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w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER Fr id ay , N ov em be r 2 6, 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. As Halton Regional Police recognize the 25th anniversary of the emergency phone line 911, we were surprised to learn about one particular statistic. Police receive three to five 911 calls a day on average from children playing with the phone. Police would like to remind the public about some of the challenges they face with regard to 911 and offer some direction. First, educate your children on the proper use and importance of 911, but also make them aware that calls to the line are strictly for emergency sit- uations or to report a crime in progress. Also, police discourage people from program- ming the 911 number into the auto dial feature on their cell phone to avoid accidentally calling the service in a non-emergency situation. Did you know that when you dial 911 from your cell phone the signal goes to the closest cellular tower? Therefore, you should always be prepared to advise the 911 call taker what city or town youre phoning from, so the proper agency can address your emergency. If your matter is a non-emergency, call Halton police at 905-825-4777. You can also use the new Halton online police reporting system at www.haltonpolice.ca to report lost property, theft of property valued at less than $5,000, theft from a vehicle, and damage or vandal- ism to a home or vehicle. The offence must have occurred within Halton, there must be no known suspects and it must not be a crime in progress. Since its inception in 1985, Halton Regions 911 emergency line has received more than two million calls. On Nov. 15, 1985 then-Regional Chairman Peter Pomeroy and then-Halton Police Chief W.I. James Harding activated the system by dialing the first 9- 1-1 call in the region. We will never be able to determine how many lives we have saved or crimes we have prevented by the 911 system, said current Halton Police Chief Gary Crowell, but we do know it works and plays a vital role in keeping residents in the region of Halton safer as a result of its presence. 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 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. Letter to the editor9-1-1 not a toy 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 I feel the need to write regarding the overzealous way in which the parking enforce- ment officers from the Town were wielding their authority this past weekend. My husband and I were on our way Friday evening from our Front Street home, going to the tree lighting ceremony at the Towne Square and we noticed a car parked near the corner of Dunn and King streets, that was per- haps slightly protruding into a No Stopping zone, but a great distance from the curb. The streets were packed, of course, and the car was not really impeding the flow of traffic for anyone nor was it likely to be there for a lengthy period of time considering the family event that was proceeding in the Town Centre. I approached the Parking Enforcement Officer who was beginning to write a ticket for the vehicle and asked him if he was really going to write a ticket taking into considera- tion the night and time and the event. He said Parking enforcement was overzealous Pud BY STEVE NEASE neasecartoons@gmail.com Remove HST from hydro bills I would like to voice my extreme disappointment on the HST tax on hydro bills in particular which has increased my bill to the tune of $120.00 per month. This unreasonable tax places an unbelievable hardship on every resi- dent in Ontario. This government feels that the only way to bail itself out of their over-expenditures is to tax every resident to the limit on an essential of life. We are a middle class family of four that is trying to maintain our own business.Tax after tax has come into place over the last few years which we self-employed small business have suffered but now this tax on hydro not only impacts my business but now impacts my family. This is not a green measure but indeed another way to tax the already overburdened population of Ontario with more taxes. Premier Dalton McGuinty should be ashamed of himself for initiating this tax in the first place without even consulting the voters but to imple- ment this tax on every basic essential is unthinkable. To think that wind turbines will alleviate the problem only shows me that he certainly has not done his homework very well. Not only his homework, but he obviously has no faith in Canadian workers as he feels that the manufacture of these tur- bines, which he has sourced else- where takes dollars out of our econo- my into the hands of a third party. Also, I am most annoyed at the ever changing gasoline prices con- sidering gas prices are reduced at refinery levels and raised at the pumps. My job takes me on the road constantly and these prices have lim- ited my ability to earn a living and serve my customers. Take the HST off these two essen- tial commodities and perhaps the public will view this government as someone who genuinely is concerned about their welfare. RITA JONES, OAKVILLE See Reader page 14