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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday January 12, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS A DIVISION OF Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director TERI CASAS Business Manager MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager IAN OLIVER Group Publisher We can make it happen What happened? It's hard to imagine that in a community as generous as Oakville the Salvation Army fell more than $10,000 short of its Kettle Campaign goal of $110,000. We are all familiar with Sally Ann's kettles. They are stationed at sites around the community and at events held during the holiday season. In 2005 more than $106,000 was raised -- this year the tally sits at $96,840. It is still an impressive amount but not enough. How are those funds put to use? The money is used throughout the year to support the Army's Family Services Department, which helps run the food bank, provide clothing vouchers to those in need, and provide muchneeded assistance on a case-by-case basis. Obviously the money is critical to help the organization provide for the town's less fortunate. It is too early to tell how the shortfall will affect these important programs. According to the Salvation Army the real problem lies not with the donations but with a shortage of volunteers needed to man the kettles. "...if we don't have enough volunteers, then we don't have all the kettle sites going at all times, and that is important," said the Sally Ann's Aisha King. The Salvation Army is quick to point out that the individuals who helped out with the campaign were excellent, just not enough of them to go around. The organization is hoping to grow its volunteer base before the next big campaign. "I think everyone came together, and considering we came close to the $100,000 mark, that's a success in itself," said King. You might want to flip through your desk or wall calendar and make a special note to contact the Salvation Army and volunteer for the 2007 Kettle Campaign. In addition, if your company or community group has yet to decide what to do with its Christmas fundraising efforts, you may want to think about donating it to the Salvation Army. It's not too late for residents to come up with the extra cash. Together, let's make it happen. 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. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Incinerator proposal raises serious questions Halton Region is pursuing the possibility of building one of the newer types of incinerators. Each type proposes heating mixed waste, extracting some energy and burying the leftovers. This is a huge undertaking that could limit our options for the future. Before Regional Council makes its decision I'm hoping that the citizens of Halton will take part in a discussion of the issues by writing in to the newspaper and sharing any letters written to our elected representatives. Some of the things we need to examine are: 1) Health Effects 2) Cost: With estimates of $750$800 million what will the taxpayer pay? 3) Energy Loss 4) Climate Change: Can we afford to put more CO2 in the atmosphere? 5) Alternatives: If we can create more jobs, use safer methods of waste reduction that make money for industry, should we burn these resources? It's time to get involved. BARBARA HALSALL PROTECT OUR WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES (P.O.W.E.R.) HALTON HILLS BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com St. Cuthbert's is Anglican In your story on Jan. 10 describing the Salvation Army's Kettle campaign, among the groups that you say helped was St. Cuthbert's United Church. St. Cuthbert's is an Anglican church and has been since 1935, when it was then located on Winston Churchill Boulevard, then called the Town Line. Before 1935 it was an inter-faith mission church known as The Cedar Grove Union Sunday School. This year as we have done over the past years, we manned the kettle for two days, it is an interesting and enjoyable experience. DAVID KNOWLAND Pud Better use for Christmas trees It is very saddening to see so many Christmas trees on the curbside awaiting collection and shredding. I challenge everybody involved, including all levels of government, to come up with a plan to sell trees with roots and then replant them after New Year. There must be several hundred thousands of these across the country. Let all the lip service on environmental deterioration be put into action. OTTO STERNBACH 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.