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

w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER W e dn es da y, Se pt em be r 1 , 2 01 0 6 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends The Oakville Beaver Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. OPINION & LETTERS Letters to the editor 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@oakville- beaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Following a recent rash of break-ins across the region, Halton Regional Police recently issued a reminder to homeowners to be vigilant when securing their homes and ensuring alarm systems are activated. The warning came on the heels of a series of break-ins in Halton and the arrest of two suspects allegedly responsible for a series of 34 entries into homes in Burlington and Oakville. The simple fact is many homeowners do not take enough preventative steps to protect their property from crimi- nals. While vacation sea- son is winding down, that doesnt mean homeowners should lower their guard. Several tips in secur- ing your home while on holidays also apply for when you arent on vacation. Among the simple things you can do to help deter break-ins are: Use automatic timers that turn lights on and off to give your home the appearance of it being occupied Leave a door key and key to your alarm sys- tem (if you have one) with a neighbour If you will be away for a longer than normal period of time, let close neighbours know how long you will be gone and provide details about any persons who will be visiting your home dur- ing your absence If you have a second car, leave it in your drive- way or arrange to have a neighbour park their car in your driveway Check all windows and doors to make sure that they are locked Lock your garage It doesnt take a thief long to break into your home and make off with prized possessions and valuables. Making it harder for them to do so or causing them to move on is simply a matter of common sense. Media Group Ltd. The Oakville Beaver is a division of NEIL OLIVER Vice President and Group Publisher of Metroland West DAVID HARVEY Regional 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 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 typograph- ical 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 pub- lisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Letter to the editorCommon sense prevents break-ins Re: Squirrels, rabbits and coy- otes, oh my!, Oakville Beaver, Aug. 25 Thank you to Sara McCormick for her letter regarding coyotes in Oakville. My concern is for the safety of pedestrians, dog walkers, small chil- dren as well as the elderly with the increase in the number of bikers on the trails in Oakville including Glen Abbey. I walk the trails every afternoon and am constantly being run off the trail or almost driven into by speed- ing bikers, some are teenagers. I have been stunned at the increasing number of adult men who race through the trails and do not slow down when approaching blind corners or other pedestrians on the track. They have no bells on their bikes and do not alert anyone to their presence until they are on top of them and sooner or later someone will get hurt. I had a near miss last week on the Glen Abbey trails. Bikers should be reminded that pedestrians have right of way on the trails; not the bikers and they need to slow down and yield to pedestri- ans and ring a bell when they are approaching from behind. I commend bikers for exercising and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, however, a little consideration for non bikers and common sense would be appreciated. Additionally, a growing number of speeding bikers are now racing through the Leash Free area at Bronte Creek Park where not only do they cause damage to the envi- ronment by building ramps and damming streams, but endanger both the dog owners and their dogs. Some dogs will also chase the bikes when they speed by, endangering the rider. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: ATHENAAward THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIALMEDIASPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Canadian CirculationAudit Board Member Canadian CommunityNewspapers AssociationOntario CommunityNewspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America Re: Calling trustees, Oakville Beaver, Aug. 18. I believe there is a fourth explanation for the lack of candidates running for school board trustee and it pertains to the nature of the board structure. We have all witnessed since the past two elections, the trustees engage with the commu- nity and staff as an operational entity versus a governance board. The differences and commit- ments are profound. We've seen an operational board first hand, for example, in Ward 3 southeast Oakville how the trustees became deeply involved in the school closure issue over the past few years and passed motions they put forward at the board meeting that overrode staff recommendations and community consensus. Contrast this with a governance board model, whereby the trustees concern them- selves with significant policy issues, goals and objectives and the fiscal budget allowing the staff (educational experts) to manage the day-to- day operations of education in Halton. I support the Province taking greater control of the educational system in Ontario and I believe giving the authority to the educational experts at the staff level and Ministry. Hopefully trustee boards will become gover- nance boards and thereby attract more individ- uals. In this structure I believe the pay would be commensurate with the commitment. MARK CASKENETTE, OAKVILLE Trustees should govern more and rule less I was dismayed to discover last Fridays article describing the closing of Treasure Island Books on Kerr Street. It has been a delight being able to scan the many books within the depths of the book- store. Contemplating the story hidden within each spine. Reading is both a great pleasure and crucial tool for many people. I hope that customers have discovered a love of reading in the used books of the store. Bruce Ferrier has supplied Oakvillians with literature for 37 years, and I thank him for that. Kelly Powell, Oakville Trails bikers pose danger to pedestrians Treasure Island bookstore will be missed The simple fact is many homeowners do not take enough preventative steps to protect their property from criminals . See Cyclists page 9