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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, November 9, 2012 · 6 OPINION & LETTERS 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 905-631-6095 -- 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Oakville Beaver THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America Canadian Community Newspapers Association ATHENA Award NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of 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 MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Thank you Once again it's time to remember... but Remembrance Day is so much more than that. It's not a moment of silence in our busy lives, or a prayer for those who are gone. It is about appreciating sacrifices made for our benefit and learning from the past. It is a time to feel pride for the country we are -- to the values we, as a nation, hold dear and the efforts of our ancestors and our neighbours to build upon it. We need to give thanks to our veterans because without them, we would have become, and could now be, a very different country. They have lost friends and family and far too many lost their lives. They fought and died for freedom. We wear poppies near our hearts to demonstrate that our veterans hold a place in our hearts and that we recognize we must never forget their effort. We must remember how important all the contributions, sacrifices and efforts made, and the many lives lost, to secure and ensure our freedom today -- and pass that on to our children. Even today, the ugly images of war prevail around the globe. We have seen what it is like for our soldiers in Afghanistan. Through the media and social media, we have seen footage and learned about their hardships. We need to be grateful for that and value their efforts. We should take the time to support them and their families and pray for their safety. We must remember the sacrifices today of our military personnel, and their families, is the very same sacrifice made -- for many at the highest possible price, their life -- in the past. We, in Canada, enjoy living in a country that is peaceful, offers abundant opportunities, respect for all of its citizens and the freedom to live our lives. Freedom is priceless. It should never be taken for granted. Our veterans, past and present, carry that knowledge and we should, too. They have and do risk their lives to defend it. To all our service people, both past and present, we offer you our deepest respect and most sincere thanks. 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 editor Dreams do come true 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@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Awareness effort is appreciated It was 7:30 p.m. on Monday and our dog began barking like crazy. Outside there were two people wearing vests with the word Volunteer clearly displayed. I cautiously opened the door and the man explained to me that they were helping to keep our neighbourhood safe. He handed me some safety information from the Halton Regional Police and said that they noticed our car door was unlocked. Normally, we're very careful to lock the car door as we know that this is one of the most common crimes in Oakville, but this evening it was indeed unlocked. We would like to send a big thank you to those friendly volunteers for taking their valuable time to check on the security of vehicles parked in our neighbourhood. Your thoughtfulness is most appreciated and, in future, we will be sure to double-check that our vehicles are always locked. Marilyn MacMillan, Oakville Editor's Note: The Halton Regional Police and volunteers have been visiting neighbourhoods this week for Crime Prevention Week to help raise resident awareness of the importance of securing vehicles and valuables. Follow Oakville Beaver staff on Twitter @OakvilleBeaver or @NewsHooked @DavidLea6 @DominikKurek @BeaverSports or @Halton_Photog Our names are Julia and Emma Mogus and together we founded an organization known as Books With No Bounds. We call ourselves Teens On A Mission to bring books and improve literacy skills among First Nations youths in the Nishanwbe Aski Nation communities... but our mission could never succeeded without the generosity and kindness of others. On behalf of Books With No Bounds, we are extraordinarily grateful to Hopedale Mall for its generosity and efforts in making our book drive such a wonderful success. You have brought our community together and helped to collect thousands and thousands of books for our friends to the north... we are sincerely grateful. We would also like to thank Panago Pizza, Whole Foods and the Organic Farmers Market for your continued support and to the Oakville Chamber of Commerce for kindness in allowing us to be a part of the Environmental Awareness Day. To LIUNA Ontario Provincial District Council for donating $600 to help us pay for shipping the books by plane for and LIUNA Local 607 for transporting 55 boxes of books to Thunder Bay... we are touched by your generosity and compassion to help improve the lives of First Nations children and teens. We want to sincerely thank Wasaya Airways LP for its incredibly generous discount and ongoing support to send these books to the 24 remote and fly-in-only communities of the Nishanwbe Aski Nation. One day, we hope we can fly on your plane to meet our fellow brothers and sisters to the north. See Special page 7