wants" her children to not have to move schools, she doesn't "need" that -- and she should stop hiding her true intentions behind a smokescreen of "shaming parents" for encouraging their children to be part of the solution. JEFF FORD Keep single-track French immersion As a kid in French immersion, I believe that every one should be able to access this program. I am fully bilingual. When I travel outside Canada with my parents, I am able to communicate with other French-speaking people. I have made friends from Montreal, Paris and Africa, children who only speak French because they don't have an immersion program like we have in Oakville. They think I am lucky. I know I am blessed. Please keep the singletrack French immersion as it is. It works. M. STECKEL GRADE 4 ECOLE FOREST TRAIL Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline.