The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday December 12, 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 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 Counting on you The sudden and drastic downturn in the economy rightfully has many people concerned. How secure is my job? Will I be able to live comfortably after retiring? Can I afford to pay for my children's education? Will I be able to maintain my current lifestyle? All are valid concerns. But for some in our community other far more desperate questions surface. Where will my food come from this month? Will I be able to clothe my child? How will I be able to afford rent? It is those individuals we cannot forget about this holiday season -- especially this year when everyone is clutching their wallets or purses just a little tighter. The slumping economy is hitting local service agencies hard. Food banks are watching more and more people turning to them for help. The numbers are expected to continue to grow in coming months. Other agencies, such as the Salvation Army, have noticed the demand for assistance increasing. These agencies need help from this community -- whether it be in the form of a food donation, buying a toy for a child at Christmas, helping with the Holiday Hamper program or simply making a cash contribution to any one of the many charitable groups which offer both hope and a hand up to those less fortunate. When it comes to giving, Oakville has always risen to the challenge. This holiday season -- economy aside -- should be no different. We encourage every business, school, sports team, networking organization, etc. to find a way to give back to the community. Our social service agencies need you to make this holiday special for those facing so many challenges. Oakville, we know you can do it! 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 Resident wonders about reason behind pavement markings Is the Town of Oakville trying to kill cyclists or cause accidents on Pilgrims Way? With the new pavement markings on Pilgrims Way, between Abbeywood Plaza and Abbey Park High School, one has to wonder if the Town of Oakville is trying to see what will happen first, a cyclist being hit by a car, or a car running into new concrete islands on either side of Pilgrim Wood Public School. Out of no where, last fall two concrete islands appeared on either side of Pilgrim Wood Public School, marked by orange construction cones to date, that only hinder access to the left turn lane at Cottonwood Crescent. Recently, while walking my dog, they were finishing the new pavement markings, in the dark, towards oncoming traffic no less. (They) have left most of this stretch of road without a centre left turn lane into 1476 Pilgrims Way or Blackburn Drive, while moving the bicycle lane 10 feet out from the curb, in an area where there is no parking or no stopping posted. Why are they pushing cyclists out from the curb for no physical reason, putting them at risk of being hit by cars as they will now want to pass on the right with the loss of the centre left turn lanes? The loss of the centre left turn lane now also directs traffic directly towards the new concrete islands! Last night several cars had to swerve at the last minute to avoid these dangerous new islands. What is going to happen when the roads get icy or snow covered? Is the Town trying to help out local body shops? These islands or pavement markings cannot possibly improve safety in Oakville. What is the Town thinking? WAYNE CONSTABLE Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com An `amazing' fundraiser The 6th Annual Eric's Amazing Race Car Rally and Silent Auction was a booming success. We raised $14,000 for Jesse's Journey. They will use this money to fund research to one day find a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. This possibility gets closer every day as scientists have recently discovered a way to deliver gene therapy to all the muscles, both skeletal and cardiac, in a large animal model. This is a huge step towards a cure and would not be possi See Thanks page 7 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.