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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday May 9, 2008 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 DAVID HARVEY General Manager 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 ANCHOR Circ. Manager No need to speed For some reason, even the most mildmannered among us can lose all common sense behind the wheel of a car. And even just one moment of speeding on the road can be deadly. Spring weather is tempting more drivers to floor their accelerator pedals, but police warn excessive speeders will continue facing consequences such as having their vehicles impounded. The provincial 'street racing' law in Ontario, which took effect Sept. 30, provides increased penalties for driving 50 km/h over the speed limit. They include a seven-day seizure of the vehicle, a seven-day licence suspension, six demerit points and fines of $2,000$10,000 upon conviction. Excessive speeding automatically draws the charge of stunt driving, which includes any type of race driving, such as two cars racing or doing 360 or 180 degree turns. The OPP have charged more than 4,000 motorists with driving 50 km/h or more over the speed limit since the law took effect. Many such incidents occur across the Hwy. 407 toll road outside of the rush hour periods, said Const. Dave Woodford. "It's not as busy through the course of the day and there's a tendency to put the pedal to the metal. We see a lot of it, especially at night and on weekends when they could just fly right across there." Woodford said a vehicle reportedly travelling at 170 km/h last week on Hwy. 404 led to another vehicle's accident. No serious injuries were reported. "They're making last-minute lane changes and someone put on the brakes. Because of the high speed, there were unnecessary lane changes that indirectly caused a rollover into the ditch." He said more motorists are calling in speeding drivers and he encourages them to call *OPP (677). 'Report them immediately and we will try and intercept them. The more help we get, the better it is for safety on the highway." Woodford said callers should try and get a licence number, then a warning letter can be mailed to the speeding driver or an officer can be sent to visit them. Excessive speeding just isn't acceptable and certainly not worth the risk. Drivers should understand this now before it's too late. 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 United Way hurting the people it is supposed to help Re: April 30, Oakville Beaver, United Way agencies hurt by cutbacks This article left me pondering the future quality of life in Oakville. I am a long-time resident of this community who has seen the important contribution of our network of social agencies in assisting many community residents -- old, young, men, women, members of diverse communities. Working together, these non-profit agencies have created a caring community, based on the professionalism of staff, complimented by compassionate, committed and engaged volunteers. Since the days of the Red Feather campaign, the United Appeal and then the United Way, these nonprofit social agencies have understood that the United Way was a communitybased funder supporting core operations of a broad network of agencies. I, and many others, have believed that the stewardship role of the United Way of Oakville was, simultaneously, as leader and as funder, building a strong, community-based social infrastructure. By changing its priorities and processes from broad-based support of non-profit member agencies to specific programs and projects, United Way of Oakville is leaving huge gaps in supports to Oakville residents that have been provided by agencies who have been United Way partners for decades. They have served notice to the social agencies and the broader community that they are no longer a community "united way" funder. In addition to being accountable to its donors, United Way of Oakville is accountable to the Oakville community and to its member agencies. DOUG SIMPSON Are beds safer than bathtubs? I would like someone to explain to me how the Bank Bed Challenge is any safer than the United Way of Oakville Bathtub race (cancelled because it was deemed too dangerous)? The bathtub race, which was originally a competition between all the high schools in Oakville, brought a lot of good, fun, competitive spirit between the schools while at the same time raising money for charities. One less thing for high school kids to do in this town. I am glad the adults are having fun. P. GRAY 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. Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com