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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, November 1, 2012 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 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. 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 905-631-6095 Guest Column Neil Oliver Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West David harvey Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief Daniel Baird Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor Riziero Vertolli Photography Director Sandy Pare Business Manager RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association MARK DILLS Director of Production Manuel garcia Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Website www.oakvillebeaver.com The OakvilleBeaver is a division of Striving to be the most livable town in Canada Rob Burton, Mayor of the Town of Oakville Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville ATHENA Award NIKKI Wesley / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog MUSIC TO THEIR EARS: Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn presented Cadet Support Committee Chair Himalaya Jain with a plaque commemorating a $49,500 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The 1188 Lorne Scots Royal Canadian Army Cadets Corps (Oakville Army Cadets) recently got their first look at the 32 new brass and woodwind instruments purchased by the Cadet Corps with the Trillium grant. The instruments will enable more young people to join the Cadets' new marching band. n everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo to find continuous improvement in efficiencies and amenities so our families will enjoy living in the place that strives to be Canada's most livable town. How we challenge the status quo is by controlling Rob Burton growth, debt and taxes to only what fits environmentally and economically, by saving green space and planting trees to get to 40 per cent canopy, and by adding community facilities we lived without for too long. What we're creating is a cleaner, greener town with lower rates of growth in population and taxes. "What we're creating is a We cut tax-paid debt by a third by makcleaner, greener town with ing growth pay more of its costs. We're focused on increasing efficiency lower rates of growth in to keep moving down the rate of increases population and taxes." of both the residents' total property tax bill and the total property tax levy. Oakville Mayor Rob Burton From 2002-06, the total property tax levy increased by an average of seven per cent a year. In my first term as mayor, it averaged five per cent. This term, it will average three per cent a year. People like the way we haven't sacrificed valued town and regional services in achieving our seven-five-three per cent direction. We added 800,000 square feet of overdue community facilities to the previous total of 1.1 million. We will make our 2015 donation to the cost of our new Oakville hospital without using taxes, thanks to new, non-tax revenues from renewable power projects. And by 2017, we will complete phase two of our remaining facilities needs. Our focus on increasing efficiency, value and livability is paying off for everyone. Connect with the mayor through Twitter, Facebook, contact 905-338-4173 or mayor@oakville.ca I How country dwellers bunkered down for Hurricane Sandy t's Monday morning. We're prepping for the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy, a hybrid storm so huge and heinous it has already taken lives and may well do damage upward of $100 billion. Collecting its thoughts out over the Atlantic Ocean, the hurricane that is as wide as the Prairies was expected to make landfall around New Jersey on Monday with about 60 million people in its projected path. You know how we so often laugh when meteorologists predict a "storm-of-the-century" scenario, and we end up with two drops of rain and a mild breeze? Sadly, Sandy appears poised to deliver with all the ferocity forecasters have been predicting for days. By all accounts, this is meteorological madness. The Perfect Storm of 1991, only way more perfect. This is Freak-enstorm -- or Frankenstorm -- which is why we took heed and hunkered down. Well, that and because we live in the country. As country dwellers, we are far more vulnerable to passing weather systems. Rural infrastructures are sad, susceptible things. We routinely lose power when the dog barks. Indeed as the rains came (and came and came) on the weekend before the storm, our power blinked off and on, as did our satellite reception (granted the satellite can seemingly be discombobu- I lated by any random passing cloud). On Sunday, the Canadian Red Cross issued an advisory for Ontario families to be prepared -- specifically, to have enough food and water to sustain themselves for 72 hours in case of blackouts. Here, in the middle of nowhere, we need to be doubly prepared: supplies purchased, Andy Juniper firewood into the house to dry, cell phones and computers fully juiced (without Internet, at least you can watch a DVD), flashlight and candles at the ready, that sort of thing. Oh, and bathtubs filled with water: when the power goes, that's the end of running water, pumped up from the well. Country people know that sans power, you've got one flush on each toilet, and then that's it. Of course, all of this makes a Juniper crazy. By nature we are intolerant of uncertainty. Whereas some would view this as a wild adventure, we look at it as "The End Of The World As We Know It." I contacted a friend whose daughter attends an east coast university in the direct path of the storm and asked how she's faring. He said he'd called her, but she couldn't talk: too busy planning a Hurricane Party. My father often recounted the story of Hurricane Hazel -- the 1954 storm that struck southern Ontario with devastating intensity -- and a guy he knew named Buddy; a guy who really liked his liquor. As the storm approached, all stores on our hometown's main street were shuttered up, save for a popular tavern where many of the locals holed up to wait out Hazel. At the storm's peak -- as rain slashed and winds whipped -- the doors of the tavern crashed open and in blew Buddy, landing on the floor in a soggy heap. Everyone gathered around to ensure Buddy was OK, and to castigate him for being out in the hurricane -- honestly, he could have been killed. Apparently already well-lubricated, bleary-eyed Buddy gazed up and famously retorted: "God protects drunks and sparrows." On Monday morning, Hurricane Sandy had us in her sights. With Buddy in mind, I'm considering a last-minute survival run to the liquor store. See you on the other side of the storm. Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook at www.facebook.com, or followed at www.twitter.com/ thesportjesters.