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6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday July 2, 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: NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER President Media Group Ltd. 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 A Million or More reasons It has gone on too long, has harmed too many and it's possible to help. For these reasons -- and many more -- The Oakville Beaver is sponsoring the $Million or More Oakville campaign to raise $1 million, or more, to help the people in Africa who either have HIV/AIDS or are affected by it -- in other words, pretty much everyone there. The $Million or More Oakville campaign was launched before Christmas. Between World AIDS Day (Dec. 1) 2007 and Dec. 1, 2009, the campaign aims to literally raise a million dollars or more. Its local champions -- who've loaned their high-profile names to it as honourary chair and co-chairs, are journalist Sally Armstrong, former mayor Ann Mulvale and Andrea Wagner. The Beaver's artistic director and editorial cartoonist Steve Nease has imparted one of his editorial cartoons to the cause -- it is part of the campaign. Alternative gift cards bear Nease's cartoon depicting a child in Africa asking his caregiver if she is praying for help -- and her response, "No, a tsunami." The cartoon juxtaposed the massive world support of southeast Asia in the wake of the dreadful tsunami there and the ongoing need for assistance in Africa, which has been ravaged for years by AIDS. Nease also designed a non-traditional elephant "barometer" to be used to gage the campaign's progress. And you may have spotted the regular columns in The Oakville Beaver from Halla, the 12-yearold elephant who is the campaign mascot. So grievous is the situation in Africa that almost an entire generation of youths has been orphaned -- leaving a generation of grandmothers, primarily, to bury their own children and become caregivers all over again to their grandchildren. World peace hero Stephen Lewis has begun to make inroads on fighting back against the epidemic in Africa through the Stephen Lewis Foundation. It funds grassroots programs that don't just throw cash or unsustainable assistance at the epidemic, but which plant the seeds of real change -- and it's those programs, through that foundation, which the $Million or More Oakville campaign will fund. While we may find a million or more reasons in our heart to help on this side of the globe, there are well more than a million or more people waiting for a sign of hope on the other side of the world. Join in helping the heartbeats connect. 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 Oakville Transit wrong to increase youth fares Editor's Note: The following letter to the editor was published in the Friday, June 27, 2008 edition and inadvertently omitted the letter writer's name. The Beaver regrets the oversight. Regarding a possible increase in youth fares on Oakville Transit discussed at the June 11 Transit Advisory Committee. Oakville Transit's Barry Cole told the Town's Transit Advisory Committee on June 11, that he foresees an increase to the current youth fare. At the meeting of the Transit Advisory Committee, Cole used the higher fares charged by some other GTA transit systems as justification. Oakville Transit should not strive to emulate the failures of these other transit systems. During the summer of 2006, a previous Transit Advisory Committee allowed Oakville students to ride toll free for that entire summer. Oakville residents enjoyed the benefits of lessened traffic congestion for the loss of a small amount of transit revenue. The failure of the current Transit Advisory Committee to continue this program has resulted in a lost opportunity for all of Oakville. The benefits of such a program would include less auto pollution that would improve our air quality and lessen our contribution to global warming. Additionally, reduced road traffic would see a reduction in vehicle accident injuries. Here is a program that is affordable, achievable, and is something we can actually do to make a difference in our daily lives. Oakville Transit must not raise fares for our students; they should eliminate them. We do not need another reason not to use public transit. Oakville residents deserve better. HARVEY ROTRAND All part of the job I can't believe Mr. Wayne Joudrie's comment, published in the June 18 Oakville Beaver, that our students in southeast Oakville have been subjected to "pressure, political rhetoric and implied/real threats" because their parents are protesting the irresponsibility of the Halton Board of Education in closing schools. It seems to me that Mr. Joudrie and his colleagues are the ones "under pressure" because of the "misguided and questionable" conclusions included in the Revised Administrative Report. I suggest if they can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen and then vote to keep the schools in southeast Oakville open on July 2. HUGH MILLAR 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.