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6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday September 5, 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 IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager Good luck at school this year It was the weekend many children have been dreading and the one many parents have secretly been looking forward to. Yes, summer, while not officially over, has ended. Yesterday, thousands of children across Oakville headed back to the classrooms for a new year of experiences, thrills, disappointments and growth. Local educators and trustees also head back to busier days and will face new challenges in an education system that is feeling the weight of funding shortfalls and, in some areas, overcrowding. In the case of the Halton Catholic District School Board, trustees will be entering a new year without longtime chair Al Bailey who abruptly resigned last week. While we have to take Bailey at his word that the desire to spend more time with his family was the chief motivating factor behind this move, it's not unlikely that recent board unrest also played a part in his decision. "There's been disagreements on the board, there has been time in the boardroom when things got personal," he admitted. We hope trustees can begin this new year in a spirit of co-operation and a focus on what really matters -- the students. For the sake of all, the petty politics should be left at the door and decisions should be based on what is best for the children in the system and not personal agendas. In keeping with the back-toschool theme, we remind all drivers to be aware of children on and near local roadways. Extra caution is especially needed at this time of year and drivers should pay particular attention when travelling near school zones. Remember to drop your speed and be alert for youngsters. A new school year is set to begin, we hope it is a successful one for all students, educators and administrators. We wish them luck. 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 If anyone asks about living here, tell them it's a caring community More often than not, my garage doors are left open, becoming a shop window for the parade of mixed humanity passing by on the busy road and sidewalk. Over the past 29 years, not one shoplifter had helped himself to any of the tempting merchandise (stuff) on show. Came Monday, Aug. 20: Grief; my Trek road bike and camera in the rear bag went missing. My healthy pedaling went on hold. My unsaved photos were lost. I reckoned that it deserved an "anybody seen my bike?" letter in The Oakville Beaver. I settled for a four-line lost and found ad in the next issue. Someone at the Beaver thought that it rated a story and appeared with her camera. The story ran on Friday, Aug. 24. The response from at least a dozen people offering free bikes was more than heartwarming. It blew away the grief. I talked to or met all of them, and accepted one bike on loan until mine was recovered. One "Private Caller" left a voicemail ­ being the short tinkle of a bike bell. It was either a taunt saying "can't catch me" or it was my bike saying goodbye. The police were very helpful and told me about the pound where they collect and exhibit the total haul of abandoned bikes. No luck there, so goodbye bike. A lady I met there had lost three bikes. One caller's family had lost five bikes from her home. Now the hard part. I felt like an ingrate every time I had to explain that I can't take this or that offer. I had to explain that, compared with my lost road bike, racing-type tires are vulnerable on curbs and gravel and that dirt bikes with big tough tires are more than I need for roads and most trails, and that I have a dozen or more other choices. It felt discourteous in the face of that shower of kindness. But every encounter with a donor brought a reassurance "No, no don't feel like that." One person offering his bike had gained peace when he turned from being materialistic to being a giver. Another skilled person collected bikes from the curb on big-garbage week, fixed them up and passed them on to good causes. A lady who lost her husband two days before last Christmas had gained solace by giving. Yet another lady who also lost her husband some time before that, said that she would be happy to see his bike put to good use. If anyone asks you about living in Oakville, tell them that it is a town of caring people. ARTHUR HOLLAND Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com 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.