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8 + WATERLOO CHRONICLE * Wednesday, Oct. 3 Peter WINKLER PUBLISHER EDITORIAL jormston@waterloochronicle.ca Bob VRBANAC EDITOR ext. 229 editorial@ waterloochronicle.ca sports @waterloochronicle ca Jennifer ORMSTON REPORTER ext. 203 Gerry MATTICE ext. 230 RETAIL SALES MANAGER ADVERTISING sales@ waterloochronicle.ca SALES REPRESENTATIVES Norma CYCA ext. 223 neyca@ waterloochronicle.ca Bill PIHURA ext. 228 bpihura@waterloochronicle.ca Carly GIBBS ext. 222 cgibbs@ waterloochronicle.ca Alicia DE BOER ext. 202 adeboer@waterloochronicle.ca CLASSIFIED 519â€"895â€"5230 CIRCULATION 519â€"886â€"2830 ext. 213 Canadian Publications Mail Sales Publication Agreement Number 40050478 International Standard Serial Numâ€" ber ASSN 0832â€"3410 Audited Circulation: 31,292 The Waterloo Chronicle is published each Wednesday by Metroland Media Group Ltd ONTARIO PRESS COUNCIL The Waterloo Chronicle is a member of The Ontario Press Council, which considers complaints against memâ€" ber newspapers. Any complaint about news. opinions advertising or conduct should first be taken to the newspaper. Unresolved complaints can be brought to: Ontario Press Council, 2 Carlton Street. Suite 1706. Toronto, ON., MSB 113. COPYRIGHT The contents of this newspaper are protected by copyright and may be used only for personal nonâ€"commerâ€" cial purposes. All ather rights are reserved and commercial use is proâ€" hibsted. To make any use of this material you must first obtain the permission of the owner of the copyâ€" tight. For further information conâ€" tact Bob Vrhanac. Editor, Waterloo Chronicle, 279 Weber St. N., Suite 20, Waterloo, Ontario N2J 3H8 WATERLOO CHRONICLE LETTERS POLICY Letiers to the editor must contain the writer‘s full name, signature, address and telephone number. Addresses and telephone numbers are used only for verification purposes and will not be published. Names will not be withâ€" held. We reserve the right to edit, conâ€" dense or reject any contribution for brevity or legal purposes. Letters may be submitted by fax to $19â€"886â€"9383 or by email to editorial@waterâ€" loochronicle.ca or by mail or delivâ€" ered to Waterloo Chronicle, 279 Weber St. N.. Suite 20, Waterlo0, Ontario N2J 3H8 279 Weber St. N., Suite 20 Waterioo. Ontano N2J 3H8 $19â€"886â€"2830 Fax: 519â€"886â€"9383 www waterloochromcle.ca FAX 519â€"886â€"9383 EMAIL editorial @ waterfoochronicle.ca ter Way. And here‘s to hoping they don‘t drown in a sea of good intentions. For starters, they‘ve called themselves a grassroots group but as was pointed out at the press conference to release their initial findings, they weren‘t quite as diverse as the communities they claim to represent. They hope that diversity of voices as well as views come out in the series of community forums that they will hold in area municipalities inviting the public to have their say on how the region is governed. The only issue is this group has stated a preference for oneâ€"tier government, or amalgamation of the area‘s eight municipalities, although they stayed away from using that word. That‘s fine as long as they are open to all alternatives advanced by the public, including two new municipaliâ€" ties separated by Highway 401, or even those who might think the local municipal government isn‘t so much broâ€" ken as it is in need of a tuneâ€"up. The logistics of how to preserve communities while streamlining governance is also something that needs to be resolved and will meet opposition from places like Cambridge and right here in Waterloo. Ultimately the whole proposition is a nonâ€"starter without the majority of local politicians as well as local citizens being on board for the process, which hopes to wrap up next summer, That was the message from Queen‘s Park, which has no particular appetite for amalgamation after it was tried in areas like Toronto, Ottawa and Hamilton. To gauge public support it would be only natural to assume a local referendum would be held to let people vote on their preferred options. Unfortunately, organizers of this latest reform effort have no plans of holding one so we‘re not sure that passes the litmus test for support. Referendum vote needed 2007 group called Citizens for Better Government have waded into the waters of municipal reform again with the release of their report called Finding a Betâ€" VIEWPOINT Making decisions is part of parenting. You choose what time your children must be home at night, and what they have for dinner. Right now, you also get to decide whether or not to have them vaccinated against the human papilloâ€" mavirus, also known as HPV. This decision has left some parents elated, and others outraged. It‘s believed the vaccine, called Gardasil, could preâ€" vent the majority of cervical cancer cases. But some people cite its cost, uncertainty over its > longâ€"term effects and possiâ€" bility it promotes premarital sex as reasons not to get the vaccination. These arguments, in my mind, lack an understanding of the big picture. _ Gardasil is available to females aged nine to 26, and girls in Grade 8 get it for free. Dr. Liana Nolan, the comâ€" missioner and medical offiâ€" cer of health for Waterloo Region, believes it‘s an effecâ€" tive vaccine. Odds favour HPV vaccine "Given that we have something that can prevent (cancer}, it‘s absolutely worth doing," she said. The vaccine prevents the two most common strains of HPV which lead to 70 per cent of all cervical cancer In Canada, 400 women give me a break. die of cervical cancer each For starters, Nolan said year, 140 in Ontario. This there‘s no evidence that‘s vaccine has the potential of true. reducing those figures by 70 And parents who think a @nHTH per cent Those were odds I couldâ€" n‘t pass on, which is why I‘ve had all three doses of the vaccine at a total cost of One argument Nolan‘s heard against the vaccine is cervical cancer isn‘t as comâ€" mon as breast cancer. It‘s still the second leading cause of cancer death in women aged 20 to 44. _ But what‘s the point of that statement? "From a prevention point of view, we should do everyâ€" thing we can do to prevent breast cancer, but why should we not also do everyâ€" thing we can to prevent cerâ€" vical cancer?" she said. "And why do we need to rate those two interventions against each other?" _ As for the argument that Gardasil will lead to higher instances of premarital sex, give me a break. For starters, Nolan said there‘s no evidence that‘s vaccine that prevents one STD will encourage their daughters to jump into bed with a man earlier than they would have anyway are deluding themselves. "We‘ve found girls, particâ€" ularly with this vaccine, have a pretty good understanding that it has nothing to do with gonorrhea or chlamydia, they‘re not making that misâ€" take," Nolan said. And even if a girl waits until she‘s married to become sexually active, her husband could still pass the virus on to her. For those who are conâ€" cerned about the longâ€"term effects of the vaccine, Nolan said it has gone through the same process any vaccine goes through to achieve approval, and its safety proâ€" file is comparable to other routinely used vaccines. So far, Gardasil has been given to more than 400 girls in Waterloo Region schools. And it‘s not too late for other Grade 8 students to get the free vaccine. Call the public health office for inforâ€" mation. Some decisions are more difficult for parents to make than others. This is one of the easy ones. The bottom line is that having your daughter vacciâ€" nated against HPV could save her life. It could prevent her from enduring radiation, chemotherapy and major Put that way, who wouldâ€" n‘t be in favour of it?