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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, October 20, 2011 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 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. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Guest Column Region plans for future Gary Carr, Halton Region Chair n Oct. 5, Regional Council approved Halton's most recent Transportation Master Plan called The Road to Change, which plans our transportation system up to the year 2031. It also approved the Sustainable Halton Water and Wastewater Master Plan. This plan ensures Halton continues to provide a safe and uninterrupted water supply for all Gary Carr Halton residents and businesses that receive regional water, as well as ensuring wastewater is treated efficiently and effectively. By approving these master plans, Halton Regional Council continues its progressive and long-term perspective on planning for growth in Halton. Our transportation system is made up of a network of roads and services owned and operated by the Province, the Region and the local municipalities. Our Transportation Master Plan looks at all of these components and provides a long range plan to ensure Halton residents and businesses can travel throughout the Region in a safe and efficient manner. The regional road system includes more than $1 billion in road-related infrastructure, with more than 900 lane kilometres of roads, 206 traffic signals and 122 bridges and large culverts. Over the next 20 years, the work identified through the Transportation Master Plan will bring the value of our transportation infrastructure to more than $3 billion. Halton's transportation system must provide us with options and seamless travel within Halton and the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. However, it's not enough to just widen roads in order to accommodate the travel demand in 2031. We also need to incorporate new road corridors, provide for cycling and walking, promote travel demand management (such as carpooling) and accommodate enhanced municipal and inter-regional (GO) transit services. We're not only planning for our transportation infrastructure, but also for our water and wastewater infrastructure. By the year 2031, Halton Region will have approximately $7.5 billion in water and wastewater infrastructure. This will help provide the water and wastewater services we need to ensure that we can build and maintain this infrastructure with minimal disruptions to residents and businesses. Ensuring the right infrastructure is in the right place at the right time is a critical responsibility for Halton Regional Council. As part of our commitment to Halton's infrastructure, we're making a significant commitment with funding of more than $190 million, this year alone. Working together, we can ensure Halton Region remains a great place to live, work, raise a family and retire. NEIL OLIVER Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver is a division of O Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville SUBMITTED PHOTO TEAM BROTHER BEAR: On Friday, Oct. 14 Nikki Brasil, a T.A. Blakelock Grade 12 French Immersion student, raised $4,450 for SickKids Foundation at the fourth annual Team Brother Bear Foundation Gala dinner at Le Dome Banquet Hall. In a live auction, she donated her hair to assist women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments. Nikki earmarked the funds for the b.r.a.i.n.child Foundation of SickKids -- the charity of choice of her late cousin Austin Brasil, a Loyola student, who at 17, while battling an inoperable brain tumour, raised $5,000 and through his vision inspired the creation of the Team Brother Bear Foundation. The pride and joy of a man whose parental forté is fretting L ast weekend she turned 16. Sweet 16 (well, most of the time). I know what you're thinking: how could a man as youthful as me possibly have a 16-year-old daughter? It's a question I frequently pose to myself, and I find both the truth and math of the matter to be mind-boggling. I introduced our daughter to this readership shortly after she was born (that's right, I've been at this that long). I documented that, as a baby, she was bright, beautiful, happy, and a handful: to the point where we nicknamed her Hurricane Haley. I don't specifically remember why, only that there were nights where colic reared its head and she went all Linda Blair on us. Yeah, a few nights where we would have given pretty much anything just to find her elusive `off button.' Well, you'll be happy to hear, she's grown into an incredible (young) adult. If you're a regular reader of these meandering missives, you won't be surprised to discover I nevertheless worry about her. Fretting is my forté. I know, I know, I probably should not worry. Compared to me at that age (heck, compared to most people I've known at that age), she has it all together. Further, I fully believe the future belongs to these young women. Absolutely. Do the research. This current generation of girls is projected to leap ahead of their male counterparts in most areas of life. Taking full advantage of gender wars won by their mothers and grandmothers -- not to mention their own ambition and smarts -- this current crop will be better educated and overall better equipped to take Andy Juniper on the world. And kick butt. All this with very little help from a society that seems intent on under-serving and undermining its youths, both female and male. A recent survey of teenage girls found many were being shaped by the idiotic behavior of the reality TV characters they regularly watch. Alas, girls who watch these shows were found to be more inclined (than those who refrained from watching) to believe they "have to compete for a guy's attention", that "gossiping is a normal part" of female relationships, and that their worth is based on looks. I'm not sure mainstream TV is any healthier. While there are a rash of new so-called "girl comedies" out there this season, many seem intent on trying to survive by simply being increasingly crass, and by portraying women as over-the-top, cartooncliché sassy (read: crude). I dropped the notion of any of these women actually being role models when I saw a scene that had one of these young, and purportedly independent, characters falling off to sleep... in full makeup. Honestly, what does that tell young women? So, yeah, naturally I worry. Thankfully Haley and her peers seem to be drawing strength, inspiration and vision from role models not found in movies, TV shows, etc., but, rather, from the everyday women around them: grandmothers, mothers, aunts, sisters and friends. Last weekend Hurricane Haley turned 16. Sweet 16 (well, most of the time). We love her madly and she makes us ridiculously proud. Granted, there are times when we still find ourselves trying to locate her elusive `off button.' Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail. com, found on Facebook http://www.facebook.com, or followed at www.twitter.com/thesportjesters.